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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 4, 2004 Crater gears up for run at state meet By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune Crater enjoyed its finest showing at the state cross country championships last year, but you wouldn’t have known it by the somber return bus trip. The Comets placed sixth, two spots shy of earning a trophy. "It wasn’t a fun ride home," says coach Justin Loftus. "Maybe we did the best we could have done, but where our ceiling was, we wanted a lot more. (The state meet) has been pinpointed on our calendar for a year." Crater, with almost the exact team as last year — the one runner missing is replaced this year by his brother — is taking dead aim at a trophy Saturday at Lane Community College in Eugene. The state meet brings together all classifications on the same 5,000-meter course and begins at noon with the Class 2A/1A girls. Advertisement Ashland will send a couple of top boy runners as part of its full team, and Crater’s Kendel Nelson is among the favorites in the girls race. She’ll be joined by her Comet teammates as well. The Crater boys are ranked third and have been competitive against the state’s top half-dozen teams, with the exception of No. 1 Jesuit. But Loftus isn’t ruling out giving the Crusaders a run. When the two went head-to-head in the Jim Danner Invitational Oct. 16, Jesuit scored 91 points, placing second, and Crater scored 172, coming in fifth. "They had their best race and beat us by quite a bit," says Loftus. "But when you step on the line at state, anything is possible." The Comets’ top three runners have performed steadily all season. Junior Isaac Stoutenburgh leads the way, having won the Southern Oregon Conference title in impressive fashion Saturday and owning one of the state’s top times. He ran 15 minutes, 20.84 seconds at district but went seven seconds under that at the Danner meet. Crater’s Geoff Donaldson, a senior, and sophomore Jake Keyser were fourth and fifth at district, respectively, with sub-16-minute times. The Comets’ top three stack up with any other team’s, says Loftus. The key will be how his fourth and fifth runners come in, and any of four runners could fill those two spots. Greg Dallaire and Brandon Reavis were eighth and ninth at district for Crater. Caleb Jacobson, whose brother Sam ran for Crater last year, followed in 12th, and Levi Jackson was 16th. "The top three guys have no fear," says Loftus. "In big races, they’ve really put their necks out and tried to hang on or win, and it’s paid off." Stoutenburgh "is excited," says Loftus, and Donaldson and Keyser have both told their coach they still have their best races left. "That’s what I like to hear," says Loftus. Crater has beaten all the top teams except second-ranked Hermiston, but Hermiston has lost to defending champ Central Catholic and South Eugene, teams the Comets have beaten. Lincoln, ranked fourth, is also in the mix. Ashland is ranked seventh and is led by SOC runner-up David Morgan and third-place Andy Wright. The Grizzlies were fifth at state a year ago, with Wright placing seventh and Morgan ninth. In the girls meet, Nelson is the top returner from last year’s state meet and has run the two fastest races of her career in the past month. The senior, who was fourth at state a year ago, won the SOC title by nearly 50 seconds, clocking 18:31.66. Kimber Mattox of Bend, a sophomore who didn’t run state last season because of a conflict with her other sport, soccer, is the girl to beat. She posted an astonishing time of 17:59 at the Puma Classic in Bend on Oct. 9. It was over the same course but in a different division than Nelson, who was timed in a personal-best 18:30.95. Nelson was ninth overall at the Puma and the sixth Oregon runner in her division, which included Anni Chapa of Central Catholic, who ran 18:09.70. Most of the Oregon runners Nelson finished behind in Bend were ones she defeated at state last year. Loftus, recalling the 2003 state meet, says Nelson wasn’t regarded as a top-20 candidate in some circles. "She’s got the experience and training, and she’s ready," he says. "She always comes out for the big races. She’s ready to go, just like she was last week." Nelson surprised even her coach with her dominant performance at district. "It wasn’t set that she was going to win," he says, "and she made sure if somebody else was going to contest it, they were going to have to push it. You could see it in her face that she wanted it. "I’ve seen that many times, and I know I’ll see it this week." Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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