Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994 TAG: 9405310184
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Long
The two Timesland girls were the stars of the Group A track and field championships Saturday at the University of Virginia. Green scored 50 of Wythe's 57 points with three first-, a second- and two third-place finishes to help the Maroons win the girls' title that they had to share with Luray in 1993.
Nervo, a sophomore with two Group A cross country titles already in her trophy case, passed up the 1,600-meter run to be fresh for the 3,200 meters. Was she fresh. The Highlanders star turned in a time of 11 minutes, 21.1 seconds, taking 25 seconds off the mark of 11:46.1 that had stood for seven years.
Wythe was followed by King William with 42 points, and Floyd County, boosted by a great finish from its 1,600 relay team that refused to be beaten, took third place in girls' competition. Powell Valley was first in the boys' meet with 49.5 points, meaning that for the day Green was the high scorer no matter how you figured it.
The only other Timesland state champions were Narrows' Melinda Fleeman, who had a personal best to win the girls' discus, and Wythe's Jason Alexander, who used a disappointing second-place finish in the boys' 1,600 to spur him to the 3,200 championship.
A year ago, Green failed to place in her specialty, the triple jump, and Wythe had to settle for a tie with Strasburg for the team title. Green blamed herself, but Saturday's performance more than wiped away the memory of that disappointment.
The Wythe senior, headed to East Tennessee State University on a track scholarship, started and ended quickly. In between, she had to fight off injury and more disappointment.
Green's first victory was in the long jump, at 18 feet, 9 1/2 inches, and she followed that with a triple jump of 38-11 1/2 for two quick firsts. Then, she was outgunned in the 100 meters by King William's Alysia Washington.
The two also met in the 400, with Washington prevailing again. Green tried so hard that she injured herself and had to be carried from the track.
"My legs locked and I was running so hard that I almost passed out from the heat," Green said.
Lillie Moore, Wythe's coach, said, "I figured that her legs had locked up on her because she strained to catch up [to Washington]. We got her out of the sun and gave her fluids. She was upset about losing the 400."
Green's redemption came 75 minutes later in the 200. Green grabbed the lead and just wouldn't let Washington catch her as she roared to first place with her teammates going wild in the stands.
"I wasn't going to let it happen. I wanted my personal best," Green said of the 200, which she won with a time of 25.68. "I could see her [Washington] on my shoulder and could feel her catching up to me. I didn't even know I had won until someone told me."
That Washington, who didn't enter the field events, beat Green twice in three meetings, was no surprise. She came in with far better times in the 200 and 400 but was a co-favorite with Green in the 100.
"I knew that she was the one to go after, and she told me everyone else said I was the one to go after," said Green, who wound up in an embrace with Washington after their final race.
Nervo caught everyone's attention by sprinting away from the pack early and running as if she was in a 3,200 glide pattern. This race, though, winded the Glenvar runner, who is in such great shape that a 3,200 usually doesn't faze her.
"I felt kind of drained. I was kind of nervous," Nervo said. "I wasn't going for the [record] time. I just wanted to win. Track is a lot harder for me than cross country."
Last year, Nervo was injured during the spring and had a horrible track season. This year, she has set school records, personal bests and meet records nearly every time out.
"I didn't think I was going that fast," she said of the 3,200. "I know when I ran 11:31.5 [her previous personal best], there was someone right behind me."
Nervo had a shot at a double state crown but decided early in the week to skip the 1,600 to maintain her strength for the longer distance.
"She ran that fast today because she ran only one race," said her running coach, Dickie Myers.
Nervo had no regrets.
"It's possible I could have done both, but I wanted to be a state champion in outdoor track," she said.
Alexander did run both races and won the second one. He lost the 1,600 to Stuarts Draft's Kimble Woolworth. That was no upset, because Woolworth came in more than a second faster than Alexander. Woolworth was seven seconds faster in previous 3,200s. On this day, though, Alexander was more durable.
"I knew about him, but I thought I could catch him," Alexander said. "I just waited too late."
In the second race, Woolworth was no factor. By the fourth lap, he was holding a hip and falling behind. Alexander's competition became Floyd County's Ben Cooke, who came into the race with the 10th-best time.
"I was really surprised. That Floyd guy is really tough. There may be better runners, but he's got guts. He was like third in the region, and it wasn't anything like I expected," said Alexander, who was Timesland boys' cross country runner of the year in the fall.
As for Woolworth, Alexander said, "I think you lose some of your motivation when you win that first state title. I wanted to beat him. I felt he had blown me away in the mile. Then I looked up and saw him holding his hip. I kind of felt bad myself at the time, and if he had been able to set a faster pace, I don't know if I could have responded."
Fleeman, who was Timesland's only individual girls' winner besides Green, capped a great year in which she starred in basketball and volleyball, in which she was the Mountain Empire District player of the year, before she won the state shot-put title.
Fleeman had a toss of 39-7 1/2.
"Forty's my personal best," she said, "but this is my personal best in a meet."
How did she explain that one?
"After I finished throwing, I took one more throw unofficially and it went 40 feet. I always wanted to throw the shot 40 feet," she said.
Floyd's 1,600 relay team of Monica Lucas, Leigh-Ann Pursifull, Melissa Cantrell and Allegro Miller had the most exciting race in its victory over Brentsville District.
Miller held off Brentsville's Tammy Russell on the last leg just when it looked as if the Buffaloes junior would be overhauled.
"I thought she'd pass me. I could feel her," Miller said. "I ran from fear that I would be the one who was to blame if we just got second place."
Russell, who collapsed at the finish, said she was ready to pass Miller when the two hit the curve before the stretch run.
"I tried to catch her after that, but she [Miller] had as much left as I did," Russell said. \
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