Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 21, 1993 TAG: 9301210386
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOHN MONTGOMERY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
16-YEAR-OLD RUNNER HAS GOT A RECORD . . .
Arminta Crosby. Age 16 years, two months. Just barely old enough to drive. And she's already got a record.Arminta Crosby's been speeding for years. The scary part is: She's getting faster. This winter, she won't likely be caught.
But the area's finest are trying.
Crosby, a junior at Patrick Henry High School, is the premier girls' track and field performer in Roanoke. Her 1992-93 indoor track season has been nothing short of sensational.
In December, at the Lynchburg Area Track and Field Invitational at Lynchburg College, Crosby set a meet record in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.9 seconds.
"That's an all-time meet record," emphasized her coach, Jeff Johnson. "The meet's been going for about 20 years, and this year 30 schools were competing."
On Jan. 9, at the Keydet Invitational at VMI, Crosby registered the most impressive effort of her career. She placed first in four events (55-meter dash, 300-meter run, long jump and triple jump), ran a leg on the winning 800-meter relay team and was selected most valuable track events performer and most valuable field events performer.
PH easily outdistanced the 12-school field with 105 points, nearly twice the points-total of Cave Spring, the second-place team with 60.
The Patriots' season-long indoor track domination has the normally conservative Johnson relishing district, regional, and even state competition. The Roanoke Valley District meet is scheduled for Feb. 16 at Virginia Tech.
Prominent team members include Regina Johnson (shot put), Amy Speas (distance runner), Deidre Trigg (hurdles), and Meredith Bowden and Carla Price (middle distances).
But the straw that stirs the drink is clearly Crosby. "She's a multievent performer," said Johnson, who has coached indoor track, outdoor track and football at PH for eight years.
"Arminta's best events may be the sprints, but she's coming on in the jumps, the long jump in particular.
"She jumped 17-3 1/2 at VMI and she got her feet messed up on the approach. She jumped 18 feet this summer [at a national scholastic meet in Los Angeles] and 19 is entirely possible."
At 5 feet, 3 inches and 135 pounds, Crosby is muscular, but not particularly big. A native of Newark, N.J., she moved to Roanoke to begin grade school.
Running has always come naturally.
"I've always been fast," Crosby said. "I noticed that when I was chasing my little friends around when I was a kid. And then when I was playing basketball [at Madison], I always hustled, and my coach said, `You should go out for track.' "
The rest happened very fast.
This is Crosby's third year of indoor and outdoor track, and both Crosby and Johnson credit assistant track coach James Jones for much of her development.
"Coach Jones tells me I haven't yet mastered the runway," Crosby said.
"Natural ability got her started," Johnson added, "but she's worked hard to improve herself. The sky's the limit."
Crosby hopes to try out for the football cheerleading squad this coming fall. She also is very interested in composing poetry and short stories and won a school award for her creative writing last year.
Like another Crosby, she has musical talent. "I have a pretty good voice," she said. "At one point, I considered transferring to [William] Fleming's Magnet School, but my teammates talked me out of it."
Long range, she hopes to run track. She likes East Tennessee State or the University of Tennessee - "someplace close to home" - and one day wants "to be a third-grade teacher."
Perhaps the best gauge of Crosby's speed is the other gender. "Most guys won't race her," said Johnson, who coaches both the boys' and the girls' teams.
Crosby thinks she could beat classmate and two-sport star Shannon Taylor in the 55-meter dash.
Taylor was an important contributor to last year's Group AAA state championship basketball team and is the lone experienced player on a rebuilding squad this season. As quarterback, he threw for 425 yards in a single game and was named first-team all-state.
"Anytime," Crosby said of beating him.
"She probably could," Johnson concurred carefully, almost shuddering at what he was saying.
"Let's say it would be a good race."