Cooke finds his rhythm

Hermitage's Roger Cooke stretches before a practice. Looking for quick hands? Call Roger Cooke III, drummer for Beneath the Surface rock band.

Searching for quick feet? Dial that same Roger Cooke, leader of the pack in Hermitage High School cross country.

Cooke has the beat and the feet for success.

"I've always had a knack for music," he says.

Beneath the Surface has played gigs at Alleykatz, Rocks, Canal Club, etc., and even published a CD with a cluster of originals.

Cooke offers a fair-to-middling rat-a-tat-tat in racing shoes, too, as evidenced by his recent course-record 16:11 at Deep Run.

He also ran a 16:32 in placing 26th out of nearly 250 runners Saturday at the Glory Days Invitational in Manassas.

"When I first started, I wanted to be a sprinter because I didn't want to run that long," he said. "Before long, I found I was better at anything over a mile."

The 6-0 150-pound senior took off a year ago, taking fourth in the 3,200-meter Central Region indoor meet. He was seventh outdoors.

Cooke was 11th in the 2007 region cross country in 16:43 - a time he's since left in his wake.

"Roger was always a good runner; but in the last year, he's becoming a great one," Panthers coach Joe Pardue said. "Right now, [Atlee's] Ben [Dejarnette] is No. 1 around this region. . . . Then Roger's in the next bunch, going for second."

This flesh-and-blood "Roger Rabbit" has his well-toned heart set on attending Virginia Tech.

In Blacksburg, he might be a candidate for track and cross country, and also the Highty-Tighties regimental band.

A military brat, Cooke was born in Richmond but lived five years in Honolulu where his dad - Naval Chief Warrant Officer Roger Jr. - was stationed.

Cooke labels his musical aptitude a mystery.

"No one else in my family is musical," he says.

His stamina in spikes is traced to dad, a sub-three-hour marathoner.

"My first memories of running were with my dad," Cooke said. "We'd go out to the track to watch him train, then get into it ourselves."

He was referring to his mom, Robin, and brother - Hermitage freshman Matt, another promising runner in Pardue's stable.

"Actually, Matt probably has more talent than me," Cooke said.

The Cookes following a long line of successful Hermitage runners. Alumni competing for Division I colleges include Alex Bowman (Virginia), John Vial (VCU) and Kieran Lee (Virginia Tech).

Cooke didn't inherit Panthers' No. 1 status until this year. Last year's top runner, Nathan Puckett (14th in the state) now runs at Division II Harding University (Ark.).

"I didn't realize how much I learned from those guys until they were gone," Cooke said. "They were great role models."

Cooke lists his seasonal goal as 15.45, a time likely to draw attention from college suitors.

"Under 16, that's what it takes to be competitive at states," he said.