Pirates return to track after tragedy

Members of the Perryville boys track team took another step in the mourning process Tuesday, another step in returning life to normal.

The Pirates competed as a team for the first time since junior Joey Krietler, a member of the team and the leading rusher on the football team last fall, took his own life on April 16.

The Perryville Invitational opened with a moment of silence for Krietler. The rear windows of a few cars in the parking lot had decal lettering that read "Soldier JK 15."

"Some of these kids have been away from track for about a week and a half, two weeks," Perryville coach Lance Bell said. "I gave them a week to mourn and grieve and get their heads straight. It's tough. The kids tried to respond as best they can.

"When you have something like that, you're in uncharted territory. You just don't really know how to react to what's happened, The kids are troopers and did the best they could."

The Perryville boys, despite no first-place finishes, took fourth as a team with 63 points.

"I was happy with the fourth-place finish," Bell said, "but we have to get a lot better before conference time and districts."

Kyle Bert finished second for Perryville in the 3,200 meters; Jesse Kueker was third in the 800; and Ryan Regelsperger was third in the pole vault to go along with an eighth-place finish in the 800 meters.

Regelsperger, who reached 11 feet, 6 inches in the vault, said the cold, blustery wind made it the toughest pole vault conditions he's faced all year. The cold wind was a factor on the track as well.

"It was very hard, especially coming over from the 4x800 relay to the pole vault," said Regelsperger, who was part of a fourth-place relay team. "We were against the wind today [in the vault]. Coming around the backstretch [on the track], when you hit the wind, it was hard."

The meet ended with weather drama -- occasional flashes of lightning and a few drops of rain as darkness set in.

Against that backdrop, Saxony Lutheran held off Perryville and Notre Dame in a 1,600-meter relay that looked like a scene from the old days. Spectators strained to see the runners jockey for position on the backstretch and closed in on the finish line to see which team won the final event after five hours of competition for 19 teams.

The relay win was the second of the day for Saxony, which won the 3,200 relay with its best time of the year and a better time than its state championship run of last year. The Crusaders finished seventh as a team, as Alex Jauch added an individual win in the 300 hurdles.

Notre Dame finished sixth as a team with a runner-up in the 3,200 relay and two wins by sophomore sprinter Mark Zimmer (200 and 400).

"Mark was very focused," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said. "I think when the weather is bad, he gets even more focused. He likes the wind and cold."

Big day for Kahle

Jackson finished third in the girls field, as junior Rachel Kahle won three events -- setting two meet records -- and finished second in another.

She won the 100 in a record time of 12.51 seconds, captured the 200 in a meet record 26.10, won the triple jump and was second in the long jump. Heather Hileman added three top-eight finishes for the Indians.

Perryville finished fifth as a team as Brittney Castleberry also put together an impressive day. She finished first in the 300 hurdles, second in the 100 hurdles and third in the 100.

Perryville Invitational

BOYS

Team scores

Poplar Bluff 102, Sikeston 86 1/2, Farmington 69, Perryville 63, Hilllsboro 54, Notre Dame 50 1/2, Saxony Lutheran 49, Festus 42, Ste. Genevieve 28. Jackson 25, Fredericktown 20 1/2, Park Hills Central 20, North County 18, De Soto 16, Windsor 14 1/2, St. Pius 14, Seckman 11, Potosi 10, Dexter 10.

Local individuals

3,200-meter relay -- 1, Saxony (Max Wieser, Trey Maevers, Grant Lehmann, Brandon Etzold), 8:24.22; 2, Notre Dame, 8:27.40; 4, Perryville, 8:27.57; 5, Jackson, 8:44.81.

100 -- 5, Kris Cottner (P), 11.56.

800 relay -- 4, Jackson, 1:35.91; 5, Perryville, 1:36.21; 6, ND, 1:36.26; 8, Saxony, 1:36.60.

1,600 -- 5, Etzold (SL), 4:46.46; 6, Kyle Bert (P), 4:46.86.

400 relay -- 4, Perryville, 45.60; 7, Jackson, 46.32.

400 -- 1, Mark Zimmer (ND), 50.63; 7, Jacob Hayden (P), 53.40; 8, Lehmann (SL), 53.43.

300 hurdles -- 1, Alex Jauch (SL), 41.55.

800 -- 2, Etzold (SL), 2:03.39; 3, Jesse Kueker (P), 2:05.17; 5, Jason Delgado (ND), 2:05.75; 6, Grant Ressel (J), 2:06.54; 8, Ryan Regelsperger (P), 2:07.87.

200 -- 1, Zimmer (ND), 23.10; 8, Jauch (SL), 24.10.

3,200 -- 2, Kyle Bert (P), 10:10.59; 4, Greg Gibson (J), 10:15.04; 5, Montana Giesler (P), 10:21.71; 8, Logan Davis (ND), 10:30.83.

1,600 relay -- 1, Saxony Lutheran (Wieser, Jauch, Lehmann, Etzold), 3:33.36; 2, Perryville, 3:34.06; 3, Notre Dame, 3:37.25.

Discus -- 3, Jacob Bullinger (J), 127-1; 6, Tyler Bauwens (P), 120-0.

Shot put -- 5, Tim Lorenz (SL), 41-7; 8, Bauwens (P), 39-4 3/4.

High jump -- 4 (tie), Kyle Essner (ND), 5-6.

Long jump -- 3, Essner (ND), 19-4; 6, Adam Westmoreland (P), 18-10.

Pole vault -- 3, Regelsperger (P), 11-6.

GIRLS

Team scores

Ste. Genevieve 114, Festus 86, Jackson 70, Herculaneum 68, Perryville 48 1/2, Fredericktown 46, Farmington 43 1/2, North County 43, Windsor 33, Notre Dame 32, Hillsboro 31, Dexter 31, Sikeston 22, Park Hills 16, Seckman 12 1/2, De Soto 3, Poplar Bluff 2 1/2.

Local individuals

3,200-meter relay -- 1, Notre Dame, 10:29.02.

100 hurdles -- 2, Brittney Castleberry (P), 17.37; 5, Jessica Eggler (P), 17.72; 7, Heather Hileman (J), 18.29; 8, Kelsey Dobbelare (P), 18.38.

100 -- 1, Rachel Kahle (J), 12.51 (meet record); 3, Castleberry (P), 13.12; 7 Hannah Glueck (ND), 13.50.

800 relay -- 7, ND, 1:56.98.

1,600 -- 4, Leslie Schilli (P), 5:46.95.

400 relay -- 3, Jackson, 53.18; 7, Perryville, 55.01.

300 hurdles -- 1, Castleberry (P), 50.29; 7, Heather Hileman (J), 52.56.

800 -- 3, Elizabeth Martin (P), 2:28.87; 8, Allison Toole (ND), 2:38.17.

200 -- 1, Kahle (J), 26.10 (meet record); 4, Jordan Cook (J), 27.32; 7, Haley Bohnert (ND), 28.76.

3,200 -- 3, Schilli (P), 12:21.63; 5, Jessica Banda (ND), 12:44.58; 6, Tori Pfau (ND), 12:47.98.

Long jump -- 2, Kahle (J), 16-2 1/2; 6, Jill Schnurbusch (ND), 14-6; 7, Glueck (ND), 14-5.

Pole vault -- 6 (tie), Cassie Lawrence (P), 7-6.

High jump -- 3, Hileman (J), 5-0; 5, Schnurbusch (ND), 4-10.

Shot put -- 8, Amanda Peiffer (J), 34-2 3/4.

Discus -- 5, Peiffer (J), 106-5.

Triple jump -- 1, Kahle (J), 33-6; 5, Katelynn James (J), 31-1; 7, Lawrence (P), 30-9 3/4.