THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150625
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Unlike fans of most sports, cross country followers don't have to rely on the playoffs or the luck of the schedule to see the top performers square off against each other.
In this sport, head-to-head matchups between top runners seem to pop up every week.
This time, it's the 39-team Newport News Invitational beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday at Newport News Park. The marquee matchup is a showdown between Western Branch's Meredith Turnage and Bayside's Carolyn Zanelli, the top girls runners in The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star's weekly poll.
The top-ranked Turnage tuned up for Saturday's showdown by beating her nearest challenger by more than a minute in last week's Southeastern Invitational. The second-ranked Zanelli was equally impressive in winning the Catholic Invitational.
``I know Carolyn's set her sights on beating Meredith,'' Bayside coach Lanny Doan said of Zanelli, who will run Saturday despite a slight knee injury. ``She's going to go all out. Let the best girl win.''
Manchester High School, the suburban Richmond team which finished second in the state last year, and Jennifer Meador of Atlee High, third in the individual state race a year ago, also will run at Newport News Park.
The boys race will be headlined by Lafayette's Seneca Lassiter, the defending state champion, and Great Bridge's Eric Adams and Mike Donnelly, ranked second and third in the area, respectively. The most notable absence: Biren Roy of Norfolk Academy, whose strong runner-up finish in last week's Catholic Invitational boosted him to No. 1 among area runners.
Saturday's race is particularly attractive to area Group AAA schools since it will be held over the same course as the one used for the Eastern Region meet.
Races will be held in both A and B categories, which will allow some coaches to run ``team'' races in the lower division.
CLOSE CALL: Western Branch's golf team didn't quite win, but the Bruins still came away feeling pretty good about their play Tuesday, when the perennial Southeastern District runners-up came within three strokes of toppling defending state champion Great Bridge at Stumpy Lake.
``We gave them a run for their money,'' Western Branch coach Wayne Peterson said. ``It was probably one of the best high school matches around here in a long time.''
The Bruins had five golfers shoot in the 70s and finished at 306, ``one of the best scores we've ever had,'' Peterson said.
But it wasn't enough to overcome the Wildcats' big three - Robbie Twine (who fired a 72), Alton Todd (74) and Spencer Sigmon (75). Western Branch's top player, Heather Jeffries, shot a 76.
``To lose by only three strokes on their home course is a success for us,'' Peterson said. ``It means we've pretty well proved we can compete.''
The Bruins' performance is particularly noteworthy since it came without much of a contribution from Scott Wasco, the Portsmouth City Park junior champion who transferred from Churchland.
Wasco, who failed to meet Portsmouth's required 1.3 grade-point average to compete, struggled early Tuesday and finished with an 84.
FOILED AGAIN: First Colonial continues to be the nemesis of Great Bridge tennis. Last year, the Patriots eliminated the Wildcats from the Eastern Region tournament. And Tuesday, the Pats handed Great Bridge its first loss of the year, 5 1/2-3 1/2 (the third doubles match wasn't completed).
The following day, the Wildcats took out their frustrations with a 9-0 victory over Wilson. Meanwhile, the Patriots lost just one game in their 9-0 win over Ocean Lakes.
In a key tennis match today, Booker T. Washington visits Maury at 2:45 p.m. with first place in the Eastern District on the line. Both teams are undefeated in league play. Maury has won the last 13 district titles; the Bookers have finished a surprising second the past two seasons.
Earlier this year, the Bookers knocked off Granby, a team that figured to be Maury's prime challenger in the district race. by CNB