Spring teams turn attention to start of postseason events

It didn't seem long ago when football players were anticipating their first day with pads.

Softball players were making the transition from summer ball to the fall high school season.

Cross country runners were taking their first strides.

It's now spring and that signifies the home stretch for high school athletics and another school year. And mid-May means the finish lines for several sports are in plain view.

Golf held its district tournaments the past two weeks, and the state meet will be Monday and Tuesday at four sites. Locally, Jackson's boys golf team and Central golfers Todd Obergoenner and Blake Driskell will compete in the Class 4 tournament at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield.

Central tennis held its Class 2, District 1 meet Tuesday at Forest Park.

On Saturday, track and soccer teams will begin their state march. On Monday, baseball districts open in all four classes, and the state boys swimming championship will be later in the week.

Track and field

All four classes in track will hold district meets Saturday. Area Class 1 schools Advance and Chaffee will compete at the District 1 meet at the Missouri School for the Deaf in Fulton; Class 2 school Scott City will compete at the District 1 meet in East Prairie. The top two finishers in each event in Class 1 and 2 advance to state championships at Jefferson City on May 23 and 24.

Class 3 and 4 will hold district meets Saturday with the top four finishers advancing to sectionals May 24. The top four sectional finishers advance to the state championships May 30 and 31 at Jefferson City.

Perryville will host the 15-school Class 3, District 1 meet, which will include Notre Dame.

Jackson will host the Class 4, District 1 meet at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex on the Southeast Missouri State University campus. Central will be among 12 schools competing.

Boys tennis

After Tuesday's district, Central will have a doubles team in the individual portion of the state tournament May 30 and 31 at the Cooper Tennis Complex in Springfield. Juniors Heath Orr and Will Ramsey will represent the Tigers after finishing second in the Class 2, District 1 meet.

Girls soccer

Notre Dame will host the five-team Class 1, District 1 tournament.

Notre Dame (17-2-1) is ranked fifth in the state and is the top seed. The Bulldogs will face the winner of a game between (4) Sikeston and (5) Fredericktown in the semifinals at 5 p.m. Monday. The other semifinal, between (2) St. Vincent and (3) Perryville will follow at 7 p.m. The championship will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Notre Dame will be one of eight sites for sectionals May 24. The Anheuser-Busch Conference and Sports Centre in Fenton will host the remainder of the tournament.

Jackson (17-2-1) and Central (11-9) have the top two seeds in the Class 2, District 1 Tournament that begins Monday at Engler Park in Farmington. Top-seeded Jackson will face (4) Farmington at 5:30 while (2) Central and (3) Poplar Bluff meet at 7:30. The championship will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Anheuser-Busch Conference and Sports Centre will host the remainder of the tournament.

Baseball

There will be five districts ranging from Class 1 to Class 4 that will contain area high schools, and all begin Monday.

In Class 1, Oran will host the seven-team District 2 tournament. Oran, the top-ranked team in the state and a third place finisher last year, received the top seed. The Eagles receive a free pass to the semifinals and are followed in seeding by (2) Chaffee, (3) Bell City, (4) Advance, (5) Bernie, (6) Scott County Central and (7) Delta. The championship is 4:30 p.m. May 20.

In Class 1, District 3, top-seeded Bismarck and host Leopold both picked up first-round byes. The remainder of the seeding:(3) Valley of Caledonia, (4) Oak Ridge, (5) Zalma and (6) Meadow Heights.

In Class 2, Valle of Ste. Genevieve will host the District 2 tournament. Kelly is the top seed, followed by (2) Grandview, (3) Valle, (4) Charleston, (5) St. Vincent, (6) Crystal City and (7) Scott City. The championship game is 4:30 p.m. on May 22.

Sikeston is seededNo. 1 in Class 3, District 1 in Dexter. Sikeston, the top-ranked team in the state and SEMO Conference champion, is followed by (2) Notre Dame, (3) Dexter, (4) Kennett, (5) Doniphan, (6) New Madrid County Central, (7) Fredericktown and (8) Perryville. The championship is 4:30 p.m. on May 23.

And in Class 4, Central has the top seed and one of the two first-round byes in the District 1 tournament at Fox High School in Arnold. The Warriors have the second seed followed by (3) Farmington, (4) Poplar Bluff, (5) Seckman and (6) Jackson. The championship is 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Swimming

The Class 1 and 2 state swimming championship will be May 23 and 24 at the St. Peters RecPlex in St. Peters, and Central will take six individuals in five events. Jackie Erlacker will represent the Tigers in diving, Cassie Kipper will compete in the 200 and 500 freestyles, and she will join Hannah Lewis, Sarah Goeke and Katie Maginel in the 200 and 400 relays.