september 26, 2013 Volume 50 // edition 1 eugene, oregon

L A N E ’ S I N D E P E N D E N T , S T U D E N T - R U N N E W S P A P E R

CAMPUS MAP | 4 & 5

see BOARD | 6

Pat Albright

SPORTS | 8

FALL CROSS-

COUNTRYPREVIEW

One hundred and sixty Eu-gene 4J high school students will begin attending classes on the Lane campus this fall with the relocation of Early College and Career Options.

ECCO has partnered with Lane’s High School Con-nections program, bringing with them a nurse, principal, teachers, counselors and child development center for teen parents.

“Power of the place,” High School Connections Director Deron Fort said. “If you put younger people in a college environment their maturity level tends to go up, their as-pirations tend to go up, their performance tends to go up.”

ECCO was created last year by consolidating parts of the

alternative high schools in Lane County. Unlike tradi-tional high schools, ECCO is designed to help students achieve their goal of earning a high school diploma while continuing on to earn a college education..

“We are showing students from day one where you can be after high school,” Fort explained, “The high school diploma is something they get along the way. They’re here to get a college education.”

ECCO office manager Valerie Falleur explained that new students go through a

12-week course during which they stay in the same group with the same two teachers. This trial course is intended to see if students are determined to complete their education and introduce them to the ECCO program. After the initial 12 weeks, students join the rest of ECCO and continue in classes that include writing, trade skills, geography, service learning and LCC prep, which will help students make a smooth transition to Lane.

Fort estimated that 15 students per term move on to Lane classes.

“These again are students that haven’t had success in a typical high school,” Fort said. “But these students have often done well or even better than a typical college student coming in through a regular system.”

ECCO student Samantha Gargett said that she loves the small atmosphere of her classes and finds it inspira-tional being on Lane’s campus. Gargett has been with ECCO for one year, and plans on attending Lane to get either a welding certificate or transfer degree.

MOHAMMED ALKHADHER// neWs editor

SLEEPS fights thecamping

ban

ALyssA LEsLiE // photo editor

The union representing Lane’s classified staff and the college reached an agreement on the rati-fication of their contract over the Summer.

However, faculty representatives of the Lane Community College Education Association remain in bargaining that will resume in the fall, despite the June 30 contract expiration.

Details of the contract were not available at press time.

“As meager as the advancements seem to be in contrast to our edu-cation friends in other areas, we’re not seeing advancement to the level that we’d expect that our em-

ployees should be getting,” Board of Education mem-ber Pat Albright said. “But due to our revenues and the money

situation, enrollments, and the fact that we’re still improving ad-vancements in salary and benefits relative to other people that I know and am very intimately acquainted with, this is kind of incredible.”

As of July, the Lane Community College Employee Federation had passed the 90-day mark for nego-tiations with Lane’s administra-tion and was mediation bound to find a resolution to the stand-still between the two parties.

If mediation had failed the next move would result in a strike vote, LCCEF President Bob Baldwin said.

“We’re happy the bargaining has con-cluded for our union with the successful ratifica-tion of the contract opener,” LCCEF Grievance Chair Denise Brinkman said. “It doesn’t mean we’re happy with how we got there.”

Brinkman was dissatisfied with the bargaining process — from the opening offers which she regarded as insulting to the required mediation in the end.

Above: Early College and Career Options students direct their at-tention to their computers in their new classroom in Building 10, Sept. 19. Right: Teacher Kristin Stone helps a student.

alyssa leslie // photo editor

Mary Spilde

see SLEEPS | 6

jOEL DEVyLDERE// a&e editor

Free Speech Plaza closing overruled

in court, but still enforced

Lois Brown, 16, has been living on and off the streets for just a few months.

“Before I left home, I literally knew nobody,” she said, noting the struggles of navigating street life alone. She feels she has found a safe place to stay in one of several campsites that have been dubbed by the local media as “Whovilles.”

Alternativehigh school students’ aspirations rise as they find a home on Lane campus

A SLEEPS participant sits in front of an encampment consisting of approximately a dozen tents on thecorner of 7th and Pearl St.

College settles contract with

classified union

missy Corr // editor-in-Chief

OPINION The Torch / 9.26.13Missy Corr

EDITOR2l a n e C o m m u n i t y C o l l e g e ’ si n d e p e n d e n t, s t u d e n t - r u n n e W s p a p e r

Lane’s campus will be hit by an 11 percent enrollment slide this Fall term, a far cry from the 2 percent decrease built into this year’s budget. That could add up to a $2.9 million deficit.

President Mary Spilde said, and the administration has set out to find a way to balance the budget.

“It isn’t where we were hop-ing it to be, but we are closing the gap,” Spilde said.

Tuition is at an all-time high according to The Institute of College Access and Success. Faculty is still in bargaining with administration on their contract that expired last June, Textbooks still aren’t afford-able.

While federal and state governments can be disillu-sioning in their inaccessibility, the administration is awaiting your input in Building 3, just yards from the cafeteria.

We have a student govern-ment in place in Building 1 to represent us as students, and groups all over campus to ac-commodate unification of our voices.

There are monthly board meetings open to the public that provide a public platform to be heard.

These are all forums to for students.

But are we paying atten-tion?

Spilde was tasked with finding a way to balance the budget over the Summer and returned to this September’s board meeting with a pro-posal.

Spilde has proposed to balance the budget by calling for a deferral of capital outlay expenditures, which means less spending on buildings and equipment.

Reductions of part-time classified employees, part-time faculty, vacancy savings, and materials and services spend-ing were also proposed.

“We took the principles that had been established in past years,” Spilde said. “And then some of the strategies we used to balance the budget.”

Board representative Pat

Albright attributed the budget shortfall to the state’s dis-investment in community colleges and the 43 percent enrollment increase Lane saw between 2008 and 2011.

“Our legislatures will take great pride in saying ‘We’ve given the biggest increase in public funds,’” Al-bright said. “That’s kind of a misno-mer because we’re still are not up to the same fund-ing level as when I came

onto the board six years ago.”Gov. John Kitzhaber will

convene the Oregon Legisla-ture September 30.

“You never know. There may be a plan there,” Spilde said. “In the proposals we’ve seen, it’s $15 million for com-munity college.”

Of the projected $15 mil-lion, Lane could expect to see $800,000 to $900,000 a year for the next biennium, Spilde said.

“We’re really focusing on veterans and the new ECCO program, that will increase

full-time equivalency,” Spilde said. “And for international students, we are up 51 percent in full-time equivalency.”

As for next year, “I think we’re going to have some tough conversations,” Spilde said. “With every financial de-cision we make, we have to be thoughtful about its ramifica-tions.”

Tuition is continuing to rise, no one is doing anything about the record-shattering student debt and textbooks still aren’t affordable.

We at The Torch attend the meetings held by the Board of Education, student govern-ment and campus clubs. It’s disheartening to see the rooms filled with the people we’ve chosen to represent us, run-ning the show without us.

ASLCC President Paul Zito and Vice President Anayeli Jimenez ran and were elected unopposed.

We question our lack of control but fail to acknowl-edge that we’ve given up control.

We need to take advan-tage of the platforms that are provided to us. Fill the board-rooms, swarm the student government’s meetings and join a club.

Take notice of how educa-tion is changing. Take advan-tage of these opportunities. Make yourselves heard.

TAKE BACK YOUR SCHOOL

stephanie orndorff // design editor

“ I think we’re going to have some tough conversations. With every financial decision we make, we have to be thoughtful about its ramifications. ”

Dr. Mary SpildeLane President

missy Corr // editor-in-Chief

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF//Missy Corr

PRODUCTION MANAGER//Char Houweling

NEWS EDITOR//Mohammed Alkhadher

A & E EDITOR//Joel Devyldere

SPORTS EDITOR//Jarrid Denney

REPORTERS// John Van MulligenKeoni Conlu

DESIGN EDITOR//Stephanie Orndorff

GRAPHIC ARTIST// Connor White

ADVISERS// NEWS & EDITORIAL// Paige Parker

PRODUCTION// Dorothy Wearne

POLICY// • Letters to the editor should be limited to 300 words. • Guest commentaries should be limited to 500 words. • Please include the author’s name. phonenumber and address (for verification purposes only).• The Torch reserves the right to edit letters and commentary for length, grammar, spelling, libel, invasion of privacy and appropriate language.• The Torch reserves the right to publish at its discretion. All web and print content is the property of the Torch and can-not be republished without editiorial permission.• Up to two copies per issue per person of The Torch are free; each additional copy is $2.

LCCTORCH.COM

CONTACT// The TorchLane Community College4000 E. 30th Ave.Eugene, OR 97405toRcheditor@lcctorch.eduTwitter: @llctorch

RESEARCHER//Crystal Kingery

PHOTO EDITOR// Alyssa Leslie

STAFF//

3EDITOR

The Torch / 9.26.13Mohammed Alkhadher

The Sustainable Food Com-mittee’s efforts to open Lane’s first food pantry have lost mo-mentum with attempts to secure a location falling short.

“We’ve gotten so much overwhelming support here on campus,” ASLCC coordinator and Sustainable Food Commit-tee chair Michael Weed said.

“The biggest problem has been trying to acquire space for it.”

To aid in the committee’s

efforts, a four-and-a-half-week survey campaign is planned for Fall term, which will designate what the ASLCC fights for in the coming year, with food in-security and food sovereignty being options.

“The more we get signed, the more it represents our student body,” Weed said. “It will give us more ability to spread aware-ness and find a space in order to make this food pantry available to the students.”

Once a location is found, Weed expects the pantry to be up and running within two weeks.

“Our number one goal and priority is just to get it off the ground this fall, make it hap-pen, make it work, and prove N to the administration and

everyone at Lane that this is something that can and should exist at Lane,” OSPIRG Orga-nizer Darlene Azarmi said.

While the committee con-tinues to iron out the kinks, students can do their part by filling out the surveys, as well as attending the Sustainable Food

Committee meetings. For meeting times and loca-

tion, information or to find out ways to help, contact Michael Weed at aslccsustainabilitycoor-dinator@gmail.com or Darlene Azarmi at darlene@ospirgstu-dents.org.

NEWS

jOHn VAn MuLLigEn // reporter

Campus food pantry continues its search for a new home

stephanie orndorff // design editor

Above and below:An elevator on the West side of Building 11 is set for completion in Novem-ber. It is part of a series of more than $1 million in changes Building 11 has seen this summer, including seismic retrofitting to increase stability in the event of an earthquake and upgrades to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning equipment.

Left: Facilities Project Manager Todd Smith said the Academic Learning Skills department relocation from the Center Building to the second floor of Building 11 is a step towards construction set to begin on the Center Building with the demolition of terraces in December.

Left:Instructors will control the data projection equipment from podiums made by Lane carpenter Steve Kayl.

Right:Data projector in one of seven

new “enhanced classrooms” added downstairs that are equipped with data projectors, projection screens

and control podiums.

REVIVED BY RENOVATIONSBUILDLING 11 Contribution by alyssa leslie // photo editormissy Corr // editor-in-Chief

N

WELCOME TO LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

CENTER

+ - - +

24-27

19

12

3

4

5

6

12

15

16

17

18

30

31

WELCOME TO LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE smokiNg sTaTioN

aTm

food

haNdiCapaCCEss

bus sTop

waTER REfill

bikE RaCk

ElEvaToR

S

CENTER. booksToRE/libRaRy/CafETERia

buildiNgs & dEpaRTmENTs

1. sTudENT sERviCEs2. iNfoRmaTioN TEChNology

3. admiNisTRaTioN4. hEalTh pRofEssioNs5. physiCal EduCaTioN

6. pERfoRmiNg aRTs7. FACILITIES/PRINTING & GRAPHICS

8. wEldiNg9. auTo/diEsEl

10. RTEC/aRT/ECCo11. aRT/Esl/gEd

12. maNufaCTuRiNg/auTo/CoNsTRuCTioN

13. aNNEXEs/publiC safETy15. ElECTRoNiCs/dRafTiNg

16. sCiENCE/maTh17. foRum/mEdia aRTs

18. dRafTiNg/gRaphiC dEsigN& hEalTh CliNiC

19. busiNEss/CiT/woRkfoRCE/Co-op Ed/Cml

24. family CoNNECTioNs/Child dEvElopmENT

25. iNfaNT/ToddlER CENTER26. pREsChool

30. hEalTh aNd wEllNEss31. loNghousE

aREas of iNTEREsT

+ - - +

dRafTiNg

liTERaTuRE

auTo/diEsEl

hEalTh

aRT

admiNisTRaTioN

CuliNaRy

ChEmisTRy

pERfoRmiNg aRTs

wEldiNg

sTudENT sERviCEs

gRaphiC dEsigN

aThlETiCs

ElECTRoNiCs

maThmaTiCs

78

9

10

11

12

13

EDITOR

Mohammed AlkhadherThe Torch / 9.26.13NEWS6

Missy Corr // Editor-in-ChiefA sign listing statistics related to homelessness posted by protesters during the downtown demonstration.

Missy Corr // Editor-in-ChiefApproximately a dozen protesters begin their hour-long “sleep-in” Sept. 13 at Kesey Square on Broadway and Willamette St., objecting to the treatment of those without houses in Eugene.

Missy Corr // Editor-in-ChiefJoshua ‘Jersey’ Tonkin said he sustained a wrist injury and a laceration on his face during a Sept. 12 interaction with the Eugene Police Department.

SLEEPS from p. 1

BOARD from p. 1“I’ve been on the bargaining team for

six years and I’ve never seen it this bad,” Brinkman said.

Brinkman, on behalf of the LCCEF, said they felt and continued to feel as if the administration chose the wrong year to have a fight this big.

“Our full-contract is up in 2015 and we believed that would’ve been a more appropriate time for the college to come out at us with both barrels,” Brinkman said.

Brinkman thanked the Board and the administration for the solidarity they created within Lane’s unions throughout this negotiation period, and the faculty union for their support throughout the contract reopener.

“We hope to pay them (faculty) back when they resume their negotiations in

the Fall term,” Brinkman said. Albright responded to Brinkman’s

statement by reminding her that the board makes proposals based on board directives.

“We’re responsible to the unions to make sure that we can provide them the fairest contract that we can afford to give them,” Albright said. “At the same time we have to make sure we don’t sell the college down the river.”

Lane’s administration will continue bargaining with the faculty union this fall, in hopes of ratifying the faculty’s contract with the administration for this academic year.

“These unions, you know, would like to get everything they can get,” Albright said. “Our responsibility as a board is fiscal management.”

The Safe Legally Entitled Enclosed Places to Sleep camps are intended to protest a ban on camping in Eu-gene. They sprung up in December, starting with one at the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza. The saga of recent weeks is a continuation of a year-long struggle between homelessness rights advocates and the city and county governments.

According to court documents long-time Eugene resident David Picionni was arrested in the plaza this January, along with 20 other free speech activists who stayed past the deadline after Lane County attempted to evict a previous protest camp last winter.

Last winter’s protest, also targeted at ending the city’s urban camping ban, was declared unlawful on Decem-ber 11th when Lane County closed the Plaza claiming health concerns.

Picionni and others remained, defying police warn-ings.

“I wasn’t going to sleep in the plaza, but I wanted to stay and get a ticket to defend our constitutional right,” he said.

After the arrests, attorney Mark Jordan of the Eu-gene-based Civil Liberty Defense Center went to court on behalf of several of the activists.

“The Oregon and U.S. constitution protect speech there after 11:00 p.m. unless they can point to very spe-cific and credible evidence why it’s unsafe to the public,” Jordan said.

In August Jordan argued for the dismissal of charges for 21 of the activists, including David Picionni.

The Eugene Municipal Court ruled August 15 that the nightly closure of the Plaza “significantly limited… rights to speech and assembly, regardless of the curfew’s intent.”

The Plaza, nestled between several county buildings and adjacent to the park blocks in downtown Eugene, is perhaps best known for its weekly drum circles during Saturday Market each Summer. After the August ruling it again became the site of a protest encampment and Lane County ordered it closed at night due to public health and safety concerns.

Lois, who at the time was living in a tent at the Plaza, remembers eviction night vividly. She says that the residents of the plaza had four hours to pack up and go. Members of the protest camp encouraged Lois to obey the police and leave, while others stayed to get arrested for maintaining their protest.

At the subsequent city council meetings an outraged group of activists and homeless people expressed out-rage on behalf of those arrested and displaced. Lois was among those to speak out.

“I went up there and said ‘Your behavior in dealing with the homeless situation has been unacceptable.’ And they just looked at me all wide-eyed,” she said.

Melinda McLaughlin, Public Relations Director for the Eugene Police Department, maintained that the plaza closings are not a political move on the part of EPD.

“Public protests in Eugene are part of constitution-ally protected free speech. And it takes place within the laws,” McLaughlin said.

“The city is continuing to enforce the existing camp-ing ordinance and other applicable laws,” McLaughlin said.

Meanwhile the city of Eugene has pursued the pos-sible opening of more homeless shelters and continued to support St. Vincent DePaul’s car camping program.

After the August closing “Whovilles” began pop-ping up all over town. The main camp at Pearl St. and Seventh Ave. served as a headquarters from which many different camps launched with varying success.

Across the street where activists padlocked them-selves in their tents on the patio of the Lane County Service Building, they say they awoke to find ‘No Camp-ing’ signs around their encampment. On Sept. 12 camp-ers said they saw the protesters engaged in a struggle with what turned out to be undercover police officers. Multiple people were injured, including SLEEPS police liaison Angela Bartow. She said she was injured in jail after being arrested for videotaping and arguing with police during the arrests at the Service Building.

Just hours after her release Bartow had a gash on her face and held her arm in a sling.

“Having fibromyalgia, I was in a lot of pain,” Bartow said.

She felt that the attending officer didn’t believe that she had a serious medical condition. When she com-plained of pain, she says, the officer “wrenched my left arm up the center of my back, and had my hand directly behind my neck, and bashed my face into the wall.”

On Sept. 13 people joined SLEEPS to march down to a public “sleep in” protest at Eugene’s Kesey Square. Protesters rolled out sleeping bags and laid down in the square to demonstrate the desperation of their plight. In Eugene sleeping under a blanket is considered camping and violates city code.

Whoville resident Morlan Quintero has lived in one of the new camps for a couple of weeks. A long-time traveler and homelessness advocate, Quintero identifies with the police that stop by from time to time.

“I was a marine and a good portion of my unit were ex law-enforcement officers. I have compassion for them. They deal with people who are mentally ill all day long,” Quintero said.

According to Quintero, mental illness and addic-tion can cause a lot of problems in the Whoville camps. Quintero remained hopeful.

“We wanted to have a safe, legally entitled place to sleep. You can’t be drinking, you can’t be using,” Quin-tero said. “Yeah, there’s a bunch of tweakers… but you’re going to get that anywhere. We’ve been trying to get the tweakers out.”

Lane Board Member Matt Keating announced at the September 17 Board meeting that 96 percent of Titan Court is leased for the Fall term, and 70 percent of its occupants are Lane students.

The June 5 Torch reported Titan Court only leased 61 percent of its capacity, and had 20 percent pre-leased for this Fall term.

“We had a lot of help from different depart-ments from within Lane,” Titan Court General Man-ager Makenzie Sargeant said. “We did some master leases over the Summer with Lane and the U of O.”

Titan Court wasn’t available for viewing during the leasing season last year, said Sargeant. A model and ameni-ties helped the leasing process.

”Last year they didn’t start leasing until later because the building wasn’t here,” Sargeant said in June. “But this year I think we have the advantage because we started earlier.”

Lane’s International and Athletic departments were specifically thanked for their referrals. Thirty-Five percent of Titan Court is occupied by In-ternational students, Sargeant said.

“The Downtown campus was a huge undertaking, not without its risks,” said Board Chair Rosie Pryor in an email to the Torch. “It is great to see that willingness to take on a big challenge be rewarded with such a positive response.”

As part of its contract with Lane, the management firm Campus Advantage must strive to maintain a 95 per-cent occupancy rate, which they’ve proven they have been able to accomplish.

“We’re really excited to be starting the year full,” Sargeant said.

— Muhammed Alkhadher

Titan Court apartment leases at 96 percent

missy Corr // editor-in-Chief

missy Corr // editor-in-Chief

missy Corr // editor-in-Chief

EDITOR

The Torch / 9.26.13Joel Devyldere A&E 7

jOEL DEVyLDERE//a&e editor

Gallery OpeningsLane Arts Faculty Exhibit

“SKETCHBOOK, the Process of Creating” is the Lane Art Gallery’s annual fall exhibit.

The exhibition will include media from instructors from the Art and Applied Design faculty.

According to the press re-lease, faculty has been asked to share work that exemplifies their art careers along with pages from their sketchbooks and journals to show the creative process behind the artwork on display. A recep-tion will be held Thursday, Oct. 3 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m.

When: Sept. 30 - Oct. 17Location: Lane Art Gallery, Building 11Cost: FreeMore Info: http://www.lanecc.edu/artgallery

PowwowThe Lane Community Col-

lege Native American Student Association invites the public to its annual Powwow. All drums and dancers welcome. No alcohol or drugs.

When: Dec. 1, 1-7 p.m.Location: Gymnasium, Building 5Cost: $8 general admission; $5 for students, seniors, and Lane staff. Season tickets available. More Info: (541) 463-5238

Plays and AuditionsAuditions for “In the Next Room”

Auditions for the Student Production Association’s pro-duction of “In the Next Room,” a risqué romantic comedy set in the Victorian era at the dawn of household electricity.

When: Oct. 2 and 3, 5:30 p.m.Location: Blue Door Theater, Building 6

Production of“In the Next Room”

“In The Next Room or The Vibrator Play,” is a critically ac-claimed play by Sarah Ruhl. Its Eugene premiere will be direct-ed by New York-based Willow Norton, returning to her native Eugene.

When: Nov. 13-16 and 20-23 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 17 at 2:00 p.m.Location: Blue Door Theatre, Building 6Cost: $8 general admission; $5 for students, seniors, and Lane staff. Season tickets available.More Info: (541) 463-520

Shakespeare ShowcaseA collection of Shakespear-

ean scenes and monologues performed by students, return-ing students and guest artists.

When: Dec. 7, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.Location: Blue Door Theatre (Building 6, Room 103)Cost: Free (Donations accepted)More Info: (541) 463-5202

3

47

8

1

423

7

78

82

57

6

9

6

7

6

91

25

58

9

145

3

2

67

1Puzzle by websudoku.com

92

36

47

8

12

91

42

1

29

48

6

67

24

23

4

26

63

15

Puzzle by websudoku.com

Sudoku

ANSWERS can be found on The Torch’s Facebook // facebook.com/lanetorch

Lane Calendar

J.S. Bird’s “Trinity-Psyche and Pan” will be featured in the Lane Arts Gallery’s “SKETCH BOOK” exhibit in Building 11, starting on Sept. 30. Bird is a fine art instructor with Lane’s Department of Art and Applied Design.

EDITOR

The Torch / 9.26.13Jarrid DenneySPORTS8

After going through a rebuild-ing year in 2012, this year’s Lane women’s cross country team looks to return to winning form and contend for a regional championship.

Last year’s team, which finished last in the NWAACC South Region, was short on natural cross country runners and was made up of mostly sprinters and middle-distance runners who were trying to stay in shape for track season.

This year, Head Coach Mike Blackmore has brought in a mix of local prep stars and talented trans-fers from other schools.

“Our number one girl from last year is actually our number three on this year’s team,” Blackmore said. “The women’s team is in really good standing right now compared to where they were last year.”

Macaulay Wilson is Lane’s only returning runner from last season. She finished 8th at the NWAACC South Region Championship and was consistently the Titans’ number one runner.

“This season has been completely different, especially on the girls team, because the girls that were recruited to run are actual distance runners, unlike last year,” Wilson

said. “I feel a lot stronger than I did last year and more confident being able to run side by side with my teammates.”

The Titans will lead with a talented freshman who has already proven that she has what it takes to bring home an individual title in a championship race.

“Our top runner is Katy Potter from Siuslaw, another state champi-on that we’re happy to have,” Black-more said. “She was second last week in our first meet — about 19 seconds behind last year’s NWAACC champion — and she’s only going to improve.”

Potter is the 2012 4A Cross Coun-try state champion and finished the Titans’ first 5k in 19:29 — a half ahead of any other runner from the NWAACC Southern Region.

Blackmore said he will also de-pend heavily on freshman Kristine Dunn, a high school sprint cham-pion from Cottage Grove, who is making her cross country debut for the Titans.

“She’s kind of our hidden gem. She’s a 400- and 800-meter run-ner and a soccer player and she was our fifth woman in our first meet, really not knowing how to run a cross country race,” Blackmore said. “Now that she’s got a race under her belt, and is starting to understand

the whole cross country training process. I think we’ll see good things from her going forward.”

Chelsea Spencer and Allie Cross are new additions who could both make a huge impact for Titans if they are able to run to their full potential.

“Chelsea was second in the 4A cross country meet twice a couple of years ago. She transferred in from Air Force Academy. She’s maybe a little behind in her aerobic fitness, but I think she’ll come on when she needs to,” Blackmore said.

He said Allie ran an 18:35 5k as a junior, but last year she had some injuries that probably inhibited her from having a really good track season.

“She had a tough senior year and hardly ran at all during track season, but right now she’s our second girl and she’s been great,” he said.

It is very rare for a team to make the jump from last to first place in a single season in any sport. However, Blackmore believes this year’s Titan team has a chance to do just that.

“With all the talent in the confer-ence it could be tough to crack into the top,” Blackmore said. “But if this group continues to grow like they have over the last couple of months, I think there is certainly a chance of winning a trophy.”

Men’s cross country reloaded with local talent

Led by NWAACC champion Elias Gedyon, last year’s mens cross country team dominated the Southern Region on the way to placing second at the NWAACC championships, their best fin-ish since 2006.

The only returning runner from last year’s group is sophomore Javier Velasco, who finished seventh at the Southern Region Championships, but spent the entire summer recovering from a calf injury and may not be able to compete until late in the season.

“We’re hoping to get Javi back. He’s been doing a lot of pool and bike time right now; so he may be doing that for the next month before we’re ready to race him. We’re hoping to work him in but if not we can also redshirt him,” said Mike Blackmore, head coach.

To top last year’s success, the Titans must rely on an entirely different group of athletes and a much more team-ori-ented strategy.

“We don’t have a superstar like Elias this year,” Blackmore said. “But I think we honestly have four guys who are better than our number two guy from last year, so we’re really solid up front.”

The Titans are lead by a talented group of freshmen who have dominated the Oregon high school track and cross country scene for the past several sea-sons.

“What’s different from last year is that we have four guys that on any given day, whoever is on, could be the first guy across the finish line,” Blackmore said. “When you have four guys who are all running within ten seconds of each other, some good things can happen that

way.”Eduardo Juarez of Hermiston ran the

fourth fastest high school 5k time in the state of Oregon in 2012 and was the Titans top finisher in their first meet of the season. He and Velasco were both part of Hermiston’s 2010 5A cross country champion team.

Matthew Campbell and Hayden Schaffner were both members of Sius-law’s back-to-back state champion cross country teams in 2011 and 2012. Both were also individual champions at the 4A level. Campbell took home the 2012 cross country title and Schaffner was the 800 meter champion during the 2011 track season.

Twin brothers Jonathan Cornish and David Cornish of North Valley High

School finished third and fourth respec-tively in the 2012 4A cross country cham-pionship and led their team to a second place overall finish.

“I think that one of the big keys to our potential success is that all of these guys have been on the podium at the state meet, including some state champions,” Blackmore said. “We’re focusing on this whole team thing and not just individual titles. If that happens that’s great, but our overall goal is to win a team champi-onship.”

Despite Blackmore’s team first ap-proach, there has been some friendly competition during the Titan workouts thus far.

“Everyone has a different set of skills, as we were all trained differently at the

high school level,” says Campbell. “It has been competitive these first couple of weeks, as we all test to see what each of our strengths are.”

Having so much talent in one group is certainly a luxury, but Blackmore is aware that it can also become problem-atic throughout the season.

“I think the biggest challenge, espe-cially on the guy’s side, is that there’s a lot of talent up front and it’s easy to get carried away in practice and start trying to compete and race with one another and turn your season into a mess at the end,” explained Blackmore.

“I think if we come together as a group, as opposed to working against each other, we’ve got a chance to do some really good things this season.”

Women’s cross country looks to go from worst to first

jARRiD DEnnEy // sports editor

jARRiD DEnnEy// sports editor

Missy Corr // Editor-in-ChiefRunning for Lane, Eduardo Juarez (left), Jonathan Cornish (right) and David Cornish (behind) of the men’s cross country team compete on the home course in the Northwest Classic on Sept. 20. Jonathan Cornish was the Titans’ top finisher with a time of 20:42.

Torch file photo 2012Macaulay Wilson is the Titans’ top returning runner from last year. She finished third in the Titans’ first meet of the season in Battleground, WA. Wilson covered the course with a time of 21:18