June 01, 1997|By STEVEN KIVINSKI
Girls Coach of Year
Jerry Molyneaux, Western: Molyneaux, a native of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands who moved to Baltimore in 1976 to accept a full track scholarship to Morgan State, took a young team -- only four seniors out of a group of 36 -- and molded it into a city and region champion. "I've been coaching at Western for nine years and every year it gets better and better," said Molyneaux, whose Doves finished fifth in the state. "My first goal for any team is that I want them to enjoy the sport and stay healthy. Winning comes from athletes who are happy and healthy." The Doves scored in the top 5 in all four relays at states and Molyneaux expects even more next spring. "We have a good nucleus coming back and some new ones coming in so if we continue to improve as we have we should be bigger and better next year," he said.
The girls team
Shani Moore, McDonogh, junior: Moore's time of 14.4 seconds in the 100 hurdles and a leap of 5 feet, 7 inches in the high jump, coupled with victories in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, made her a quadruple champion at the Maryland Private School Championship Meet at McDonogh. She went undefeated this season in the high hurdles and high jump and helped McDonogh to a 6-0 record in dual-meet competition. "She's got a great combination of athleticism and intelligence," said Eagles coach Jeff Sanborn. "She will be a prospect for any college next year both for academics and athletics."
Toni Jefferson, Western, Sophomore.: Jefferson left the city championships with four gold medals after winning the the long jump, 100 and 200 dashes and running a leg of the Doves winning 800 relay team. At regions, the speedy underclassman won the 200, was second in the long jump and was part of two winning relays. She set a school record in the long jump by soaring 18-8 at the Towson Relays. "She is a very versatile and has a high desire to compete," said Molyneaux. "She does well when she runs against the best."
Elizabeth Johnson, Western, Junior: Johnson, like teammate Jefferson, left the city championships with a lot of hardware. At the meet, Johnson won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 runs and ran on the Doves' champion 1,600 relay. She was first in the 1,600 and 3,200 at regionals where she also placed second in the 800. At the state meet, she finished fifth in the 1,600 and ran a leg on the Doves 3,200 relay team that finished fourth. "She has a lot of determination and stamina," said Coach Molyneaux, who saw Johnson set a school record in the 1,600 at states in 5: 19.4. "She's a work horse not a show horse. Her stamina allows her to run very fast for a very long period of time."
Tiffany Jackson, Western, Junior: Jackson, who Molyneaux says is "probably the fastest middle distance runner on the team," won the city 400 title in 59.7, was second in the city in the 200 and ran on the Doves' winning 400 and 1,600 relays. At regions, she was first in the 800 and ran on three winning relays. She ran on three relays that placed at states and was state runner-up in the 800. "She's very talented for someone who has only been running track for two years," said Molyneaux. "She won't be running on three relays next year."
Lauren Bartee, Mervo, Senior: In her final city championship, Bartee won the high jump and triple jump and was second to Southwestern's Tenille Johnson in the 110 high hurdles. She finished third in the state in the high jump (5-4) and was instrumental in helping the Mustangs' 400 and 800 relays qualify for states. She could attend Morgan State.
Catrice Jefferson, Woodlawn, Junior: Jefferson won a state title in the 300 interme diate hurdles and was state runner-up in the 400 dash. She won three events at county meet including the 400, 800 and 300 hurdles and was a double-champ at regions, winning the 400 and 300 hurdles. "Her strongest events will be the 400 and 800 when she gets to the next level," said Coach Gerald Russell. "She has good leg speed but she has not quite learned to run the 400. With one more year of maturity, she's going to be hard to beat."
Natalie Gassman, Perry Hall, Senior: Gassman, a 4.0 student who plans to tryout as a walk-on at the University of Michigan, was crowned county and region champion in the discus, an event she placed fourth in at the Class 4A state meet. She won a region title in the shot put after finishing third in the event at counties. She increased her personal record in the discus to 110-3 at the Anne Arundel Relays and she threw her best shot (32-1) at the county meet. "She's still very young," said coach Jerry Martin. "Her best days as a thrower are still ahead of her."
