Eudy places second with school record

~ Notre Dame's boys team finished in sixth place with 46 points.

HILLSBORO -- Notre Dame coach Bill Davis joked that junior Grant Eudy does not have the appearance of the prototypical high jumper.

"When you look at him, he doesn't look like your normal athlete," Davis said. "He's not real muscled up. He's got those skinny legs. He's very high wasted. He's kind of like a grasshopper. He's got that build. But he's an extremely intelligent young man and he learns real fast."

The 5-foot-10 Eudy placed second in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 6 inches at the Class 3 District 1 meet Saturday. The junior earned a trip to compete at the Class 3 sectional meet for the first time in his career by placing in the top four.

The sectional meet will take place Saturday at noon at Farmington High School.

Notre Dame's Allie Job competes in the pole vault Saturday.

"I'm pretty excited," Eudy said. "It still really hasn't sunk in yet. ... Since I'm going to sectionals, I really want to get to state, too, now. If I can get at least 6-4 again at sectionals, I think I'll be able to get out, and then at state, you never know."

Eudy failed to qualifying for the Class 3 sectional meet last year. His best jump entering last spring's district meet was 6-2. But he only jumped 6-0 at the meet, which put him in fifth place. Only the top four jumpers advance.

Eudy's jump Saturday set a school record. He held the previous record.

"I want to thank my coach, Jay Meystedt, who was a three-time state champion in high school and he's helped a whole lot," Eudy said.

Davis said that Meystedt jumped at Central and the University of Missouri and that Meystedt works with Eudy a couple of days each week.

"If Grant has a little problem, we say he calls the doctor," Davis said. "And so the doctor is Jay. And Jay will come out to work with him for a half-hour, 45 minutes to straighten him out. Jay also worked with him during the summer. They paid Jay to be like a private tutor, which is legal. And so Jay would come out to the school. We'd leave the pits out and two or three days a week when I was at school I'd see Jay out there with Grant."

Davis said that before Eudy began working with Meystedt, he struggled with his steps. But now has them down. Davis thinks Eudy has a chance to place at the state meet.

"If he goes 6-6 at state -- unless there's some great, great jumpers at the Class 3 level -- that's top four, top five," Davis said. "Obviously Cal Lane is the guy to beat."

Lane, of Sikeston, was the only jumper to beat Eudy at districts. Eudy said competing against Lane motivates him to jump higher.

"If I can even get close to what he does then I know I'm going pretty good," Eudy said.

Local sectional qualifiers

Girls

Team scores -- 13. Perryville 14; 13. Notre Dame 14

Pole vault -- 2. Jill Schnurbusch, ND, 10-00; 3. Allie Job, ND, 9-6

Shot put -- 2. Casey Brewer, P, 35-10

Discus -- 4. Brewer, P, 105-01

Boys

Team scores -- 6. Notre Dame 46; 9. Perryville 24

3,200 -- 3. Wynn McClellan, ND, 9:31

3,200 relay -- 2. Notre Dame (McClellan, Logan Davis, Ryan Johnson, Cody Moore), 8:12.51

High jump -- 2. Grant Eudy, ND, 6-06

Pole vault -- 4. Joe Froemsdorf, ND, 13-0

Shot put -- 1. Garrett Leible, P, 55-11. 2. Brennan Scheeter, ND, 48-01