THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609150177
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: 73 lines
Billy McGlaughon pictured himself winning Saturday's Newport News Invitational the night before the race. He needn't dream about it any longer.
The medal that sparkled in the sunshine at Newport News Park reminded him it was real, as the Western Branch senior continued his wide-awake start to the cross country season with his third win in three races.
McGlaughon's victory in 16 minutes, 2 seconds was four seconds better than Atlee's Dean Fields. He is the first South Hampton Roads runner to win the boys ``A'' race since the invitational began in 1987.
``I visualized the race exactly as I ran it,'' McGlaughon said. ``We got into the woods, and I heard his coach say, `You know you're stronger at the end' to him.
``I thought, `Thanks, Coach,' so I took off and surged.''
Kempsville senior Adrienne Parker took third in the girls ``A'' race in 19:00, behind Atlee's Jennifer Meador (18:31) and Manchester's Sarah Burkett (18:43). It was the fourth consecutive time Meador won the Newport News race, broken down into ``A,'' ``B'' and ``C'' classifications. The 50 schools and 1,400 runners competing make up almost the entire Eastern Region.
Parker, second a year ago, said she was slightly disappointed in not matching her place from last year. The senior two-time Beach District champion hung with Meador and Burnett until the two-mile mark, when Meador pulled away.
``I wanted to relax in the first mile and use the other people in front of me, let them do all the work,'' Parker said. ``I tried to challenge Meador, but I just fell off. ... I definitely need to work on the middle of my race.''
Manchester won the team titles for both ``A'' races. The Great Bridge boys team, led by sophomore Jason Santucci in 12th, earned a fifth-place spot, pleasing first-year coach Mike Colaiacovo.
``Most of these teams are from the Central and Northern Region,'' he said. ``It's good to see where we are. The boys are no where near peak shape right now. We're doing strength work, and we've done no speed work. I think we'll be ready to rock 'n' roll at the right time.''
Much to her surprise, Wildcats junior Tracy O'Neal won the ``B'' race in 20:04. ``Three or four girls went out in front of me, and they were going really fast, but I figured they would get tired,'' said O'Neal, sixth in last fall's regional meet. ``I just kept running, but I didn't think I'd come in first.''
The Bruins, 10th overall, got another boost from senior Mark Manny, who ran 11th, despite a sore throat he attributed to a week of practices in the rain.
The Kempsville girls placed sixth, led by Parker and junior Kelly Lawver in 13th. First Colonial's Megan Kaminski was fifth in 19:17 and defending regional champ Pam Edwards of Tallwood came in seventh.
``It was one of the worst races of my life,'' Edwards said. ``I don't know what happened. I didn't feel like myself.''
Not so with McGlaughon. Bruins coach Bill Volkman said McGlaughon is on a mission this year after battling injuries and Great Bridge's Eric Adams last season. McGlaughon said he loves running on the scenic Newport News course, a looping stretch that winds the runners around a flat path shaded by pine trees. He started at the back of the front pack, moving up after the first mile. Halfway done, McGlaughon and Fields were neck-and-neck until the Bruin pulled away with a half mile left.
``This is my seventh time running this course,'' said McGlaughon, second in the boys ``B'' last fall. ``I love the way it's set up. At the start of the race there's 150 people in line and they all have to go through this little gate. It's a mad dash.''
But at least one spectator was looking for McGlaughon to increase his speed, just a tad, at the end.
``Why'd you slow down?'' his dad, Bill, asked in a teasing manner as his son huffed away from the finish line.
McGlaughon smiled and said, ``I'm saving it for the ``B'' race.'' ILLUSTRATION: GARY C. KNAPP photo
Kempsville's Adrienne Parker ran third in the girls ``A'' race,
leading a sixth-place team finish. by CNB