THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994                    TAG: 9406020637 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C4    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940602                                 LENGTH: VIRGINIA BEACH 

BEACH SCHOOLS STILL OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

{LEAD} The Southeastern District has one. The Eastern District is getting one. Suffolk has two.

By next year, only the area's largest school district, the Beach, will be without an eight-lane, all-weather, rubberized track.

{REST} And don't think the Beach's track coaches haven't noticed. After the district track meet two weeks ago, run on asphalt at Kellam High, the talk wasn't of the day's top performances, but of a recent news report on a $42,000 flagpole at the new Ocean Lakes High School.

How far would that money have gone, several coaches wondered, toward resurfacing one of the city's three asphalt tracks?

As it turns out, it would have about covered it.

Glen Barr, the girls coach at Cox, said he called around for estimates recently, and was quoted a price of approximately $30,000 for resurfacing a six-lane track. An eight-lane track was about $8,000 more, Barr said.

But Ocean Lakes isn't getting a rubberized track. Plans call for eight lanes of asphalt, like the tracks at the city's other newer schools, Salem and Tallwood.

``I don't think anybody said, `Let's put up this flagpole instead of a track,' Ocean Lakes principal Jerry Deviney said. ``Things like rubberized tracks tend to be the most vulnerable things in a budget.

``I don't think you'll find any principal opposed to it. Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of approving our own budgets.''

With no rubber going down at Ocean Lakes, the Beach's best running surface remains the six semi-rubberized lanes at Green Run.

Six lanes are adequate for district meets, but only barely, coaches say. And six is two few to hold a major invitational meet, like the kind held virtually every spring weekend on the Peninsula.

``We're at the point, with the number of schools and kids, that we need eight lanes,'' said Shrecee Purham, girls track coach at Salem.

The Southeastern District meet was held at Churchland's rubberized track. Norfolk State University is building an eight-lane track that athletic director Dick Price has said will be available for the Eastern District to use. Both of Suffolk's schools, Lakeland and Nansemond River, have rubberized tracks.

Last week's Eastern Region meet was held at Hampton's Darling Stadium, which may be the area's premier track. Todd Stadium in Newport News also serves the Peninsula District.

Rubber is both faster and easier on the legs than asphalt, and Purham said Beach District athletes are at a disadvantage when they head to a stadium like Darling after running on asphalt most of the season.

``We have strong runners, but we get the bad lanes because our times are slow,'' Purham said. ``Track is mental, and our kids see those fast times and don't think they can compete.''

William Peachy, coordinator of student activities for Virginia Beach schools, said there are no definite plans to upgrade any of the Beach's tracks.

``As early as the '95-'96 budget there are going to be a number of things that need to be looked at,'' Peachy said. ``That could be one thing that very well comes up. I know we're developing an awareness of some of the things we might need to be competitive locally.''

STATE SOCCER: At 13-5-1, First Colonial has lost more games than the other three teams combined in Friday's Group AAA state girls final four.

But that doesn't necessarily mean the Patriots are a long shot.

First Colonial's losses are to Beach District champion Cox (twice), three-time state champion West Springfield, 1994 state favorite Robinson and nationally ranked Norfolk Academy.

Moreover, the Patriots are 10-2 in their last 12 games and avenged both losses with a 2-1 victory over Cox in the region final.

``We're starting to turn things around,'' Patriots coach Janet Rowlands said. ``Those early games are going to benefit us in the long run.''

MORE STATE SOCCER: The First Colonial girls and Cox boys will play back-to-back in the semifinals Friday night at Hylton High in Woodbridge. The Patriots meet Woodbridge (18-1-1) at 3 p.m. in a girls semifinal. Cox (15-2-2) then meets Manchester (15-1-3) of suburban Richmond in a boys semifinal at 6.

Midlothian (19-1) meets Robinson (17-0-2) in the other girls semifinal at 1 p.m. Hylton (19-1-2) takes on Lafayette (17-1-2) at 8 in the other boys semifinal. The championship games are Saturday at 2 (girls) and 5 p.m. (boys).

TCIS COACHES: Norfolk Academy grabbed five coach-of-the-year awards at the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools banquet - Lynn Ridinger (field hockey), Jay Leach (boys swimming), Kevin Sims (girls soccer), Mary Peccie (girls tennis) and Susan Fleenor (volleyball).

Also winning awards were Nansemond-Suffolk baseball coach Ron Killmon, who is stepping down after this season, and Norfolk Collegiate boys soccer coach Jim Snodgrass, who also coaches the Cox boys.

Other winners: Dave Walker (Norfolk Christian), boys basketball; Larry Bowman (Norfolk Collegiate) and Larry Riggs (Nansemond-Suffolk), girls basketball; Barbara Biasi (Peninsula Catholic), girls cross country; Chris Davidson (Peninsula Catholic), boys cross country and boys track; Kristen Kirkman (Walsingham), girls swimming; Pete McCoy (Cape Henry), wrestling; Stock Watson (Cape Henry), boys lacrosse; Cal Woodard (Norfolk Collegiate), softball; Matt Tiffany (Norfolk Christian), boys tennis; Dick Avery (Hampton Roads), girls track; Emery Stafford (Norfolk Collegiate), golf.

MORE AWARDS: Norfolk Academy's Tom Duquette was named Virginia Prep League boys lacrosse coach of the year. Seven Bulldogs also filled half of the first-team positions on the All-Prep team: goalie Hannon Wright, defenseman Dee Lawrence, attackers Drew McKnight and John Wynne and midfielders Charlie Burroughs, Ben Kottke and Andy York. ... York is one of two offspring of Academy football coach Tom York to garner all-state honors. Stephanie York, a sophomore attacker on the Academy girls lacrosse team, was a first-team All-League of Independent Schools choice. She was joined by teammate Erin Broome, a junior defender. ... Norfolk Academy's Ben Hamlet was a first-team All-Prep League baseball choice. by CNB