Jackson's Dickerson grabs SEMO North Conference girls cross country title

Taylor Dickerson misses her running mate from the past few years.

Not having Tori Parry around meant Dickerson basically had to run alone during Thursday's SEMO North Conference cross country meet.

No problem for the Jackson High School senior, who romped to the title in a time of 19 minutes, 55.5 seconds over the 3.1-mile Jackson City Park course.

"Tori's at SIU now. The pack of two is split into one," Dickerson said about Parry, who is a freshman runner at Southern Illinois-Carbondale. "I miss her, but it's working out well."

It worked out well for Dickerson on Thursday. She pulled ahead early in the race and steadily put distance between herself and the rest of the field.

The SEMO North Conference girls race starts Thursday at Jackson City Park. (Fred Lynch)

Dickerson wasn't all that pleased with her time, but she didn't expect to run too fast.

"I've been having some really sore legs," said Dickerson, who finished second behind Parry at last year's conference meet. "But I'm pleased. It's a step in the right direction."

Dickerson hopes to be fresh when Jackson hosts the Class 4 district meet Oct. 22. She is looking to repeat her all-state performance from a year ago when she finished 13th.

Dickerson's race led a dominant showing by the Indians, who placed four runners in the top seven and repeated as team champions with 28 points.

Poplar Bluff was second with 47, followed by Central with 70 and Notre Dame with 74.

Notre Dame's Elizabeth Kiblinger finishes second Thursday at Jackson City Park.

"We've been working on team bonding," Dickerson said. "This is something we can all share and remember."

Lindsey Seabaugh was Jackson's No. 2 runner with a third-place finish of 20:52.14.

"I thought all the girls ran well, and so did our boys," said Jackson coach Andrea Talley after the Indians swept both team titles. "That's been our goal all year. We knew it was a possibility from Day 1. We tried to keep that focus."

Notre Dame senior Elizabeth Kiblinger was the runner-up to Dickerson in 20:19.19.

"I'm pretty happy because Taylor is an awesome runner," Kiblinger said. "I thought I ran pretty good. It was a little tough because I was running by myself."

Laura Chavez was Central's top finisher, placing fifth in 21:15.12.

Team results -- 1. Jackson 28; 2. Poplar Bluff 47; 3. Central 70; 4. Notre Dame 74.

Top 10 (all-conference) -- 1. Taylor Dickerson (J) 19:55.05; 2. Elizabeth Kiblinger (ND) 20:19.19; 3. Lindsey Seabaugh (J) 20:52.14; 4. Allison Huskey (PB) 21:06.09; 5. Laura Chavez (C) 21:15.12; 6. Zhao Ni Dirnberger (J) 21:26.01; 7. Meg Fridley (J) 21:53.35; 8. Kaitlyn Carpenter (PB) 22:03.00; 9. Ali Norder (ND) 22:10.29; 10. Anna Crascitelli (PB) 22:12.46.

Local teams top five

Jackson -- 1. Taylor Dickerson 19:55.05; 3. Lindsey Seabaugh 20:52.14; 6. Zhao Ni Dirnberger 21:26.01; 7. Meg Fridley 21:53.35; 11. Brittany Hazelwood 22:25.14.

Central -- 5. Laura Chavez 21:15.12; 14. Maddy McDonald 23:02.99; 16. Mallory Dickson 23:30.77; 17. Bridget Trepasso 23:31.39; 18. Haley White 23:35.62.

Notre Dame -- 2. Elizabeth Kiblinger 20:19.19; 9. Ali Norder 22:10.29; 19. Taylor Mayfield 23:43.67; 21. Maddie Baumgart 23:47.27; 23. Rachel Hearnes 23:56.60