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Classic volleyball tournament loses teams By Greg Stiles It was designed to be a top-of-the-line tournament drawing the state�s premier Class 4A volleyball teams. And for the first decade if its existence, the Rogue Valley Classic indeed lived up to its originators� plans. St. Mary�s Academy of Portland, winner of three state championships in the 1980s, won the first two tournament titles. Mount Hood Conference powers Gresham and Barlow won eight of the next nine tourneys, mirroring their domination in the state tournament. But the powerhouses have drifted away Three years ago, West Linn coach Jim Kirby launched what was then known as the Sports Nation Tournament, drawing 32 schools, on the same weekend as the Rogue Valley Classic. It was a broadside from which the local tournament has yet to recover. With 32 of the top programs going to Sports Nation, North Medford coach Ron Beick says the primary options were to move the Rogue tourney up or back a week. By going a week earlier, the Rogue Valley classic would be bumping into jamborees. By dropping back a week, it was going to collide with the Mount Hood Tournament. "We decided if we were going to lose people, we might as well go the same week as Mount Hood," Beick says. The Sports Nation facility has since been sold and the tournament was dispersed to several sites, with the finals at West Linn. "We played at an elementary school," Beick said. "The floor was good, but it wasn�t good for spectators." What will happen at West Linn is uncertain. Still, the damage has been done to the Rogue Classic. Beick and South Medford coach Jerry Hagstrom are doing their homework and will quiz coaches from around the state for the rest of the season about what might be the best time to run the tournament. "Maybe there will be a dramatic change," Beick says. The dates in which a jamboree could be held were bumped up this year, making room for a preseason tournament. "We could go later in October and make it a prep for the state playoffs," Beick says. "Or we could leave it where it is and deal with it." Because of weekend tournaments that attract top teams, the volleyball polls are much more accurate than basketball or football polls. The top five teams at the West Linn, Mount Hood or Clearwater Classic tournaments are likely to be the top five teams in the next week�s poll. The South Albany tournament and the Rogue Valley Classic are among the next tier of tournaments. "The question is whether you can afford to go to all the power tournaments," Beick says. "If we were going to Portland the first and second weekends of the season and South Albany, that would really wear us out." For that reason, it�s not only nice to have a major tournament in Southern Oregon, but helpful Adding insult to injury, two schools that had been entered for months in the Rogue Valley Classic failed to send teams and waited until the eleventh hour to inform tournament officials. Corvallis pulled out early enough in the week for St. Mary�s to be added to the mix, but Churchill didn�t send word early enough to be replaced. Beick attributes it to disorganization up the road. "In both cases, the athletic directors changed jobs," Beick says. "I sent four letters, three last (school) year and one in August. Neither responded before the week of the tournament. "Both would�ve been lower seeds, but it�s still disappointing." The good news was that St. Mary�s � last year�s Class 2A state runner-up � proved a worthy adversary by winning its pool and beating Wilson in the first round of bracket play. "They made quite a statement for their program," Medford Schools athletic coordinator Bruce Howell says. "They made the best of it." Howell knows it�s not easy to make major tournaments � in any sport � go at this end of the state. "Primarily because we�re one of the largest areas in the southern part of the state, we put on volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball and baseball tournaments," Howell says. "I also think that sometimes tournaments run their course." Thus Howell tries to take a tournament�s pulse from time to time. The Rogue Valley Championships wrestling tournament brings virtually all the Jackson and Josephine county teams together. When Phoenix bolted for a California tournament and a couple other schools couldn�t bring a full team, Howell started polling coaches. Far and away, the area�s coaches liked the tournament and continued their support. The Rogue Valley Classic might not include the Barlows, Central Catholics and Greshams in years to come, but chances are the tournament will survive. GRANTS PASS PUNTER Bruce Voges pulled off a feat rarely seen in high school when he booted the ball over the Mel Ingram Stadium roof during Friday�s 16-14 SOC loss to Ashland. Ashland put a big rush on the play, causing Voges to shank it. But the Grizzlies were called for offsides and the Cavemen got a first down. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or [email protected] Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. 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