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One To Remember The Top Local Sports Stories in 2001 Compiled by Mail Tribune Staff In our bid to determine the top local sports stories of the year 2001, the Mail Tribune sports staff had a mixed bag from which to choose. There was the grand achievement of longtime programs such as Southern Oregon University football weighing in against the here-today, gone-tomorrow Southern Oregon Heat, the indoor grid team that was flamboyant if not successful. There was great triumph in state championship runs made by wrestlers, tennis players and track standouts; there was tremendous tragedy in the death of golfer Kaite Davis, who died of a congenital heart defect at a junior tournament. There were epic battles on the field of play, such as the state golf showdown between Tai Kinney and Johnna Nealy, a girls soccer fray between North and South Medford and an enthralling football matchup between those same schools; and there is the private battle of a coach fighting cancer. There was success beyond the Rogue Valley - Bryan Berryhill in collegiate track and Jeremy Guthrie in NCAA baseball - and lots of it right under our noses, such as Kevin Klabunde's win in the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament and Ian Solof's victory in the Pear Blossom Run. Some votes were cast because a team or an individual brought home championship hardware, others because something or someone simply was the major topic of conversation at all the coffee shops the next morning. No rules, no reasons required. Here's what we came up with: 1. SOU Football six first-place votes Combining a high-octane offense and a stingy defense, Southern Oregon advanced to the NAIA Championship Series for the first time in 14 years and got as far as the quarterfinals for only the second time in school history. In the process, the seventh-ranked Raiders established team records for touchdowns scored (66), total yardage (4,565) and points (474), finishing one point off the Northwest small-college mark for scoring average per game (43.1). Tailback Dusty McGrorty became the school's sixth straight 1,000-yard rusher and set a team record with 22 rushing TDs, while QB Travis Mari tossed a school-record 24 TD passes. SOU equaled the school mark for most wins in a season in posting a 9-2 record. Kick returner Nick Daniken, receiver Leo Stoddard and kicker Jason Manning also established school marks in their respective positions. 2. Southern Oregon Heat Two first-place votes No team took fans in the Rogue Valley on more of a roller-coaster ride than the first-year program in the National Indoor Football League. The Southern Oregon Heat went through three head coaches before the season began, with the fourth taking over the night of its opener and a fifth co-head coach joining the fray midway through the season. Southern Oregon struggled both on the field, finishing 1-13, and off as owner Kevin Wells fell $120,000 in debt due to an overextended budget and stagnant home revenues. Some players were left unpaid for their services and Wells was left in financial shambles despite his energetic desire to bring professional sports to the Rogue Valley. If anything, the Heat's debut season played out better than an Aaron Spelling drama. 3. SOU Wrestling Seemingly hard pressed to hold onto its role as the No. 4-ranked NAIA wrestling team entering the national championships, Southern Oregon answered the challenge by winning its fourth championship in school history and first since the 1993-94 season. Sixth-year coach Mike Ritchey was named NAIA coach of the year for his efforts in guiding Jeremy Wynia (141 pounds) and John Sills (165) to national titles. Dan Sturgell (184) and Wesley Balensifer (197) each placed second for the Raiders, who finished with 10 All-Americans. SOU scored a school-record 158 team points in winning the championship. 4. Crater Girls Basketball Crater once again staked its claim as one of the top basketball programs in recent Oregon history as the Comets (25-2) advanced to their second straight Class 4A state championship game and third in four years under head coach David Heard. Jody McLeod, right, and Amy Denson were each named second-team all-state, while Sarah Pool was honorable mention. McLeod finished her run at Crater as the school's No. 2-ranked player in scoring and rebounding, and was the first Comet to be named Southern Oregon Conference player of the year. 5. Prep Wrestling Buoyed by championship efforts from Tyler McCarty (135 pounds) and Brandon Sousa (145), right, Phoenix earned its seventh Class 3A state title in 32 years under head coach Harry Mondale. The Pirates also had a second-place run by Greg Brown (189) in helping the team score a state-record 190 points. Phoenix laid the foundation for its championship run by winning its 16th district championship in 18 years. Meanwhile, Shane Webster, below, became Crater's first three-time state champion while leading the Comets to a runner-up finish in the 4A meet. Eagle Point placed third behind individual titles from Chet McBee and Blake Cam. 6. Black and Blue Game Roughly 8,000 spectators jammed into Spiegelberg Stadium to watch North Medford eke out a 31-28 victory over South Medford in the most exciting and meaningful game in the 15-year history of the Black and Blue Game. With fans stacked three and four deep along the track on both sides of the packed stadium, Manny Alegria rumbled for 229 yards on 34 carries - both series records - to fuel the Black Tornado to victory. The outcome left North, South and Grants Pass tied for second place in the Southern Oregon Conference; the Panthers were left out of the playoffs after losing a coin flip. 7. North Girls Tennis Finally putting all the pieces together, North Medford earned its fifth state championship and first since 1975 as Jenny Brown, left, won the Class 4A singles title and the team of Leslie Schultz and Annie Chaney combined to win the 4A doubles title. That resounding effort marked only the fourth time in state history a school had swept the singles and doubles championships. En route to the state tournament, Brown nabbed her third straight SOC singles title as the Black Tornado won its fourth straight SOC team title. 8. Jeremy Guthrie one first-place vote The former Ashland High baseball standout blossomed into the No. 1 pitcher for Stanford University, helping the Cardinal to a runner-up finish in the College World Series. Guthrie, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound sophomore, posted a 12-4 record with a 2.58 ERA and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third round of Major League Baseball's free agent draft. 9. PBA Coming to Medford The Professional Bowlers Association Tour announced it will come to Lava Lanes Jan. 8-13. The tournament is expected to bring the world's best bowlers to Medford, and the finals will be televised live on ESPN. The tournament could bring the local economy as much as $11.25 million. Lava Lanes will undergo a major face lift to create stadium seating and accommodate large crowds. 10. Tai Kinney and Johnna Nealy North Medford's Tai Kinney, right, and Johnna Nealy of Grants Pass tied for the Class 4A state championship in dramatic fashion. Nealy made an eagle on the finishing hole to briefly take the lead, but Kinney, who was in the next group, would sink a nerve-racking 8-foot birdie putt on the same hole to forge the deadlock. The two waged a similar war one week earlier when they tied South Medford's Abby Fowler for the SOC district girls golf title. Honorable Mention Former Crater High standout Bryan Berryhill, competing for Colorado State, won the 1,500 meters at the NCAA Track & Field Championships at Eugene's Hayward Field. Berryhill later placed eighth at the USA Championships after leading most of the race. Kevin Klabunde scored a 6-and-4 victory over Tommy Smith in the title match of the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament, ending Smith's 23-match win streak in the tournament. Former South Medford High soccer standout Bryn Ritchie was named a third-team All-American for the University of Washington men's soccer team. The Southern Oregon University volleyball team advanced to the NAIA championships for the first time behind the play of Klamath Falls sophomore Kristina Matchett, who set the school record in kills and was named the Cascade Conference's MVP. North Medford's Scott Myers uncorked a 62-11 effort in the shot put to place him first in Medford school history and fifth on the Class 4A all-time list. He later won the state championship in the discus and Ashland's Paris Edwards won the 3,000 meters at the state meet. Ashland High's baseball team won the Southern Oregon Conference title and advanced to the state playoffs for the first time in school history. Ian Solof tied the course record in winning his second Pear Blossom's men's title, while Deanna O'Neil claimed her eighth women's crown. Jackie Woods of Ashland High was named 4A first-team all-state in girls basketball, graduating as the school's career leader in scoring, rebounding and steals. In girls soccer, South Medford edged North Medford 2-1 to win the Southern Oregon Conference championship. The teams had entered the final match of the regular season unbeaten in league play. Reader Response Here are stories some of our readers wanted on the list. They are listed in order of number of times they appeared on a submission. 2 �� Jim Walker Jr. earned his eighth stock car championship at the Southern Oregon Speedway. 1 �� South Medford girls soccer team won the SOC title for the first time since 1995. 1 �� SOU football. 1 �� Butte Falls coach Jack Brown and his fight with cancer. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.