varsity.roanoke.com

The sky seems to be the limit for Megan Marsico's cross country career.

Before last Saturday anyway.

Marsico will take to the air next week as the Glenvar junior will fly to San Diego to compete in the Foot Locker national meet Dec. 20 at Balboa Park.

Marsico earned her ticket with a second-place finish in the Foot Locker South Regional last week in Charlotte, N.C., coming on the heels of her second straight VHSL Group A championship Nov. 8.

"I'm very excited," Marsico said. "The farthest west I've ever been is Colorado."

Marsico's prep career has taken off like a rocket.

She nearly won in Charlotte, finishing two seconds behind 2006 national champion Kathy Kroeger of Independence High School in Franklin, Tenn. with a time of 17 minutes, 15 seconds on the 5-kilometer course at McAlpine Park.

Marsico placed just ahead of defending national champion Ashley Brasovan of Wellington, Fla., who recovered from a fall on the course to place fourth. The first 10 finishers earned a berth in the national meet as well as free airfare.

"My goal was just to get in the top 10 and see what happened from there," Marsico said.

Marsico broke the Great Meadow course record at the VHSL meet previously held by former Northside star Catherine White, who recently won the SEC championship for Arkansas. White placed 11th in the prep national meet as a junior in 2005.

Marsico, who has been training at the Salem YMCA, has had no trouble adjusting to stronger competition all year.

"I'm running a [personal record] every race," she said. "I don't know why. I guess the competition has gotten higher."

Hidden Valley's Lax leaves soccer position

Roy Lax, who coached Hidden Valley to the 2006 VHSL Group AA girls soccer championship, has resigned from the position after three years.

Lax recently took a fulltime job as a licensed insurance agent with the National Association for the Self-Employed and said his new position doesn't leave him with enough time to continue coaching high school soccer.

"I realized if I tried to do both that one would suffer," Lax said. "I didn't think that would be fair."

Lax's three seasons in charge of Hidden Valley's program included the 2006 state title and a pair of berths in the Group AA semifinals. The Titans, finished 19-2 in 2008, losing to Broad Run.

Lax said the Hidden Valley job should be one of the more desirable positions in Timesland.

"For the most part," he said. "It has its real nice parts and its tough parts."

Marion boys' coach quits before season

Marion's boys' basketball season hasn't started yet and the program already has undergone a coaching change.

Matt Hanshew resigned as Marion's head coach Friday after two seasons on the job and has been replaced on an interim basis by athletic director Brad Haga.

Hanshew said he will remain a marketing teacher at Marion until the holiday break, then begin work as a salesman for Chemsearch.

A 1998 Marion graduate, Hanshew cited the new job and what he described as undue parental interference as the reasons for resigning. He said parents of several of his players addressed a recent Smyth County School Board meeting with complaints about his coaching style.

"I got tired of complaints about nothing, people saying things that weren't true," Hanshew said. "I was never told to resign. This is just me getting tired of this."

Hanshew admitted his personal style is not warm and fuzzy.

"I'm a love-me or hate-me guy," he said. "I'm very blunt. I'm going to tell you like it is."

Hanshew said his new job will enable him to work from home. His wife, Amanda, is Marion's varsity volleyball coach.

"I've always considered Marion home," he said. "My wife's a teacher here, too. Now I couldn't care less if I moved tomorrow.

"I support my boys 100 percent. Under different circumstances I would love to be there."

The Edge to hold football combine

The Edge Performance Center in Roanoke will hold a winter football combine Dec. 20.

The combine is for uncommitted high school seniors, junior college players and academic non-qualifiers. Coaches from the NJCAA, NAIA and NCAA Division III ranks are expected to attend.

The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and includes a free ticket for each athlete to the Stagg Bowl at Salem Stadium.