THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606050106
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 19 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DAN COOLEY, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 89 lines
It took longer than expected. Six extra days, in fact. But the Crestwood girls and the Deep Creek boys - both regular season champs - showed no ill effects of the layoff by easily winning the Chesapeake Middle School League track titles at Deep Creek Middle School.
The field events were completed without a hitch, but the running events were postponed twice because of rain and excessive heat.
Deep Creek ousted Crestwood in the boys competition 40-26 for its second straight crown. Oscar Smith, second in the regular season, finished third with 23. Indian River scored 18, good for fourth; Western Branch was fifth with three. Great Bridge failed to score.
In the girls meet, Crestwood ended Deep Creek's two-year hold on the league by topping the second-place Hornets 43-26. Western Branch finished third (14 points), followed by Indian River (13), Great Bridge (11) and Oscar Smith (3).
``The girls were determined they were going to take first,'' Crestwood first-year head coach Karen Cooper said. ``I'm pleased to be a part of such a strong team.''
The Falcons won just four of 10 events, but placed in every event. Brandy Jackson, the meet's only double winner, quickly got Crestwood off on the right foot by winning the long and high jumps.
Jackson also had a hand in one of the Falcons' two victories in running events. She ran the third leg of the team's victorious 800-meter relay.
It was an impressive performance for a girl who hadn't even considered coming out for track four months ago.
``I was playing basketball and a lot of people kept telling me, `You can really jump. You ought to try out for track,' '' said Jackson. ``So I just went out and tried my hardest. I didn't know how I was doing, though, because I was running back and forth between the events.''
LaToya Fitzgerald followed Jackson's lead on the second and final day of competition by winning the first event, the 100 meters. Three events later, Crestwood had an insurmountable 20-point lead over Deep Creek.
``This win was a result of a lot of hard work and a lot of good athletes,'' Crestwood co-coach Chris Brumm said. ``We had a lot more depth and experience than last year's (third-place team).''
Two records were set in the girls meet. Indian River's 400-meter relay team of Natasha Lanier, Krystal Davis, Tiffany Johnson and Keisha Griffin broke Deep Creek's 1986 mark of 52.5. In the shot, Great Bridge's Ashley Etheridge's toss of 39-4 on her first throw erased Deep Creek's Tonya Carey's 1986 mark of 37-9.
``I didn't know I had broken it until the officials told me after the event was over,'' Etheridge said. ``I was surprised and shocked. The record wasn't something I had thought about.''
Etheridge's teammate, Lindsay Vanderspiegel, was the only repeat winner of the meet, though she took first in a different event than last year. Vanderspiegel won the 400 after winning the 800 last year.
``I had run the 400 in the relays last year and thought I had a better chance of winning the 400 than the 800 this time because I was stronger in it,'' she said. ``I was nervous today, though, because they pushed me harder in the 400 than they had all year.''
The race was dead even until Vanderspiegel pulled away in the final 150 meters. She also tried her hand at the 800, but was never a factor after being hampered by leg cramps and breathing problems. Western Branch's Valerie Wong took the event.
Other girls winners were Deep Creek's Rashawna Sellers and the Deep Creek relay team.
In the boys meet, Deep Creek relied on the strength of three individual wins and two relay victories to win its second straight championship. Benjamin Hull led the way by winning the shot and participating on two winning relays and a second-place relay.
Still, it took awhile for the Hornets to clinch. Though Deep Creek picked up firsts by Hull and then J.R. Riddick in the high jump, Crestwood only trailed 14-11 at the completion on the field events.
After Crestwood's Capri Ferebee won the 100, Deep Creek's lead was trimmed to 17-16. But the Hornets responded with consecutive wins in the 400-meter relay and Jamel Seward's first in the 800. Deep Creek then took second in the 800 relay and never looked back with two events to go and a 32-21 lead. The team's win in the 1600 relay provided the final margin.
``A lot of credit for what we were able to do this season goes to the hard work of volunteer coaches Lisa Phillips and Dee Dee Saunders,'' Deep Creek head coach Steve Plude said. ``We were strong in every event this year.''
The Hornets demonstrated that strength by placing in every event. Among winners in other events, Ferebee was the only individual double winner, taking both the 100 and 200. He finished the season unbeaten but had to hold off Deep Creek's Willie Smith by the narrowest of margins in both. Ferebee won the 100 by just 0.05 seconds. The bigger scare, however, came in the 200.
``I couldn't tell where I was at first because of the turns,'' Ferebee said. ``When we got to the straightway, I saw (Smith) was ahead and I thought he was going to beat me. But I cut in front of him right at the end and beat him.''
Ferebee crossed the finish line just 0.03 seconds ahead of Smith. Other boys winners were Oscar Smith's 800 relay; Ted Brown in the 400; and Crestwood's Dwayne Eason in the high jump. by CNB