Breaking barriers.

Byline: CURTIS ANDERSON The Register-Guard

TO A CROSS COUNTRY COACH, there's nothing better than breaking barriers.

Not only does it provide an athlete with motivation to train harder and run faster in important races, but it makes those events in which goals are finally reached even more special.

The 2002 state high school championships at Lane Community College on Saturday are a prime example. The six 5,000-meter races begin at noon.

On the girls' side, the ultimate time barrier is 18 minutes.

Jesuit's Melissa Lucas is the only runner to ever break 18:00 at the state meet when she clocked 17:34.9 in 1993, the first year that high school girls in Oregon made the switch from 3,000 to 5,000 meters.

The next two fastest times in the history of the state meet also came in that race when Lincoln's Marie Davis and Bend's Kortney Dunscombe finished in a dead heat for second at 18:14.3.

Enter Erin Gray.

The South Eugene sophomore set a course record of 18:14 in winning the Midwestern League district meet at LCC on Thursday, and now she's focused on breaking 18:00 at state. Of course, she also wants to bring home an individual title.

`Winning the race and breaking 18 minutes are both important,' Gray said. `But if I win and I'm not under 18, I can live with that.'

So can the South Eugene coaching staff.

In fact, Axemen co-coach John Gillespie was actually relieved that Gray didn't dip under 18 minutes at district, which might have taken something away from the state meet.

`I was afraid Erin might break 18 at district, which would have made state not as special,' he said. `She's close enough to 18 that it's a great goal to go after ... running anywhere near that will guarantee her a good outcome.'

Gray won't be alone in her pursuit.

Ten of the top 12 finishers from last year's race return, including defending state champion Christy Paul of Hood River Valley, whose winning time of 18:27 is the fourth-fastest in meet history. Also back are Tualatin's Meghan Armstrong (second, 18:48), Mountain View's Emily McMahan (third, 18:50) and Gray (fourth, 18:51).

Gray exudes confidence this season. And why not? She has already beaten Paul twice this year, at the Northwest Classic at LCC on Sept. 28 and the Summit Invitational in Bend on Oct. 12.

What's changed?

`I'm more tenacious and more aggressive,' Gray said. `Last year I was a newcomer to all the meets, especially state. There's a first time for everything, and I was young and naive about everything going on.'

Eighteen minutes is the goal for Gray and other front-runners, but another group will take aim at 19 minutes.

Beginning with the 1993 state meet, the 19-minute barrier has been broken on 22 occasions by 18 different runners. Those doing it twice were Klamath Union's Liz Lindgren, Ashland's Paris Edwards, Bend's Abby McAllister and Ashland's Sarah Brandy.

Two of Gray's teammates at South Eugene are in the sub-19 club.

Junior Sarah Pearson (18:56) and senior Grace Shapland (18:58) each broke 19 minutes for the first time at last week's district meet, and if they can duplicate those efforts Saturday, the Axemen could have three runners in the top 10.

`There's no reason to pretend those three are not capable of placing in the top 10,' South Eugene co-coach Jeff Hess said. `And that gives us a great advantage.'

Pearson already has a top-10 state finish under her belt after finishing seventh last year in a time of 19:15. She wasn't surprised by her breakthrough at district.

`I was expecting to go under 19 minutes because I knew what I had done in workouts,' Pearson said. `I knew I would run fast and be by myself for the majority of the time, so I tried to stay relaxed, watch my pace and remember to enjoy myself. ... I love to race, that's why I started running.'

For the last mile at the district meet, Pearson had company as she was joined by Shapland, who crushed her district mark last year (20:10) by more than a minute in what she admits was a huge surprise.

`I was trying to run under 19:30 at district, and when I saw my time it was like, `Wow, how did this happen?' ' Shapland said. `I've been working harder this year with lots of weight training and it has improved my form and helped my running. My workouts are going better than in the past.'

With senior Liisa Heinonen as the team's No. 4 runner, and three others all within 10 seconds of each other - including sophomore Laura Moshofsky, junior Sarah Albi and senior Julia Holtzman - the Axemen could score fewer points than last year's state championship squad.

But that won't automatically translate into a trophy at the state meet.

`Last year we won with 130 points, but in some years that wouldn't get you fifth place,' Hess said. `Historically, the state meet is not a place for breakthroughs, it's a place where you have to maintain your composure and do what you've done well before.'

Although time is usually secondary to winning at the state meet, the magic number in this year's Class 4A boys race is 15 minutes.

That's a phenomenal goal when one considers that last year's winning time of 15:29, set by the Klamath Union duo of Lauren Jesperson and Jacob Gomez, is listed by Who's Who as the fastest time in state history.

The record is in dispute, however, because South Eugene's Bill McChesney won the 1976 state meet in a time of 14:51.3, two years before the Axemen's Jeff Hess clocked 14:33.6 over the same course.

Hess, however, said the course was short by 185 meters when he won the title. He knows because he forced his coach, John Gillespie, to measure it the day after the state meet.

Nobody can be as certain about McChesney's time, but it is known that no other Oregon prep has ever broken 15 minutes at the state meet.

And now, according to Alberto Salazar, the former Oregon great who coaches cross country at Central Catholic, that number could be under assault.

`The winning time could be close to 15 minutes this year,' Salazar said. `I think this year's group of athletes is as good as any we've ever had in Oregon, going back to the Bill McChesney era.'

At the head of the class is Jesperson, the defending champion who is unbeaten this season, including a 14:54 effort to win the Stanford Invitational. Grant seniors Alec Wall and Joaquin Chapa placed third and fifth, respectively, in that race with times of 15:02 and 15:11.

Lincoln senior Mike McGrath is the best kicker is the bunch, and he placed third at the PIL district meet behind Wall and Chapa with a time of 15:25.

However, Jesperson's main challenge will probably come from Central Catholic junior Galen Rupp, who is also unbeaten this year, and easily won the Mount Hood district title with a 15:15 clocking. His 5,000 PR on the track is 14:34.

Jesperson is headed to Stanford, and Wall and McGrath have committed to Oregon. Chapa is still undecided between those two schools.

`This is as deep a field as I've ever seen,' Klamath Union coach Rob Coffman said. `I've been telling people it's going to be a great race, one to be remembered.'

CAPTION(S):

Several top contenders will join the charge in the highly anticipated 4A boys' race at Lane Community College.