Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, October 20, 1994 TAG: 9410200050
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: 6 EDITION: NEW RIVER
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
BRIAN WALTERS and HOWARD NIPPERT now know every step of that distance.
They were among five runners from Blacksburg who participated in the 13th Annual Twin Cities Marathon Oct. 2.
Walters and Nippert, both former Virginia Tech cross country runners, covered the marathon distance fast enough to qualify for the 1996 Olympic Trials. Walters finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 45 seconds; Nippert in 2:20.00.
"Howard and I were working toward this during our training most of this year," said Walters, who trained by running from Blacksburg to Mountain Lake. Or through Ellett Valley. Or along the New River Trail in Draper. In an average week, he ran 100 miles or so, including 20 most Sundays.
"It was good to get that out of the way. Now we can concentrate on what we want to change, to modify. We've got about 15 or 16 months to work on them."
The Olympic Trials are in February 1996 in Charlotte. Walters said he expected about 130 or so runners would meet the 2:22 qualifying standard.
Walters and Nippert also earned the right to line up in the Elite Division of the Boston Marathon in 1995 and 1996.
MIKE POPE and ROSEMARY SIEGEL also qualified for Boston, based on their performances for their age group. Pope, 33, ran a 2:52. Siegel, 42, ran a 3:20.
PAULINE POPE, the fifth member of the Blacksburg group, ran a 3:47 in her first marathon. She and Pope were interviewed by a local TV station as they readied for the race.
About 7,000 runners ran the marathon on a cool, windy afternoon. The temperature was in the 40s, and gusty winds lowered the wind-chill factor into the 30s.
"The weather wasn't that bad," Walters said. "The temperature was about right. But it always seemed like we were running into a head wind. And since we ran mostly west to east, point-to-point, the wind direction didn't change much."
PABLO SIERRA of Madrid, Spain, won the men's race in 2:11:35, about six minutes off the course record. SUCENE CIRIC of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, won the women's race in 2:34:05.
MORE RUNNING: There must be a lot of well people in Radford. The Radford Community Wellness Challenge earlier this month drew 198 entries.
COLIN McCOMB and WAIRIMU NJAMBI were the big winners in the 5K (3.1-mile) run. McComb captured the men's division, finishing ahead of runner-up JASON DOWDY and third-place finisher ERIC MUELLER. Njambi was the women's winner. Behind her in second and third place were DEBBIE PILKEY and LINDA VICK.
Male age-group winners were MATT GORDON (13-and-under), MICHAEL FISHER (14-17), JEFF RINEHART (18-22), RUSTY GALBREATH (23-29), JEFFREY WEISEMAN (30-34), JEFF ARNOLD (35-39), DAVID MULLINS (40-44), TERRY GRAHAM (45-49), ED SEARS (50-59) and ALVIN SMITH (60-and-over).
Female age-group winners were KATIE NEELY (13-and-under), VELVET FRANCIS (14-17), JOHANNA HOLMES (18-22), LAUREN HALL (23-29), NANCY LOVE (30-34), LORRIE RICCITELLO (35-39), JEANNE JONES (40-44), BETTY SEGAR (45-49), REBECCA SEARS (50-59) and LOUISE AKERS (60-and-over).
Winners in the 2.5K (1.6-mile) Youth Run included TREY MITCHELL (boys grades 3-4), ALLISON GARDNER (girls grades 3-4), ALEX FOLLOWILL (boys grade 5), LORA WANG (girls grade 5), CORY ENGELHART (boys grade 6), ANNIE ROBRECHT (girls grade 6), LANDON SMITH (boys grade 7), SARAH VESSEY (girls grade 7), TOMMY CERVIA (boys grade 8) and CHRISTINNA GORE (girls grade 8).
SERVES AND SPIKES SCENE: It's volleyball registration time Nov. 1-11 in Blacksburg.
The town will have six leagues during the winter season, which begins Dec. 5. Men's Power will play Mondays. Women's A and B leagues will play Tuesdays. Coed A Power League will play Wednesdays. Coed B Divisions I and II will play Thursdays.
Each league will have a maximum of seven teams. Matches will be four games, with a one-hour time limit. The league will take a two-week holiday break Dec. 19-30.
The roster limit is 12 players, and 75 percent of the team must be town residents.
The cost is $60 per team. The nonresident fee is $5 per player (with a maximum of three per team). The forfeit fee is $10.
No registrations will be accepted before 8 a.m. Nov. 1.
For more information, call the Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Department at 961-1135.
KICKING AROUND: Top Gun and the Hornets remained perfect as the Pulaski County Youth Soccer League passed the halfway point.
Defending champion Top Gun (9-0) leads the 10-and-under division by 21/2 games. In a recent showdown, Top Gun edged the second-place Wildcats 3-2.
DAVID BOOKER scored twice for Top Gun, including once on a penalty kick. TYLER ASHWORTH scored the other goal.
PATRICK TENPENNY scored both goals for the Wildcats (6-2) who have lost a pair of one-goal contests to Top Gun.
Also, the season's only scoreless game was played at Draper by the Panthers and the Lightning. BRETT ADKINS made nine saves for the Panthers, while CHIP HUFF posted the shutout for the Lightning.
Meanwhile, the Hornets (6-0) continued to win the close matches in the 13-and-under division. Four of its six victories have been by a margin of two goals or less.
One of those close wins was a 3-1 win against the second-placed Counts (6-3). JOE SLOMKA scored two goals, while KELLY McVEY added another. MATT BURTON recorded an assist.
SCHOLASTIC SPORTS NRV: Pulaski scored the last three touchdowns as it downed Giles 22-6 in middle school football.
KWASI SCOTT scored two second-half touchdowns from 5 and 20 yards.
BRANDON MILLER led the Orioles with 64 yards rushing while Scott added 62. DOMONIC BROWN picked off a pair of Giles passes.
M.J. Dougherty covers racing and community sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.|
by CNB