ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 20, 1996 TAG: 9601220004
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
It might have been a slow start for Christiansburg, but the Blue Demons had a fast finish in winning their second consecutive Group AA cross country title.
Leading the way was Justin Moseby, whose third-place finish was the best among four Blue Demons making the state's top 10 Group AA runners. Moseby is Timesland boys' runner of the year.
It is no surprise that Christiansburg's Steve Shelton is Timesland boys' coach of the year. This is the fourth consecutive year he has won a coaching honor either for girls or boys.
Moseby is joined by three teammates - Matt Nolan, Robby Rakes and Michael Lee - who finished among the top 10 Group AA runners in the Blue Demons' championship season.
The All-Timesland boys' team is completed by Northside's Stuart Bray; Floyd County's Ben Cooke, who won the Group A title; and Blacksburg's David Williams.
Moseby beat out Cooke for top honors by defeating him head-to-head in most of the meets when they faced one another. However, Cooke turned in a sensational performance in giving Timesland its only boys' state champion in cross country.
Moseby has signed to run with Radford University. He failed to win the state title, but paced all Timesland runners by finishing third just ahead of Nolan and Williams. Those three were within five seconds of one another.
``I hadn't raced any of the people from the other part of the state,'' Moseby said. ``I knew pretty much how I was going to do around here. The two runners [ahead of me in the state meet] were better than I expected.''
The biggest pressure on Moseby was helping his team repeat as state champion. ``Because we won last year, there's a lot more weight on your shoulders. They expect [the team] to win. Last year when we won, people said, `Great job,' and, `Glad you won.' This year, they said we'll win again. But you're never sure until you have the trophy.''
Moseby attracted interest from several college programs, but decided Radford was a place where he could contribute immediately instead of going to a school with a more prestigious reputation in cross country.
``I tried to find a program that fit my level,'' he said. ``I didn't want to be running great and be 10th on a team. I wanted to be able to contribute to a team.''
Shelton has won three boys' Timesland coaching titles and one for girls in the past four years.
Early in the schedule, Christiansburg was battling an injury to Nolan and the Blue Demons weren't doing that well. They came on late to dominate the state meet.
``I think last year was our best team, but this is the most satisfied I've been,'' Shelton said. ``To go to the state [meet] and put four guys in the top nine, that's the kind of day you stand back, say wow and become a fan because everything went so well.''
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Moseby, Shelton. color.by CNB