THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 14, 1996 TAG: 9604140212
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES C. BLACK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 47 lines
Andre Cason wasn't concerned about winning or running his best Saturday afternoon. He just wanted to finish his leg in the men's 4x100 Olympic Development relay at the Norfolk Invitational Relays.
``(I was) a little rusty but that's to be expected,'' said the Virginia Beach native who had not competed outdoors since last year's Olympic Festival.
``It's a blessing that we got through the race without having any mental or physical pains and strains.''
While the world-record holder in the indoor 60-meter run (6.41) is concentrating more on the Olympic Trials, which begin June 9 in Atlanta, Norfolk State's relay team focused on the present.
The Spartans pulled away down the stretch to win the 4x100 Olympic Development relay in 39.2 seconds.
``They ran as a unit and that's how you win relays,'' said Cason, whose Speed International squad finished fifth (45.21). ``Their stick never slowed down.''
Norfolk State's consistency was good enough to hold off Pony Express (41.1) and Morgan State (41.8).
``Everybody was kind of hyping Andre up,'' said Ramon Clay, who ran anchor leg for the Spartans. ``We just want everybody to know Norfolk State is on the map.''
In the women's division, former Spartanette Chandra Sturrup and her Vector Sports team ran away from the competition.
Esther Jones, a member of the 1992 U.S. women's 4x100 gold-medal squad in 1992, ran the lead leg and Sturrup anchored for Vector (44.8).
Sturrup, who will represent the Bahamas in this summer's centennial Olympiad in Atlanta, won the women's 100-meter open dash (11.0) and also ran on the winning women's open 4x200 team. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Andre Cason's Speed International team finished fifth in Saturday's
4x100 Olympic Development relay at Norfolk State.
by CNB