ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606030135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
Raheem Barnwell was a man of his word at the Group AAA track meet Saturday at Todd Stadium.
The Patrick Henry senior suffered a knee injury at last year's state meet, forcing him out of the competition. That's when he promised his coach he'd bring home a state championship this year.
Barnwell delivered as promised Saturday, becoming the first athlete in school history to win the 110-meter hurdles while leading the Patriots to a second-place team finish.
The multi-talented Barnwell also took third in the long jump (23 feet-101/2 inches), fourth in the 200 meters (22.65 seconds) and fifth in the triple jump (47-0), meaning he accounted for 22 of the Patriots 36 points.
In addition, Barnwell ran a leg on Patrick Henry's non-placing 400 relay team.
``I came back this year and thought that I could redeem myself after what happened last year,'' Barnwell said. ``This is my senior year. I just wanted to do good at this meet.''
West Springfield took the team title with 50 points, followed by PH and West Potomac with 36 points each.
William Fleming scored 10 points and finished in 24th place. Standouts for the Colonels were Fenn Crutchfield, who finished second in the long jump (24-0) and Wade Waris, who placed seventh in the 110 hurdles (14.95).
Centreville won the girls' title with 62 points. Defending champion Bayside was second (46 points) despite three first-place finishes from junior sprinter LaShonda Cutchin. Cutchin repeated as 100-meter champion, won the 200 and anchored the winning 400-meter relay team.
William Fleming's Revonda Barber finished eighth in the discus (108-7).
For a while, it looked like Barnwell, who had the second-fastest entry time in the state, might not win the 110-meter hurdles. With 40 meters to go, he was in fourth place.
``That's when something kicked into my head telling me, `You want to win. You want to win,''' Barnwell said. ``I kept that in my mind and I went out and won it.''
Barnwell's late surge was enough - barely enough - to nip Hampton's Jeremy Ward by a hundredth of a second.
``I always knew Raheem was going to win,'' Patrick Henry assistant coach James Earl Jones said. ``The rest of the hurdlers were running in an upright position, but Raheem, he attacks the hurdles. Running upright looks pretty, but I'll always bet my money on someone who attacks the hurdles.''
Barnwell is used to winning at least two events per meet, but said he would happily settle for just the hurdles title.
``If this was a regular dual meet, I'd be upset,'' Barnwell said. ``But this is the state meet. I thought I could have gone faster in the 200, but overall, I think I had a pretty good day.''
The Patriots also got valuable performances from Rushaun Akers and Dan Ankoma. Akers placed fifth in the 100 (11.12). Ankoma heaved the shot put 49-61/2, good for eighth place, and took fifth in the discus (148-6).
``We're very pleased with our performance,'' said Patrick Henry coach Jeff Johnson. ``In the indoor [state] meet we took sixth, and we made it our goal to improve. We're very proud of our second-place finish with only nine runners.''
One Patriot who wasn't too happy was Louis Booker. The indoor state champion at 500 meters aggravated a pulled hamstring while competing in the 400-meter relay and had to settle for seventh place in the 400 (51.23), nearly two seconds slower than his qualifying time.
``I wish I hadn't run the 400 relay,'' Booker said. ``The coaches gave me a choice to run it or not. I shouldn't have run it. I'm upset with my seventh-place performance. I don't feel I did anything to help us take second place overall.''
The lone meet record was set by Manchester's Kelly Thornton, Ashley Augostini, Laura Wood and Sarah Burkett in the girls' 3,200 relay. Their time of 9:16.82 broke the mark of 9:17.90 set last year by Thomas Jefferson.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 77 linesby CNB