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The Montgomery Journal
They came to sprint (and shop)
Originally Published in The Montgomery Journal on Monday, May 07, 1990
By: Pat Dalton
Photographer: Jeff Taylor


Republished with permission granted by The Washington Newspaper Publishing Co. LLC d/b/a MediaDC. Back to Montgomery Journal articles

They came to sprint (and shop)

Young Soviets compete with local students in track meet

By PAT DALTON
Journal Staff Writer


Photo by Jeff Taylor. Caption: As athletes from county high schools look on, Soviet high-jumper Sergey Masenko warms up prior to Friday's track meet at Walter Johnson High School

An intermittent, chilling rain failed to cool either the warm good will or the competitive fires Friday night as athletes from five Montgomery County schools matched skills with 40 Soviet high school athletes in the Pangaea Invitational Track and Field Meet at Walter Johnson.

The warm good will had been built through two days of sightseeing and a seemingly constant exchange of ideas and gifts.

The Soviet athletes, 20 boys and 20 girls, are staying at the homes of their Montgomery County counterparts during a weeklong visit sponsored by Pangaea Inc., and apparently they are enjoying it immensely.

Walter Johnson's Serge Knystautas, a senior long-jumper and triple-jumper, said his houseguest, 17-year-old hurdler Sergey Stankovich, is fascinated by the abundance of consumer goods in America.

"He's fascinated by the fact that I have a car [a 1978 Ford Mustang]. He says it takes about five years pay to buy one over there," Knystautas said. "He [Stankevich] also eats a banana every chance he gets. He's only seen them in books over there," he said.

Knystautas added that Stankevich was particularly impressed by Montgomery Mall.

"He couldn't believe the Foot Locker and how there were 20 different types of shoes for tennis and 20 different kinds for basketball," he said.

Knystautas, who is of Lithuanian descent and whose father, Emile, was born in a German concentration camp during World War II, said he and Stankevich have only discussed politics in passing.

"He was surprised that we thought [Soviet President Mikhail] Gorbachev was great. He's also re-enforced various things my father has said about conditions over there," Knystautas said.

Joanna Shea, a freshman Walter Johnson hurdler, said she and her house guest, 15-year-old hurdles Natalya Golubeva, have exchanged perfume and have learned a lot about their two countries from one another.

"The Russians are so friendly. Before this [visit] the Soviet Union was a mystery to me," Shea said.

"Natalya's great. We went shopping at White Flint Mall and she got real excited when she saw the glass elevator there. When we were going up, she looked out at the fountains, and went off and started screaming 'Is good.'"

"Is good" also is an apt description of how the meet went, despite the rain.

Although the Soviets were billed as average athletes, some coaches from the local schools - B-CC, Churchill, Seneca Valley, Watkins Mill and host Walter Johnson - worried that the visitors were much better than advertised.

B2 Headline - Soviet girls, local boys dominate joint track meet


Photo by Jeff Taylor. Caption: Soviet long jumper Dima Pudinov sails through the air at Walter Johnson High School Friday night during a track meet with five county schools. The Soviet girls fared well; their boys, not as well.

However, their fears, for the most part, proved to be unfounded. Churchill Coach Ron McGaw summed up the meet storyline early on when he said, "Their girls look outstanding, but their boys probably are average."

In fact, it was McGaw's Churchill boys who were outstanding as they spearheaded the local effort. The Bulldogs' Ray Leonard Jr. and Mark Mason won two events apiece. Leonard took the 110-meter high hurdles in 15.4 and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles in 41.9, while Mason won the 100 meters in 11.4 and the 200 in 23.5.

Churchill also grabbed the 400-meter relay in 45.7 and the 1,600-meter medley relay in 3:28.2. The latter event was the last and probably most exciting race of the night. It was decided when Mason took the baton for the final 400 meters about 40 yards behind and ran a 53.2 to beat his Soviet opponent by about 10 yards.

Other local boys winners were B-CC's Matt Ellis in the 1,500 meters (4:17.2) and Matt Sbachnig in the 800 (2:07.9). Seneca Valley's Frank Dankwa in the 400 (52.4) and Watkins Mill's Khalid Muhammad in the triple jump (41-6).

The Soviets excelled in the field events. Dmitriy Isayev won both the shot put (52-2.50) and discus (138-01.50), Sergey Masenko took the long jump (22-9) and Roman Burdyga the high jump (6-4).

On the girls side, it was no contest as the locals won only three events. Seneca Valley's Karen Dyson won the shot-put (31-01.25) and teammate Kisha Cole took the 400 meters (61.6), while Walter Johnson's Torrey Simons grabbed the 300-meter intermediate hurdles (48.9).

Most of the local coaches were impressed with the Soviets' mastery of basic techniques and fundamentals.

"Regardless of ability, it's obvious they're well-coached," Seneca Valley Coach Steve Robertson said.

"They know their events and are serious about competition. I thought they were masterful in the triple, long and high jump."




Dalton, Pat. "They came to sprint (and shop)." Montgomery Journal, 7 May. 1990, p. B1.
Transcribed by: Kevin Milsted 03/04/2021


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