ND flexes muscles at SEMO Central meet

Not long ago, the Notre Dame boys track and field team was getting pushed around in the field events.

That's hardly the case these days, as the Bulldogs can flex their muscles in shot put and discus as well as any team in the area. They had first-place finishes in those events as well as the pole vault and eight races on the track Monday en route to a dominating win in the SEMO Central Conference track meet at Notre Dame.

The Bulldogs tallied 196 points — 38 more than they scored to win the title last year — and beat runner-up Kennett by 57 points.

"We set a goal to score 200 points," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said. "Not that we wanted to rub it in anybody's face, but we were thinking nobody has scored 200 points in a track meet in a long time."

The Bulldogs were not far off, and they were within a point of where Davis thought the team would finish based on the seeding sheets.

Notre Dame won three relays, had 1-2 finishes in the 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs and did the same in two field events — the discus and the pole vault. The Bulldogs also had a first and third in the shot put.

That's a far cry from 2005, when Notre Dame finished second in the conference and only one top-three finish in the field events.

Senior Matt Kiblinger won the discus for the second straight year, throwing 136 feet, 1/2 inch. He scratched on a throw of more than 142 feet. Fellow senior Jeremy Sarno was second at 125-5.

In the shot put, senior Shane Judd was first at 48-0 3/4, while Brennan Scheeter was third at 45-5 1/2.

"Except for Kiblinger, they all came out as freshmen and got beat up — physically and mentally — early on," Davis said. "I just said, 'Hang with it, you'll get better, you'll get better.'"

They have, especially this season with Rich Payne in his first season coaching with the throwers.

"We've been getting better with each practice," said Judd, who was the runner-up in the conference last year.

While Judd is a track veteran, he was one of the throwers who coerced Kiblinger into joining the program before his junior season.

"Originally, he just wanted to lift weights us and he wasn't interested," Judd said. "He said, 'I probably won't throw.' We had one Notre Dame open meet last year and he punched a 120. After that, he just sailed away. The best is yet to come for him, too. He has a lot of potential."

Kiblinger hopes so. He was 20 feet short of where he wants to be Monday, which was yet another windy and chilly day.

He had a 156-8 at state last year, and hasn't hit that mark yet this year in competition. The weather — namely, lack of good weather — has been a factor.

"Last year, we had 20 practices in a row where I could throw 25 or 30 throws," Kiblinger said. "This year, I haven't been able to get in that groove."

Said Davis: "This year, it's been, 'Don't bite off too much too fast. Just let the season come to you.'"

In 2007, success came so quickly to Kiblinger.

"It was just a fairy-tale season for him," Davis said. "I think his first meet, he threw 90-something and it seemed like every meet, he kept throwing 10 feet further and 10 feet further, and then he just exploded at the district meet. Everyone was like, 'Who is this kid?' And I was like 'Who is this kid?'

"He's not a very big kid," Davis added. "He has a lot of speed in the ring, and he's very smart and learns fast."

He added a win in the sectional and finished sixth in the state Class 3 meet with his school-record throw.

"At state, every single guys is 6-foot-4, 250 pounds," said Kiblinger, who is considerably smaller than that and played in the defensive backfield for the state champion soccer team.

Kiblinger, who plans to attend Truman State and compete in track, gets some of his best competition from Sarno, who also is trying to get back in the groove after a four-day visit to the school he plans to attend, the Air Force Academy.

Just as Kiblinger is newcomer to the shot put, Sarno is in his second year as a left-hander after making the switch due to shoulder problems.

"How many kids would do that?" Davis said.

"I had to switch hands and ended up doing better left-handed," Sarno said, "so I just stuck with it."

On the track, Notre Dame picked up wins from Mark Zimmer in the 200 and 400. They dominated everything over 800 meters: John Unterreiner edged teammate Dillon Klaffer in the 800; Logan Davis beat teammate Ben Beussink in the 1,600; and Wynn McClellan topped Davis by less than a second in the 3,200. Joe Froemsdorf and Brenton Ruopp went 1-2 in the pole vault. The Bulldogs won the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 relays.

Davis hopes the team is ready to click on all cylinders for a top-three finish in the Class 3 District 1 meet on May 10 in Farmington.

"Winning a district is so darn tough," Davis said. "If we're healthy, we can finish in the top three." And the throwers could play a big role.

"This is probably one of the best teams we've had in a while," Sarno said. "We've never been very strong in the throwing, and this year we're coming out of our shell, winning meets and bringing points for the team."

Girls

Notre Dame finished third as a team with Tori Pfau winning both the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.

Junior Jill Schnurbusch reached a personal best in the pole vault by clearing 9-0.

"The Schnurbusch girl keeps getting better and better," Davis said. "I don't know what her limits are. I think there's some good things that can happen for her in the districts. And she's been very consistent in the high jump."

BOYS RESULTS

Team scores — Notre Dame 196, Kennett 139, New Madrid 105, Dexter 53, Charleston 47, Caruthersville 8.

Notre Dame individuals (top three)

3,200 relay — 1, Notre Dame (Dillon Klaffer, Ben Beussink, John Unterreiner, Neil Kanneberg), 9:07.40.

800 relay — 1, Notre Dame (Blake Kirkpatrick, Trenton Vance, Ricky Harrington, Mark Zimmer), 1:36.46.

1,600 — 1, Logan Davis, 4:44.74; 2, Ben Beussink, 4:50.02.

400 — 1, Mark Zimmer, 51.78; 3, Kanneberg, 53.48.

300 hurdles — 3, Taylor Essner, 43.19.

800 — 1, Unterreiner, 2:08.79; 2, Klaffer, 2:10.75.

200 — 1, Zimmer, 22.56.

3,200 — 1, Wynn McClellan, 10:37.01; 2, Davis, 10:37.78.

1,600 relay — 1, Notre Dame (Kirkpatrick, Unterreiner, Harrington, Kanneberg), 3:41.56.

Discus — 1, Matt Kiblinger, 136-0 1/2; 2, Jeremy Sarno, 125-5.

Shot put — 1, Shane Judd, 48-0 3/4; 3, Brennan Scheeter, 45-5 1/2.

Pole vault — 1, Joe Froemsdorf, 11-6; 2, Brenton Ruopp, 10-6.

High jump — 2, Grant Eudy, 6-0.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team scores — Dexter 156, Kennett 104, Notre Dame 100, New Madrid County Central 56, Charleston 44, Caruthersville 44.

Notre Dame individuals (top three)

3,200 relay — 2, Notre Dame, 11:23.36.

1,600 — 1, Tori Pfau, 5:56.28; 3, Jessica Banda, 6:10.66.

800 — 3, Jessica Triller, 2:50.78.

3,200 — 1, Pfau, 12:39.66; 2, Banda, 12:43.38.

High jump — 2, Jill Schnurbusch, 4-10.

Pole vault — 1, Schnurbusch, 9-0; 2, Allie Job, 7-6.

Discus — 2, Sarah Bey, 85-2.