Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 6, 1995 TAG: 9505090002
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``I knew once she came back to Franklin County, she'd be running track,'' said Preston, the Eagles' track coach. ``Leticia excels and enjoys the sport.''
Claytor attended Franklin County as a sophomore. Then her family began to move around.
``We moved to Roanoke City after my sophomore year,'' she said. ``I attended William Fleming and played basketball. Things didn't work out there, so I left after January and went to Northside. I could have run track at Fleming, but I just went to Northside [where she was ineligible because of the transfer].
``I like running track better than basketball. I was really upset at not being able to run my junior year. I figured while I had the time, I'd try to improve my grades. The Northside people knew I was there and wanted me to run track. But there was nothing they could do.''
Claytor moved back to Rocky Mount for her senior year. Last week, she won the long and triple jumps at the Cosmopolitan Track and Field Invitational meet. Claytor also placed second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and ran on the third-place 1,600-meter relay team to finish second behind William Fleming's Michelle Watson as the top individual scorer in the meet with 36 points.
Claytor and Watson appear to bring out the best in one another. Claytor's jumps were better than Watson, but the Fleming senior beat the Eagles star in the 100 and 200.
``My jumping has improved quite a bit,'' Claytor said. ``My main goal is [to catch] Michelle. I have to get faster times out of the blocks.''
Preston said Claytor is improving dramatically in the jumps.
``She jumped only 15-16 feet earlier this spring [in the long jump], but at the Cosmo she was up to 17-81/2,'' Preston said. ``She's [just over] two inches out of state qualifying, and she's up to 35 in the triple jump.''
The qualifying requirement is 37 feet, 2 inches.
Claytor is accomplishing all this while being injured.
``I have knee problems,'' she said. ``I have a loose patella in both knees. It's the same thing that [Fleming basketball player] Sterling Tate had this year. I wear the same braces, plus ankle braces.''
Claytor said she has always enjoyed running.
``I've been running since I was about four years old,'' she said. ``We used to live in the Philippines. My mother [Brenda Taylor] noticed I loved running, that I was athletic. She put me in a lot of races. To this day, she has pictures of me from then.''
Claytor's goal is to go to the state competition in four events and place in as many as possible. Then it will be on to college where she hopes to study criminal justice.
``I like to deal with law and the rules,'' Claytor said. ``That's really interesting to me.''
by CNB