THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 24, 1994 TAG: 9411220202
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 21 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines
FROM THE FIRST DAY of cross country practice, when new Maury coach Walt Green collected the runners together and laid down the rules, Commodores boys captain Jake Hughes knew this season would be different.
``I'd always thought of cross country as more club than sport,'' Hughes said. ``But all of a sudden, I had to take it a lot more seriously.
``And winning the (Eastern) District was no longer on our minds. Our goal from Day One was to make it to state.''
Had Hughes and the others known the history of Norfolk schools in postseason competition, they might not have believed so strongly in such a focus. Going into the 1994 season, no Eastern District girls team had ever qualified for the Group AAA meet. No Norfolk boys team had made it since 1979.
But the Maury teams didn't pay attention to history. They believed.
They started by sweeping the Eastern District titles, highlighted by the girls taking the first seven places. The teams then combined to become one of only two region schools (Great Bridge was the other) and one of only eight in Virginia to place both teams in the state meet.
``The day I had those two third-place trophies in my hand was one of the happiest days of my life,'' Green said.
But while it might have been natural for the teams to let down after achieving their preseason goal, Green wouldn't let it happen.
``As soon as regionals were over, Coach Green emphasized we weren't going (to state) just to have fun,'' said Jane Lawrence, the three-time Eastern District champion.
Maury's boys, led by a powerful effort by lead runner Dallas Williams, went on to finish 13th at the state meet, with the girls finishing 14th.
But the fact that the Maury teams even qualified for the meet is noteworthy, given more sad history on Norfolk schools' performances in all fall sports. In boys and girls fall sports combined, only two Eastern District teams (Lake Taylor football in 1982 and Maury's girls tennis in 1992) had qualified for state competition since 1980.
``The kids deserve the credit,'' Green said. ``They're the ones that made it happen.''
According to the runners, however, it wouldn't have happened without Green, affectionately known as Waltdogg by the runners. He's the man behind the Atlantic Coast Track Club and who provided the inspiration and the regimen for Maury's successful season.
``We worked really hard in practice, but coach always gave us a reason for what we did,'' said Hughes, who added that Green would often consult other area coaches to refine his techniques.
``He always emphasized practices,'' said Lawrence, a senior captain who didn't lose an Eastern District meet after her freshman year. ``He would always say, `This is where the meets are won.' ''
In addition to Lawrence, the girls team was composed of Aisha Joyner, Jennifer Warren, Kit Weaver, Courtney Dozier, Mary Malone, Denzy Sills, Lisa Joyner, Amy Weisburg, Katie Connors, Cassell Person and Alice Shahan.
Boys team members besides Williams and Hughes included Darryl and Francis Wood, Leon Henry, Chris Coffing, Jon Frank, John Walker, Jeremy Burge and Jordan Bradley.
The loss of several seniors - the boys team graduates five of its top seven - figures to make repeating this year's success difficult.
According to the runners, however, the return of one important individual mitigates against too much of a dropoff.
``Coach Green's here,'' Lawrence said. ``That won't happen.'' ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Aisha Joyner, Mary Malone, Kit Weaver (from left, top row) and Jane
Lawrence (bottom) are key members of the Maury girls cross country
team that ran to the Eastern District title this season.
Photo
Dallas Williams
The Commodores' lead runner
by CNB