Brookins pleased with Central's season, looks forward to next year

Central track and field coach Lawrence Brookins had a number of reasons to be happy about the 2006 track season.

The Tigers girls finished sixth in the Class 4 state meet, and the boys placed ninth.

"We represented Southeast Missouri well," he said. "I'm extremely proud of these kids."

Brookins may have even more reasons to look forward to next season.

Tyler Terry, whose runner-up finishes in the long and triple jumps sparked the boys team, has another year of school remaining.

Girls 200-meter champion Nicole Jackson has another year, as do state-qualifying teammates Emma Porter (pole vault) and Brianna Egbuka (shot put). Sprinters Tiffany Mead, Roxanne Jackson and Nadia Cox were sophomores; while distance runners Brittany Moreland and Veronica Schabbing were freshmen.

"The future looks bright, but I say that with guarded confidence," Brookins said.

While Nicole Jackson set school records back in April in the 100 and 200 meters, she teamed with Roxanne Jackson, Cox and Dani Gross to set a school 400-meter relay mark of 49.07 seconds in the preliminaries at the state meet.

Moreland picked up state points in the 1,600 meters. She was one of the many Central distance runners that Brookins called "Cross Country Nation."

"Mark Hahn had 60 kids in his cross country program and he brought 20 or more to our track team as the distance coach," Brookins said.

That distance depth and Central's sprinters may help Brookins take down the guard on his confidence next May.

-- Toby Carrig