Central boys, girls sweep invitational

Central brought out the welcome mat on Saturday as it hosted its lone regular season cross country meet.

The Tigers made sure to keep most of the trophies for themselves, though, bringing home titles in both the boys and girls varsity races on a day dominated by the Tigers.

Central's boys and girls each had all five runners medal -- the top 20 were honored -- in claiming both titles.

Central senior John Kipper won the title on the boys side, while Central freshman Brittany Moreland finished second in the girls race.

Tigers coach Mark Hahn said Central's big day went beyond just the varsity success.

"The junior varsity, they were right there, and the freshmen and our junior high, all the way we looked strong," he said. "And to do it on your home course is kind of nice, too."

Kipper's winning time of 16:44 tied his personal record and clinched his first title of the season. In the Tigers' first two meets, at Jackson and Perryville, Kipper brought home a pair of runner-up finishes.

"I'm running significantly faster than I was last year," Kipper said. "I put in a lot of miles this summer, and that's really been the factor in determining how fast I've run."

Through about the first half of the boys race Kipper was among a group of three runners at the front. By the end of the race, Kipper was all alone at the finish line with time to spare.

"My strategy to win was just to stay with them and see how they came through the mile and two-mile mark, and just try to hurt them and put it away," Kipper said.

Kipper's teammates, Dan Austin and Eddie Glenn, finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Tyler Yeargain was 15th and Shawn Owens finished 20th for the Tigers.

The boys race, which was the last race and had a start time around 12:30 p.m., also was the hottest race of the day.

Hahn said the heat worked as an advantage for Kipper.

"It was helpful for the varsity race because he is extremely fit," Hahn said. "He was able to take advantage of that."

Notre Dame finished second in the boys race, placing its top five runners in the top 20. Matt Pfau finished sixth, Greg Kanneberg was seventh, Neil Kanneberg was 12th, Logan Davis was 13th and Jon Ramsey was 18th.

Saxony Lutheran had two runners in the top 20, led by Brandon Etzold in 11th. Trey Maevers finished 14th. The Crusaders finished fifth as a team.

David Welker was Jackson's lone top-20 finisher in 16th.

For Central's first-place girls team, following Moreland were senior Linnea Woldtvedt in fourth, Veronica Schabbing in eighth, Alyx Waterman in 14th and Emily Ponder in 16th.

Jackson's girls placed third, led by Heather O'Connor's fifth-place finish. Amy Sterling followed in sixth, Beth Barton finished 11th and Casey Hatton was 19th.

Jessica Banda led Notre Dame's girls in 15th, and Kelly's Sarah Ruff finished 18th.

Boys

Central -- 1. John Kipper 16:44, 4. Dan Austin 17:17, 5. Eddie Glenn 17:20, 15. Tyler Yeargain 18:12, 20. Shawn Owens 18:25

Notre Dame -- 6. Matt Pfau 17:34, 7. Greg Kanneberg 17:40, 12. Neil Kanneberg 17:53, 13. Logan Davis 17:54, 18. Jon Ramsey 18:19

Saxony Lutheran -- 11. Brandon Etzold 17:52, 14. Trey Maevers 18:08

Jackson -- 16. Nick Welker 18:14

Girls

Central -- 2. Brittany Moreland 20:59, 4. Linnea Woldtvedt 21:23, 8. Veronica Schabbing 22:09, 14. Alyx Waterman 22:37, 16. Emily Ponder 22:46

Jackson -- 5. Heather O'Connor 21:25, 6. Amy Sterling 21:48, 11. Beth Barton 22:27, 19. Casey Hatton 23:01

Notre Dame -- 15. Jessica Banda 22:41, 29. Brooke Heischmidt 23:55, 34. Christen Edmonds 24:09, 35. Hailey Brown 24:17, 39. Jennifer Hinkebein 24:38

Kelly -- 18. Sarah Ruff 22:53