CENTRAL GIRLS CROSS INTO STATE TERRITORY

ST. LOUIS -- As Cape Girardeau Central High coach Mark Hahn put it, Saturday was "an orange-letter day for Cape Central cross country."

Central's girls team qualified for the Class 4A state meet for the first time by placing fourth in the Sectional 1 meet at Queeny Park. And freshman Brittany Ballard, fresh off a district championship, placed third, one spot ahead of the defending state champion, Sarah Haskins.

The state meet is set for Saturday at Oak Hills Golf Center in Jefferson City.

Defending state champion Kirkwood won the meet with 44 points, followed by Marquette (79), Parkway West (80) and Central (81). Jackson (87) placed fifth, narrowly missing a state meet berth.

Central's Myka Bohnsack finished fifth and received all-sectional commendation with Ballard. Rachel Sprigg placed 19th, Leanne Lee 27th, Elizabeth Meyr 45th and Lori Bittle 54th.

Central's boys team finished sixth. Although the Tigers' Jonathan Anderson missed the meet because of illness, three Tigers earned state meet slots by placing in the top 30. Mark Stone placed 12th, David Stahr 21st and Justin Hawkins 22nd.

Although Jackson's girls team failed to advance, four Lady Indians qualified individually. Julie Wunderlich finished 12th, Sarah Stiegemeyer 13th, Jennifer Brown 14th and Sarah Schlick 26th.

"Our girls ran pretty good," said Jackson coach Jim Stoverink. "We were close (to qualifying as a team), but we just didn't quite make it."

Jackson had three boys who competed in the sectional individually but none qualified for state.

Complete results appear in Scoreboard on Page 2B.

Class 2A, District 1

ST. LOUIS -- Notre Dame High's Susan Judd and Rick Smith qualified for next weekend's Class 2A state cross country meet by placing among the top 15 individuals in the district meet at Jefferson Barracks Park.

Judd paced the Lady Bulldogs with an eighth-place finish. As a freshman last season, Judd placed 24th in the state championships.

Smith, who transferred to Notre Dame this year from Fargo, N.D., placed 11th Saturday.

Notre Dame's girls and boys teams both finished fifth; the top two teams qualified for the state meet, which begins Saturday at Oak Hills Golf Center.

Kelly High's boys, who placed second in the state meet last season, finished second Saturday with 52 points. Lutheran South dominated the race and won with 19 points.

The Lady Hawks, the defending state champions, placed fourth and failed to move on.

Two Hawks placed in the top 10 and earned all-district recognition: Nathen King placed third and Luke Choate was eighth. Daniel Mothershead placed 12th, freshman Ashley Hahn 14th, Jobi Berry 20th, Jamie Essner 23rd and C.O. Scheffer 29th.

Kelly's Jenny Riley and April Cousins placed 11th and 14th, respectively, and will compete in the state meet.

Class 1A, District 5

MOUNTAIN VIEW -- Two Advance runners placed in the top 15 and will compete in the Class 1A state meet.

Ross McFerron and Chad Johnson placed third and sixth, respectively.