Thursday, May 2, 2002 | 9:35 a.m.
Clark High School track coach Paul Zwintscher knows how frustrated freshman Bever-leigh Holloway gets when people mis-pronounce or misspell her unusual-looking first name.
"She gets upset because everyone tries to call her Beaver," Zwintscher said. "She's probably used to it by now, because it happens a lot."
For the record, Holloway's first name is pronounced like its more common spelling: "Beverly." Of course, if the ninth-grader continues to perform the way she has in year one, everyone should know exactly how to say it by the time she graduates.
Just 14, Holloway has been an instant success at the high school level. Her top times in her four events -- the 100 and 300 meter hurdles and the 100 and 200 meter dashes -- put her first or second among all Southern Nevadans in each.
She is expected to challenge for first place in all four events at next weekend's 4A Sunset Region meet and the following weekend's 4A State Championship meet.
"We can't really take any credit. She came to us fast and has continued to be fast," Zwintscher said. "And her technique on the hurdles is better than we could teach her."
Holloway began running competitively five years ago, when she grew tired of her initial sport of choice.
"I was playing soccer at the time, and I wanted to try something different," she said. "I picked track because a lot of people weren't doing it."
Working with local youth track clubs, Holloway started out with sprints, then added the hurdles to her repertoire.
"I had lots of trouble with the hurdles at first, but I stuck with it," Holloway said.
In 2000, Holloway began training with coaches in Riverside, Calif., making regular weekend trips there with her family to improve her times in the hurdle events.
The extra work has certainly paid off. Her season-best mark of 46.64 is tops in the city for the 300 meter hurdles, and her time of 14.66 puts her behind only Palo Verde's Brittany Day (14.66) in the 100 hurdles.
"She has a quick start, and very good technique," Zwintscher said. "By the second or third hurdle she's usually a hurdle ahead of everybody."
Though the hurdles are where she hopes to someday earn a college scholarship, Holloway has also been a standout sprinter for the Chargers this season. Her 12.14 in the 100 meters ranks second behind only Mojave senior Monique Lewis, and her 25.44 in the 200 has been bested only by Cheyenne's LaTisha Davis.
That means Holloway could score as many as 40 points for Clark at regionals or state. Distance runner Amanda Gramly and the multi-event sister combo of Caretta and Shalonie Hutchinson should also fare well, giving the squad hope for a strong team finish.
As for her individual goals, Holloway -- a student in the school's Academy of Math, Science and Applied Technologies magnet program -- remains focused on regionals, rather than looking ahead to potential state titles.
"My first goal is to get to state, and then I'll set my goals from there," Holloway said. "But I don't feel any pressure. I'm just out there to have fun. I really didn't expect to be where I am, just being a freshman."
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