THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510250110
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 89 lines
IT WAS QUICKLY NEARING time to start the track meet at Great Neck Middle School and Tiffany Palmer had a slight problem - her track shoes were down the road at Lynnhaven Middle School.
The meet was scheduled to start in mere minutes with her first event - the 100-yard dash.
``I don't have my starting blocks, either,'' she said, clearly worried as she walked toward the starting line.
The starter's gun fired and Palmer's troubles quickly ended - 12.08 seconds later - as she crossed the finish line. The 13-year-old won pulling away from the field, just as she had in every race this year.
``I got a bad start,'' Palmer said, speaking matter-of-factly but not complaining.
The eighth-grader was ranked first in the city in four events going into the final dual meet of the season last week. Besides the 100, Palmer also had posted top times in the 200 and had anchored Lynnhaven's 4-by-100 relay team. Her 14-feet-8 1/4 long jump also led the girls' middle school field.
Palmer starred for coach Paula Hirst's undefeated Lynnhaven Middle School Blues girls track team. The Blues finished the dual meet season at 5-0, atop the city's Northern Division. The Kempsville Middle School girls also finished the season at 5-0, first among Southern Division girls. The two will meet today at Tallwood High School in the citywide middle school championship.
``Look at these times,'' said an enthusiastic Hirst. ``Tiffany's first in everything, but our other girls are real good, too.''
Hirst mentioned Joanna Rodriguez, her No. 2 sprinter, and Kim Sawyer, a seventh-grader who runs the 400-meter and the medley relay, as vital to the team's success.
``You can't produce the lopsided wins Lynnhaven has enjoyed without depth,'' said Hirst.
She comes by her talent naturally. Her mother, Cynthia Sylvester, ran track at Williamsburg's Lafayette High School in the late 1970s.
``I ran the 880 and had the second-best time in school history then,'' said Sylvester. ``But Tiffany is awesome, very competitive.
``Mom gets more excited now than Tiffany does. I ran along beside her one race and she asked me not to do that anymore.''
To her natural talent, Palmer has added hard work.
``She had speed, of course,'' said assistant coach John Wise, a former sprinter at Tampa University himself. ``I knew we could build on that, teach her techniques. She can be as good as she wants to be.''
After running the final leg of the winning relay and defying gravity in the long jump, Palmer stepped up to the starting line for the 220. After some difficulty with the start, the runners took off - except for Palmer. She left the inside lane in a confused jog. Despite her late start, Palmer still closed the gap and finished second to Rachel Taylor of Great Neck.
Disappointment clouded her face. She had come to the meet unbeaten and wanted to stay that way.
Palmer said that she didn't hear the starter's whistle and had trouble with the track. Great Neck Middle occupies the site of the old Cox High School. The track was built before the metric system was introduced. It is a 440-yard oval, not the 400 meters of many city tracks. The times for the distances run on the Great Neck track are fed into a computer and converted to metric.
Debate among coaches and officials led to a second 220. Palmer had sat quietly on the football field awaiting word. She removed her warmups and headed for the starting line when the matter was settled.
The race featured Palmer and Rachel Taylor head up. Palmer got off to her usual start.
``I don't begin full speed,'' she said. ``I go about 75 percent and then kick on the straightaway and the straightaway is longer at our school.''
She won the second time around.
``I feel tired,'' she said, expressing relief that she was given a chance to avenge her only loss of the dual-meet season. ILLUSTRATION: MIDDLE SCHOOLS TRACK
Staff photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Tiffany Palmer, 13, of Lynnhaven Middle School, competes in the
200-meter dash at Great Neck Middle School. She is ranked first in
four events in the city.
CITY MEET
When: Today at 4 p.m.
Where: Tallwood High
Tickets: $2.50 for adults, $1.50 for students
FINAL STANDINGS
[For a copy of the chart, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB