CROSS-COUNTRY COACH AT CANYON HIGH TURNS UP STARS.Byline: Bryan Winchell Daily News Staff Writer It isn't unusual to see Canyon High cross-country coach Dave DeLong hanging around junior high track events. Sometimes he just watches, enjoying a day outdoors. Other times, he turns up gold. Like two years ago, when he filled in as a timer timer, n radiographic timing device that functions as an automatic exposure timer and a switch to control the current to the high-tension transformer and filament transformer. The face of the timer is calibrated in seconds and fractions of seconds. and saw Lauren Fleshman, then an eight-grader who had never run the mile before. ``She said `How many laps is that?' '' DeLong said. She then posted an amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. time of 5:51. DeLong had struck gold. ``That's an outstanding time for a girl who's never run before,'' DeLong said. ``I said to her, you ought to consider cross country.'' She did, and she was one of the top runners on a Canyon team that won the Division I state meet last year by 43 points, the largest margin ever. ``We had the dream season,'' DeLong said. ``What made it such a spectacular season was the fact that we really didn't expect it at the beginning of the year.'' Now after winning the state title, the Canyon team has high expectations for this season. ``This year is more challenging because people are expecting a lot,'' DeLong said. ``Our goal is to make the (Southern Section) meet and do as well as we can and go back to the state meet. I don't believe in saying we're going to win, because there's a lot of things out of your control. I will tell you this: We'll be ready, we'll show up, and we'll do the best we can.'' Fleshman joins senior Julie Harris Julie Harris (born December 2, 1925) is a distinguished American stage, screen, and television actress. She has won five Tony Awards and three Emmy Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award. She is a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame. , another runner whom DeLong discovered at a junior high race, among the top returning runners in the nation. Harris, a first-team all-state selection who ran a 10:46 in the two-mile race, was in the top 15 in the nation last year, and Fleshman was a first-team all-Southern Section selection who ran a 10:58 in the two-mile race. ``They will be one of the best 1-2 punches in the nation, and one of the better one's this state has ever seen,'' DeLong said. While Fleshman and Harris were found at the track, junior Cassie Hencey, sophomore Jasmine jasmine (jăs`mĭn, jăz–) or jessamine (jĕs`əmĭn), any plant of the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae (olive family). Cetrone and freshman Erin White Erin White (born October 27, 1977 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian softball first baseman. She is a graduate of Iowa State University. She was a part of the Canadian Softball team who finished 5th at the 2004 Summer Olympics. all came from the soccer field. Seniors Jean Drumond and Angelica angelica (ănjĕl`ĭkə), any species of the genus Angelica, plants of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), native to the Northern Hemisphere and New Zealand, valued for their potency as a medicament and protection against Hauto were two of nine runners who contributed to the team's playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. run last year. DeLong feels that while this season's team has work to be done to get to the level of last year's squad, strong team camaraderie ca·ma·ra·der·ie n. Goodwill and lighthearted rapport between or among friends; comradeship. [French, from camarade, comrade, from Old French, roommate; see comrade. and work ethic work ethic n. A set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. work ethic Noun a belief in the moral value of work could make that happen. ``They're all friends,'' DeLong said. ``They are a bunch of kids with character. By character, I mean kids who know what's right and they do it.'' On the boys' side, the team is attempting to improve upon fourth-place finishes the last two seasons. While the Foothill League has been traditionally strong, DeLong thinks this year's league isn't as talented. ``Over the last few years, four of our five teams (in the league) have been ranked,'' DeLong said. ``I'd be surprised if anyone was ranked this year.'' Senior J.R. Ponce, who was second in the league last year, and sophomore David Arillano, who won a freshman-sophomore two-mile run in his first track season last year, should lead the way for Canyon. |
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