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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 12, 1994                   TAG: 9401120098
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MEET TO BE MEASURE OF TECH TRACK ABILITY

The indoor track season opens Saturday in Blacksburg, giving Virginia Tech a chance to review its youngsters.

Appalachian State, James Madison, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Richmond visit Tech's men's and women's teams, both of which need freshmen to complement returning talent if the Hokies are to compete for the Metro Conference championship.

Ten of Tech's 19 women are first-year runners, and men's coach Russ Whitenack has said newcomers such as Jason Fullmer (hurdles, decathlon), Andy Vasbinder (discus), Sean Archer (triple-jump) and Keith Moyer of Salem (sprinter, long jump) should score early for Tech.

Tech is trying to replace Metro champions Dorothea Ku (sprinter), Heidi Allen (distance runner), Travis Walter (distance runner) and Cedric Patrick (sprinter).

The women's team figures rookies Michelle Smith (weight events); hurdlers Kim Downs, Candice Allen and Detra Edmonds, and sprinters Megan Barnes, Misty Lawson, Smith, Edmonds and Leslie Mitchell will contribute early.

The Hokies have a few good returnees, too. Hurdler Erin Graham, a sophomore, spent part of last summer in Colorado Springs, Colo., at the Olympic Development Junior Elite Program with assistant track coach Jay Arther and is expected to better a freshman year in which she broke school records in the 500-meter dash (1 minute, 17.1 seconds), the 400-meter dash (57.16), the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (1:02.68).

The men's team returns all-Metro performers Chris Williams (pole vault) and Jay Gallant (400 meters).

\ BASKETBALL NOTES: When junior forward Christi Osborne made the all-tournament team at Tech's Diamond Club Classic in late December, it marked the sixth straight time she has made an all-tournament team. In those 12 games, she has averaged 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds . . . Kelly Burrier, a first-team all-Ohio pick as a senior in high school, left the program before this season started and is expected to enroll at Akron this semester. Burrier averaged six minutes per game in her freshman season last year and likely would not have seen a significant increase in playing time . . . Guard Terri Garland of Dublin played eight minutes Monday against South Florida with a strained rotator cuff in her left shoulder. Tech coach Carol Alfano is trying to protect Garland for this weekend's road trip to Metro opponents Tulane and Southern Mississippi, and said Garland "for sure" would be available for more minutes on that trip barring re-injury against Bradley tonight.

\ UPCOMING IN BLACKSBURG: Women's basketball - Bradley, 7 p.m. Jan. 12. Indoor track - Tri-Meet, Jan. 15; Comfort Inn Invitational, Jan. 21-22. Swimming - Howard and College of Charleston, noon Jan. 22.

Scott Blanchard is a Roanoke Times & World-News sportswriter.

by CNB