Central, Jackson, Perryville, ND advance athletes to state

Central freshman Nicole Jackson led a strong performance by local track and field athletes during Saturday's Class 4 sectional meet at Parkway South High School in St. Louis County.

Jackson won the 200 and placed second in the 100. Also claiming sectional wins for the Tigers were Mark Egbuka (shot put) and the 800 relay team of Calen Wills, Will Johnson, Zeno Walker and Allen Walker.

"Nicole ran great, and we had a good day overall," Central coach Lawrence Brookins said.

Jackson's girls captured two sectional titles; Rebecca Martin (shot put) and Amy West (pole vault) both placed first.

The Indians qualified only two boys for state. Brad Crader took the discus crown, and Isaac Venable placed second in the 800.

The top four finishers in each event advance to next weekend's state meet in Jefferson City.

Class 3 sectional (at Perryville)Perryville's Kyle Dobbelare qualified for the Class 3 state championships next weekend in three individual events; he took first in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles and placed third in the long jump. The Pirates' 1600 relay team (Dobbelare, Kyle Cottner, Jesse Kueker and Terry Wood) broke the school record in a time of 3:24.87 on its way to first place.

For Notre Dame, Austin Critchlow placed first in the 800 and joined Sam Montgomery, Ryan Roggow and Jason Delgado to claim the 3,200 relay title. The relay team defeated defending state champions Potosi, the district champion and heavy favorite. Bryce Willen also advanced by finishing fourth in the pole vault.

"We had some letdowns," said Notre Dame coach Bill Davis. "The relay was good, Critchlow in the 800 and Katie Daniel in the hurdles."

Daniel broke school records in the 100 high hurdles and 300 low hurdles, qualifying for state in both events. Daniels finished third in the 100 hurdles and second in the 300.

A big disappointment for Notre Dame was the disqualification of its top-seeded girls 4x200 relay team. The team was tied for first entering the final leg but dropped the baton on the handoff.