CROSS COUNTRY NOTEBOOK WRIGHT RETURNS TO KNIGHTS DESERT CHRISTIAN JUNIOR BACK AFTER HERNIA SURGERY.Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News Desert Christian's prospects for a fourth consecutive berth in the state Division V championships got a boost with the return of junior Jynnifer(CQ) Wright. Wright, who was not expected to rejoin re·join 1 v. re·joined, re·join·ing, re·joins v.tr. To say in reply, especially in sharp response to a reply. v.intr. To reply. the team until November because of a hernia hernia, protrusion of an internal organ or part of an organ through the wall of a body cavity. The hernia is enclosed by a sac formed by the lining of the cavity. It results from a weakness or rupture in the wall, usually where there is already a natural weakness. surgery, began running 11 days after her Sept. 30 operation. Despite missing three weeks of training, Wright led the team to a fourth-place finish in the Division V sweepstakes race in the Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. on Friday. The biggest concern for Wright, who finished 10th individually, was the jostling among runners in the race's early stages. Fortunately, Wright said, she was elbowed only once at Mt. SAC. ``If nobody touches it, it is fine,'' Wright said. ``I bumped into people's books at school and it hurts all day. It just depends on what hits me. Usually my arms are out so if somebody tries to get me. I just push them away.'' Wright appears to have lost little fitness, running 20:09, just 12 seconds off her mark from the 1999 Southern Section finals. ``The doctor told her you will want to run but you can't tear out what I have done,'' said Desert Christian coach Dean Spoelstra. ``She is not back at full strength, but we'll be counting on her. She is not tearing it up yet, but she will get there.'' Desert Christian's team time of 107:56 was more than four minutes off its 103:26 at last year's section finals. But Spoelstra is pleased with his team's effort at this point in the season. Varsity runners Clay Tarazi and Melissa Barnes led Desert Christian to the freshman-race title. ``We wanted to move things around, shake it up a little,'' Spoelstra said. ``We'll come back with our top team at prelims and finals. This was not our concept for that yet. We're right where I want us to be.'' --Honor roll: Palmdale resident Lashinda Demus Lashinda Demus (born 10 March 1983 in Inglewood) is an American hurdler. Her personal best time is 53.02 seconds, achieved in July 2006 in Athens. Achievements Year Tournament Venue Result Extra 2002 World Junior Championships Kingston, Jamaica 1st , who led the nation for the second consecutive season in the 300 low hurdles, finished seventh in the 2000 national high school girls' athlete of the year Athlete of the Year
Demus, the 1999 national high school athlete of the year, ran 40.41 in the 300 hurdles to win her second consecutive state title and post the third-fastest high school mark of all time. The versatile Demus, a Long Beach Wilson senior, also ranked sixth on the yearly 400 list at 52.97 and seventh in the 100 high hurdles at 13.76. Monique Henderson Monique Henderson (born February 18, 1983 in San Diego, California) is a track and field athlete, competing internationally for the United States. She was a gold medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. of San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. Morse, who set a national 400 record of 50.74 in the state championships and advanced to the U.S. Olympic Trials final, was a unanimous choice for athlete of the year. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) State finalist Jynnifer Wright of Desert Christian is Christian I (krĭs`chən), 1426–81, king of Denmark (1448–81), Norway (1450–81), and Sweden (1457–64), count of Oldenburg, and founder of the Oldenburg dynasty of Danish kings. running again for Knights. Kirby Lee/Special to the Daily News |
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