Penn's Dusty Lieb wasn't exactly brimming with confidence in the final days of November, as he prepared to leave for Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Division I cross country championships.
"Don't bother going out there to watch me," Lieb said to his family. "I'm going to get killed."
Two hundred and twenty-five other runners in that prestigious race would have loved to have taken the place of The Sun's 2000 Runner of the Year from Archbishop Spalding that day.
They all finished behind Lieb, a sophomore who ran his way to All-America status in the 10K race for the national championship, finishing 26th out of 251 runners with a time of 30 minutes, 21.5 seconds. The top 30 runners were awarded All-America honors.
Lieb's performance was the best for Penn since 1976, when Dave Merrick competed for the Quakers. The 30:21.5 time placed Lieb ninth on the Penn all-time cross country list.
Lieb was one of only two Ivy League runners to qualify for the nationals as Dartmouth's Tom McArdle took eighth place with a time of 29:46.3. Lieb qualified as one of the top 25 runners in his region.
He finished 15th at the Paul Short Memorial Run and 12th overall at the Heptagonal championships.
Garrett a force
It took LaRhonda Garrett (Dundalk) only eight games this season to establish herself as an inside basketball force for West Virginia State College.
The 5-foot-11 junior forward, a transfer from Mitchell Community College in New London, Conn., leads the NCAA Division II Lady Jackets in scoring (12.4) and rebounding (10.9).
Garrett has six double doubles in eight games for the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team (3-5, 1-1).
McKelvin, Mackall excel
Virginia Military Institute senior Jeff McKelvin (Randallstown) was third in the 55-meter high hurdles (7.7 seconds) earlier this month in the VMI Invitational track and field meet
Another Baltimorean, freshman Shelly Mackall (Poly), broke the VMI women's 55-meter record in 7.45, which placed her fifth at the meet.
Pirisino exits in style
Senior outside hitter Kim Pirisino (John Carroll) went out in style for the Shepherd College volleyball team (29-10) this season, recording a team-leading .381 hitting percentage and a team-high 3.66 digs a game.
Pirisino made the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first team and the Daktronics All-America Great Lakes Region second team.
Et cetera
Junior soccer goalkeeper A.J. Ortiz (John Carroll) made 18 saves for NCAA Division II St. Mary's University (Texas) in the Heartland Conference championship game, but it wasn't enough to prevent the University of Incarnate Word from winning the title.
Tom Grace (Cardinal Gibbons) is a junior reserve guard for Villanova's basketball team.
Rutgers junior Kiara Adams (Westminster) is expected to play a major role in the school's indoor women's track success, teaming with Sarah Cullen for one of the best 1-2 shot put combinations in the East.
Lycoming freshman forward Jeff Kocher (C. Milton Wright) has been named to the All-Middle Atlantic Freedom Conference soccer team, after leading the league in assists with nine and scoring eight goals.
Luke McCrone (Cardinal Gibbons), a 6-7 freshman basketball forward, has made Harvard University's varsity.
Sophomore Rachel Abelow (Franklin) is on the Ithaca College women's tennis team.
Have a Postcard? Contact Bill Free by e-mail at bfree706@hotmail.com or by phone at 410-833-5349.