Notre Dame boys win cross country meet

The Notre Dame boys cross country team opened its season with a victory Wednesday, while the girls' squad fell one point short of the title at the Murphysboro (Ill.) Invitational.

With seniors Wynn McClellan and Ryan Johnson finishing 1-2, the Notre Dame boys tallied a meet-low 36 points to top the 11-team field by 11 points.

McClellan covered the 3.1-mile course in 16 minutes, 23.9 seconds, while Johnson clocked 16:47. Cody Moore (17:37.8) placed seventh, David Willems (18:01.8) took 11th and Lance Essner (18:13.2) finished 13th to round out Notre Dame's team score.

Sparta, Ill., which finished second in the boys' competition, nipped Notre Dame in the girls' race.

Sparta finished with 45 points, while Notre Dame had 46 points. West Frankfort, Ill., was a distant third in the eight-team field.

Elizabeth Kiblinger (21:30.7) led Notre Dame with a fifth-place finish. Jessica Triller (7th, 21:53.5) and Morgan Morris (9th, 22:40.8) also placed in the top 10.

"I was very pleased with the girls for this early in the season," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said. "I think this group can do quite well. The varsity boys, we lost three good kids last year, and we've had some kids come up and fill the spots with a passion. I'm real pleased with what we've done so far. I'm looking forward to see how we do Saturday."

Notre Dame will participate in the Brooks Memphis Twilight Invitational at 5 p.m. Saturday in Memphis, Tenn. The meet will feature high school runners from seven states.

Murphysboro Invitational

Girls

Team -- Sparta, Ill. 45, Notre Dame 46, West Frankfort, Ill. 94, Nashville, Ill. 98, Pinckneyville, Ill. 123, Benton, Ill., 156, Carterville, Ill. 205, Harrisburg, Ill. 305

Notre Dame -- 5. Elizabeth Kiblinger 21:30.7, 7. Jessica Triller 21:53.5, 9. Morgan Morris 22:40.8, 12. Tara Grojean 23:05.6, 13. Breanna Conklin 23:20.6, 15. Ashley Schmittzehe 23:23.6, 16. Sarah Mittrucker 23:37.1

Boys

Team -- Notre Dame 36, Sparta, Ill. 45, Pinckneyville, Ill. 97, Nashville, Ill. 129, Carterville, Ill. 185, Benton, Ill. 205, Harrisburg, Ill. 206, West Frankfort, Ill. 218, Goreville, Ill. 221, Vienna, Ill. 251, Anna-Jonesboro, Ill. 259

Notre Dame -- 1. Wynn McClellan 16:23.9, 2. Ryan Johnson 16:47.0, 7. Cody Moore 17:37.8, 11. David Willems 18:01.8, 13. Lance Essner 18:13.2, 18. Josh Johnson 19:03.1

SOFTBALL

Notre Dame 4, Affton 1

The Bulldogs defeated Affton on the road with a strong outing from pitcher Lauren Reinagel. Reinagel allowed four hits and struck out 12 batters as she improved to 2-0 on the season.

Mallory Siebert went 2 for 4 with a triple while Nicole Blattel was 2 for 3.

Notre Dame (2-0) will host the SoftballFest, which begins today.

Notre Dame 010 300 0 -- 4 7 1

Affton 000 001 0 -- 1 4 1

WP -- Lauren Reinagel, 2-0. 3B -- Mallory Siebert (ND). Multiple hits -- Notre Dame: Siebert 2-4, Nicole Blattel 2-3, Affton: Choler 3-3. Records -- Notre Dame 2-0.

Scott City 8, St. Vincent 2

Alexis Spriggs was the winning pitcher in Scott City's first win of the season. Spriggs, who struck out 12 batters, had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning but gave up three hits in the frame. Spriggs also had a double and three RBIs.

Macy Heisserer and Rachel Reed each went 2 for 4 for Scott City (1-3). Heisserer connected for a double and Reed had two RBIs. Lindsey Hadley also went 3 for 4 with two doubles and an RBI for the Rams.

St. Vincent 000 000 2 -- 2 3 3

Scott City 300 500 0 -- 8 11 2

WP -- Alexis Spriggs, 1-1. LP -- Olivia Schemel. 2B -- Lindsey Hadley 2 (SC), Spriggs (SC), Macy Heisserer (SC). Multiple hits -- Scott City: Hadley 3-4, Heisserer 2-4, Reed 2-4. Records -- Scott City 1-3.

GIRLS TENNIS

Jackson 7, Cape Central 2

The Indians won five singles and two doubles matches to defeat Central on the road.

The Tigers' lone singles winner was Emma Segar, while Veronica Swingle and Caroline Harding teamed for Central's only doubles win.

Singles

No. 1 -- Emma Segar (C) def. Chelsea Jones (J) 7-5, 7-5

No. 2 -- Jenny Powell (J) def. Veronica Swingle (C) 6-7, 6-3, 10-5

No. 3 -- Kaylyn Sneathen (J) def. Morgan Crowell (C) 6-1, 6-1

No. 4 -- Katie King (J) def. Caroline Harding (C) 7-5, 6-3

No. 5 -- Ashley Robinson (J) def. Suzanna Hayward (C) 6-1, 6-0

No. 6 -- Montana Adams (J) def. Sarah Thornsberry (C) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles

No. 1 -- Jones-Powell (J) def. Segar-Allie Billmeyer (C) 9-7

No. 2 -- Swingle-Harding (C) def. Sneathen-Adams (J) 8-6

No. 3 -- King-Robinson (J) def. Crowell-Hayward (C) 8-0

JV -- Tied 3-3

BOYS SOCCER

Saxony Lutheran 1, Sikeston 0

Gus Klaus deposited a rebound as Saxony Lutheran won Tuesday.

The goalkeeper had gotten a piece of a shot by Logan Sprandel and Klaus kicked in the deflection.

-- From staff reports