Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410220050
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Metro Cross Country meet resembled a game of hide-and-seek.
Glenvar's Trish Nervo did the hiding; everyone else tried to find her.
The place to look was at the finish line, where Nervo shattered the course record she set last year to win her third consecutive girls' Metro Cross Country championship Saturday at the Baptist Children's Home in Salem.
Nervo, a junior, ran the 3.1-mile course in 19 minutes, 1 second, bettering her previous record by 25 seconds. In each of her three wins, she has broken the course record.
``I felt pretty confident going in that I could win,'' said Nervo, the defending Group A state champion. ``I just had to get out there and do it.''
How dominant was Nervo? Her closest competitor, Lord Botetourt's Heather Chaffin, finished 1:23 off the pace (20:24). William Byrd's Jessica Webber finished third.
``I thought that maybe I started out too fast,'' said Nervo, whose younger brother, John, won the developmental race. ``I tried to keep the same pace, but I struggled at the end.''
Webber's performance helped William Byrd capture the girls' team title. The Terriers placed three runners in the top 15 with Briana Grose finishing seventh and Jennifer Clem 14th as Byrd toppled Cave Spring, whom many considered the team favorite.
There was a major surprise on the boys' side. Robert Pauley, a Lord Botetourt junior, made up 13 places in the last mile and held off Cave Spring's Ben Dowdy and Staunton River's Brian Harlor for the championship. Saturday morning, Pauley wasn't even sure he would run.
``I had a stomach ache and I didn't know if I could make it,'' Pauley said. ``I kept telling myself, `One step farther, one step farther' and everything just came together.''
Many figured last year's runner-up, Franklin County's David Angell, would dominate. Angell led most of the race, but faltered on the last hill and did not finish the meet for the first time in his career.
``It's something about this course,'' a dejected Angell said. ``Last year, I knew I went out too fast and I thought I took care of that by starting out slower this year. Once I got to the top of that last hill, my legs went numb and gave out. I could not even breathe or see straight.''
Pauley then made his move on that last hill.
``I just wanted to hang with him for the first two miles,'' he said. ``I knew if I could pass him, then he would be discouraged, thinking that I was not tired. Of course, I certainly was.''
The surprises continued as Alleghany took home the boys' team title, edging Salem by a single point. The Mountaineers won despite having just two runners in the top 15. But they had six runners finish in the top 30 - with Jeremy Bartley (sixth) and Landon Allen (14th) leading the charge.
``I knew it would be close,'' Alleghany coach Howard Nicely said. ``I thought we had a shot at being in the top three or four, but I was more concerned about getting ready for the meets later on in the season. Of course, I will always take a win.''
by CNB