THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601190248
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines
KATHY McNEELEY IS an expert at juggling. No, she doesn't juggle tenpins, hatchets and apples. It's her hectic schedule.
McNeeley, a senior at Indian River, has somehow managed to find the time to score a 4.059 grade point average in six advanced placement courses while playing at least three varsity sports, working a baby-sitting job and participating in a plethora of extracurricular activities.
What's her secret?
``I would love to know myself,'' said Melvin Queen, who coaches McNeeley during indoor track season. ``Kathy goes to everything. I couldn't keep up with her schedule myself.''
McNeeley, 17, arrives at school for A.P. Chemistry lab on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m., plays the first chair oboe in the symphonic marching band, squeezes in the Key Club where she's the treasurer, scurries to National Honor Society meetings and then rushes off to practice for whatever sport she's playing at the moment. Finally, it's time to go home around 6:30 p.m. where she hits the books and maybe gets five or six - if she's lucky - hours of sleep.
``I don't know how I do it,'' said McNeeley, a middle distance runner who has a 5-0 record in the mile and a 4-1 mark in the 1,000 this winter. ``I have to stay active. I'm not happy with myself if I'm not doing something.
``I want to do as much as possible while doing it well. If I can't give it my best, then I have to drop something.''
Because she decided to concentrate on bringing up her grades and earning a track scholarship, McNeeley is not playing basketball for the first time since she came to high school, leaving her back-to-back-to-back seasons of cross country, indoor track and outdoor track.
``I wasn't a key player on the basketball team,'' said McNeeley. ``But I really love basketball. It took me a long time to decide not to play. I miss it. I haven't been to a game yet, so I don't know how I'd react to not playing. I haven't had time.''
McNeeley has been spending that extra time focusing on the latest list of goals she's set for herself.
Because only tenths of a point separate the top four in her graduating class - she's No. 4 - McNeeley is still shooting for the coveted valedictorian or salutatorian spot. She's also managed to drop her time in the mile to 5:44 and her 1,000 time to 3:20. At that rate, McNeeley has a good chance of reaching her other goal: qualifying for the state meet.
``I've missed it by one or two places every year,'' said McNeeley, a two-time MVP in cross country and the Braves' top competitor in indoor and outdoor track. ``I believe if I stay where I am, I can do well. I can't slack off.''
That's the one thing coach Queen says McNeeley never does.
``She never says no to anything,'' he said. ``She puts in all that time in the classroom studying and is a top athlete. She doesn't stop. She's a good leader to the other girls. They all look up to her. You won't meet a more pleasant child.''
Or a more competitive one.
McNeeley said her competitive nature first showed itself when she began English riding at age three. Her mother is a riding instructor and McNeeley still competes when she visits her mother in South Carolina during the summers and on holidays. McNeeley has won numerous riding awards, including three reserve state championships, and has received honors from the Indiana Hunter Jumper Association, the Indiana Saddle Horse Association and the American Horse Show Association. Currently, she is assisting in the training of green horses and showing them on a national circuit.
McNeeley is also one of the top oboe players in the region. She tied for first in the region and has qualified to try out for the state band.
As for honors in the classroom, the list seems endless. But at the top is Academic All-American, an award she recently earned after being nominated by her guidance counselor.
``I've always been concerned with grades,'' McNeeley said. ``I love learning. The more I learn, the more I can do with life. I don't want to be someone in the crowd. I want to stick out.''
Something she says she plans to continue to do in college, rather than get lost in the masses. McNeeley, who's already been accepted to Virginia Tech, Purdue and is waiting to hear from William and Mary, hopes to keep up with an even busier schedule in college while studying to be a veterinarian.
Hopefully, she added, one of her priorities will be running track or cross country on scholarship.
``Mentally, I know I can do it,'' said McNeeley, who has a two-page resume for the college representatives to ponder. ``In my areas, I know I'm just as good as anyone out there. If I put my mind to it, it'll get done.''
And she's got the track record to prove it. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Kathy McNeeley is a three-sport athlete with a 4.059 GPA.
by CNB