CHS HOPES TO DANCE TO 4A, DISTRICT 1 TRACK TITLES

Many of Cape Central's track athletes had a tough decision to make.

Which Big Dance is more important: the prom or the Class 4A, District 1 meet at Poplar Bluff?

"As we go into the district meet," said Central coach Lawrence Brookins, "we're looking right in the face of prom."

The meet will take place today at Poplar Bluff. There will be 12 teams and the action will get underway at about 11 a.m. The top four placers will advance to sectionals.

Brookins said the team could be affected somewhat by prom, but added at this time of the year probably every school in the district has to face a scheduling conflict of some sort.

The biggest blow for Cape Central will be in the girls 200. Dionna Webb, who was an all-stater in that event last season, will not run the 200 because of the prom. Instead, she will add a relay and run in both the 4x100 and 4x200. She will also compete in the 100 and her best event, the long jump, where she is the defending state champ.

Cape Central's girls should still be the favorite to win the district title, while Poplar Bluff is the favorite to win on the boys' side.

"Bluff might be in the driver's seat," said Brookins of the team that returns the state champion in the pole vault (P.J. Brown). "They have a bit more depth than everybody else. They look real good and have proved they're the team to beat."

Cape Central's girls, meanwhile, have dominated the local track scene but have had a close call or two with Jackson. Farmington and Oakville also have strong squads.

Though Central has a handful of talented sprinters, jumpers and throwers, it is the distance runners that have carried both the boys and girls team, Brookins said. On the girls' side, Kim Pancoast, Amanda Hutteger, Whitney Pingel and Alisa Uzoaru have led the way. On the boys' side, it's been Ross Tilghman, Mark Stone, Gabe Austin and freshman Trevor Duncan.

"The entire group of distance runners have been strong," said Brookins. "Our distance kids do their workouts in the toughest of elements. The only thing that scares them away is lightning. The sprinters and jumpers are like 'let's go in.' I always tease them (distance runners) and tell them they're from Mars because they have a different mind set. They fire me up."

Jackson's strength, meanwhile, is the relay events on the girls side. The Lady Indians also depend on Jennifer Love, whose strength is the 100 and 300 hurdles.

On the boys' side, Jackson's Mario Whitney is the front runner to win the 100 and 200. Whitney is undefeated in those events and has posted an unbelievable time of 10.48 in the 100. Whitney should get a challenge from Oakville's Javon Sykes in the 200. Sykes ran the race in 21.9 earlier this year.

Cape Central's Jeff Thiele has been strong in the discus this season and should contend for the title.