Freshman Gibson, Central seniors win

Central opened the cross country season on a good note, running down the boys senior class team title Saturday in the Jackson Invitational on Saturday at the Jackson City Park.

The event, which served as the first meet of the season for the majority of the 20 schools competing, was separated into divisions for each grade level, nine through 12, with both genders having their own team scores. Freshmen ran 1.7 miles, and sophomores, juniors and seniors ran 2.35 miles, knocking one loop off from the customary distance of 3.1 miles.

Jackson freshman Greg Gibson was the lone incdividual winner from the area, taking his race in 11 minutes. He was followed by Notre Dame runners Logan Davis (11:17) in second and Dillon Klaffer (11:23) in third. Cody Green of Jackson was seventh at 11:47.22.

Notre Dame was second in the race with 38 points, followed by Jackson with 76.

Central's senior boys scored 45 points to win their division. Perryville finished second with 57.

The Tigers placed three runners in the top 10 of the senior boys division. John Kipper claimed second place, finishing in 12 minutes, 38 seconds -- 10 seconds behind winner John-Mark Lewis of Popla Bluff.

Central's Eddie Glenn finished in 13:01 to place fifth, and Dan Austin placed 10th at 13:15.

Perryville senior Jesse Kueker (12:56) finished fourth, and Notre Dame senior Greg Kanneberg (13:06) placed eighth.

"I'm real satisfied," Kipper said. "I felt strong during my race, and hopefully it will help me in the future.

"We have a real strong team. They're all working real hard."

Saxony Lutheran coach Larry Cleair said he likes the idea of a shorter race to start the season while it's still warm.

"It's a good idea, as hot and sunny as it is today, to go a shorter distance," he said. "It's early in the season, and a lot of kids start out running too fast and then start struggling."

Led by Brandon Etzold's seventh-place finish at 16:27, Saxony's junior boys finished third with 61 points, two behind Lindbergh.

"We had a really strong effort today," said Cleair, whose team is the defending Class 1 state champion. "I was real proud of the way our juniors ran. I was hoping we would bring home first place, but it's really tough for us to compete against schools this big.

"The competition was fantastic, which is good."

Central junior Tyler Yeargain finished fifth in 16:11 and Perryville sophomore Montana Giesler (13:28) was second.

On the girls side, Jackson Heather O'Connor placed second in the senior girls division at 16:06. A transfer from Blue Springs South, O'Connor finished behind only Herculaneum's Kelly Williams, who won in 14:51.

Central senior Linnea Woldtvedt was eighth at 16:37.

Jackon's sophomore girls placed third as a team with 42 points. Amy Sterling led the Indians with a fourth-place finish in 16:17.

"We're really looking for good things from Amy," Jackson coach Andrea Talley said. "For anyone to run in the low 16s today was all right."

Kelly sophomore Sarah Ruff was ninth in 16:59.

Central collected 55 points to finish third in the freshmen girls race, led by Brittany Moreland's second-place, 12:27 finish.

Results

Freshmen boys -- 1. Farmington 30, 2. Notre Dame 38, 3. Jackson 76, 6. Kelly 141, 7. Saxony 147, 10. Central 197, 11. Advance 201

Indivual top 15 locals -- 1. Greg Gibson (J), 11:00; 2. Logan David (ND), 11:17; 3. Dillon Klaffer (ND), 11:23; 7. Cody Green (J), 11:47.22; 12. Alex Bader (ND), 12:05.03

Freshmen girls -- 1. St. Joseph Academy 21, 2. Kirkwood 27, 3. Central 55, 7. Notre Dame 73, 9. Jackson 127

Indivual top 15 locals -- 2. Brittany Moreland (C), 12:27; 13. Veronica Shabbing (C), 13:59

Sophomore boys -- 1. Parkway West 32, 2. Herculaneum 60, 3. Kirkwood 72, 6. Notre Dame 114, 7. Kelly 174, 8. Jackson 179

Indivual top 15 locals -- 2. Montana Giesler (Perryville), 13:28; 10. Shawn Owens (Central), 13:52; 13. Nate Middleton (Advance), 14:22

Sophomore girls -- 1. St. Joseph Academy 17, 2. Lindbergh 19, 3. Jackson 42, 8. Central 73, 11. Notre Dame 116

Indivual top 15 locals -- 4. Amy Sterling (J), 16:17.83; 9. Sarah Ruff (Kelly), 16:59; 12. Alyx Waterman (C), 17:11; 14. Jessica Banda (ND), 17:12.25

Junior boys -- 1. Fox 25, 2. Lindbergh 59, 3. Saxony 61; 5. Central 104; 6. Oak Ridge 119; 8. Notre Dame 176

Indivual top 15 locals -- 5. Tyler Yeargain (C), 16:11; 7. Brandon Etzold (S), 16:27; 11. Max Wieser (S), 16:48; 12. Dale Brannock (C), 16:58; 13. Jonathan Ramsey (ND), 17:00

Junior girls -- 1. Herculaneum 16, 2. Parkway West 19, 3. Kirkwood 27; 6. Central 70

Indivual top 15 locals -- 13. Emily Ponder (C), 14:02

Senior boys -- 1. Central 45, 2. Perryville 57, 3. Herculaneum 61, 7. Kelly 137, 8. Notre Dame 147

Indivual top 15 locals -- 2. John Kipper (C), 12:38; 4. Jesse Kueker (P), 12:56; 5. Eddie Glenn (C), 13:01; 8. Greg Kanneberg (ND), 13:06; 10. Dan Austin (C), 13:15.20; 14. William Benline (P), 13:23

Senior girls -- 1. Herculaneum 25, 2. Kirkwood 29, 3. Lindbergh 43, 8. Central 66, 10. Notre Dame 86, 11. Perryville 113

Indivual top 15 locals -- 2. Heather O'Connor (Jackson), 16:06; 8. Linnea Woldtvedt (C), 16:37; 13. Leslie Schilli (P), 16:55