Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994 TAG: 9405290117
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HARRISONBURG LENGTH: Medium
Christiansburg's boys and girls, who won Region IV titles and were given a shot by some to contend for state championships, fell far short.
The Blue Demons scored 14 points in the boys' meet, tying for 12th. That left them 46 points behind champion Charlottesville.
The Christiansburg girls were ninth with 19 points, 11 behind co-champions Abingdon and Harrisonburg.
"We dropped the baton in both relay races; that sort of summed up our day," said Randy Bailey, the Christiansburg boys' coach. "But that only cost us four to six points. It's not like we could have won the event [without those miscues].
"I wasn't really sure we could win the event coming in. I felt we had six events we could place in, and all those were about 50-50. Three or four came in, and two or three didn't."
Christiansburg's best finish in the boys' meet was a third-place showing by senior Jeremy Cosgriff in the 1,600-meter run. Sophomore Larry Carter was fourth in the long jump. Junior Andra Beasley had a pair of fifths in the long and triple jumps.
Despite their troubles, the Christiansburg boys beat everybody in Timesland but Laurel Park. Make that everybody but James Millner, who scored all 14 Lancers points on a second-place finish in the 300 hurdles and a third in the 110 hurdles.
"I'm pretty proud of myself, considering this is my first year in the sport," said Millner, a senior better known for his basketball skills. "I'm going to Ferrum to play basketball and I thought doing this might help my quickness a bit. Now I wish I had taken this sport up a little earlier."
Besides Cosgriff and Millner, the only other Timesland boys who scored third-place finishes were Marty Early of Rockbridge County in the triple jump and B.J. Vaughn of Jefferson Forest in the 800.
Charlottesville scored 32 points in the morning field events to take charge en route to its first state boys' track and field crown since 1976.
In the girls' meet, the closest Timesland athletes came to a state championship was second place - by Salem's Cynthia Lundstrum in the 100 hurdles, by Rockbridge County's Jennifer Vest in the 300 hurdles, by Blacksburg's Nikki Hunt in the 400 and by Christiansburg's Bethany Eigel in the 1,600.
Eigel, a junior, followed up with a fourth-place finish in the 3,200. The Blue Demons' others points came via junior Maureen Jackson (fourth in the discus and fifth in the shot put) and junior Tamia McNeil (sixth in the discus).
"The competition is so tough here," said Eigel, who lost to Loudoun Valley's Becky Flowers despite running her fastest 1,600 ever (5 minutes, 14.07 seconds). "I tried to make a late move on her down the stretch, but she had such a strong kick. But I ran my best time ever, and that's what I was striving for. I can't complain with second. Team-wise, we thought we'd do a little better."
Defending champion Blacksburg topped Timesland schools with 22 points, good for a sixth-place tie. The Indians had won three of the past four state girls' titles.
Besides Hunt's second, Blacksburg got third places from Sarah Hendricks in the 1,600 and 3,200. The Indians' 1,600 relay team was fifth.
"I hated not winning, but I guess I'm not too sad about second," Hunt said.
Lundstrum's 15.33 clocking in the 100 hurdles was fifteen-hundredths quicker than her previous best, but it wasn't strong enough to match the 14.91 posted by Handley's Lee O'Donnell.
"I'm ecstatic about second," said Lundstrum, a sophomore competing in her first state final. "I was real nervous, but I handled it well. I'm very satisfied."
Vest's second-place finish in the 300 hurdles was a big improvement over her performance in 1993. The Rockbridge senior fell in the event last year.
"This helps wipe that out," Vest said. "I was hoping to be first, but I'm satisfied with second. It was my best time of the year [45.65 seconds], and I lost by a tenth of a second. Can't complain with that."
Highlands District champion Abingdon surged from behind to share the girls' crown, the first for the school.
"Co-champion still means state champion," said Don Cumbow, the Falcons' coach. "It's a state championship, and that's all we care about.
"This is the biggest surprise ever in my life. Those gals pulled it off. It's hard to believe."
by CNB