Jackson's Kahle wins three events; Central girls claim five

When Jackson track coach Bob Sink realized his sprint relay units would not be as strong this season as they have been in the past, he freed up all-state sprinter Rachel Kahle to compete in other events.

"It was one of those deals, we knew with our team depth we knew we wouldn't be really competitive in the relays," Sink said, "and we wanted to make the most of her and give her the chance to make the most of herself."

Kahle gravitated to the long and triple jumps, and it has not taken long for the junior to excel in both events.

Kahle on Saturday won both events with personal-best performances at the Cape Relays at the Abe Stuber Track Complex on the Southeast Missouri State campus. In a tuneup for district competition three weeks down the road, Kahle won the long jump by nearly 2 feet with a jump of 17 feet. In the triple jump, Kahle covered 36 feet, 9 inches.

That long jump mark would have been good enough for ninth at the state meet last year, while her jump in the triple jump would have earned her an all-state medal in seventh place. And she had never tried either event before this spring.

"Hopefully, I can get all-state in both," Kahle said. "I don't really know the competition up there."

Kahle admitted she is just learning how to jump, which makes improvement likely through the rest of her high school career.

"My technique's OK," Kahle said. "There's a lot of girls that have way better technique than I have right now. My 100- and 200- [meter sprints], that's helped me jump as far as I do."

Sink said jumps coach Eric Venable has done a good job working with Kahle.

"There's some things we need to work on," Sink said. "If she can correct some of that technique, there's no telling how good she can be."

Of course, sprinting is where Kahle made a name for herself last year, and she isn't letting up on the track. Kahle, who earned all-state honors in the 100 last year by finishing eighth at the state meet, took first at the Cape Relays on Saturday with a time of 12.24 seconds.

Kahle's performance earned her track MVP honors.

"The 100's my baby," Kahle said. "I'm undefeated in that so far this season. Hopefully, I can get better than eighth at state. I'm shooting for top five."

Katelynn James finished third in both the long jump and triple jump for the Indians. Heather Hileman topped the field in the high jump with a jump of 5 feet, and she had wins in both the 100 and 300 hurdles.

"The highlight I thought was our jumps," Sink said. "We had some kids PR."

No team standings were kept at the Cape Relays, and MVP awards handed out to boys and girls in both the field and track events. Kahle was the only area competitor to earn MVP honors in the nine-team field.

The host Tigers dominated the relay events on the girls side. Central's girls won five out of six relay events. Nicole Jackson and Linnea Woldtvedt each ran on three different relay winners.

The Central boys captured both the 400 and 800 relays as well as one of the event's unique races, the distance medley relay. Hykeem Hammonds, James Mowery, Tyler Terry and Jauvaris Walker ran on both sprint relays, as two regular members of the squads were out with injuries.

Tigers coach Lawrence Brookins said he had to juggle relay lineups on both the girls and boys side, and the ability of those replacement runners to succeed was a highlight for him.

"It was those other kids having a chance to step out and show what they have," Brookins said. "I was pleased with what I saw."

Emma Porter won for the Tigers in the pole vault, and was the only individual win on the girls side. Lance Altenthal and John Kipper provided individual wins for Central's boys in the pole vault and 3,200, respectively.

Notre Dame's distance prowess came to the forefront on both the boys and girls side.

Tori Pfau won the girls 1,600 and finished third in the 3,200, and teammate Jessica Banda won the 3,200 and finished second in the 1,600. Pfau set a school record in the 1,600 with a 5:51.57, while Banda broke the previous mark as well with her time of 5:51.95.

"It was nice to see them fight it out for first and second," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said.

The Bulldogs also set school records in the 3,200 relay and distance medley relay, finishing second in both. Allison Toole, Amanda Toole and Teresa Miller ran on both relays. Banda rounded out the 3,200 relay, and Stacie Kula ran on the distance medley.

Notre Dame's boys won the 3,200 relay by nearly 5 seconds, and the Bulldogs blew away the field in the 1,600 relay by more than three seconds.

John Unterreiner, Jason Delgado, Neil Kanneberg and Matt Pfau won 3,200 relay in 8:20.30.

"Central really pushed us there," Davis said. "The kids get up for these big meets. That's what they're supposed to do."

In the 1,600 relay, it was Mark Zimmer, Delgado, Blake Kirkpatrick and Pfau. Zimmer is just a sophomore, and Kirkpatrick is a freshman.

"I think those guys are primed and ready to make a move," Davis said.

Area results

Girls

3,200 relay -- 1. Central 10:12.2 (Linnea Woldtvedt, Rachel Burchyette, Brittany Moreland, Gina Yarbrough), 2. Notre Dame 10:22.19

400 relay -- 1. Central 50.95 (Terra Bell, Nicole Jackson, Roxanne Jackson, Melissa Espinoza), 2. Jackson 51.36

100 hurdles -- 1. Heather Hileman (J) 16.92, 3. Andrea Richardet (J) 18.19

Pole vault -- 1. Emma Porter (C) 9-6, 3. Sarah Schneider (C) 8-0

100 -- 1. Rachel Kahle (J) 12.24, 3. Hannah Glueck (N) 13.17

High jump -- 1. Hileman (J) 5-0, 2. Lisa Langenfeld (C) 4-8, 3. Mernetta Parchman (C) 4-8

Long jump -- 1. Kahle (J) 17-0, 2. Parchman (C) 15-3, 3. Katelynn James (J) 14-11 3/4

1,600 -- 1. Tori Pfau (N) 5:51.57, 2. Jessica Banda (N) 5:51.95, 3. Nicole Parrish (J) 5:55.95

Sprint medley relay -- 2. Notre Dame 2:08.86

Distance medley relay -- 1. Central 13:32.30 (Langenfeld, Tiffany Mead, Woldtvedt, B. Moreland), 2. Notre Dame 14:29.32

300 hurdles -- 1. Hileman (J) 51.78, 2. R. Jackson (C) 51.99, 3. Yarbrough (C) 54.87

800 -- 1. Central 1:50.44 (N. Jackson, R. Jackson, Bell, Ashley King ), 3. Notre Dame 1:55.95

Triple jump -- 1. Kahle (J) 36-9, 3. James (J) 33-4

Shot put -- 2. Brianna Egbuka (C) 37-4 1/2

3,200 -- 1. Banda (N) 13:02.87, 2. Victoria Schabbing (C) 13:05.41, 3. Pfau (N) 13:13.41

1,600 relay -- 1. Central 4:21.42 (Renee Moreland, Mead, Woldtvedt, N. Jackson), 2. Notre Dame 4:29.69

Boys

3,200 relay -- 1. Notre Dame 8:20.30, 2. Central 8:25.28

400 relay -- 1. Central 43.62 (Hykeem Hammonds, James Mowery, Tyler Terry, Jauvaris Walker)

100 -- 2. Hammonds (C) 11.18, 3. Mark Zimmer (N) 11.31

Long jump -- 2. Terry (C) 21-5 3/4

1,600 -- 2. Greg Gibson (J) 4:49.90, 3. Matt Pfau (N) 4:54.35

Pole vault -- 1. Lance Altenthal (C) 13-0, 2. Matt Willingham (C) 12-6, 3. Alex Austin (J) 12-0

High jump -- 2. Jared Thomas (C) 6-0, 3. Austin (J) 5-10

Distance medley relay -- 1. Central 11:22.83 (Chase Johnson, Beau Jordan, Tyler Yeargain, John Kipper), 3. Notre Dame 11:46.35

300 hurdles -- 1. Darris Gerlach 41.85

800 relay -- 1. Central 1:32.32 (Hammonds, Walker, Terry, Mowery)

Triple jump -- 2. Terry (C) 44-4

3,200 -- 1. Kipper (C) 10:50.36, 2. Logan Davis (N) 10:58.11

1,600 relay -- 1. Notre Dame 3:34.75, 2. Central 3:37.76, 3. Jackson 3:40.65