Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 23, 1993 TAG: 9305230129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHRIS BACHELDER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
Overlook the Brookville girls' 21 1/2-point victory and a 38-point clinch by the boys from Appomattox, and you will see that the area stars were out, including:
Salem speedster Keith Moyer, who had a hand in all 40 of his team's points and showed off his back to the rest of the region's sprinters;
Laurel Park's Valenica Eggleston and her diminutive teammate Miranda Hairston. Eggleston did it all, as expected, while Hairston was a bit of a surprise;
Distance aces Jonathan Stewart (Northside), Phillip Clements (Staunton River) and James Clanton (Patrick County), who made the 800- and 1,600-meter races memorable;
And Alleghany's Shawn Burks, who won both the hurdles events and boosted his team to a sixth-place finish.
The Appomattox boys' team won only one event, the 1,600 relay, but the Raiders used superior depth to pile up 89 points. Northside took second with 51 points, while Patrick County, Jefferson Forest and Moyer - that is, Salem - tied for third with 40.
Moyer won the 100 (11.1 seconds), the 200 (22.56) and the long jump. He then teamed with Tra Wilson, Mike Murphy and Jomo Nelson to win the 400 relay. Nelson ran the third leg for Marcus Parker, who injured his knee playing softball in gym class on Friday.
Moyer will compete in the state meet for the first time. Last season, he injured his hamstring in the region meet and missed the state.
"I felt like I had to prove something to myself and run an injury-free season," he said. "I felt a lot of pressure because I didn't want the same thing to happen as last year.
"It was a pretty good day. My times are not as fast as they should be, but if you win, you really can't ask for more."
Northside got individual victories from John Huffman in the shot put, Darius Henderson in the 400 and Stewart in the 800. Huffman, a first-year transfer from Liberty High, placed third in the state last season.
Stewart finished in 1:58.95 to edge out Clanton, who had earlier outkicked Clements in the final 100 meters to win the 1,600 in 4:25.62. Stewart ran the first lap in 57 seconds, built a 10-meter lead and then staggered to the finish line barely ahead of the charging Clanton.
"I knew [Clanton] had just run a phenomenal mile and my only chance was to go out strong and try to hold him off," said Princeton-bound Stewart, who won the race for the third straight year. "I was pretty much wasted at the end. I never heard him coming."
It was the first track defeat of the season for Clanton, the Roanoke Times & World-News cross country runner of the year. He was listed as one-hundredth of a second behind Stewart.
"I didn't know I had that kick left," he said. "Around the last turn, I noticed him really having a hard time and I took off. If only I had had a little longer."
Eggleston and Hairston powered Laurel Park to a second-place finish with 55 1/2 points. Appomattox was third (42), followed by Rockbridge County (41), Patrick County (38) and Rustburg (31).
For the third straight year, Eggleston qualified for the state meet in six events. She took first in the long jump, fourth in the 300 hurdles, fifth with a personal best in the 100 hurdles, sixth in the high jump, fourth in the triple jump, and ran a leg on the Lancers' second-place 400 relay team.
Hairston ran two personal bests in winning the 3,200 (11:51) and placing second in the 1,600 (5:29).
"Hairston was super, that's all you can say," Laurel Park coach Buddy Epperson said. "She ran her best times, so you have to say it's a little bit of a surprise.
"But we just didn't get enough firsts. I saw us being a little closer to Brookville."
The Bees won three events, two by Kim Downs in the hurdle events.
The top six teams overall and the top six finishers in each event advance to the state Group AA meet next weekend in Harrisonburg at James Madison. Moyer will compete in the state meet for the first time. Last season, he injured his hamstring in the region meet and missed state.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***