They met for the first time when they were 10th-graders during a track meet at Sports Backers Stadium. Corinna Brown said something like, “You’re really good - I like the way you jump.“ Ashley Orr said something like, “I like the way you jump, too.“

That’s how their relationship began.

It’s always had more legs than their rivalry.

Yesterday at the Central Region championships - same place, different time, many sandy landings later - Orr and Brown, seniors now, squared off on the long-jump runway and went at it once again. Except this was the last matchup in front of the home fans. This was sort of for keeps and with a few bars of “Auld Lang Syne” thrown in for good measure.

Their duel went halfway according to form. Orr won the event with a personal-best 19-3¼ and knocked down 10 points for Deep Run. Brown - and in her defense, she was shuttling between the overlapping high and long jumps - secured four points for Prince George with a fifth-place leap of 17-6¼, which was more than a foot shy of her longest jump.

Orr (“This is pretty much like the perfect day, actually”) was all smiles after it was over. Brown, who doesn’t seem the sort to develop frown lines anytime soon, shouted out a “Yeah, Ashley!“ when the winning distance was announced and grinned at her - well, OK - rival.

See, they’ve developed this kinship.

“I’m always proud of Ashley and happy whenever she wins,“ Brown said. “I’m not a sore loser. My 10th-grade year was my first year I did any jumping. Ashley had already been doing it awhile. I’ve always looked up to where she is. I feel like she’s helped me progress over these years.“

And the fact is, they’re not alone in that sense. If you looked hard enough across the stadium - not even that hard, really - you could glimpse other Orr/Brown attachments at work, a hurdler from School A and a hurdler from School B, say, sharing small talk during warmups long before they’d take their marks and get serious.

“The thing I like about this sport is these kids will sit around and chat and talk, even on the runway before they’re getting ready to jump, and they’ll have a very intense competition and after ward they’ll be hugging and be the best of friends,“ said Midlothian coach Stan Morgan. “That’s what I love about this sport. To me, there’s no other sport like it.“

For sure, it’s how Orr and Brown have treated each other through three years of regionals, summer track and AAU fests: Never let the takeoff board get in the way of a nice buddy system.

“It’s a really good friendship,“ Orr said. “At the meets, we’re always cheering each other on.“

They’ll have one more opportunity - the state championships - for sisterhood. After that, they’ll separate for good - Orr is headed for N.C. State and Brown to Prairie View in her family’s native Texas, each on a track scholarship - which made this regional all the more a rite of passage.

“A lot of ‘em, this is their last meet - it’s the swan song for a lot of kids,“ said Maggie Walker coach Jim Holdren. “For the seniors, it’s kind of a bittersweet time, I guess. As a coach, it’s kind of sad to see some of the seniors in their last meet.“

Kids like Orr and Brown, in other words.

“Especially being a senior, it is the farewell,“ Brown said. “This is the last meet where you can go out and feel at home. At states, there are all these different people and different coaches. Here, you have people calling out your name, you have friends. It’s a whole different atmosphere.“

It’s a place to cement bonds. For two you-go-girl long-jumpers, those touchstones will linger.

Contact Bob Lipper at (804) 649-6555 or

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