ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, May 25, 1996 TAG: 9605280118
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
On Raheem Barnwell's greatest day in track and field, Patrick Henry celebrated by winning its second consecutive Northwest Region boys' title.
Barnwell, a versatile senior, had three firsts, one individual third and participated on a second-place relay team as he accounted for 38 of the Patriots' 84 points Friday at the University of Virginia track.
All this left PH far ahead of second-place Potomac of Dumfries, which had 62 points. The team championship was settled with five events to go.
William Fleming had 38 points to finish in a tie for fourth as Fenn Crutchfield enjoyed a great day despite no first-place finishes. Crutchfield scored 17 points, including taking second ahead of Barnwell in the long jump and running on two relay teams that placed.
Barnwell won both hurdles and the triple jump. He finished third in the long jump when Potomac's Mike Newell had a 24-foot leap on his final attempt to top Barnwell and Crutchfield. Newell was the meet's other top performer, winning three events and anchoring a winning relay team to account for 321/2 points.
Unlike last year, when PH had to overcome a dropped baton in the 400-meter relay to win the team title, there was no suspense.
Barnwell got some unexpected help from other field-events performers and a lot of assistance from fellow runners Shaun Akers and gimpy-legged Louis Booker.
``I was impressed by what we always talk about [helping out]: the field events,'' said Jeff Johnson, PH's coach.
Dan Ankoma was a surprising third in the shot put and fourth in the discus, where sophomore Mike Stevens added a fifth place.
In the pole vault, freshman Chad Houk was second. Added to Barnwell's jumps, PH finished with 37 points in the field events.
``Beautiful'' was the way Barnwell described his day. Until it was announced on the public address system, Barnwell thought he had finished second in the triple jump.
Barnwell relished the team victory. ``It's my philosophy that you have to do it on that day,'' he said. ``You can't say, `We'll win this or win that.' You just have to do it. That's what counts.''
Barnwell beat Albemarle's Grant Pedro in the 300-meter hurdles, despite tripping over the final hurdle. Pedro came to the event seeded No.1 because he had the best time during the season.
``I had beaten him earlier this spring in the Vince Bradford Relays'' in Lynchburg, Barnwell said. ``I wasn't getting tired. I just mistimed my jump on that last hurdle.''
Johnson said he'll jazz up his lineup next week for a run at the Group AAA title by putting Barnwell in the 200-meter dash and leaving him out of the 300 hurdles.
``That will help him on the jumps because he won't be as tired from the trials. It's easier to run them in the 200 than both hurdle events,'' Johnson said.
Booker, a surprise last year when he won the 400 as a junior, repeated his title. This time, he finished in pain from a right hamstring that tightened.
``I injured it in a dual meet two weeks ago against Cave Spring. I really didn't feel any pressure today,'' Booker said.
Johnson pulled Booker out of the 200, hoping to get him ready for the state meet.
Akers added PH points by placing in the 100 and 200.
Besides Crutchfield, Cave Spring's Ben Dowdy was the Roanoke Valley District's only other second-place finisher outside of the PH contingent. He took second in the 1,600 behind Mark Rumple of Brooke Point in Stafford, then bypassed the 3,200 despite being one of the better runners in that event, which Rumple also won.
``I thought Rumple would take the lead right away, but he didn't until the second lap,'' Dowdy said. ``Still, I had my personal-best time [4:25.6] and next week I hope to go after the school record [by brother Jason] at the state'' meet.
In girls' competition, Gar-Field had an easy time taking the team title with 119 points, 54 better than runner-up Woodbridge.
The RVD's only second-place finishes came from Franklin County's Tamara Mattox in the shot put, Patrick Henry's Tameka Smith in the discus and the William Fleming 400 relay team of Yvette Jackson, Natalie Andrews, Joanne Thomas and Alesha Flint.
The Fleming relay team got its place despite running in the first heat, which had the slower teams.
``We knew we could do it,'' said Rudy Dillard, Fleming's coach. ``We had run a 50.8 [they were clocked in 49.96 on Friday], but we had a bad district meet and got placed in a slower heat.''
Mattox's effort, according to Franklin County coach Calvin Preston, wasn't a surprise. It was important from another standpoint.
``It keeps us going another week and gets us to the state meet,'' Preston said. ``I don't think we've failed to get at least one person to the state every year since I've been [head or assistant] coach.''
see microfilm for team scores
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. & 2. ERIC BRADY STAFF Raheem Barnwell (middle in topby CNBphoto) powers to victory in the 300-meter hurdles Friday at the
Northwest Region track meet. Barnwell scored 38 points for the
Patriots, who won the team title. In left photo, Patrick Henry's
Louis Booker (middle) gets the victory in the 400-meter run.
Booker, a senior, also won the event last year. Patrick Henry scored
84 points in the meet held in Charlottesville and easily
outdistanced second-place Potomac, which scored 62. color