U.S. Olympic Sports Festival Roundup : Flame Is Lit at Opening Ceremony

University of North Carolina athletes J.R. Reid and April Heinrichs highlighted the opening ceremony of the U.S. Olympic Festival Friday night, lighting the symbolic flame at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Reid, 19, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s basketball rookie of the year last season, played in the 1986 Festival at Houston and will play for the South team this year.

Heinrichs, 23, was named U.S. Olympic Committee female soccer athlete of the year last season by the U.S. Soccer Federation, and was America’s leading scorer in international competition. The co-captain of the national women’s team was a star at Heritage High School in Littleton, Colo., a Denver suburb.

The torch bearers were chosen by the competing athletes. The Festival, the largest single event in the history of the state, will encompass competition in 34 sports by 3,000 athletes. Events are held in Raleigh, Durham, Carey, Chapel Hill and Greensboro. A crowd of 52,700 filled the North Carolina State stadium for the opening ceremonies.

A marching band of 300 members and a concert orchestra from the area opened the ceremony with “N.C. Olympic Fanfare,” followed by a fireworks display.”

At Durham, two noted athletes--divers Greg Louganis and Michele Mitchell--continued their Festival domination by winning the preliminary rounds of platform diving.

Greco-Roman wrestlers were the only other athletes competing Friday. The Festival gets into full swing today with competition in 17 sports.

Louganis, holder of 41 national titles, two gold medals from the 1984 Olympic Games and all but two of the golds in Festival diving since 1979, led the preliminary round off the three-meter springboard Thursday. He moved into first place in the platform event Friday with a late surge.

“I felt pretty steady,” Louganis said after taking the lead on his sixth dive, a reverse triple-twist on which he scored 91.08 points. “I hate to rate myself today, but I was probably a 6 1/2.”

That still was far better than Bruce Kimball, who was second with 578.25 points, well behind Louganis’ total of 645.90. Mike Wantuck was third with 577.56.

In wrestling, two-time Olympian Mark Fuller of Gresham, Ore., led the advance into the third-round. Fuller, a 114.5-pounder, beat Steve Biedrycki of Quantico, Va., 3-2, 8-2, reaching today’s final against top-seeded Shawn Sheldon of Albany, N.Y.