THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260579
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The area's best 100-meter runner is going after a school record today.
In the 400 meters.
Last weekend in the Peninsula Relays, Churchland's Greg Boothe tied the meet record for 100 meters with a clocking of 10.5. It was the fastest time locally this season.
Boothe also won the 200 meters with a time of 21.9, once more the finest in an area meet this year.
The achievements against a strong headwind earned him The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star male Athlete of the Week award.
Now his coach, Clarence Brown, wants to give Boothe the opportunity of setting a school record in an event outside his usual repertoire. So Boothe will run the 400-meter dash this afternoon in a Southeastern District quad meet at Churchland.
``Our school record is 50.1,'' said Brown. ``I am confident that Greg can break it. I want to give him that chance.''
Brown calls Boothe ``the best runner I have ever had.''
All this has come about in just a single year. Boothe was a three-sport participant at Churchland and that didn't include track. He played baseball, basketball and football. Brown happened to see Boothe running at a baseball game last spring and asked if he would be interested in competing in a weekend track meet.
Boothe ran in an invitational at Suffolk and placed third in the 100-meter dash.
As a part-time track participant the rest of the season, he developed rapidly and took fourth in the 100 in the district meet.
``I was starting to see that my future probably is track,'' said Boothe. ``I ran in AAU meets in the summer and really worked on my conditioning.'' His conditioning included running while pulling a tire over 60 meters.
Boothe won the 100- and 200-meters in the State AAU Meet for 17-year-olds (he was then 16) and placed third in the regionals and the AAU Nationals in the 100.
In the indoor season he won the state 55-meter title.
``I didn't think I would get this good this fast,'' said Boothe. ``But now I'm giving up other sports to concentrate on track.''
The colleges already are lining up to seek the services of the speedy 5-foot-10 1/2, 160-pound sprinter. He has his grades in order but he still needs to pass the SAT.
First up, however, is today's bid for a school 400-meter record.
``I can break 50,'' said Boothe. ``I'd love to run 49 flat. That's my goal.'' by CNB