Jackson girls, Notre Dame boys win Central Invitational cross country titles

Notre Dame senior Breanne Conklin claimed her first-ever individual cross country title at the 48th annual Central Invitational on Saturday.

"I felt pretty good with how I did, and I felt comfortable compared to the last meet I did at Forest Park," Conklin said. "It felt really good to win first place."

Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said Conklin had talked about winning all week long, so that mentality made it easier for her to run the race.

The Bulldogs, who finished third in the team standings, had only five runners participate due to injuries to juniors Elsie Anderson and Rachel Hearnes.

Jackson finished first in the girls team standings. The Indians had four runners place in the top 10. Chelsea Drum finished in fourth place with a time of 20 minutes, 54 seconds. Meg Fridley (20:57) finished fifth, Zhao Ni Dirnberger (21:17) finished seventh and Taylor Winnick (21:32) finished ninth.

Notre Dame's Breanna Conklin leads midway through the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. Conklin won the race with a time of 20:02.0. The Notre Dame girls team placed third with 57 points. (ADAM VOGLER)

Jackson junior Gabe Underwood edged out Notre Dame's Michael Nelson near the finish line to claim third place in the boys race behind two Carbondale athletes.

"It was a good race," Underwood said. "I had some energy at the end and I passed Notre Dame, and that felt pretty good."

Jackson coach Andrea Talley was proud the team's performance and said many members of her team had the flu.

"Gabe is like the poster child for summer work," Talley said of Underwood. "He has come so far since his freshman year. He's came from ground zero. Kids that follow a plan will do well, and he proved us right. He was phenomenal."

Notre Dame edged out Carbondale by a point to win the boys team title, while Jackson finished third.

Saxony Lutheran's Rachael Guenwald runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. (ADAM VOGLER)

Five Notre Dame runners finished in the top 12 spots, led by Nelson's fourth-place time of 17:03. Jacob Meadors (17:24) finished sixth, Cole Ross (17:26) seventh, Michael Peters (17:43) 11th and Jacob Cieslewicz (17:45) 12th.

BOYS

Team standings -- 1. Notre Dame 40; 2. Carbondale (Ill.) 41; 3. Jackson 69; 4. Marion (Ill.) 109; 5. Northwest (Cedar Hill) 128; 6. Oak Ridge 180; 7. Woodland 205; 8. Cape Central 211; 9. Advance (250); 10. Farmington (260); 11. Saxony Lutheran (285)

Indiviual Top 10

1. James Douglas, Carbondale, 16:44

Notre Dame’s Breanna Conklin leads the Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday. Conklin won the race with a time of 20:02. The Notre Dame girls team placed third with 57 points. (ADAM VOGLER)

2. Micah Cherry, Carbondale, 16:47

3. Gabe Underwood, Jackson, 17:00

4. Michel Nelson, Notre Dame, 17:03

5. Dylan Gibson, Carbondale, 17:17

6. Jacob Meadors, Notre Dame, 17:24

Notre Dame's Ali Norder runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. Norder placed eighth with a time of 21:26.2. The Notre Dame girls team placed third with 57 points. (ADAM VOGLER)

7. Cole Ross, Notre Dame, 17:26

8. Nate Martin, Jackson, 17:27

9. Mitchell Rushing, Marion, 17:34

10. Zach Humphrey, Marion, 17:36

Local Top Five

Cape Central's Hezekiah Wood runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. (ADAM VOGLER)

Notre Dame -- 4. Michael Nelson 17:03.1; 6. Jacob Meadors 17:24.2; 7. Cole Ross 17.26.0; 11. Michael Peters 17:43.0; 12. Jacob Cieslewicz 17:45.8

Jackson -- 3. Gabe Underwood 17:00.0; 8. Nate Martin 17:27.1; 13. Matt Gibson 17:46.4; 19. Calvin Lysell 17:58.9; 26. Noah Weatherby 18:24.6

Oak Ridge -- 20. Ethan Seyer 18:00.1; 25. Corvin Schoen 18:20.9; 36. Jake LeGrand 18:51.6; 55. Nathan Bolin 19:58.3; 56. Austin Wunderlich 20:10.0

Woodland -- 27. Garret Reynolds 18:30.1; 33. Aaron Yount 18:43.7; 44. Kyle Davis 19:19.6; 50. Dakota Long 19:43.0; 64. Cody Davis 20:40.6

Central -- 32. Logan Wright 18:35.8; 38. Tim Heinsman 18:55.8; 39. Hezekiah Wood 19:00.0; 47. Clayton Monia 19:23.4; 70. Dalton Buchanan 21:09.7

Jackson's Chelsea Drum runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. Drum finished fourth with a time of 20:54.9. The Jackson girls team won the meet with 41 points. (ADAM VOGLER)

Advance -- 18. Braden Bien 17:58.6; 48. Curtis Gilliland 19:23.8; 57. Tyler Middleton 20:13.7; 78. Ben Trout 22:59.4; 80. Zach Cato 23:27.3

Saxony Lutheran -- 62. Zach Vogel 20:36.9; 63. Aron Koeler 20:38.3; 66. Anthony Etzold 20:46.1; 71. Taylor Richmond 21:16.6; 73. Jason Krueger 21:19.2

Scott City -- 40. Jesse Perry 19:01.4

Delta -- 46. Caleb Amelunke 19:22.2; 54. Dwight Nance 19:55.8; 58. Jesse Nance 20:20.2

Meadow Heights -- 49. Chris Bollinger 19:38.2; 60. Ryan Foltz 20:30.8; 61. Steven Bright 20:31.1

Scott City's Jesse Perry, right, and Cape Central's Hezekiah Wood runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. (ADAM VOGLER)

Kelly -- 52. Alan Lowe 19:50.6; 53. Jerrod Lynn 19:50.8; 67. Trey Walker 20:54.0

GIRLS

Team standings -- 1. Jackson 41; 2. Carbondale (Ill.) 52; 3. Notre Dame 57; 4. Marion (Ill.) 99; 5. Cape Central 129; 6. Farmington 144; 7. Saxony Lutheran 162; 8. Northwest (Cedar Hill) 177

Overall Top 10

1. Breanna Conklin, Notre Dame, 20:02.0

Notre Dame's Michael Nelson runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. Nelson placed fourth with a time of 17:03.1. The Notre Dame boys team won the meet 40 points, beating Carbondale by one point. (ADAM VOGLER)

2. Hannah Cherry, Carbondale, 20:31.7

3. Emily Russell, Carbondale, 20:32.1

4. Chelsea Drum, Jackson, 20:54.9

5. Meg Fridley, Jackson, 20:57.4

6. Brandy Dedecker, Carbondale, 21:13.6

Jackson's Meg Frindley runs in the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. Frindley finished fifth with a time of 20:57.4. The Jackson girls team won the meet with 41 points. (ADAM VOGLER)

7. Zhao Ni Dirnberger, Jackson, 21:17.0

8. Ali Norder, Notre Dame, 21:26.2

9. Taylor Winnick, Jackson, 21:32.1

10. Madelein McDonald, Cape Central, 21:36.3

Local Top Five

Notre Dame's Michael Nelson leads the pack midway through the Cape Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday, September 15. Nelson placed fourth with a time of 17:03.1. The Notre Dame boys team won the meet 40 points, beating Carbondale by one point. (ADAM VOGLER)

Jackson -- 4. Chelsea Drum 20:54.9; 5. Meg Fridley 20:57.4; 7. Zhao Ni Dirnberger 21:17.0; 9. Taylor Winnick 21:32.1; 17. Carli Knott 22:42.2

Notre Dame -- 1. Breanna Conklin 20:02.0; 8. Ali Norder 21:26.2; 11. Adilyn Mueller 22:01.6; 18. Jordan Meadors 23:03.2; 21. Maddie Baumgart 23:12.5

Cape Central -- 10. Madelein McDonald 21:36.3; 12. Haley White 22:14.5; 35. Bridget Trepasso 24:16.6; 40. Emily Weisenberger 24:32.8; 54. Cleo LeGrand 25:37.1

Saxony Lutheran -- 22. Rachael Gruenwald 23:21.0; 36. Reagan Obermann 24:20.9; 43. Breanne Etzold 24:47.7; 44. Kristen Gruenwald 24:57.2; 47. Dakota Werner 25:18.7

Oak Ridge -- 16. Lexi Wunderlich 22:40.5; 33. Kendra Kohler 24:10.2; 34. Lexi Simon 24:10.5

Jackson’s Gabe Underwood runs in the Central Invitational cross country meet Saturday. Underwood placed third with a time of 17:00. The Jackson boys team placed third with 69 points. (ADAM VOGLER)

Woodland -- 31. Bailey Jones 24:01.2; 58. Cassidy Sawyer 26:13.4; 59. Valerie Lewis 26:15.3

Chaffee -- 37. Holly Rutherford 24:22.7; 56. Courtney Berghoff 26:02.9; 61. Lyndsey Statler 27:45.3

Zalma -- 38. Jenny Ware 24:29.3

Meadow Heights -- 52. Valerie Hernandez 25:28.2