AREA CLASS 3A-4A TRACK ATHLETES SET SIGHTS ON STATE SUCCESS

Cape Girardeau Central High track and field coach Jerry Dement doesn't like making predictions.

But considering that Central will take 18 athletes to the Missouri Class 4A state championships this weekend in Jefferson City, Dement doesn't need his crystal ball to project that Central should fare well.

"We were really pleased with getting that many through," Dement said. "One other year I think we got 20 through. But it's a large number. We're ready to go."

Based on performances Saturday at the sectional meet in St. Louis, eight Lady Tigers qualified for the state meet in 11 events and 10 Tigers qualified in six events.

"We always shoot for a top 10 finish, boys and girls," Dement said. "We've been there the last five years, so that's our first goal."

Three Jackson boys qualified in four events. In the 3A meet, Perryville will send four boys in four events and one girl in one event.

Three Central girls won sectional titles. Kristen Tallent won the 400; Tobie Bittle, who broke her own school record and will make her fourth trip to the state meet, won the 800; and Courtney Haman won the high jump.

"Tobie Bittle has an excellent chance to place very high," Dement said.

Dionna Webb will compete in three individual events: the 100, 200 and long jump. Heather Jenkins, a freshman, will compete in the shot put, Myka Bohnsack in the 3200 and Marisa Uzoaru in the triple jump.

Also, the Lady Tigers' 4x800 relay team of Summer Chaudhari, Tallent, Bohnsack and Bittle, and the 4x400 team of Tallent, Bittle, Chaudhari and Webb, qualified.

In the boys division, Travis Cox will compete in the 300 intermediate hurdles for the second consecutive year and Chris Allen qualified in the long jump.

All four Central relay teams qualified. The 4x800 team of Mike Stone, Drew Witvoet, Gabe Austin and Rory Kipper shaved about 13 seconds off its previous best time in the sectional meet.

Cox, Steve Criddle, Emmanuel Harris and Demetrius Totton will run the 4x200. Criddle, Ross Conner, Allen and Harris will run the 4x100, and Criddle, Cox, Harris and Totton will compete in the 4x400.

For Jackson, Devree Flint will compete in the shot put, which he won at the sectional meet, and the discus. Keven Bricknell will compete in the high jump, and Nathan Windeknecht will compete in the triple jump. Coach Bob Sink said he thinks each has a chance to place.

For Perryville, Ryan Hohenadel will compete in the 1600 and 3200, Tyson Brown in the 800 and 1600, Jared Tanz in the 800 and Tiffany Perkins in the discus. Nathan Davis, Hohenadel, Brown and Tanz will run the 4x800 relay, which recorded the fastest time of all the sectional meets, coach Craig Knaak said.