LUKENS-LED CENTRAL GIRLS EYE STATE MEET

Led by Laura Lukens and several other impressive athletes, Cape Girardeau Central High's girls track team hopes to make quite an impact during this weekend's Class 4A State Championships in Jefferson City.

Central's boys also will be looking for their share of success while Jackson will have two entries in the girls division when competition is held Friday and Saturday at Lincoln University's Dwight T. Reed Stadium.

Central's Lady Tigers placed fifth in last year's state meet, their best state finish in school history. Every athlete that earned points in that 1996 meet is back, which has coach Paula Watkins feeling good.

"We'd like to finish in the top four and bring home one of those (team) trophies. That's our goal and anything above that would be great," said Watkins. "We're taking back everybody who scored last year. We're hoping they can all do better, and if the others do well, then we could score more than we did last year."

Asked if the Lady Tigers could possibly even challenge for the state team title, Watkins said, "It's hard to say. It depends on how the points get spread out. Sometimes you win with 40 and sometimes it takes 70. You just never know."

Last year the Lady Tigers scored 30 points to finish fifth while state champion Hazelwood East had 59 points. Hazelwood East is again considered one of the title favorites.

Lukens will be trying to put a fitting cap on a sensational season. She finished second in the discus and fifth in the shot put in last year's state meet and is considered a serious title contender in both events this weekend.

The senior holds Central's school records in both events, having attained personal bests this season of 140 feet 1 inch in the discus and 40-11 in the shot put.

"Laura is a definite threat in the discus and shot," Watkins said. "We feel like she has a chance to win both. I think she's got the best distance in the discus going in (to state) and she's close in the shot."

The Lady Tigers' 4x400-meter relay team won state last year with the same members that will be competing this weekend: Kristen Tallent, Nichole Thiele, Tosha Smith and Tobie Bittle.

Watkins said that relay will have to improve its times considerably, however, to be in the hunt again.

"There have been some really fast times in that event," she said. "Our best this year is 4:03 but a team ran a 3:55 last weekend (at sectionals)."

Central's winning time last year at state in the 4x400 was 3:58.05.

Thiele was fourth in the long jump last year while Elizabeth Kunz placed sixth in the high jump.

"I think both have a chance to do very well again," Watkins said.

Joining them this weekend will be Bittle (800), Tallent (400), Dionna Webb (long jump) and the 4x200 team of Kunz, Thiele, Webb and Smith.

"Tobie Bittle and Kristen Tallent have been running real well and they've got a shot to do something," said Watkins.

Central's boys were 10th in last year's state meet with 22 points, but the bulk of that total was accounted for by high-jump champion Jay Meystedt and pole-vault champion Jim Fox, who were seniors.

Finishing as high as 10th this year "would be a reach," said coach Jerry Dement. "But you never know."

Dement does believe he has some athletes who can place high, led by Travis Cox in the 300 intermediate hurdles. Cox ran one of the state's better times during Saturday's sectionals, clocking 38.08.

"Travis has been running some good times," said Dement. "He dropped a full second Saturday (off his previous best time) and we think he can go even faster at state. He ran on our 4x200 team that got seventh last year, so he has state experience."

Another top state prospect is pole-vaulter Andy Dunaway, who cleared a personal-best 14 feet at sectionals.

"Andy should have a good shot to medal," Dement said. "He's really come on. Tim Rademaker does a great job with our pole vaulters. He's the best coach for pole vaulting in the state, bar none."

Other state qualifiers for the Tigers are Brian Hodges (long jump); the 4x100 relay team of Will Harris, Stafford Moore, Emmanuel Harris and Cox; and the 4x200 relay squad of Cox, Moore, Charles McGinty and E. Harris.

"We feel like Brian Hodges has a good chance (to score) and so does our 4x100 relay," said Dement.

Meanwhile, Jackson qualified no boys but two of its girls relay teams which just made it in with fourth-place sectional finishes.

The 4x200 team is made up of Megan Kuntze, Lindsay Walker, Brandi Majka and Natalie Essner while the 4x100 squad consists of Audrey Essner, N. Essner, Holly Collier and Walker.

MDNM