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CLOUDY Temp: 58 °F Wind: N at 6 mph Sunday, June 22, 2003 SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA HomeLife Magazine W3 Magazine Jobs @ Mail Tribune Tempo A & E Oregon CarZone Wellness Connection Real Estate Newspaper in Education Prime Times Outdoor Journal Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find Everything E SOUTHERN OREGON Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar ABOUT US FAQ What's New Advertise Home Delivery Classified Ad Contact Us Media Kit Email Story to a Friend May 31, 2003 Phoenix�s Nathan May finishes with a time of 8:48.41 in the 3,000 to take first for the second straight year at the Class 3A meet on Friday. May’s day at state meet The Phoenix High senior successfully defends his title in the 3,000 By DON HUNT Mail Tribune EUGENE — Defending a state championship can sometimes be more difficult than winning one the first time. Phoenix High distance runner Nathan May paced around Hayward Field all morning Friday waiting for the boys 3,000 race to unfold at the Class 3A state track meet. May shouldn’t have been nervous after winning the event in 2002, but he felt the pressure of being the defending champion. Advertisement However, once the gun went off May put his nervous energy to good use, running his opposition into the ground and charging to another title. His time of 8:48.41 was a lifetime best by eight seconds. May was the only competitor from the Rogue Valley to emerge with a title during the opening day of the Class 4A and 3A state meets. North Medford’s Danielle Jordan scooted to a personal record time of 10:00.15 in the girls 4A 3,000, but was runner-up to Tualatin’s Meghan Armstrong. And Eagle Point’s Robbie Johnston cleared 15-6 to take second in the boys 4A pole vault, but found himself in the shadow of Sandy’s Tommy Skipper, who broke his own state meet record with a leap of 17-7 and then made three unsuccessful attempts to break the national high school record of 18-2 ¼ . "I switched gears with two laps to go and just prayed I had the speed to hold the other guys off," said May, who now has three state championships under his belt counting his cross country title last fall. "It feels good to get this one out of the way. I was definitely more nervous this year because the expectations were higher." Seven runners were within 5 meters of the lead with three laps to go before May, Scott Sanders of Brookings and Kenny Klotz of Valley Catholic broke away from the pack one lap later. The three were within an arm’s length of one another until May began to pull away over the final 400 meters. Sanders wound up second in 8:50.67 and Klotz was third in 8:54.6. "Nathan ran a great tactical race," Phoenix coach Hans Voskes said. "He pushed the pace but he invited others to come up and help, which they did. "And then with about 600 meters to go he put the hammer down. This is a great send-off to Nathan’s high school career, although he’s got one more race (today’s 1,500)." Jordan, meanwhile, led the girls 4A 3,000 for all but the last 200 meters when Armstrong — the defending champion — sprinted past her. Armstrong’s winning time was 9:59.19. Klamath Union’s Katie Leary finished on Jordan’s heals in 10:00.38, good enough for third place. "I’ve been running from the front all year long and so it was comfortable for me to do that today," said Jordan, who won the 3A 3,000 last year while competing for Baker. "I’ve been working on my kick really hard in workouts and I was confident it would get me through today, but Meghan’s kick is still a little better than mine. "But I hit a big PR and that feels good." Although Jordan scored North Medford’s only points Friday, the Black Tornado girls made it through qualifying rounds in good shape as they try to bring home a state trophy (top four) for the first time in school history. Emily Dunn (100), Brittany Hodges (400) and Rosana Medina (300 hurdles) all advanced to today’s finals in individual events, and both of the Tornado’s relay teams made it through. In fact, North Medford’s 4x400 relay squad set a school record of 3:59.22. Medina ran a 58-second split in that race and Hodges clocked 57.4. "There are no guarantees at this meet, but we put ourselves in good shape to win a trophy," North Medford coach Mark Hodges said. Johnston had an up-and-down day in the pole vault. He needed a third and final attempts to clear 14-6 and 15-6 and then failed to match or exceed the 16-foot vault he hit a week earlier at the Southern Oregon Conference district meet. But the Eagle Point junior came through in the clutch and walked off with the second-place medal. "When I was on the runway for my third vault at 14-6, I just told myself I had to get it done," Johnston said. "I’ve been over that height a hundred times." Skipper delighted the Hayward Field crowd by clearing 17-7 and shattering the old meet record of 17-0 that he had set one year earlier. Friday marked just the second time Skipper has jumped since breaking his left thumb at a national high school meet in Virginia in March. But the Sandy senior seemed no worse for the layoff. He had little trouble making 16-3, 17-3 and 17-7 before taking three cracks at what would have been a national record of 18-2 ½ . "In some ways, hurting my thumb was a blessing," said Skipper, who also competes in the sprints and hurdles. "It allowed me to work on my speed and take my mind off vaulting for a while." Sandy put itself in good position to win the boys team title. Not only did Skipper win, but Derek Andriesian unloaded a discus throw of 193-2 to win that event. North Medford’s David Faaeteete wasn’t so fortunate. Faaeteete came into the meet with the third-best discus throw (167-6) but scratched on all three of his throws during the preliminary round. Teammate Dan O’Brien managed a throw of 140-6, good enough for seventh place. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Printer Friendly Version Email Story to a Friend Subscribe Archive: Click to Search Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2003 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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