Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 12, 1995 TAG: 9506120047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Timesland's athletes of the year didn't have much room in their schedule for anything but academics and sports during the past school year.
Floyd County's Leigh-Ann Pursifull (girls) and Glenvar's Nick Varney (boys) are the winners of the 10th edition of the top awards in Timesland.
Pursifull was a strong performer in four sports. Her toughest season was this spring, when she competed in softball and track. Pursifull placed in two events at the Group A track meet and was an All-Region C selection in softball while helping lead the Buffaloes to their first Group A tournament appearance.
Varney didn't have to double up in any one season, but he always was under pressure competing for and winning state championships.
Varney helped lead the Highlanders to Group A titles in tennis and golf. He was the point guard on the Glenvar boys' basketball team, which had its winningest season and reached the state championship game. He also lost in the Group A singles' and doubles' finals on the tennis court.
How did these two athletes accomplish so much and still have time for other things?
``It was quite difficult,'' Pursifull said. ``I had to do a lot of individual work on my own with the track team. I kind of would like to thank both coaches [Wes Starkey in softball and Winfred Beale in track] for allowing me to do this.
``If they hadn't allowed me to miss a practice or a game here and there, I wouldn't have been able to do it.''
Until this spring, Pursifull had never played high school softball, but she had played during the summers. She came up with her own plan for juggling the two sports.
``I got help from Coach [Barry Hollandsworth, who works with the Floyd weights teams,] in the shot in the last few minutes of school,'' Pursifull said. ``Then I went to softball practice. Then I'd come back and work on running events [for a relay team] and the hurdles on my own.
``Practicing the relays was a problem, especially during the district and regional meets. I'd go the first 20 minutes of track practice, then and work on my handoffs.''
Pursifull had good reason to continue competing in track. She placed second in the shot put at the Group A meet as a sophomore. As a junior, she didn't place.
``I wanted to go and prove that my sophomore year wasn't a fluke. But I didn't even get to the state in the shot. I think there would have been a better possibility of me making it if I had played in one sport, but then Region C also had some very strong competition that did well at the state.''
That was about the only disappointment this year for Pursifull. She finished third in the 300-meter hurdles and ran on the 400 relay team that placed sixth. In softball, Pursifull was known for her power, hitting one of the longer home runs in Region C history and also unloading a tape-measure shot in a regular-season game against James River.
``I was quite busy. I love sports, but I must admit it's nice to be able to relax for a day or two right now,'' said Pursifull, who will go to Winthrop University on a basketball scholarship. She also will be off and running again with an AAU basketball team in a national tournament during the summer.
Varney almost found himself with some free time during the basketball season. For two years, he had played point guard, but because of his laid-back nature, he hadn't been a leader. Art Lawrence, Glenvar's coach, challenged him by using other players at the point along with Varney.
``I got more opportunities to play. I think I needed more experience,'' said Varney, who will attend North Carolina-Greensboro on a partial golf scholarship. ``The more I played, the more I improved during the year. I feel I improved all aspects of my game.''
``He had the ability to be a point guard,'' said Glenvar's Art Lawrence, who coached Varney in tennis and basketball. ``The thing that held him back was his lack of being outspoken. He never really wanted to give directions, point out things we should be doing.
``I don't think he was conscious of it. But we needed him to be a coach on the floor, to holler at the kids when they needed it. By the end of the year, we even saw frustration and anger [from Nick] that we had never seen before.''
It was different in tennis.
``His leadership and dedication made everyone want to copy him,'' Lawrence said. ``They'd try to hit the ball like he did. He'd work with other players on their strokes or their backhands.''
Varney is thankful for having spent his career at Glenvar, which has been a Group A power.
``I'm fortunate to have had the opportunities I did for all four years,'' he said. ``Some schools have one good player and no one to help them along. It wasn't that way at Glenvar.''
Varney said he never expected the kind of season he had this year with all the pressure he faced in the state tournaments.
``I don't like to put expectations on myself and then not come up to a level,'' he said. ``Whatever happens, happens. If I do well, it's gratifying.''
by CNB