Rushin captures state title

~ Jackson's standout thrower won the Class 4 discus.

Jackson's Jill Rushin left little room for improvement after a stellar performance at the Class 4 state track and field meet last season.

But the junior captured the state title in the discus Friday with a throw of 146 feet, 6 inches. Her championship throw was three feet better than the second-place finisher.

Rushin took third place in the discus last year at the state meet.

Rushin will try for a second state title today when she competes in the shot put.

Perryville senior Garrett Leible enjoyed success in the shot put, taking fifth place in Class 3 with a throw of 53-7 3/4. It was a significant improvement over his 10th-place finish last year at the state meet.

Notre Dame junior Grant Eudy took seventh in the Class 3 high jump with a leap of 6-2, the same height he cleared in the sectional meet.

Jackson senior Blake Peiffer hurled the discus 154-2 to finish 10th in Class 4. He will compete in the shot put today.

Central's two standout pole vaulters -- junior Raymond Woldtvedt and sophomore Matt Deisher -- both cleared 13-6 in the Class 4 finals. Deisher took 10th, while Woldtvedt was 11th.

Jackson junior Jordan Whitener cleared 8-6 to finish 16th in the Class 4 pole vault.

Notre Dame senior Brennan Scheeter was unable to land one of his shot put throws in bounds.

In preliminary action, Central's 800 relay team of Ivana Jackson, Asia Thomas, Sadie Pittman and Erica Childs finished fifth in its heat in 1 minute, 45.17 seconds.

Central's 1,600 relay team of Jackson, Brittany Moreland, Mary Dohogne and Thomas finished third in its heat (3:59.07) to earn a berth in the finals.