Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 13, 1994 TAG: 9406140273
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sure, Green's many accomplishments in the past few years at Wythe are too numerous to mention in one story without writing a short novel. In her final event at the Group A state track and field meet, Green battled fatigue and illness to beat an old nemesis, King William's Alysia Washington, in the 200-meter dash.
Washington had beaten Green in four races the two had run against one another in the past two years, but that only increased Green's determination to win their Byington final meeting and leave high school as a champion.
In Byington's case, many will say leading Salem to a state boys' basketball player while winning the Group AA player of the year award from the Associated Press was his greatest accomplishment.
On a tennis court in Eastern Virginia, Byington topped that. He teamed with Jon Valera for a doubles victory that gave the Spartans their second consecutive Group AA title with a victory over Blacksburg.
To put that achievement in perspective, consider that Byington had never played competitive tennis until this year. Basketball was Byington's natural sport; tennis was one in which he had to work hard to excel.
For these reasons and many more, Green (girls) and Byington (boys) are Timesland's athletes of the year. Byington is Salem's first winner, and Green is the second from Wythe - joining Anne Fontaine, who won the award in 1990.
Green's final race almost didn't happen. After Washington beat her in the 400 and 100, Green's legs gave out and she had to be carried from the track. When she came down with chicken pox the Sunday after the Group A meet, people realized she had been suffering the early effects of that illness.
"I wanted to beat her [Washington] in just one running event," Green said. "I ran against her last year and she blew me away in the 200. She false-started in the 100 and we didn't compete in the 400."
This year, Washington beat Green in the 100 and 400, so only the 200 remained.
"It's a friendly rivalry. I wasn't nervous. I smiled and I wished everyone good luck," said Green on her appearance at the starting line for the 200. Then, Green turned it on to outsprint Washington for first place, giving her 50 of Wythe's 57 points in the meet and assuring the Maroons of the Group A title.
Injuries have been a way of life for Green this school year. She was out nearly half the basketball season with an ankle injury and returned to make second-team All-Group A. She was Region C's volleyball player of the year and led Wythe to a state title in that sport before dominating Group A girls' track despite a back injury that required treatment.
In four years, she scored 1,465 points in track, had 531 kills in volleyball and added more than 1,000 points in basketball.
"I couldn't believe my senior year could be this good, especially after the injury before basketball. I was worried about track because that ankle injury was on my jumping foot," said Green, who won the Group A title in the long jump and triple jump and placed in the high jump.
Byington gave up football two years ago to concentrate on basketball. It paid off with a scholarship to North Carolina-Wilmington.
This year, Byington didn't have AAU basketball after Salem won the state title. So he was shopping around for a spring sport. He was recruited by Salem coaches in baseball, track and tennis.
"I'd never been to a tennis match until this year, but I had a great time. I had played three or four times with Jon [Valera] in the fall. He talked me into coming out," Byington said.
Those matches with Valera were Byington's only experience in tennis. He showed his athletic ability by teaming with Valera to help Salem win the state title.
"I didn't know there was a rivalry in tennis," said Byington, who found himself in the middle of the Blacksburg-Salem competition as the two teams battled for the state title at Poquoson in May.
"I found out with some of the yelling and screaming what was going on," he said. "Tennis is a lot different than basketball. I was probably more relaxed in basketball than tennis.
"People had been out there [playing tennis] 10 or 12 years and they can humble you pretty quick. But I thought I would do OK if I spent some time and got some coaching. I took advice from everyone, from beginning to end, because they all had better strokes than me."
by CNB