THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 7, 1994 TAG: 9407070661
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
With an eight-pound steel shot, Ryan Morrow is breaking down walls.
In the spring, Morrow became the first disabled athlete in area history to letter on his varsity track team. On Wednesday, Morrow and his father, Jim, piled into the family car to drive to Oklahoma City, where Ryan will throw the shot, discus and javelin, and compete in weightlifting at the National Wheelchair Athletic Association Junior meet, which begins Sunday and ends July 17.
Morrow, 17, could place in all four events in Oklahoma City. He won three titles at the mid-Atlantic regional meet in May in Fisherville, Va., and has been training religiously since.
At Cox varsity meets, Morrow wasn't looking to score points - he was looking to make one. Born with spina bifida, a congenital spinal defect, Morrow has limited use of his legs and gets around with the aid of metal crutches.
His message to younger kids: Don't let your disabilities stop you.
``What I'm trying to do,'' Morrow said, ``is show kids that they can letter on their high school track team.''
Morrow did just that, and thanks in part to his example, other disabled athletes in Virginia Beach soon should be able to earn varsity letters as well.
A district committee, headed by Green Run High principal Donald Stowers, has endorsed the concept of varsity track for wheelchair athletes. All that remains to be done, Stowers said, is work out the details.
``The spirit is there from all of us to provide activities for these students,'' Stowers said. ``We're hoping to have everything worked out by August.''
Virginia Beach would be the first local city to open up track and field to disabled students. The idea got its start in conversations between Jim Morrow and Sharon Nicholson, an adaptive physical education specialist with the school system.
Nicholson said she'd heard of similar programs in other states, including New Jersey, which has opened its state meet to wheelchair athletes.
She contacted Lee Russo, president of the Virginia Beach Sun Wheelers, which fields a junior track team.
``It's happening in a lot of other places in the country,'' Russo said, ``so a lot of us said, `Why not here?' ''
The Sun Wheelers have 10 athletes on their junior team - which travels to regional and national wheelchair meets - and six of them will be either in high school or middle school next year, Russo said.
With school-based sports, it's possible the number of competitors could grow, Russo said.
``Once it's in the schools, it's much more accessible,'' Russo said. ``Right now, there's so many kids in the area who are athletic and in chairs that aren't competing, because of the time and cost that's involved.''
The Sun Wheelers raise money to send their junior athletes to state and regional meets, where they can attempt to meet qualifying standards for national competition. By competing at their schools, athletes could meet those standards without the travel expense, Russo said.
And while there might never be enough wheelchair athletes to score their competition at the district level, Russo and Nicholson say they're hoping times and distances could be sent to a computer bulletin board, so athletes could see instantly how they stack up against others across the nation.
Morrow's national standing is already well-established.
He's been competing in wheelchair events for three years, and if he does well enough in Oklahoma, he could land a spot on the U.S. Junior team.
Morrow first tried racing, but his legs were too big to fit in racing wheelchairs. He began lifting weights, and drifted into throwing events.
Using a specially designed chair that gives him a steady throwing base, Morrow has put the shot over 19 feet, thrown the discus over 68 feet and the javelin 45 feet.
At 131 pounds, he has bench pressed 185 pounds, and that's with his legs flat in front of him on the bench. He's hoping to bench 200 pounds in Oklahoma.
At Cox meets, Morrow took his throws first, and spent a lot of time answering questions about his chair, and his technique, from competitors.
``It took a lot of guts,'' Jim Morrow said. ``We told him he was going to be a guinea pig. But we've got some kids in elementary and middle school who are going to be doing the same thing. Now they see it can be done.''
Said Cox coach Tim Webb: ``The first thing anyone is going to see about Ryan is that he's different. I think the thing that impresses people most is how little that difference means.
``Ryan wasn't looking for any special treatment. He went through every workout we did. When his teammates saw a guy like Ryan go out there, I think they appreciated it for the kind of effort it was.''
A trail-blazing effort. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
``What I'm trying to do,'' says Ryan Morrow, who will compete in
four events in Oklahoma, ``is show kids that they can letter on
their . . . track team.''
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
Ryan Morrow heads toward the shot put area after competing in the
discus throw at Cox High.
by CNB