THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100541
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Athlete of the Week
SOURCE: BY KEITH POMPEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Amid strong winds and pouring rain, Indian River's Jessie Grant was in paradise Saturday.
For the defending long-jump champ, competing in the 34th annual Colonial Relays was a dream come true.
``I just felt blessed to be here,'' said Grant, rain drops dripping from his chin as he stood in the stands at the College of William and Mary. ``I was so excited, I couldn't sleep Friday night. . . . I kept waking up like it was Christmas.''
For a while, however, it didn't look like he would be able to compete.
Grant showed up late for practice one day last week and learned that the Braves had voted not to attend the meet. His teammates felt the relays would interfere with their spring break.
``I was kind of upset when I heard that because I'm serious about track,'' Grant said. ``I didn't feel like it was taking away from my spring break.
``Plus, the Colonial Relays is my favorite track meet.''
So he begged Indian River track coach Freddie Spellman to register him by phone.
But there was nothing Spellman could do. His team already had missed the deadline. And meet officials normally don't honor late entries.
Still, Grant persisted. Thursday morning his mother drove him to Williamsburg, hoping to register him in person.
At first, meet officials said there was no way he could compete. But as Grant and his mother prepared to leave the stadium, one official asked where they were from.
``When he found out we drove all the way from Chesapeake, he told me just to show up at 8 a.m. on Saturday,'' said Jessie Grant, a transfer from Deep Creek.
The elated Grant won his second consecutive Colonial Relays long-jump title with a leap of 21 feet, 8 1/4 inches - outleaping Granby's Anthony King by less than an inch.
For that effort, he is The Virginian-Pilot's male athlete of the week.
``I'm really proud of him,'' Gina Grant said of her son. ``It's a lesson for kids that if you really want something bad enough, you can get it.
``Also this was a good lesson for Jessie. Now he knows now that persistence pays off.''
Jessie Grant, the Southeastern District indoor long-jump champ, agreed.
``Coming here without my teammates was well worth it,'' he said. ``Now I know, if I keep up the good work everyday, things will start to fall into place.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
by CNB