THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, May 15, 1996                TAG: 9605150615
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C6   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: ATHLETES OF THE WEEK 
SOURCE: BY KEITH POMPEY, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: SUFFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

SPRINTER SAVED HIS BEST FOR DISTRICT MEET

Melvin Faulk was the main attraction at the Bay Rivers track meet Friday.

Fans on the sidelines at Nansemond River wondered if the Lakeland sprinter was as good as advertised. Norfolk State coach Steve Riddick was on hand, looking to put the finishing touches on his recruiting.

But Faulk was ready.

Since the beginning of the season, he'd been building toward this meet. Faulk, who had a history of not performing well during big meets, knew people would scrutinize him.

``And when they come to see me, I'm going to put all the Group AA schools on the map,'' Faulk said before the meet. ``I want to let everybody know that we can run with Group AAA schools.''

Faulk started by shattering the meet record in the 200 during the trials with an area-best time of 21.57 seconds. Sevend Mason of Green Run, a Group AAA school, is second at 21.60.

That was only the beginning.

Faulk won both the 100 (10.61) and 200 (21.68) finals, took third in the triple jump (42-1 1/2) and anchored Lakeland's fourth-place 4x100 relay (44.64).

For his effort, Faulk is The Virginian-Pilot's male Athlete of the Week.

``He came out to prove something and let people know that he wanted to go out of the district meet in a bang,'' Lakeland coach James Dabney said.

``I'm very proud of my performance,'' said Faulk. ``When I go to school, my records will be announced on the loudspeaker. That makes me feel good.

``And a couple of college coaches were here. It seemed like the right meet to do well. The coaches who saw me seemed to be impressed. That's what I wanted to do. I want to run in college.''

Faulk's next chance to impress the college coaches comes Friday at the Region I meet at Christopher Newport. The Group AA state meet is the following Saturday at James Madison.

``When Melvin gets to college he will make (some coach) proud,'' Dabney said. ``I always knew that he could run with anybody in the state. If someone pushes him he could be in the 20-second range at 200 meters. I'm not saying he will do it this year. When he gets to college, he will get in the 20s.

``He's the fastest sprinter I've ever had.'' ILLUSTRATION: Melvin Faulk

Lakeland

by CNB