THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604070194
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KEITH POMPEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
Mother Nature rained on Lawrence Johnson's homecoming.
The two-time NCAA pole vault champion at Tennessee, who graduated from Great Bridge High School, came to the Colonial Relays to compete in front of family and friends. But the closest the American collegiate record holder came to using his pole vault was carrying it across the field.
One hour before the competition, head pole vault official Bob Rosenberg canceled it due to the rain.
``I originally hoped to put on a good show for the hometown crowd,'' Johnson said. ``There's a lot of people in the crowd that supported me in high school. A lot of times they raised funds so I could compete in the national scholastic championships and they really haven't had an opportunity to see me compete.
``I'm real disappointed, but this situation is out of my control. But it's still nice to be able to come home.''
The cancellation might have been a blessing, as the weather got worse.
An official was sent to the hospital after falling on the track. The high jump was canceled. And various athletes refused to compete in the high school boys 100-meter final.
None of that bothered Jessie Grant.
The Indian River junior was just happy to be there. He went as far as registering himself after his teammates chose not to attend the meet.
His decision turned out to be a great one. Grant won his second consecutive Colonial Relays long jump title with a leap of 21-8 1/4. Granby's Anthony King finished second (21-7 1/2).
``I just felt I was blessed to be here,'' Grant said. ``Then I made something out of it. I had a few good pops.''
The same couldn't be said for the Norview 4x100 relay team. The team of Joe Jordan, Erik Hines, Larry Austin and Dwayne Potts didn't compete despite making the finals.
In the women's competition, Norfolk State's women's 4x100 relay team (47.42) nipped Seton Hall (47.47) for first place. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot
Lawrence Johnson carries his pole vault across the field after his
event was canceled Saturday at the Colonial Relays.
by CNB