
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 3, 1990                   TAG: 9005030049
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV14   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: JEFF MOTLEY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

BLACKSBURG RUNNER'S SEASON GOALS WERE TOO MODEST

Blacksburg High School track runner Katie Ollendick set some pretty modest goals for herself this season. She has since had to readjust those goals - in a major way.

A freshman on the varsity track team, Ollendick said she thought of going to the state meet, but really just wanted to do better each time out.

"I was thinking state at the beginning of the year, but I figured that was thinking a little too big," Ollendick said. "So I realistically thought that I would run for PRs [personal records] and try to improve a little each time out."

It didn't take her long to realize that the goal of going to state wasn't so lofty after all. In her first big meet as a varsity runner, Ollendick qualified for the state meet in the 400 meters with a time of 59.7 seconds.

"Susan [Coach Susan Earles-Price] told me that the school record was 57.9," Ollendick said. "I have just hoped that by the state meet I will be in a position to break it."

Ollendick will get her first crack at breaking that record this afternoon in the finals of the New River District track meet at George Wythe High School.

"I ask people sometimes if I am going to keep getting better or if I'm just peaking early," Ollendick said. "But if I keep getting better and become the one people are shooting for in every meet, then that is great, too."

The team's assistant coach, Dorothea Ku, certainly doesn't think Ollendick has come close to reaching her potential.

"I think she will be untouchable in the next three years," Ku said. "By the time she is a junior, watch out."

Earles-Price says that Ollendick only needs to get stronger. "She hasn't even developed her muscles yet. When she does that she will be untouchable."

There is also a little added incentive for Katie. Her sister, Lori, ran track at Blacksburg and is part of the 4x400-meter really team that still holds the school record. Lori quit track after her sophomore year, but that has only added to the motivation of her younger sister.

"The fact that she stopped after her sophomore year has made me want to run more," Ollendick said. "She liked the sport, but it is a lot of hard work. I think maybe she just got tired of it and didn't want to put the effort in anymore.

"I hope that I don't ever reach the point that I don't like running. I don't see me stopping in the future. I think about college. I think it would be fun to run in college and that is on my mind."

What is on her mind even more than college though is the district meet this afternoon. A good showing is important if the Indians are going to score well as a team.

"She is as important as all the others," Earles-Price said. "But she should score very well down there. We do need her to do well, but she can't do it alone. Everyone needs to do well."

by CNB