THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 17, 1996 TAG: 9604170596
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEITH POMPEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
To say Thomasena Snowden was upset last weekend is an understatement.
The Norfolk Invitational Relays nearly turned into a nightmare for the Maury track standout.
Snowden hoped to compete in the 400 hurdles and on the Commodores' 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
But upon arriving Friday, the sophomore learned she wasn't on the hurdle heat sheet.
So she complained to Maury coach Walt Green, who checked with meet officials. They said everything was fine as Green watched them register Snowden into the computer.
But fifteen minutes before the start of the hurdles, Snowden was told she still wasn't in the race.
``So I went back up to the press box and found out her name was not in the computer at all,'' Green said. ``I told the official that I saw him put her name in there. And I showed him my entry fee that I faxed them earlier.''
At first, the officials said there was nothing they could do. It was five minutes until race time.
``I was ready to cry when I heard that,'' Snowden said. ``It was frustrating because I wanted to compete. I wanted to compete against Norcom's Brandi Smith (one of the area's top hurdlers).''
Then, Snowden and Green noticed lane 2 was open on the track. So the officials said Snowden could compete.
That's when she took her frustration out on the competition.
Without warming up, Snowden won the 400 hurdles with a time of 1 minute, 5.0 seconds, shattering her school record by four seconds. Norcom's Smith finished second.
``I felt good to win that race,'' Snowden said. ``It was like I had to prove that I deserved to run.''
She wasn't done. Snowden ran a strong third leg on Maury's second-place 4x100 relay. And she ran a 57.88 leg on the Commodores' third-place 4x400 relay.
For her efforts, Snowden is The Virginian-Pilot's female Athlete of the Week.
``She is probably our most versatile athlete,'' Green said. ``She's going to complain about it. But like I said, when she complains, she's a gutsy individual. Last year, she complained about her leg hurting in a track meet in Hampton. Then she went out and ran 45.91 in the 300 hurdles, setting a school record.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
by CNB