CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS GEARING UP FOR SEASON-OPENING MEETS

What to do for an encore. That's the situation facing coach Bill Davis and his Kelly High cross country team.

Last year, in just the second season for Kelly's program, the boys squad captured the Class 1A-2A state championship.

"It was just a tremendous season for us last year," said Davis. "Everything came together."

And there is a good chance things will come together once again this year, because the Hawks return five of their top seven runners from last season.

Kelly and the area's other cross country programs are gearing up for this week's season openers.

Notre Dame kicks things off the earliest, competing at Murphysboro, Ill., Wednesday. Cape Girardeau Central, Jackson, Perryville and Kelly will all open the campaign Saturday in the Jackson Invitational.

Following is a look at the area squads:

Cape Central

Coach Mark Hahn likes the way things are shaping up for his teams, who both return plenty of experienced runners from last year, when the boys and girls each made it to sectionals.

"Things are looking pretty good," said Hahn. "Everybody is working hard and our numbers are up. I think we'll be as competitive or more competitive than last year."

Central's boys return one state qualifier in senior Rory Kipper and four other lettermen in juniors Matt Hawkins, David Stahr, Nathan Skinner and Jeff Haycraft.

"We'll be counting on them quite a bit and several others should contribute," Hahn said.

Central's girls return two state qualifiers in senior Tobie Bittle and junior Leanne Lee. Bittle, in fact, has made it to state each of the past three seasons.

"Tobie has had a great career and she's trying to become our only four-time state qualifier," said Hahn.

Other letterwinners returning are senior Bethany Caplan, junior Micah Bohnsack and three sophomores: Lori Bittle, Katie Kunz and Elizabeth Meyr.

In addition, the Lady Tigers have received a boost from the return of senior Kristin Tallent, a state qualifier as a freshman who did not run cross country the last two years.

One of the highlights of the season for Central will be its invitational meet on Sept. 20 at Cape County Park North.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame had no state qualifiers last season for the first time since the program was started five years ago but coach Wayne Nenninger is hopeful that will change in '97.

"We'd like to get back (to state) this year," said Nenninger. "We face mainly much bigger schools during the season, but I try to remind the kids that as long as they're improving and making strides, that's the main thing."

The Bulldogs figure to be led by senior Ira Judd, who came close to qualifying for state last year. Fellow senior Robert Macklem is also being counted on.

Making up the rest of the lineup will be five young runners: sophomores Jason Peters, Charlie Greer and Matt Mittrucker; and freshmen Grant Frey and Mark Berkbigler.

The Lady Bulldogs return sisters Jennifer Stoverink, a senior, and Jean Stoverink, a sophomore. Jennifer seems to be recovered after being hampered by a leg injury last year when Jean was the team MVP as a freshman.

Stoverink will also be counting on freshman Susan Judd, junior Micaela Shaffar and senior Thuy Ha.

Jackson

Coach Jim Stoverink expects his girls to field a powerhouse team as the Lady Indians return six of their top seven runners from last year's squad that finished 12th in the Class 4A state meet.

"Our girls are looking real tough," said Stoverink. "We're really excited about their chances this year. They've worked very hard."

Sophomore Julie Wunderlich finished 34th at state last year to top the list of returning runners. Also back are juniors Jennifer Brown, Christy Thoma and Sarah Stiegemyer, along with sophomores Sarah Schlick and Lisa Sappington.

Stoverink said several other runners have also been looking good, including junior Annie Stoverink and sophomore Jodie Brunke.

On the boys side, the Indians also return plenty of experienced runners from last year's squad that made it to sectionals but had no state qualifiers.

Returning is last year's top runner, senior Lucas Bollinger, along with seniors Mark Sanders and Chris Callahan; juniors Steven Adams, Blake Pope and Lance Schlick; and sophomore Luke Stoverink.

Also being counted on are senior John Shearon and freshman Zach Friederich.

Perryville

Dean Lewis figures he has stepped into a nice situation as the new Perryville cross country coach. Both the boys and girls teams competed in last year's Class 3A state meet.

"We really have high hopes for both again this year," said Lewis, formerly a coach at Class 1A Scotland County who will also serve as Perryville's boys basketball coach this year. "Both teams should be strong."

The Pirates lost third-place state finisher Ryan Layton to graduation, but return senior Tyson Brown, eighth in last year's state meet.

Lewis said he will also be counting on the likes of seniors Ryan Hohenadel and Garet Unterreiner; juniors Nathan Davis and Jared Tanz; sophomore Shohn Lorenz; and freshman Nathan Moore.

The Lady Pirates lost state champion Celeste Ramsey but will count on, among others, juniors Jen Hadler, Kara Steffens, Andrea Weibrecht and Susan Telle; sophomore Renee Schlichting; and freshman Dawn Berkbigler.

Kelly

While the Hawks do return many of their key runners from last year's state championship team, Davis warns about people counting on a title repeat.

"Knock on wood," said Davis with a laugh. "It's hard to go out there and defend a title, no matter what it is. But if we perform to our capabilities, we should fare very well. We've got a lot of talent."

Kelly has a whopping 27 runners on the boys team, up from last year's total of 17.

Leading the way will be senior Michael Riley, who was third at last year's state meet.

Other varsity regulars back from last year are seniors Denver Stuckey (32nd at state) and Ben Klipfel and juniors Nathen King (24th at state) and Russ Mothershead.

Others who have been running well, according to Davis, are senior Chad Felter and juniors Daniel Mothershead and Luke Choate.

While Kelly's boys won a state title last year, Kelly's girls also had a solid season with a fourth-place district finish. And six of the top seven runners are back, led by senior Amy Arteme (27th at state).

Other regulars returning are seniors Brooke Nelson and Jenny Forck and three juniors: April Cousins, Heather DeWitt and Beth Glueck. Davis will also be counting on sophomores Melissa Garner, Allison Burger and LeShae Simmons.

"We should be able to move up this year with the girls," said Davis.

A highlight of the season for Kelly will be two home meets, the first on Sept. 13.