THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 24, 1996 TAG: 9610240555
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 38 lines
Kempsville went 2 for 2 and almost managed a grand slam on its home course Wednesday afternoon at the Beach District cross country race.
But Cox got in the way.
The area's No. 1 female runner, Adrienne Parker, won her third consecutive district crown in leading the Chiefs to the team title. Kempsville's Ashley Hearne took the boys race, but the Cox Falcons came away with the boys team title with 60 points to the Chiefs' 62.
Hearne's victory was worth one team point to Kempsville, and Cox's Jeff Coon finished second to earn 2 points for his team in the point system based on order of finish. Both teams had four runners scattered amid the top 20, but it was the fifth finisher from each team that made the difference: Cox's placed 21st, five spots ahead of Kempsville's, good for the decisive 5-point swing.
The top 15 runners and four teams advance to the region meet.
Hearne, who won in 17:06, said it helped that Kempsville practices every day on the 3.1-mile Mount Trashmore course that forces the runners to weather the hills in the middle. ``I was alone and then Dan Baxley challenged me all the way up the soapbox,'' Hearne said, referring to one of the monster slopes. ``Then training kicked in.''
Parker displayed her usual consistency and opened up a 24-second lead over Tallwood sophomore Pam Edwards a mile into the race. Edwards finished with a kick in 19:36 to Parker's 19:26, well short of her course-record 18:44 last fall.
Parker said she felt lightheaded on the part of the course called no-man's land but pushed herself to continue. After Wednesday's race, her cheering section - a collection of relatives, friends and coaches - was so strong that it looked like a receiving line after a wedding.
``I had a lot of fan support and a lot of people who believe in me.'' by CNB