Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 29, 1990 TAG: 9004290148
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Fleming boys stretched their streak of championships to 18 meets despite missing one of their standouts, Mike Wheatley, who was out with an injury.
Hawthorne dominated the distance events with two of the more scintillating races of the meet.
First, he outkicked Patrick Henry's Mike Glowczynski and came from behind to win the 1,600 meters on the last lap. Hawthorne was pushed by Glowczynski, who took the lead and tried to burn out the Cave Spring runner.
"He was cooking and I didn't expect that," Hawthorne said. "But I could never have run this time [4:26.4] if he doesn't go out like that."
Then Hawthorne, a junior, dominated defending Group A champion Jamie Soltis in winning the 3,200-meter run, the longest event of the day.
Fleming's boys, also missing Ed Harper, trailed Cave Spring by 3 1/2 points going into the 400-meter relay. Fleming won that event to take the lead, then finished 1-2 in the 400-meter dash. The Knights never again were a factor, and Fleming won 148-112 1/2.
Fleming's boys were led by Chris Robinson, who won the long jump, 100-meter dash and anchored the winning 400-meter relay team.
Robinson, who won the Northwestern Region long jump a year ago, said he wanted to do better than Saturday's winning 22-foot, 3 3/4-inch performance. "I wanted to make 23 feet today, and I have to be in the consistent 23s to score points in the state," Robinson said. "That means I have to jump a 23-10. But I'm not in the best shape like I was last year."
William Fleming's girls kept pace with the boys by winning the team title, but the Colonels didn't clinch the championship until the final event, when they won the 1,600-meter relay to nudge out Cave Spring.
Fleming's girls had only a 117-115 lead going into the event and won when Kovanda Brown opened a big lead in the 1,600 relay.
"I knew as soon as I got the baton, I had to go," Brown said. "We figured it would be close even though we had beaten them in the past."
Rudy Dillard, who coaches both Fleming teams, said, "Anytime you win, you're happy. I didn't think [the girls' meet] would be quite this close, but we had some injuries and didn't get any points in the long jump and only four in the triple jump."
Jennifer Sheets was part of the reason Cave Spring's girls made it close.
The only upset of the day came when Sheets beat Salem's Lori Archer in the 1,600 meters.
Sheets also won her specialty, the 800 meters, and established herself as a threat the two events for the Group AAA Northwestern Region meet in two weeks.
In the 1,600, Sheets was too much for Archer, who doesn't run well at the shorter distance.
"That's the first time I've run the 1,600 this year. Coach [Lori Taylor] put me in there to see what I could do," Sheets said. "I'm pretty happy with my performance [5:25.1]."
Archer said she wasn't down about the loss. "She's good. The only thing that upsets me is I haven't improved my times in the 1,600. I've been running in the 5:30s the whole spring," Archer said.
Archer, who had outgunned Sheets in the Metro cross country meet in the fall, easily won the 3,200 meters, in which Sheets was not a participant. The Salem junior lapped seven of the other eight runners.
Archer was ecstatic about her 3,200-meter time of 11:50.5. "I can't complain because it's harder to run [well] when you're by yourself," said Archer of her runaway victory.
Fleming's Jennifer Wilson won the 100- and 200-meter dashes and ran on the Colonels' first-place 400-meter relay team. Other girls' double winners were Fleming's Tracy Claytor in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles, Cave Spring's Jill Fountain in the shot put and discus and Patrick Henry's Felicia Godley in long and triple jumps.
In the junior high meet, Hidden Valley twins Ronde and Tiki Barber, sons of former Virginia Tech running back J.B. Barber, led the Eagles to the team championship. Ronde Barber smashed the 110-high hurdles record of 15.9 by four-tenths of a second.
by CNB