October 22, 2003

Brenda Briney is Homecoming Queen

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


Ocean City High School senior Brenda Briney was right at home Saturday afternoon during Homecoming ceremonies at Carey Stadium.

“It was kind of nice getting the crown on the track,” she said, “where I’ve spent so much time during my high school years. It gives you a sense of confidence to know that your peers respect you.”

But Briney had already earned the respect of her fellow Raiders for her success on that track. When the undefeated Ocean City girls cross country team meets Bridgeton this week for the overall Cape-Atlantic League championship, it will be the final meet of her four-year career. And she may become that rare athlete who completes an undefeated career.

“I hadn’t realized it,” she said, “but I got excited as you said it. We’ve had a lot of good runners on our team the last four years.”

And Briney certainly has been one of them. She finished in the top 10 in the South Jersey meet as a freshman, then battled injuries her sophomore year. But she has been pretty healthy ever since, keeping alive the Raider streak of 46 straight meet victories.

But a fourth straight undefeated season will not be enough for Briney. “I want us to get to the Meet of Champions,” she said. “That’s something we haven’t done while I’ve been here.” In fact, Ocean City has not sent a girls cross country team to the MOC since 1995, when Mike Naples’ squad qualified for the third straight year.

“Brittany (Sedberry) made it last year as an individual,” said Briney, “and the boys made it as a team. Some of our young runners might not realize how special that is, how great an accomplishment it would be.”

When she first considered the homecoming competition, Briney wasn’t sure she’d be able to participate because of the cross country team’s weekend schedule. “But I checked my calendar,” she said, “and it was one of the few Saturdays we didn’t have a meet. It was like an omen.”

Briney expects to follow her two older siblings to East Carolina University next year. Her brother, Paul, and sister, Corrie, are both there. “I visited and met the coach and the runners,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to going there.”

At East Carolina she will run cross country and, if necessary, track. “I like cross country a lot more,” she said, “because the scenery is different and I like the longer distance. In track, you just run around in a circle. On a cross country course I can get into a comfort zone.”

Being part of four undefeated teams over a four-year career in any sport can make you comfortable. But one thing about Saturday’s halftime ceremony was rather uncomfortable for Briney.

“I’m used to being in running shoes on that track,” she said, “and high heels are really tough.”


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