JACKSON INVITATIONAL READY TO HEAD OUT OF THE BLOCKS

JACKSON -- The top male and female sprinters in the area will be put to the test today when Jackson holds a 13-team track meet at the junior high track.

The field events will begin around 10 a.m. and the running events around 10:30 a.m. There will not be any preliminaries.

Cape Central's Dionna Webb and Jackson's Mario Whitney have yet to be tested in their best events. Webb has not been beaten in the 100, 200 or the long jump, while Whitney is undefeated in the 100 and the 200.

But Webb, the returning state champ in the long jump, and Whitney will both be put to the test today.

Webb's main competition will come from up north. North County's Petra Karavikic, a foreign exchange student, has posted a jump of 18-9 this year, longer than any of Webb's jumps. Karavikic's 100 times are similar to what Webb has done this year also.

"You're going to see some intense matchups between those two," said Jackson coach Bob Sink. "Four girls have run the 100 in 12.5 or better but Dionna is the one to beat."

Whitney, a sophomore who posted a school and meet record in the 100 and 200 last week, will be challenged as well.

In a meet last Saturday, Whitney posted a 10.58 in the 100 and a 22.25 in the 200.

Contesting him in the 100 will be Kevin Wiegert from Hillsboro (10.6) and P.J. Brown from Poplar Bluff (10.7). Adrian Porter of Sikeston and another runner from Cairo have each run the 100 in less than 11 seconds.

The pole vault will be another high profile event at the Jackson meet on the boys side.

Brown has already posted an impressive vault of 15-3 this year. Matt Gooden and Casey Dwyre of Cape Central and Jordan Scott of North County have all vaulted in the low to mid 13s either this year or last and it should make for a competitive event.

Fans should also see good times in the 400 where four runners, including Central's Demetrius Totton, have posted times in the 50-second range.

Sink said Poplar Bluff is the team to beat on the boys' side. The Mules already defeated Central in a meet earlier this year.

On the girls' side of the meet, it could be a four-team race for first.

Cape Central is the favorite to win, but Jackson, North County and Poplar Bluff should all give the Lady Tigers a run for their money.

"The team battle will be more competitive on the girls side, where the focus on the boys side will be individual events," said Sink.

One race to watch will be the 4x100. Central, North County and Jackson have all posted times in the 51-second range.

Along with Webb, Central's Heather Jenkins has been untouchable. Jenkins has dominated the shot put and discus events so far this year.

The meet should conclude around 4 or 5 p.m.

The meet includes teams from Cape Central, Jackson, Hillsboro, Windsor, De Soto, Farmington, North County, Sikeston, Poplar Bluff, Park Hills, Cairo, Murphysboro and Fredericktown.