THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508130274
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: [Julie Goodrich]
LENGTH: Medium: 85 lines
POOLSIDE EXCITEMENT: As soon as the horn sounded to start the girls 12-under 50 backstroke event, Allison Durham was at the edge of the pool, jostling for position in front of the scorer's table. Durham was cheering on Lauren McHorney, a swimmer with the Little Neck Tidal Waves who happens to be best friends with Durham's daughter, Meagan.
When the swimmers made the turn at the far end of the pool for the final 25 meters, Durham edged ever further down the side of the pool to cheer McHorney on, until an official gently asked her to move back. Durham, along with her daughter and McHorney's parents, Speedy and Brenda, continued to root for their favorite swimmer and gave out a victory yell when McHorney touched the wall in third place with a time of 37.46.
``We support our friends,'' said Durham after things had calmed down. ``I got a little excited.''
For her part, McHorney benefited from all the extra support.
``I've never swam so fast in my entire life,'' she said. McHorney's third-place mark was nearly four seconds faster than her qualifying time.
BEAT THE HEAT: As the sun broiled everything in its path, swimmers and a few parents retreated to makeshift tents set up for each club around the pool's perimeter. With temperatures in the mid-90s, competitors took special effort to keep themselves healthy.
``I'm just staying in the shade and drinking lots of water,'' said Green Run's Adam Chissler, a rising senior at Ocean Lakes who broke the boys 18-under 50 backstroke record in six consecutive meets this season and missed setting a new mark by .10 second at All-Stars. ``The (pool's) warm water makes muscles tire out quicker, but it's not too bad.''
(NEARLY) WORST TO (ALMOST) FIRST: At the Dolphin Division meet, Great Bridge's Josh Verdin had the kind of competition he'd rather forget. In the boys 18-under 50 freestyle, one of his better events, Verdin had a mishap on the turn and turned in a sub-par time of 28.58, seeding him 11 out of 12 swimmers in the event at All-Stars.
Verdin atoned for his mistake at All-Stars, winning the first heat in the 50 free in 27.15 seconds, .10 faster than 10th seeded Jeremy Schrage of Indian Lakes. The times stood up enough to place Verdin second overall, while Schrage finished third to winner Joe Minkowski of Club Britanny.
ONGOING RIVALRY: One matchup in boys competition stands to entertain swimming fans for many years to come. Gary Sharpe of the Little Neck Tidal Waves and Great Bridge's Lee Brittan have established a rivalry that pushes both to the edge of their abilities.
In the Dolphin Division meet, Sharpe bested Brittan in the 50 free, but Brittan got revenge by out-touching Sharpe in the finals of the 50 fly. Sharpe got the final word when his Little Neck 200 free relay team beat Brittan's Great Bridge squad. Both teams turned in record setting times.
Nothing changed at All-Stars. Sharpe again took first over Brittan in the 50 free by .53 second, and Brittan won the 50 fly by a full second over Sharpe.
In the duo's last race against each other - the 200 free relay - their respective teams held close to each other while running away from the rest of the pack. The Tidal Waves held the lead after two legs, yielded a bit in the third stroke, and out-touched the Piranhas by .35 second with a time of 1:57.01, which lopped a full two seconds of Little Neck's record.
``He (Brittan) gives me more of a challenge,'' Sharpe said after the relay. ``This is the best we've done so far.''
ODDS & ENDS: At halftime of the competition, winners in each of the Virginia Beach Swim League's four divisions were announced. The Great Bridge Piranhas ended the Little Neck Tidal Waves' stronghold in the Dolphin Division, Broad Bay Country Club repeated in the Marlin Division, Larkspur won the Porpoise Division, and Green Run captured the Tarpon Division. . . Oceana's Marshall Daniels was the only individual winner to come out of an event's first heat, winning the boys 6-under 25 backstroke with a time of 27.41. . . Great Bridge was represented by the most swimmers (40) and took home the most titles (five relay, seven individual). Carolanne Farm led all teams with eight individual titles. Club Brittany and the Little Neck Tidal Waves each had six. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
Kristen Kirkland, 8, warms up for the butterfly before her final
meet of the season.
In the sweltering heat, competitors like Hayley Maloney of Virginia
Beach sought to stay cool.
by CNB