Central runners third in state

JEFFERSON CITY -- Despite district and sectional victories the last two weeks, there was no guarantee the Central girls cross country team would get on stage to take home a trophy from the Class 4 state meet.

But senior Brittany Moreland couldn't have been happier that the Tigers nabbed a third-place finish, allowing her to make the appearance on stage that she missed last year when they won the first trophy in the history of the girls program.

"It felt amazing that the team got up there again, because I missed standing on the podium last year," Moreland said. "It was great that I got to experience being with the team on the podium."

Last year, Moreland struggled to finish the race. She had been in the top 15 for much of the race, but she faltered for an unknown reason in the closing stretch.

"I'm not really sure to this day," Moreland said. "I think I started hyperventilating."

ANDREW JANSEN ~ Special to the Southeast MissourianCentral's Veronica Schabbing competes in Saturday's Class 4 state cross country meet.

Central coach Mark Hahn said last year that Moreland went into oxygen deficiency. On Saturday, he recalled how impressed he was that Moreland even finished the race, placing in the top 30 and helping the Central girls earn their first state trophy with a fourth-place finish.

"She was coming up that hill, and as she got to the finish line, I didn't know if she was going to cross or not," Hahn said. "We were in the tent with the trainers for, it seems like, 20 minutes."

The Tigers had no such concerns Saturday.

Moreland was back in form to earn the third state medal of her career, placing 25th in 19 minutes, 43 seconds.

Fellow senior Veronica Schabbing was seventh in 19:18 to earn her third consecutive state medal with her best showing. Her time set a school mark for the state meet.

"That was very sweet to see both of them go out as all-staters," Hahn said. "They've been the cornerstones for quite a while. Both of them understand and embrace the team concept. It's fun to go out as all-state individually, but to be third in the state as a team is even better."

Moreland always deflects comments about her performances to the team's showing.

"I feel I did well," she said Saturday, "but how the team did completely overrides it. I'm so proud of everyone, and this year was just an amazing way to finish my high school career."

The Tigers also had a 22nd-place finish from sophomore Mary Dohogne, who improved 20 positions from her debut performance.

"Three all-staters, we've never had that before," Hahn said. "Mary is a real competitor. She is focused and goal-oriented, and I have a feeling she might be one of those you see continue her improvement."

Central's scoring was rounded out by junior Victoria Schabbing, Veronica's sister, in 64th place; and sophomore Jordyn Richmond in 109th.

"Victoria and Jordyn ran awesome," Hahn said. "They passed so many kids and picked up so many points."

The Tigers finished with 142 points, just nine behind runner-up Jefferson City and 12 ahead of Kickapoo. They finished 74 points ahead of Washington, which placed just two points behind the Tigers in the sectional. Lee's Summit West, the state's top-ranked team, won with 69 points.

The Tigers were listed originally in second place due to an error with the automated scoring system, which was done with chips on runners' shoes.

While Hahn spotted the error as soon as he saw the results printed out, it didn't spoil his day.

"There was a natural little bit of a letdown," he said, "but it was really not a big deal. The girls knew they ran well.

"It was a very good day. The No. 1 thing is you want your kids to run well so they feel good about themselves. And then wherever you fall placewise is just a bonus on top of that. We had a pretty nice bonus."

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Team scores -- 1, Lee's Summit West 69; 2, Jefferson City 133; 3, Central 142; 4, Kickapoo 154.

Individuals

Central -- 7, Veronica Schabbing, 19:18; 22, Mary Dohogne, 19:40; 25, Brittany Moreland, 19:43; 64, Victoria Schabbing, 20:34; 109, Jordyn Richmond, 21:22; 153, Cassy Weisenberger, 22:28; 156, Jessie Hahn, 22:44

Jackson -- 78, Taylor Dickerson, 20:55; 88, Tori Parry, 21:07.

Boys

Jackson -- 35, Greg Gibson, 16:59.

Central -- 53, Roy Leighton, 17:14; 121, Eric Schott, 18:00.