ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: DIONNA WEBB

DIONNA WEBB

School: Cape Central

Sport: Track

Coach: Lawrence Brookins

Week report: Webb won the Class 4A state championship in the long jump this past weekend and also finished all-state in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Her final jump of 18 feet, 11 1/2 inches broke her own school record and surpassed the jump of freshman Eziamaka Okafor of Rolla High School. Prior to her final jump, Webb's previous best at state was 17-10, which was surpassed by Okafor's leap of 18-6. She finished sixth in the 100 in 12.68 seconds and eighth in the 200 in 26.03.

Season report: By defeating Oakafor on her final jump, Webb finished the season unbeaten in the event. She also improved on last year's runner-up finish at state.

Coach's comment: "I think Dionna thought she had a good chance and all of a sudden this freshman from Rolla comes along. I think that kind of spooked Dionna. I told her, `Maybe you need to get a little animosity in you and go out there and whip this girl and go out a champ.' And she did. That was a big league jump. A jump like that gets a college's attention right away. . . That puts our school on the map and hopefully is motivation for some of the younger kids that come up. They say, `I want to be like Dionna, or I want to beat her record.' "It can work for the good in a lot of ways. . . Dionna is very deserving. Thank God we have her one more year."