Top girls set for Adidas National Championships.

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Author: Benjamin, Barbara1

At the crack of dawn, while most New Yorkers were dreading the crunch of the morning rush hour, PSAL officials were loading chartered buses with some of the city's best track and field performers for the long trek to Raleigh, North Carolina, where the Adidas Outdoor Championships will be held at North Carolina State. Some of the top high school track and field performers from around the nation will compete for national championships. The meet begins tomorrow (Friday) and concludes on Sunday.

De Witt Clinton H.S. and A.P. Randolph are among the schools who will have representatives at the meet. The folks at De Witt currently have the bragging rights as New York's best after winning both the Boys and Girls New York City PSAL Outdoor Championships, this past May 29th at St. John's University.

Clinton's girls track coach Cornell Johnson said, "This has been a great year and I hope this event just caps it off nicely for them."

Charlene Brown will be going to Harvard in the fall; Sherice Dyeris is headed for the University of Virginia and Cynthia Bernadez to the University of Pennsylvania. Alba Knight, Teneshi Thomas, Denete Wright, Ashley Fraser and Daina Foster are some of the girls who will be competing for national titles.

A.P. Randolph's contingent of girls left last night (Wednesday) "so the team will be able to get there and get some rest by Thursday without too much pressure," said Phyliss Andersen, A.P. Randolph's coach. Making the trip to North Carolina State will be some of her top achievers: seniors Natasha Hastings, who'll be running for the University of South Carolina in the fall; Selena Sappleton, who will be going to the University of Pittsburgh; and Angelic Reed, headed to South Western Christian College. Natasha Emmanuel is undecided at this time.

Efuru Ballantyne will also be on the trip. The smooth running junior won the PSAL 200m outdoor title (25.40). Hastings was named the Indoor PSAL Heisman Wingate Award winner, and Reed won the PSAL Outdoor Heisman Wingate Award. They'll each be competing in individual events, the Spring Medley and the 4x400 meter relay.

Coach Anderson is the 2004 Frank McGuire Award winner. "We're looking forward to ending the season on the same positive note we've had all year."

The down side to this national competition is that it is scheduled for the same time as the New York State Regents Examinations, hence some of New York's top PSAL seniors will not be at the Adidas Championships. Thomas Jefferson's girls track coach Janus Williams recommends "someone looking into the scheduling to make the event available to all the states' qualifying students." Many school systems in the South and around the country begin their school seasons prior to New York's, thus ending earlier.

Thomas Jefferson's senior Nekisha Franklin, who clocked some very impressive times both in indoor and outdoor competition in the 100 and 200 meter runs and qualified for the Nationals, won't be going to North Carolina this weekend because she'll be taking her Regents. Franklin will be attending Delaware State this fall. "After all, school comes first," reminded Franklin.

PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Natasha Hastings

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By Barbara Benjamin