Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990 TAG: 9005180139
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: MONETA LENGTH: Medium
Correll, then an eighth grader at Lucy Addison Junior High, lived on Shadeland Avenue Northwest before the flood.
"The floods washed our house away," said Correll, who, with her twin sister, Charlotte, and their mother, Shirley, was home at the time of the flooding.
"The water came up on the front porch and then started to come in the front door. We went out the back door and over a fence."
All the three took with them was a puppy.
"We were all scared. The water had never gotten that high. We went over and got an elderly neighbor out and went to my grandmother's house two blocks away," recalled Correll.
She returned the next morning to a gruesome sight. "My parents had gone back that night, and the water was over the roof of the house. I came back when you could go into the house. Everything was wet and destroyed. I was upset, and I started crying."
The house was condemned. But the Corrells, including father Junior Correll, who was at work during the flooding, were luckier than some of their neighbors, two of whom died in their homes during the flood.
"Dad thought about taking flood insurance a few weeks before, but even if he had done it then, it wouldn't have taken effect," Correll said.
The family might have been down, but it wasn't out. The Corrells decided to build a house on property they owned and camped on in Bedford County.
"I really didn't want to change schools. But my cousin lived up the road, and I had other family nearby so it wasn't like I didn't know anyone," Correll said.
Until the move to Bedford, the only athletic activity she had been playing was softball in the eighth grade. "But I didn't like it, and I didn't join the team when I moved."
Instead, Correll and a friend, Rene Paxton, decided to try out for the track team. That was strange because Correll was anything but a dedicated runner.
"In eighth grade, I wouldn't even run the 600 meters for physical fitness," Correll said of a requirement to pass physical education class. "I'd walk it, and the teacher didn't care as long as we had a time."
Correll originally wanted to be a sprinter. But after two weeks of practice, Staunton River coach Joe Curcio decided, based on testing of basic sprint speed and endurance, that Correll should be a distance runner.
Correll, who as a sophomore signed up for cross country, said she didn't like becoming a distance runner. "I thought it was too much work. I thought we were running too far."
The test, however, hit Correll's future right on the button. About a month ago the Staunton River runner started to dominate the Blue Ridge District in the 800- and 1,600-meter runs.
Correll's best track performance came May 12, as she beat defending champion Cory Morris of Brookville to win the Region III 1,600-meter title. It was a classic race in which Correll led for three laps. Morris kicked ahead early in the final lap, but Correll came right back to take the lead and hold off Morris at the end by less than two seconds.
"I thought she had me," said Correll. "I just had enough drive to get going again."
"Correll's always had the talent to do this," said Staunton River distance coach Joe Hubble. "It was a matter of her pushing herself and being pushed. Call it a little bit of prodding, but I like to give her goals that challenge her, but don't scare her away."
Was the win over Morris an upset?
Morris, who comes out of the Seminole District, had beaten Correll in an earlier race, but the Golden Eagle runner actually had the better time of 5:19.4, posted in the district meet a week earlier.
"I didn't realize I had that good a time until five or 10 minutes after the race. I was just excited to win the district," said Correll.
Saturday, it took a performance nearly that good to hold off Morris as Correll recorded a 5:19.9.
Correll faces another challenger because she is listed only second best in Timesland in the 1,600-meter run. She will chase Blacksburg's Jenny Adkisson at the Group AA meet in Harrisonburg Saturday, trying to catch the Indian runner who leads Timesland with a 5:11.8 recorded in the May 12 Region IV meet.
She'll also be matched again with Morris in the 800- and 1,600-meter races. Morris won last Saturday's 800-meter event, but Correll keeps getting better each week.
"I ran my best time in this one [the 800 meters]," said Morris. "The first race [1,600 meters] was a good one and she deserved that one. I'll be back next week to see what happens."
So will Correll.
by CNB