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May, Parmelee claim victories on first day By GREG STILES ASHLAND - Nathan May made up for lost time and then some Friday afternoon as the Skyline Conference district track and field meet got underway at Raider Stadium on the campus of Southern Oregon University. The Phoenix High sophomore passed up last year's district meet when he couldn't shake a serious case of bronchitis. That was tough break for a promising young distance runner, who endured another setback last fall. May finished second in the Skyline cross country meet then tore ligaments in his right ankle two days before the state meet. Needless to say, May was all smiles after enduring a series of re-starts when the automatic-timing device malfunctioned and holding off fast-finishing Rob Warnick of Henley to win the boys 3,000 meters in 9 minutes, 14.13 seconds. "I came into the race really confident," admitted May, whose season's best is 9:06.0. "I knew Robby was a good competitor and had the speed to catch me if I let him stay around." May grabbed the lead early and didn't let up until he had built a sizable distance en route to supplying Phoenix with more than half of its first-day points. North Valley led after five events with 581/2 points, followed by Henley, 56; Lakeview, 24; Hidden Valley, 22; Phoenix, 19; Mazama, 141/2; and Illinois Valley, 1. Field event finals resume at 10 a.m. today, while running events begin at noon. May will go for a double in the 1,500 and had plenty left in reserve Friday. "I was sick for a month and two weeks before district, I was getting asthma and the doctor said to throw in the towel." By summer's end, however, May went though a transformation. He went to Australia in an athletic exchange that lit a competitive fire. "I learned that running is 90 percent mental and that you can push yourself as hard as you want," May said. "Basically, it's about how much pain you can take. Last year, I wasn't mentally prepared." Like May, Hidden Valley discus thrower Mike dePuglia wasn't around last spring. Academics, not ailments, were his downfall. But dePuglia came back with purpose this spring and captured the discus with a throw of 147 feet, 8 inches. dePuglia entered the meet with a best of 149-8 and established his position with a 146-5 effort on his second throw in the prelims. His winning mark came on his third throw. But the competition he expected from North Valley's Travis Wheeler failed to materialize when. Wheeler could only muster a 142-0 toss. "If (Wheeler) would've put one out there, that would've put a little more fire in my pants," dePuglia said. dePuglia has been hampered by a groin pull in recent weeks. Nonetheless, he hoped to eclipse the Hidden Valley record of 152-8. It was the third time dePuglia has placed in the district finals, taking sixth as a freshman and fourth two years ago. But missing last season's meet had a lasting impact. "I had to buckle down and work a lot harder," said dePuglia, whose father Mike Sr. was among the nation's top discus throwers a quarter century ago. North Valley junior Cole Parmelee won the high jump (6-2) and long jump (21-11), outdueling Lakeview's Jacob Denbrook (6-0, 21-10) in both events. "I pretty much figured I was going to win," Parmelee said. "But I wanted to go 22-6, so I could be closer to the district record." The district record of 23-033/4, incidentally was set by former world decathlon record holder Dan O'Brien in 1984. "When I went 22-11/2, I worked hard every day that week," Parmelee said. "I didn't work hard at all this week and it showed. I'm going to bust my tail next week." North Valley and Henley positioned themselves for a battle in today's track finals, although Henley has an advantage in depth and picked up a win from Jeff North in the pole vault (13-6). Phoenix senior Tony Machado had the fastest qualifying times in the 100 (11.21) and 200 (22.56) Machado, who surpassed Jim Grantland's 1996 school record of 22.6 with a 22.5 clocking earlier this spring, missed qualifying for state last year when he got poor starts in both races. (x-indicates state meet qualifier.) TEAM SCORES - North Valley 581/2, Henley 56, Lakeview 24, Hidden Valley 22, Phoenix 19, Mazama 141/2, Illinois Valley 1. DISCUS - x-1, Mike DePuglia, HV, 147-8; x-2, Travis Wheeler, NV, 142-0; 3, Ralph Santiago, NV, 137-0; 4, Matt dePuglia, HV, 133-6; 5, Joe Leroy, Hen, 125-8; 6, Keanon Ferguson, Pho, 121-8; 7, Charles Collman, Hen, 120-0; 8, Eric Thornton, Maz, 119-3. HIGH JUMP - x-1, Cole Parmelee, NV, 6-2; x-2, Jacob Denbrook, Lak, 6-0; 3, Joe Reid, Hen, 5-9; 4, Jesse Smith, Hen, 5-9; 5, (tie) Josh Herzfeldt, Maz, and Derek Wright, NV, 5-6; 7, Cody Martins, Maz, 5-3; 8, Justin Graven, IV, 5-3. LONG JUMP -x-1, Cole Parmelee, NV, 21-11; x-2, Jacob Denbrook, Lak, 21-10; x-3, Frank Gauntz, Hen, 21-31/2; 4, Derek Strubel, Lak, 19-11; 5, Robert Draper, Maz, 19-6; 6, Jesse Appling, NV, 19-4; 7, Mark Warnick, Hen, 19-3; Ken Hiler, NV, 19-11/2. POLE VAULT - x-1, Jeff North, Hen, x-13-6; Joe Reid, Hen, 12-0; 3, Scott Justin, NV, 11-6; 4, Colin Beard, NV, 11-6; 5, Ben Bechdolt, Hen, 11-0; 6, Bion Porzio, HV, 10-6; 7, Jeff West, HV, 9-6; Jeremiah Lewman, NV, 9-0. 3,000 METERS - x-1, Nathan May, Pho, 9:14.13; x-2, Rob Warnick, Hen, 9:17.54; 3, Lalo Flores, Pho, 9:18.45; 4, Josh Young, NV, 9:18.57; 5, Cody Martins, Maz, 9:19.21; 6, Ryan Tague, Lak, 9:25.34; 7, Warren Hostkoetter, HV, 9:25.91; 8, Brad Mortensen, Hen, 9:30.20. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.