ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606180022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
MONICA CABBLER and Dominick Millner are seeking U.S. Olympic team berths in track and field.
It's Christmas past and most Roanokers are inside exchanging gifts.
But not Monica Cabbler and Dominick Millner. There is no holiday from track and field for the former William Fleming High School standouts.
``Monica, this is what I learned in the long jump this season at Florida,'' says Millner, as snowflakes drip from his chin during an outdoor workout.
``That looks good,'' Cabbler tells him as she trains in the bitter cold. ``But my coach taught me this at Georgia.''
Obviously, the duo is extremly dedicated to their sport. That's one reason they're the first athletes in Colonels history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
Cabbler, who graduates from Georgia today, will compete Sunday in the women's triple-jump qualifying at Atlanta's new Olympic Stadium. The top 12 advance to the finals Monday night.
Millner, who was redshirted this year as a sophomore, competes in the men's long-jump qualifying Monday afternoon. The final, also limited to the top 12 qualifiers, is Wednesday night.
``I'm proud to represent Fleming,'' Cabbler said. ``It's kind of shocking that we have two people from Fleming competing in the Olympic trials.''
Cabbler qualified at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in February in Indianapolis. Millner made his qualifying distance at the Seminole Trials this past weekend in Tallahassee, Fla.
Both are long shots to make the Olympic team. Of 24 qualifiers, Cabbler ranks 16th in the triple jump with a leap of 43 feet, 11/2 inches. The favorites are American record-holder Sheila Hudson (47-21/4), Diana Orrange and Cynstea Rhodes.
Millner is seeded 12th in the long jump, with a qualifying leap of 26-81/2.
The three favorites are Erick Walder, Kareem Streete-Thompson and Mike Powell.
Cabbler looks at the trials as a steppingstone. With her marketing degree, she's preoccupied with starting Georgia's MBA program in the fall.
``I have to be realistic,'' Cabbler said. ``People don't know my name right now. If I do well, this meet will open doors for me to get a sponsor. Since I'm not jumping at Georgia anymore, I need someone to pay for me to continue competing. And, hopefully, I'll get better so I can make the 2000 Olympics.''
Millner feels his time is now.
``I honestly think I can make it,'' he said. ``I feel like all I have to do is get off a legal jump. Everyone's record is null and void. Nothing that they did the last couple months counts. Now we are all at the same level. I don't have anything to worry about. I can just relax.''
Millner wouldn't have said that at the start of the outdoor season.
At first, redshirting Millner seemed the right thing to do. The Florida coaches felt he could go into the trials fresh. Plus, he still would have three years of eligibility with the Gators.
There was only one problem: The 5-foot-7, 140 pounder - tiny compared with 6-3 Powell - Millner didn't know what to expect competing as an unattached athlete.
``In the beginning, I was thinking, `What is going on,''' said Millner, a 1995 All-American. ``Before the redshirt, I was accustomed to competing against college competition. Suddenly, I had to go up against people like Carl Lewis and Mike Powell [at invitational meets].I was nervous. They were my childhood heroes.''
But his nervousness ended this past weekend.
Millner jumped 8 inches beyond his personal best, qualifying for the trials.
``That jump proved to me that I am on the same level as the rest of them,'' Millner said. ``Now that I've made it to the trials, I want to take it to the next level.
``My dream for this weekend is to pop a 28-5. I want the crowd to go crazy when they see a little guy like me [Millner is 5-foot-7 and U.S. star Powell is 6-3] jump that far. I want people to take notice.''
Cabbler felt the same way in February. She was seeded last in a field of 18 triple-jumpers at the NCAA indoor championships.
``I went in there with the purpose not to end up that way,'' Cabbler said. ``I was really pumped.''
She shocked her rivals by making the finals. Then, on her sixth and final jump, Cabbler exceeded her personal best by nearly a foot, finishing sixth. She earned her first All-America award and qualified for the trials.
``That felt good,'' she said. ``I guess you can say that this is a dream come true. When I was a freshman, I always dreamed about graduating and running in the Olympic trials in the same weekend. Everything is going exactly the way I planned it.''
How does the dream end?
``I don't know,'' she said with a smile. ``I haven't woke up yet.''
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Millner (headshot). 2. Dominick Millner, a long-jumperby CNBat Florida, qualified for the Olympic trials with a leap of 26 feet,
81/2 inches. RAY CARSON