Jackson track and field squads sweep home invitational

Jackson track and field coach Jim Stoverink may have lost his voice from running around and yelling too much on Saturday, but other than that, the Jackson Invitational turned out pretty well.

The Indians swept the team titles as the girls squad won the home meet, held at Jackson Junior High School, for the fourth consecutive year while the boys team ran away with the title after falling a 1/2 point short last year.

"I thought it was a really good all-around team performance," Stoverink said. "We scored points really in all facets of the meet with our sprinters, our distance runners, field events, so it was just really a good all-around team performance today."

The Jackson girls finished with 153 points to top second-place Carbondale (109).

The Indians scored 158 to win on the boys side and Carbondale finished second with 105.

Jackson's Madison Barnum leads Summit's Tricia McIlroy in a heat of the girls 800-meter relay at the Jackson Invitational track meet Saturday, April 9, 2016 in Jackson.Fred Lynch

Senior Caleb Bess was selected the Outstanding Boys Runner of the meet as he helped lead Jackson to victory. He won the 1,600-meter run, finished second in the 800 and ran on the Indians' first-place 4x800-meter relay along with Gabriel Dudley, Jackson Givens and Ean Buffington.

"He's been part of this program since he was in seventh grade," Stoverink said of Bess. "I know he had a disappointing cross country season and so far this year he's having an outstanding track season and I'm so happy for him, so proud of him, because he's just one of those types of kids that you just really want to see do well because he works so hard and he has such a great attitude and he's a really good team leader, so to see him have a really good day today, I'm really pumped on that."

Givens passed Zalma's Peyton Ford in the final stretch of the 3,200-meter run to pick up another first-place finish for the Indians.

Justin Crane won the discus for the Indians with a throw of 143 feet, 5 inches. Ethan Chapman finished third in the javelin (123-5) and Dane Evans was third in the shot put (48-0) behind Chaffee's Augie Knutson (49-3), who finished second.

Jackson sophomore Ethan Laster finished second in the 100-meter dash, Dudley was third in the 400 behind Scott City's Noah Han (second) and Lashone Dean was third in the 300-meter hurdles.

Cape Central's Alexus Walker, left, takes the baton from Brittnee Blackmon in a heat of the girls 400-meter relay at the Jackson Invitational track meet Saturday, April 9, 2016 in Jackson.Fred Lynch

The Indians closed out the meet with a win in the 4x400-meter relay. Buffington, Dudley, Givens and Joseph Reed finished in 3 minutes, 34.97 seconds to edge out Carbondale (3:35.08).

Cape Central's Rico Flye won the high jump with a height of 6 feet. Jackson's Jeremy Elliott was second at 5-10.

Elliott also took second in the long jump with a leap of 20-3.5, and Pete Lake was the runner-up in the triple jump (39-4.5).

Sikeston's Ernest Fobbs claimed the triple jump title with a distance of 43-5 and was third in the long jump (19-11.25). He was named the meet's Outstanding Boys Field Athlete.

Notre Dame's Devin Ross won the long jump with a leap of 20-4 to help the Bulldogs to a third-place finish on the boys side.

Notre Dame's Devin Ross, left, takes the baton from Andrew LeGrand in the boys 400-meter relay event at the Jackson Invitational track meet Saturday, April 9, 2016 in Jackson.Fred Lynch

"I really thought we had several great performances, several season-bests today," Notre Dame coach Paul Unterreiner said. "It was a great meet that Jackson held here, and the weather was unbelievable compared to what we've been running in."

Notre Dame's Jacob Barber ran to a second-place finish in the 200, and Rudy McClellan was second in the mile.

The Bulldogs were victorious in the girls high jump with Courtney Jones winning the event with a height of 5-0 and Marlen Hoedebeck finishing in a tie for second at 4-8.

The ND girls 4x400 relay finished second to Jackson to wrap up the meet. Carli Knott, Morgan Stone, Chelsea Drum and Emma Masterson beat out the Bulldogs with a time of 4:14.13. ND's group of Claire Morrill, Megan Jansen, Briley Bieser and Jones were close behind at 4:16.75.

"I told Coach Stoverink I love running against their girls because they bring out the best in our girls," Unterreiner said, noting that his 1,600-meter relay team knocked more than 10 seconds off their time.

St. Vincent's Jackie Verseman competes in the girls shot put event at the Jackson Invitational track meet Saturday, April 9, 2016 in Jackson.Fred Lynch

The Indians picked up four other first-place finishes.

Freshman Kaylee Wilson won the 400 in 1:01.36, beating out her teammate Stone, who finished in 1:03.21.

Knott won the 800 (2:23.73) and was on the first-place 4x800 team along with Drum, Wilson and Anastasia Compton.

Knott, who won the 400 at the meet a year ago, said she feels much more comfortable with the slightly longer distance of the 800 this season.

"It's more mental, like I feel like I have to be more positive and think about the 800," Knott said. "... It's more guts in the last lap. I feel like last year was kind of a year to get used to the 800 because I kind of struggled with it and I was down on myself, but I feel like this year I'm more confident with it."

Drum, who rarely competes in the 3,200-meter run -- she only ran it in three meets last season -- wanted to see if she could improve her time in the race, especially against a top-notch opponent like Rockwood Summit's Melissa Menghini.

Stoverink called Menghini, the meet's Outstanding Girls Runner, an "all star."

She beat Drum in the 1,600, finishing with a first-place time of 5:00.79. Drum crossed the finish line in 5:16.99.

Drum stuck with Menghini for seven laps of the 3,200, but Menghini pulled away on the final lap to cruise to another win in 10:59.85. Drum was second in 11:15.19, a time that Stoverink was still immensely impressed with.

"The big thing for me was just sticking to her because I knew that she would go the pace that I wanted to go," Drum said. "I stuck with her for as long as I could and then kind of dropped off a little bit at the end, but otherwise I think it went pretty well."

Macey Huff leaped 31-3.5 in the triple jump for another second-place finish for the Indians.

Cape Central's Quetaja Martin was named the Outstanding Girls Field Athlete after finishing second in the discus (114-6) and third in the shot put (35-10).

Jackson's Nicole Humphreys was second in the shot with a throw of 40-11.75‚ which was the first time she broke 40 feet, according to Stoverink. She was third in the discus at 109-9.

Olivia Brown was second in the javelin at 94-0.

"She had a really good day, especially seeing her discus come along," Stoverink said of Humphreys. "Last year we just focused on the shot put and so this year seeing her discus come along as well, that's exciting."

Jackson sophomore Katie Schumer won the pole vault with a height of 10-0 while Cape Central's Kylee Stevenson was second at 9-6.

Central won the girls 4x100 and 4x200 relay. Kylie Lane, Jaleria Dent, Brittnee Blackmon and Alexus Walker combined for a time of 51.44 in the 4x100, and Lane, Salia Hamilton, Blackmon and Walker posted a 1:51.75 finish in the 4x200.

GIRLS

Team scores -- 1. Jackson 153; 2. Carbondale 109; 3. Rockwood Summit 104; T-4. Sikeston, Cape Central 66; 6. Murphysboro 62; 7. Notre Dame 56; 8. Farmington 54; 9. Fredericktown 21; 10. Saxony Lutheran 13; 11. St. Vincent 10; 12. Chaffee 9; 13. Kirkwood 8; 14. Scott City 5; 15. Poplar Bluff 4.

Top three local finishers

100 -- 4. Brittnee Blackmon (C) 13.30; 5. Alexus Walker (C) 13.30; Allie Pujol (ND) 13.97

200 -- 1. 7. Alexis Robson (J) 29.10; 8. Bridgette Swinford (CH) 29.27; 9. Leia Blissett (ND) 29.40

400 -- 1. Kaylee Wilson (J) 1:01.36; 2. Morgan Stone (J) 1:03.21; 5. Khloe Koch (SL) 1:06.79

800 -- 1. Carli Knott (J) 2:23.73; 4. Claire Morrill (ND) 2:28.47; 5. Megan Jansen (ND) 2:29.94

1600 -- 2. Chelsea Drum (J) 5:16.99; Faith Littleton (J) 5:52.64; 6. Margo Motes (J) 5:56.58

3200 -- 2. Drum (J) 11:15.19; 3. Anastasia Compton (J) 11:55.03; 4. Katie Hanners (ND) 12:05.59

100 hurdles -- 5. Faith Dynneson (J) 18.14; 6. Jasmine Beard (C) 18.34; 8. Lauryn Varner (J) 18.89

300 hurdles -- 4. Delia Lowman (SV) 53.32; 5. Dynneson (J) 53.65; 6. Varner (J) 54.34

100 relay -- 1. Central (Kylie Lane, Jaleria Dent, Blackmon, Walker) 51.44; 7. Chaffee (Grace Knutson, Swinford, Bailey Wiseman, Madeline Hendrix) 56.09; 8. Notre Dame (Blissett, Conner Overfield, Ragan Schlosser, Sierra Greaser) 56.80

200 relay -- 1. Central (Lane, Salia Hamilton, Blackmon, Walker) 1:51.75; 4. Notre Dame (Briley Bieser, Megan Jansen, Claire Morrill, Courtney Jones) 1:54.59; 8. Jackson (Mahaileea Massey, Varner, Jasmine Clay, Robson) 2:01.22

400 relay -- 1. Jackson (Knott, Stone, Drum, Emma Masterson) 4:14.13; 2. Notre Dame (Morrill, Jansen, Bieser, Jones) 4:16.75; 7. Central (Zairee Luttrell-Johnson, Hamilton, Beard, Dent) 4:46.27

800 relay -- 1. Jackson (Drum, Compton, Knott, Wilson) 10:23.90; 6. Chaffee (Sara Burch, Kate Glueck, Hannah Glueck, Hendrix) 11:44.64; 7. St. Vincent (Maddie Lappe, Courtney Kline, Shelby Lynne Schumer, Jessica Unterreiner) 12:32.22

High jump -- 1. Jones (ND) 5-0; T-2. Marlen Hoedebeck (ND) 4-08; 6. Varner (J) 6-0

Pole vault -- 1. Katie Schumer (J) 10-0; 2. Kylee Stevenson (C) 9-06; 5. Jaden barnes (ND) 9-0

Long jump -- 3. Walker (C) 14-07; 5. Macey Huff (J) 14-03; 6. Mabrey Mccallister (J) 13-10.75

Triple jump -- 2. Huff (J) 31-03.50; 7. Olivia Williams (ND) 29-01.50; 8. Mccallister (J) 28-10.5

Shot put -- 2. Nicole Humphreys (J) 40-11.75; 3. Quetaja Martin (C) 35-10; 4. Rachel Perry (SC) 34-04

Discus -- 2. Martin (C) 114-06; Humphreys (J) 109-09; 4. Olivia Brown (J) 106-06

Javelin -- 2. Brown (J) 94-0; 3. Macy Morehead (SL) 91-04; 7. Stevenson (C) 76-07

BOYS

Team scores -- 1. Jackson 158; 2. Carbondale 105; 3. Notre Dame 86; 4. Fredericktown 66; 5. Sikeston 60; 6. Mount Vernon 49; T-7. Cape Central, Farmington 35; 9. East Prairire 32; 10. Murphysboro 27; 11. Scott City 26; 12. Zalma 16; 13. Kirkwood 15; 14. St. Vincent 10; T-14. Poplar Bluff, Chaffee 10; 17. Saxony Lutheran 1.

Top three local finishers

100 -- 2. Ethan Laster (J) 11.68; 5. Michael Terry (C) 11.97; 6. Kameron Williamson (ND) 11.98

200 -- 2. Jacob Barber (ND) 23.77; 5. Williamson (ND) 24.33; 6. Matthew Jaco (J) 24.34

400 -- 2. Noah Hahn (SC) 52.88; 3. Gabriel Dudley (J) 53.54; 5. Cole Shelby (Z) 55.22

800 -- 2. Caleb Bess (J) 2:03.74; 5. Alex Philipps (J) 2:07.83; 9. Tyler Schumacker (ND) 2:10.28

1600 -- 1. Bess (J) 4:36.17; 2. McClellan (ND) 4:39.32; 4. Ean Buffington (J) 4:43.55

3200 -- 1. Jackson Givens (J) 10:27.69; 2. Peyton Ford (Z) 10:28.67; 6. Levi Krauss (SV) 10:47.18

100 hurdles -- 3. Matthew Keith (ND) 17.93; 6. Brody Forester (J) 19.09; 7. Glen Boyd (J) 19.24

300 hurdles -- 3. Lashone Dean (J) 44.55; 4. John Essner (ND) 45.71; 11. Brody Forester (J) 49.44

100 relay -- 2. Notre Dame (Williamson, Weiguo Wu, Andrew Legrand, Devin Ross) 45.76; 3. Jackson (Jaco, Laster, Reece Bright, Dean) 46.21; 5. Scott City (Nicholas Bickings, Tristan Hicks, Cody Rhyne, William Kaiser) 48.29

200 relay -- 2. Scott City (Bickings, Kaiser, Isaac Pennington, Rhyne) 1:38.33; 7. Notre Dame (Essner, Wu, Keith, Brandon Pappas) 1:42.42; 10. Saxony Lutheran (Micah Mirly, Nick Shaw, Christian Caruso, Samuel Elfrink) 1:52.73

400 relay -- 1. Jackson (Buffinton, Dudley, Givens, Joseph Reed) 3:34.97; 3. Notre Dame (Matt Gibbs, Tyler Schumacker, Wu, Essner) 3:39.70; 4. Scott City (Bickings, Hahn, Pennington, Rhyne) 3:39.99

800 relay -- 1. Jackson (Bess, Dudley, Givens, Buffington) 8:28.61; 4. Notre Dame (Gibbs, Schumacker, Gabrial Meadors, Ross) 8:48.49 ;5. Zalma (Shelby, Ford, Jacob Steinberg, Alexander Steinberg) 8:54.46

High jump -- 1. Rico Flye (C) 6-0; 2. Jeremy Elliott (J) 5-10; 4. Gibbs (ND) 5-06

Pole vault -- 3. Shawn Bareiter (J) 13-0; 7. Garrett Menz (ND) 12-0; 9. Charles Wooladr (C) 11-0

Long jump -- 1. Ross (ND) 20-04; 2. Elliott (J) 20-03.5; 6. Pete Lake (J) 19-01.75

Triple jump -- 2. Lake (J) 39-04.5; 6. Menz (ND) 38-0.5; 7. Williams Roberds (ND) 36-05

Shot put -- 2. Augie Knutson (CH) 49-03; 3. Dane Evans (J) 48-0; 5. Patrick Buck (C) 42-03

Discus -- 1. Justin Crane (J) 143-05; 5. Buck (C) 140-0; 7. Bradyn Swinford (CH) 127-06

Javelin -- 3. Ethan Chapman (J) 123-05; 4. Layton Gohn (J) 121-07; 6. Layne Hlavek (SV) 115-03