Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 29, 1994 TAG: 9404290032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A newcomer looms as one of the teams to watch in the Cosmopolitan boys' and girls' track meet that will be held this weekend in Salem.
Franklin County, a school that hasn't had that much success in track, figures to be a big factor in both competitions. The Eagles will try to unseat three-time defending champion Patrick Henry in the girls' meet and joins the Patriots, William Fleming and Northside as squads with a chance to replace Cave Spring as the winner of the boys' title.
The Cosmo gets under way today at 3 p.m. with junior division events at Salem and middle school competition at Glenvar.
All finals will be held Saturday at Salem High School, starting with field events at 9 a.m. and running events at 11:30 a.m.
There are three athletes who could dominate individually - Patrick Henry's Arminta Crosby (girls) and Jamie Price (boys), and William Fleming's Dominick Millner (boys).
Millner might be a three-way winner in the long and triple jumps, and perhaps the 400-meter dash, Colonels coach Rudy Dillard says. Fleming also has the top weight man, John St. Clair.
Price has been flying this spring with a 10.2 hand-held time in the 100. Patriots coach Jeff Johnson figures that makes him one of the fastest performers in the state, if not the nation. PH also should have an edge in pole vaulting behind Randy Burch and Jack Edwards. Burch has cleared 13 feet, 9 inches.
Crosby, outstanding a year ago, has been injured most of the spring. She's back now and carries the fastest times in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and the top long and triple jumps of the meet participants.
Another outstanding girls' performer is Cave Spring's Emily Rakes, who is a two-time defending Group AAA state high jump champion. Rakes, the defending champion of this meet, has cleared 5 feet 8 this spring.
Franklin County comes in with a freshman-heavy girls' team headed by junior hurdler Sandy Hudson, who was sixth in the intermediate hurdles last spring in the Group AAA meet as a sophomore. The busiest freshmen are Shauna Jones and Montricia Carter (both in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 400 relay), Casidy Tolliver (shot put, discus) and Alisha Holland (200, 400 relay). Junior Susan Wilson runs in the 3,200, does the long and triple jumps and is on two relay teams.
The boys' team for the Eagles features Jerry Kasey, a top hurdler.
The pre-meet talk is about Franklin County, which beat the PH girls in a dual meet this spring.
"You know how people talk. They do that to get pressure off themselves," said Calvin Preston, who coaches both Eagles teams.
Injuries have hit Northside, leaving the Vikings without Darrius Henderson, a top quarter-miler. Also missing is John Huffman, second in the Group AA state shot put last year who, according to Viking coach Arnold Humphries, never returned after the first day's practice.
Cave Spring's boys hope Jason Dowdy can be a double winner in the distance events if they are to repeat as team champions.
The best races could be the hurdles. Amy Pitts is two-tenths of a second better than teammate Cynthia Lundstrum and just over half a second ahead of PH's Rhonda Fields in the 110 meters. In the 300 hurdles, Hudson has the best time by far.
In the boys' hurdles, Larry Jones and Adrian Moore of Patrick Henry, and Kasey are within two-tenths of a seconds of each other in the 110. Kasey has an edge of one-tenth of a second over Moore and three-tenths of a second over Fleming's Andrew Roberson in the 300.
by CNB