THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 15, 1995 TAG: 9509130151
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 154 lines
ANYBODY GLANCING at the results of the Southeastern District Invitational cross-country meet at Churchland last weekend probably would think perennial power Great Bridge is headed down among the also-rans.
The Great Bridge boys finished a distant second to Gloucester. The girls were third, behind winner Maury and runner-up Gloucester.
So could the Wildcats' reign as Southeastern champion in both divisions be coming to an end?
Forget it!
Great Bridge coach Steve Sawyer, who pilots both the boys and girls teams, decided to split up his squad. He took his primary runners to a conflicting meet in Northern Virginia. His secondary runners competed at Churchland.
And, make no mistake, the teams to beat in the Southeastern this year both will be wearing green and gold.
A year ago, Great Bridge swept the district and Eastern Region championships in both divisions. It could happen again.
District and region champion Eric Adams, a senior, is one of eight holdovers on the boys team. Erik Cooper, a junior, was 16th in the region. The other returnees are senior Andrew Hite; juniors David Bristow, Brenden Vesey and Greg Holden; and sophomores Brian Walsh and Matt Bruckner. Bruckner placed sixth in the Southeastern Invitational.
Adams is the No. 1 ranked cross-country runner in South Hampton Roads.
Chesapeake Junior High 800-meter champ Jason Santucci, a freshman, and Cliff Caris, also a ninth-grader, are the best of the newcomers on the Great Bridge squad.
Seven runners are back on the girls team, led by sophomore Tracy O'Neal. Also returning are seniors Jenny Huston and Katie Dudash and sophomores Jessica Scott, Dorthy Mackey, Hanna Gerloff and Jessica Horton. Horton finished ninth in the Southeastern pre-season meet. O'Neal (No. 3) and Scott (No. 7) are ranked in the area's top 10.
Sawyer says two of the newcomers, Jennifer Norris and Lauren Passero, have great potential. Both are freshmen. Norris finished 15th in the invitational.
The prime district title contenders, in the unlikely event either Great Bridge team falters, are probably the Western Branch teams.
Thomas Anderson, the boys coach, feels his Bruins can contend.
``We are a very young team with experience,'' he said. ``If we can stay healthy and injury free, it will be an interesting season. This team will be competitive.''
Holdovers include juniors Robbie Birsch, Billy McGlaughlon and Matt Vrhovac, senior Jerred Thompkins and sophomore Ryan Thomas.
The Western Branch newcomers are headed by junior Damon Brindle, sophomore James Smith and freshmen Ben Thomas and Roger Wells.
Western Branch bypassed the Southeastern Invitational and competed in the Catholic Invitational at Mount Trashmore Saturday. The boys team finished 12th and the girls were ninth. McGlaughlon was third in the boys meet with a time of 17:08.
Graduation claimed Meredith Turnage, the girls district champion, but Bill Volkman believes Western Branch can place in the top three in the Southeastern.
``We lost our top guns, but we hope to have a few surprises,'' said Volkman.
Emily Thomas is the No. 1 runner, backed up by Darrah Fox. Both are sophomore letter winners and honor students.
A promising group of newcomers includes sophomores Angie Cusick, Melissa McManus and Cheri Newman, junior Shay Jackson, and freshmen Amy Bevon, Jennifer Westfall and Laurie Husley.
Thomas was 13th in the Catholic meet with a time of 21:18.
``This is potentially our best group in the past three seasons,'' said Deep Creek coach Scott Hughes. ``We have enough athletes to be a contender and possibly challenge to be one of the top four teams in the district.''
Only 2-5 a year ago, Deep Creek has a very young team. The holdovers all are sophomores - Connell Williams, David Elliott and David Cowell.
Nine promising newcomers include one senior, two juniors, five sophomores and a freshman. The ninth-grade prospect is Joel Robins. The senior is Mike Gettier. Justin Howe and Jeff Reichelderfer lead the strong group of sophomores.
Hughes also coaches the Deep Creek girls and says ``we will need help from some of our new runners to earn a third straight trip to the regionals.''
Senior Monica Harvey is the team leader and other holdovers are Ashley Marshall and Afreeka Hardison, both seniors, and sophomore Holly Slepin.
Two sophomores, Adrianne Muncher and Larissa Vega, are the standouts among the newcomers.
Junior Robbie Williams, who was 10th in the district last year and a 3,200-meter champion in outdoor track, is the lone holdover at Churchland. Coach Clarence Brown is rebuilding from a senior team and has six freshmen he is starting to build around. The ninth-grade candidates are Ben Booth, Erik Davis, Darnell Fisher, Kip Poole, Kimini Wiggins and Kagim Barnes.
``Williams should be a standout runner,'' said Brown. ``Barnes won the state title in the Hershey track series.''
Churchland has no girls team this year.
Roger Smith is coaching both the Wilson teams. A former coach at Norcom and Manor, Smith believes his Presidents will be competitive in both divisions.
``Our boys team has two all-district runners returning in Kenya Edwards and Perez Bottoms,'' he said. ``If our 3, 4 and 5 runners develop as I expect, we can finish among the top three in the district.''
Edwards was fifth and Perez placed 12th in last year's district meet. In the weekend invitational, Edwards was second and Perez was fourth.
Also back are senior Steve Rahimpour and sophomore Kevin Edwards.
Smith has a good group of newcomers, including junior Donte Waters and freshmen Anthony Barner and Marcus Porter.
The Presidents were 5-3 last year and could improve that record.
Smith anticipates senior Jenita Harris, one of three holdovers on the girls team, will be one of the district's pacesetters. The other returnees are Chris Farrell, a senior, and Kathryn Riddick, a sophomore. Harris won the junior varsity run, a 1.8-mile preliminary to the varsity meets, at the Southeastern Invitational.
Charmae Barringer, a junior, heads several new additions who should help the Presidents boost their 2-6 record from a year ago.
Norcom's new boys cross-country coach, Joel Copeland, is just organizing his squad. He is still seeking additional runners.
Norcom girls coach Danny Hill has many of his basketball players running cross-country this year.
He has eight returning runners and seven are seniors, led by Lakesia Graves, Tieshia Pickett, Kim Epps, Tajuana Folston and Jennifer Cook.
Newcomers include senior Leah Godwin, senior Toni Shannon and freshman Elizabeth Horne.
Oscar Smith's double-duty coach, Ed Lowery, feels his girls team can gain another Eastern Regional berth and ``is starting to close the gap between Great Bridge and Western Branch and the rest of us.''
``Our goal for the boys team is to move up the ladder into the top four and qualify some individuals for the regional,'' added Lowery.
Junior Guy Workman and senior Randy Steffey are the top boys runners, backed up by junior Gary Lewis and Joshua Rose. George Parker, another holdover, currently is injured but is expected to return.
Chris McKinney, a sophomore, has been an impressive newcomer.
Dianna Golt, a senior, leads the girls squad. Other holdovers are Tabbi Nothnagel, who has a nagging leg injury, Torae Artis and Bobbi Robey. A promising addition is Katie Kramer, a sophomore.
Indian River's veteran coach, Cal Freeman, expects senior Cathy McNeeley to be among the Southeastern's finest this year. She was 10th in the district last year and is a three-time MVP at Indian River.
Other holdovers on the girls team are junior Shauna Hewitt and senior Sameia Freeman. Top newcomers are sophomore Sarah Jones and junior Erika Moses.
Freeman's boys team is led by sophomore Mike Hayes, the Braves' MVP last year, and junior Adam Vaughan, who took last year off after an impressive freshman season. Another veteran is sophomore Jason Petroski.
Nick Capolarells and Willie Griffin, both sophomores, are the top new candidates on the eight-runner squad.
Elsewhere, Cox and Kellam are expected to battle it out for the Beach District boys crown. Maury is the power in the Eastern District.
Bayside and Kempsville figure to scrap it out for the Beach District girls championship. Maury's girls team should win in a walkaway in the Eastern District. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Kenya Edwards, rear, of Wilson High, tries to catch up with a
Gloucester runner during the Southeastern cross-country meet.
Edwards came in second.
by CNB