THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 12, 1995 TAG: 9511120296
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMI FRANKENBERRY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: THE PLAINS, VA. LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
On a normal weekend afternoon at Great Meadow, a steeplechase course outside Warrenton, the crowd would be humming about which horse and rider were best able to manuever the terrain of hills and jumps.
On Saturday, Thomas Jefferson High School's Jackie Kerr and West Springfield's Sharif Karie were the stars. They trotted to wins in a constant rain and gusty winds in the Group AAA girls and boys state cross country championships.
Kerr, a junior, led from start to finish to claim her third straight title in 18:10, while Karie, a Somalia native, grabbed an early lead and finished in 15:14, more than 30 seconds ahead of second-place Eric Kweder of Thomas Edison (15:46).
West Springfield (54 points) easily won the boys Group AAA team championship over Hayfield (121), Lake Braddock (144) and James River (158). Centreville (64) placed three girls in the top seven to outdistance Manchester (126), Thomas Jefferson (140) and Chantilly (140).
South Hampton Roads' highest finisher was Kempsville's Adrienne Parker, who finished sixth in a time of 18:43. Other area girls who finished were: Kempsville's Katie Sullivan (12th, 19:14); Tallwood's Pam Edwards (14th, 19:22); Bayside's Carolyn Zanelli (22nd, 19:44); Great Bridge's Tracy O'Neal (36th, 20:10); and Cox's Hollie Robinson (40th, 20:14).
``I was really focused today,'' Parker said. ``There were a lot of great athletes out here to pull me along. I dug down deep and turned it on at the end.''
First Colonial's Daniel Baxley led area boys in Group AAA, finishing 18th with a time of 16:33.
``I let it all go and didn't hold anything back,'' Baxley said. ``This is probably the best race of my life. (The weather) was bad, but you just have to kind of ignore it.''
Great Bridge's Eric Adams (16:42) finished 24th, followed by Kellam's David Waksmunski (27th, 16:45), Great Bridge's Erik Cooper (33rd, 16:50), and Churchland's Robbie Williams (40th, 16:56).
In area boys team scoring, Great Bridge (8th, 209) beat out Kellam (12th, 258) and Cox (15th, 348), while in girls it was Kempsville (11th, 230), Bayside (13th, 326), Maury (14th, 367) and Great Bridge (15th, 383).
In Group AA, Charlotteville's Robert Theile (16:03) came in ahead of Western Albemarle's Michael Fox (16:06) and Christiansburg's Justin Mosby (16:34). Lakeland's James Pruden (17th, 17:11) and Andy Franklin (29th, 17:23) were South Hampton Roads' top finishers.
Sarah Hendricks (18:51) of Blacksburg won the girls Group AA, with Abingdon's Colleen Crawford (19:02) and Waynesboro's Melanie Matthews second and third, respectively.
Christiansburg (72) won the boys Group AA team title ahead of Western Albemarle (116), Blacksburg (136) and York (138). Spotswood (48) took the girls Group AA championship, beating Western Albemarle (71), Jefferson Forest(108) and Broad Run (153). Lakeland (240) finished 10th.
In Group A, Glenvar's Trisha Nervo (18:13) and Floyd County's Ben Cooke (16:29) won individual titles as Brentsville's boys (73) and Central's girls (49) won team championships. by CNB