THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702160270
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BRIAN J. FRENCH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 47 lines
The Kempsville boys swimming squad, down by one point to Cox with four events left in the Eastern Region meet, picked up a win and three second-place finishes to successfully defend their region crown and advance to the first ever VHSL-sanctioned state championships.
Though the Chiefs only won twice in the final heats (John McLaren in the 50 and 200 relay team), Kempsville pieced together enough top-four finishes to outscore Cox 304-274, which was leading much of the day.
``These boys are fast swimmers,'' said a soaked Kempsville coach Ernie Rille after his kids threw him into the pool. ``They're really dedicated to their sport. They swam hard and did what they had to do to win, and I'm really proud of them.''
The Chiefs won despite the absence of Mark Jiusto, who won the 400 and medley relay during last week's Beach District meet. Jiusto was attending a family funeral.
The Peninsula District provided the next three team, finishers, with Lafayette, Menchville and Kecoughtan placing third, fourth and fifth.
Great Bridge, with no affiliation as the Southeastern District does not offer swimming as a varsity sport, finished sixth.
The race of the day: the 200-free relay. The top six - led by Kempsville - finished within three seconds of each other. The top three teams broke Lafayette's region record from last year's meet.
Cox was paced by Conrad Mapp, who broke the region record for the 100 breast event, swam on the Falcons' record-breaking 400 free and 200 medley relays and finished second in the 200 individual medley.
Teammate Matthew Morrisette broke his own 100 butterfly record.
In the girls' meet, Lafayette pulled away from Cox, defeating the Falcons 339-266 to defend their crown.
Salem placed third with 244 points, with Menchville and Tallwood rounding out the top five.
Six region records fell in the girls finals. Shannon Turnip of Salem shattered the 200 freeestyle record by nearly four seconds. Melissa Kosinski set a new region record in the 100 breaststroke for Indian River, the school's first regional record. And Salem's 400 free relay team swamped the field by eight seconds, sinking the region record by almost seven seconds. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MIKE HEFFNER
Cox's John Herzke grinds it out in the 500-meter freestyle of the
Eastern Region meet. He finished second, like his team.