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Clark won't fuss about the penalty that gave her title

March 14, 2007 1:11 am

R ED FLAG SIGHTED means Captains' delight.

Rachael Clark's bid for a national title seemed to be at an end when top-seeded Dana Klemm of Loras (Iowa) College unleashed a long-strike missile on her final attempt in the women's shot put in last week's NCAA Division III national indoor track championship at Terre Haute, Ind.

But before the throw could be marked, a red flag was raised, causing the potential winning throw to be discounted due to a foot fault--lifting the former Liberty High sports standout to her first national title.

The sophomore threw a 45-4 on her first throw in the preliminary round, then saw her distances decrease until righting herself with a winning throw of 46-8 on her final attempt. Klemm was runner-up at 46-6.

After earning All-America honors during the 2006 outdoor season with a fifth-place finish in the same event, Clark became the 32nd individual indoor champion in Christopher Newport University history and the first since Casey Taylor was crown long jump champion in 2000.

The performance was as nerve-racking for the athlete as for first-year coach Tyler Wingard.

"Rachael is a very explosive athlete and she has the tendency to get excited and rush her throws," he said. "The first throw was about a foot further than her personal best, the next couple of throws were shorter.

"She needed to refocus and make sure she used her legs and not just her upper-body strength."

Clark, a math major, is concentrating on the shot put and discus this spring after dividing her time between track and softball her freshman year.

A trip to nationals was not in the cards, but Allegany's Marvin Bolden (Courtland) and Louisburg's Jessica Duncan (Riverbend) nevertheless enjoyed productive rookie seasons playing collegiate basketball.

Aiken Technical College rallied from an eight-point deficit to beat Allegany College of Maryland 65-58 in the District 3, Division I title game with a berth in the NJCAA national tournament going to the winner.

Bolden totaled 14 points as the Trojans concluded the season with a 24-9 mark. The freshman point guard averaged seven points, seven assists and two steals a game.

Meanwhile, Duncan and her Hurricane teammates saw their 13-game winning streak snapped, losing to Georgia Perimeter in the District H playoff game, 96-75.

Duncan averaged 7.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1 steal per game this season for Louisburg (24-4).

Due to weather conditions, Frostburg State played its weekend series against St. Joseph's (N.Y.) at Stafford High School and three former area standouts had productive efforts.

Junior first baseman Allen Peake (Stafford) went 3-for-7 with three runs scored and six RBIs as Frostburg swept their opponents, 8-2 and 15-2. The Bobcats (9-5) achieved season highs for runs scored (15), hits (16) and homers (5) in the nightcap.

Fellow juniors Brett Mitchell (Stafford) and Andrew Speights (Brooke Point) contributed to the barrage, combining for seven hits, five runs scored and four RBIs.

The USA South Conference women's tennis coaches obviously knew what they were doing when they tapped Christopher Newport as the best team in their preseason poll.

The Captains have opened the season with nine-straight victories, and freshman Liz Thedford (Massaponax) has won all nine of her singles matches, splitting time between Nos. 4 and 5, helping her capture USA South rookie of the week honors last week. She's 4-1 splitting time between Nos. 2 and 3 doubles.

Shenandoah's Drue Vernon (Brooke Point) produced one of baseball's rarest plays on Sunday, turning an unassisted triple play, but it wasn't enough as the Hornets fell to Averett, 2-1.

In the fourth inning, the freshman third baseman fielded a three-hopper off the bat of Jake Loye, tagged runner Justin Brown in one motion, then tagged Larry Mothershead between second and third, and still had time to get to second base for a force out to end the inning.

Junior infielder Ryan Washington (Liberty) is off to another fast start for the Longwood University softball team (10-5). She leads the team in batting (.386) and slugging percentage (.568) as well as RBIs (13) and stolen bases (8).

Sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Cizdziel (North Stafford) has helped the Mars Hill lacrosse team get off to a 3-3 start. He has three goals and four assists, while notching a team-high 33 ground balls and has won 52 of 95 face-offs.

The Lynchburg softball team swept all four games to capture the Salisbury tournament title and improve to 8-2. Sharing pitching duties with two of her teammates, sophomore Barbie Miles (Washington & Lee) has fashioned a 3-1 record with a 3.06 ERA, having allowed only one walk and striking out 12 in 17 innings.

A defensive replacement in the top of the seventh, Navy's Jack Ferrick (Colonial Forge) had a game-winning RBI single in the bottom half as the Midshipmen bested Monmouth 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday.

Georgia Tech's Jerome Miller (Colonial Forge) cleared 7- to finish 12th in the men's high jump at the NCAA Division I indoor track and field finals at Fayetteville, Ark. Auburn's Donald Thomas won the event (7-7).

Meanwhile, sophomore Sarah Bowman (Warrenton) placed sixth in the mile run (4:47.14) and ran the anchor leg for the second-place distance medley relay team (11:05.92), enabling the University of Tennessee women to record a third-place finish behind LSU and first-time winner Arizona State.