Document text
South girls rise to occasion photo by Drew Fleming Panthers stun Grizzlies with stellar efforts By Don Hunt ASHLAND � The South Medford High girls track team registered so many outstanding performances in a dual meet against Ashland Thursday, it was difficult to determine which athlete had the best day. Was it Noi Hilgendorf, who blasted past Ashland star Paris Edwards to win the 800 meters in 2 minutes, 25.2 seconds? Was it Hope Berkey, who launched the shot put a lifetime best of 37 feet? Was it Whitney Grant, who won the long jump with a mark of 15-11�, finished second in the triple jump and came back to win the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 51.0 in her first-ever attempt in that event? Those were all worthy candidates on a crisp, cloudy day at Ashland High. But the true MVP had to be Teri Silva, a sophomore who won the high jump (5-0), set a lifetime best of 15-8� in the long jump and then sailed to a school-record 35-2� in the triple jump. The Panther girls won 16 of the 17 events and coasted to a 103-42 victory at Ashland High. The South Medford boys also won handily, 100-44. "I�ve always considered the high jump to be my best event, and I really haven�t practiced much in the triple jump this season," said Silva, who shattered her previous best of 33-3 by nearly two feet. "About all I�ve done is take some run-throughs to make sure my steps are right. "This is just awesome." Silva�s mark broke the previous school record of 35-1 set by Melody Manwaring in 1996. The 6-foot Silva lacks the speed of many jumpers, but she uses her long legs and bouncy step to great advantage. "With her long stride, she can reach and hold each phase (of the triple jump) with ease," South Medford jumps coach Mark Losinski said. "She�s not the fastest kid out there, that�s true, but she can get faster, and when she does, look out." Hilgendorf, meanwhile, outkicked Edwards over the final 100 meters to win the 800 in 2:25.2. Edwards owns the state�s best times in both the 1,500 and 3,000 and has been a state placer in each event. But she entered the 800 Thursday knowing that Hilgendorf would give her stiff competition. With both coaches telling their girls to let the other one lead, the two came around the first lap in a tortoise-like 80 seconds. Edwards then took the lead, but Hilgendorf stayed on her shoulder and then flew past the Grizzly runner down the home stretch. "I shouldn�t have let the pace lag like that � I should have gone out harder," Paris said. "Eighty seconds for the first lap � that�s ridiculous. But it was still a good race, and I�m happy to get the competition." Hilgendorf, who finished second at district last year in the 800 as a freshman, is still learning how to run the race. "I hardly ever ran the 800 until last year � I was more of a 1,500 and 3,000 runner in middle school," Hilgendorf said. "I�m really excited about what happened out there today. Beating someone like Paris gives me a lot of confidence." Berkey�s throw of 37 feet in the shot put was the third best in school history and shattered her previous best by nearly two feet. "I�ve been working on moving faster in the ring," Berkey said. "More speed means more explosion, and that leads to more distance. "My goal at the beginning of the season was 38 feet, but now I�m going to adjust that to 39." Grant took on the 300-meter hurdles for the first time Tuesday and was on her way to possibly breaking 50 seconds in the event, only to stumble hard over the final barrier. She nearly tumbled to the track and wobbled across the finish line in 51.0. "I�ve definitely got a lot to work on," she said. The top mark in the boys meet was generated by Ashland�s Cameron Voget, who launched the javelin 191-2� for one of the top marks in the state. Otherwise, South Medford did most of the celebrating. Matt Griffiths had a solid day for the Panthers, winning the long jump (19-11�) and triple jump (41-7�), while Cameron Gallop posted a personal record of 50-6 to claim the shot put. Andres Reed chipped in victories in the 100 (11.5), 200 (23.6) and ran a leg on South Medford�s triumphant 4 x 100 relay. BOYS TEAM SCORES � South Medford 100, Ashland 44. SHOT PUT � 1, Cameron Gallop, SM, 50-6. 2, Bjorn Johnson, SM, 45-3. 3, Eric Lehr, A, 44-8. DISCUS � 1, Eric Lehr, A, 121-11. 2, Bjorn Johnson, SM, 119-8�. 3, Cameron Voget, A, 118-7. JAVELIN � 1, Cameron Voget, A, 191-2�. 2, Brian Jimenez, A, 172-11�. 3, Jacob Villa, SM, 147-1. HIGH JUMP � 1, Airin Brown, SM, 5-10. 2, Jonathan Klenke, SM, 5-6. 3, Isaac Wright, SM, 5-3. LONG JUMP � 1, Matt Griffiths, SM, 19-11�. 2, Zach Williams, A, 19-6. 3, Justin Baldoni, SM, 19-4�. TRIPLE JUMP � 1, Matt Griffiths, SM, 41-7�. 2, Stu Tobiasson, A, 37-10�. 3, Isaac Wright, 37-9�. POLE VAULT � 1, Ezra Kemp, A, 10-6. 2, Jonathan Wright, SM, 10-0. 110-METER HURDLES � 1, Zach Williams, A, 16.4. 2, Bjorn Johnson, SM, 17.1. 3, Brad Rahmlow, A, 17.9. 300-METER HURDLES � 1, Jason Mattews, SM, 43.8. 2, Bjorn Johnson, SM, 45.2. 3, Kyle Novak, A, 45.3. 100 METERS � 1, Andres Reed, SM, 11.5. 2, Justin Bashans, SM, 11.8. 3, Ian Savage, A, 11.9. 200 METERS � 1, Andres Reed, SM, 23.6. 2, Jonathan Klenke, SM, 23.6. 3, Justin Bashans, SM, 24.7. 400 METERS � 1, Dan Hilgendorf, SM, 52.3. 2, Kelly King, SM, 54.2. 3, Garrett Steinbroner, A, 55.6. 800 METERS � 1, Shaun Olson, SM, 2:03.1. 2, Alando Pacas, SM, 2:03.4. 3, Jeff Olson, A, 2:05.6. 1,500 METERS � 1, Shaun Olson, SM, 4:14.9. 2, Chris Faudree, A, 4:17.3. 3, Mana Martin, A, 4:30.6. 3,000 METERS � 1, Chris McClean, SM, 9:36.3. 2, Dave Richardson, A, 10:11.4. 3, A. Ackles, A, 10:35.8. 4X100-METER RELAY � 1, South Medford, 44.6. 2, Ashland, 47.0. 4X400-METER RELAY � 1, South Medford, 3:36.7. 2, Ashland, 3:43.3. GIRLS TEAM SCORES � South Medford 103, Ashland 42. SHOT PUT � 1, Hope Berkey, A, 37-0. 2, Sara Cropper, A, 33-8�. 3, Sara Anders, SM, 29-11�. DISCUS � 1, Sara Anders, SM, 100-8. 2, Hope Berkey, SM, 95-5. 3, Sara Cropper, A, 88-7. JAVELIN � 1, Heather Fossen, SM, 97-7. 2, Stacey Foster, A, 93-4. 3, Tessa Mauer, A, 92-4. HIGH JUMP � 1, Teri Silva, SM, 5-0. 2, Sara Cropper, A, 4-8. 3, Tessa Mauer, A, 4-8. LONG JUMP � 1, Whitney Grant, SM, 15-11�. 2, Teri Silva, SM, 15-8�. 3, Natasha Wright, SM, 15-4. TRIPLE JUMP � 1, Teri Silva, SM, 35-2�. 2, Whitney Grant, SM, 32-3�. 3, Sara Cropper, nm. POLE VAULT � 1, Stephanie Anderberg, SM, 8-0. 2, Gina Alvis, SM, 8-0. 3, Michelle Nagel, 7-0. 100-METER HURDLES � 1, Sarah Duarte, 18.1. 2, Amanda Fowlie, A, 18-8. 3, Claire Chavez, A, 19.1. 300-METER HURDLES � 1, Whitney Grant, SM, 51.0. 2, Kim Thompson, A, 51.5. 3, Claire Chavez, A, 54.5. 100 METERS � 1, Amber Stevens, SM, 13.7. 2, Lindsey Huey, SM, 14.0. 3, Sara Vaughn, nt. 200 METERS � 1, Natasha Wright, SM, 27.9. 2, Amber Stevens, SM, 28.7. 3, Sara Vaughn, SM, 29.1. 400 METERS � 1, Natasha Wright, SM, 1:02.0. 2, Aja DeSandies, A, 1:04.6. 3, Stephanie Anderberg, SM, 1:07.8. 800 METERS � 1, Noi Hilgendorf, SM, 2:25.2. 2, Paris Edwards, A, 2:26.5. 3, Esther Cole, SM, 2:38.4. 1,500 METERS � 1, Heidi Meador, SM, 5:18.6. 2, Esther Cole, SM, 5:26.6. 3, Therese McCaffrey, A, 5:34.0. 3,000 METERS � 1, Paris Edwards, A, 10:25.9. 2, M. Mayfield, A, 12:10.4. 3, Kelly Sullivan, 12:17.5. 4X100-METER RELAY � 1, South Medford, 53.6. 2, Ashland, 55.6. 4X400-METER RELAY � 1, South Medford, 4:25.2. 2, Ashland, 4:36.1. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.