THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 14, 1996 TAG: 9603140513
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
One would think that being a nationally ranked hurdler, senior class vice president, a respected field hockey player and two-time girls basketball state semifinalist would keep Kempsville's Charlette Fayton satisfied.
Wrong. She still has something to prove, and she'll get that chance when Kempsville (27-3) meets defending Group AAA champion James Robinson (22-6) in today's 4:30 p.m. semifinal at Liberty University's Vines Center.
``We want to prove to everybody that we can be state champions,'' said Fayton, a 5-foot-7 guard who leads the Chiefs in scoring with 13.0 points per game. ``The only way to prove it is by winning.''
After forging a 29-0 record last season, Kempsville's dream of its first state championship ended with a 63-49 loss to James Robinson in the playoffs. That loss, only the seventh time Fayton had been on the losing end in a Kempsville basketball uniform, proved to be the turning point in her career.
``I didn't know it then,'' she said, ``but it gave me incentive for this year.''
Enter the gym rat. Fayton spent countless hours during the summer in the Kempsville gym honing her skills. She would run, lift, shoot, then run and shoot some more.
``All of a sudden, I saw a change in Charlette,'' Kempsville coach Greg Dunn said. ``She just started showing up at the gym every day and would stay for hours. Whatever it took. She had made up her mind that she wanted to play college ball.
``She was always a great athlete who was a decent basketball player. Her work paid off. Now she's turned into a great basketball player.''
Meanwhile, field hockey and track took the back burner. She decided that her field hockey days were over, and that she would run indoor track when it didn't conflict with basketball. Still, she set a Beach District record of 8.3 seconds in the 55-meter hurdles.
She was expected to make the national tournament heat again this year, but skipped the qualifier because of the Chiefs' extended basketball season.
``I've already accomplished something in track,'' said Fayton, who has been accepted by Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech and UNC-Charlotte but has been recruited minimally. ``I'll always have that. Now I want something in basketball.''
But only the state championship will suffice.
``It's a big thing,'' she said. ``It was hard playing (James Robinson) like that last year and then just going home. I didn't cry or anything because I knew I was coming back.''
This time with something to prove. ILLUSTRATION: Charlette Fayton faces the team that eliminated her Chiefs last
year.
by CNB