Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 16, 1993 TAG: 9309180118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GILES LENGTH: Medium
He runs like a Marine, each step disciplined and placed to fall in rhythm. Actually, with his crew cut and short, muscular build, Rickie Jennings looks like a Marine.
It's a tough workout, and there probably are more pleasant ways to spend a Friday afternoon. But that doesn't seem to matter to Jennings.
Other runners are going home early. They're tired or they've got something else to do. Not Jennings. He looks down at the freshly mowed grass and turns sharply past the tennis courts again. There are more laps to run.
Jennings is a man on a mission. His objective: the Virginia High School League Group A cross country title.
This was not the scenario for Jennings last fall.
He ran cross country for Giles last year, but rarely did he practice. He'd make one or two practices a week, if he was lucky. Instead of running after school, Jennings would head to Radford University's Dedmon Center for swimming practice.
Jennings has competed for the Pulaski YMCA Southwest Aquatic Team for five years. He decided last year to swim after school rather than run. The lack of training finally caught up with him in cross country. After placing fourth in the Group A meet his freshman year and second his sophomore year, Jennings finished ninth in 1992.
"I expected it," he says. "I didn't practice [running] enough. Swimming would help build up my lungs, but it doesn't help the legs much."
When the alarm clock went off in the morning, Jennings couldn't answer the bell.
"I would be totally exhausted from swimming when I'd wake up in the morning," he says. "I didn't have enough self-discipline to get up and run in the morning. Some days I'd just feel burned out."
Jennings says things are different this year. He is running with the team every day. He's also going to start swimming in Blacksburg on Mondays and Wednesdays and in Radford on Saturdays.
There's one more thing different about Jennings this year.
His attitude.
"Last year, if something would happen - like if my calf would tighten during practice - I'd kind of quit," he says. "This year, no matter what, I tough it out."
Giles coach Scott Humphries says he sees improvement in Jennings.
"The lack of running hurt him a little bit last year," Humphries says. "But this year, he's been perfect. He never complains. Whatever I dish out, he'll do."
And not much changes when Jennings hits the water.
"He works very hard," says Billy Beecher, the head coach for Jennings' Pulaski YMCA SWAT team. "He pushes himself all the time. Rickie sets goals for himself, then works to achieve them."
Jennings traveled to Nashville, Tenn., in August to swim in the YMCA Long Course Nationals. He finished 12th in the 200-meter backstroke (out of 150 swimmers) and 18th in the 200-meter individual medley (out of 100 swimmers).
So what will it be for Jennings once he graduates? Will he compete on land or in the water?
"I like swimming better," Jennings says. "You can travel more. My natural talent is in running, but I've developed swimming talent over the years."
Jennings' coaches says he can compete in either sport in college.
"There are Division I schools that he could make an impact on," Beecher says. "Not top 10 programs or anything, but there's been some interest inhim. I've gotten several phone calls."
Says Humphries, "He's been getting letters from colleges for running since he was a freshman. It seems like there's always been an interest in him."
Maybe the one thing that could hurt Jennings - and it hurt him the most in the Group A cross country meet his sophomore year - is his size. He stands only 5 feet 6 and weighs 135 pounds.
"Rickie and this other guy were going at it the last three-quarters of a mile; they just traded back and forth," Humphries says. "The other guy was 6-2. It was neck-and-neck at the finish. He got Rickie on a lean."
But Jennings has been working on that shortcoming, too.
"He didn't have much of a stride last year," Humphries says. "Where some people would take one step, he'd take two or three. Now, he's running a lot smoother."
The swimming, the running, the attitude, the stride. It's been hard work for Jennings to improve in each of these areas, but it's the only way he knows. . . . he's running a lot smoother. Scott Humphries Giles coach
by CNB