By By Mike Berardino
Staff Writer
Article dated June 16, 1996

ATLANTA -- The Howard sisters hadn't seen each other since December.

Saturday evening, the Augusta products took turns watching each other sprint into the quarterfinals of the women's 400 meters at the U.S. Track and Field Trials.

Donna Howard, a junior at the University of Texas, clocked a 52.29 to finish fourth in the final of four heats. Anita Howard, shaking off rust and a shopping list of injuries, came home in 52.78 to finish fourth in the third heat.

Donna's time was 13th best overall, well behind Linetta Wilson's field-leading 51.29. Anita Howard's time ranked 19th in the dropout-depleted field of 27.

All but three of Saturday's 400-meter contestants qualified for tonight's quarterfinals. The first heat is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. The semifinals would follow on Monday and the finals on Wednesday.

``We prayed together before the race,'' said the 21-year-old Donna Howard, six years younger than her sister. ``We spent about an hour together in Anita's hotel room this afternoon, just talking and trying to boost each other's confidence up.''

Both sisters have been battling injuries. Donna, a 1993 graduate of Glenn Hills High, has been troubled by a strained left hamstring and a recently tweaked right hamstring. Anita, a member of the 1600-meter relay team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, has been plagued by a strained hamstring and two swollen knees.

Those injuries haven't sidelined Donna, who ran the third leg on a Texas 4x400 relay team that set a collegiate record in the NCAA Championships this spring. But they have limited Anita to just three previous cracks at the 400 this year.

``It's very hard for her,'' Donna Howard said of her sister, who trains year-round in Gainesville, Fla. ``Everyone who's coming out here has been running since January. She shows up after hardly running at all. She's continually injured, it seems. She hasn't been practicing. The meets are her practices.''

Anita Howard, running from the far outside in Lane 7, went out hard and maintained her blistering pace for the first 300 meters. But at the top of the homestretch, she came face to face with harsh reality.

She quickly surrendered her lead and padded home in low gear, like a stock car that has run out of gas. Afterward, she huffed and puffed for 10 minutes in the mixed zone while her competitors milled about, packing up and discussing their heats.

``Lane 7 - Woo!'' said the 1988 graduate of Butler High. ``I went out hard. I pushed it. That's why I got so fatigued the final 100 meters. That last 100, I stuggled.''

Asked when she had last felt so spent after running the 400 meters, her signature event, Howard shook her head. She couldn't remember such a time.

``I think something's happening to me,'' she said. ``I haven't run in that many meets this year. Maybe that's the reason I feel like this.''

As for Donna Howard, prospects are pretty good. Realistically, she knows her best shot at the Olympics will come in 2000. But she's here this week anyway - just in case.

``I think I ran the first 200 a little fast, but I'm pretty happy,'' she said. ``My goal is to make the finals.''