Tigers snare title

ST. LOUIS -- Central sophomore Mary Dohogne was not feeling well as she crossed the finish line Saturday at the Class 4 sectional meet at Jefferson Barracks Park in St. Louis County. She collapsed and had to be helped up by teammate Brittany Moreland.

But Dohogne and the rest of the Tigers were feeling great when the final point totals were compiled. Central won the very competitive sectional with 79 points. That was two points better than Washington. Parkway Central, which had three of the top six finishers, was third with 86 points, and Lindbergh was fourth with 91. The top four teams and top 30 finishers qualify from the sectional to next weekend's state meet.

"It was a tough day to run," said Dohogne, who finished 10th overall in 20 minutes, 11 seconds. "I like cold weather and it was hot today and this is a hilly course. But that is cross country. You don't know what kind of conditions you are going to run in. I just wanted to try and get the team back to state. I had the best time of my life at last year's race. There are layers and layers of people there and it is an incredible feeling."

Central came home with a trophy from state for the first time last year with a fourth-place finish in Class 4 (the top four win trophies).

"The goal today was simply to get back to the state meet," Central coach Mark Hahn said. "This is clearly the toughest sectional in the state. We wanted the top four, and anything else was a bonus."

Jackson senior Greg Gibson competes in the Class 4 boys sectional race.

And what a bonus it turned out to be -- sectional champions.

"Things went pretty much as expected," Hahn said. "There is still room for improvement next week. It would be sweet if somehow we can get back on that stage at the end of the meet."

Moreland, who finished fifth overall in 19:51, is not only looking forward to her final cross country run in high school (she is going to the University of Missouri-Rolla next year), but also to the whole weekend.

"Awards like being all-state are fine," said Moreland, who finished eighth overall as a sophomore. "But this is all about the team. We wanted to go as a team. We have so much fun together."

Central matched Parkway Central in having three top-10 runners. Veronica Schabbing was the top Tigers finisher as she was fourth in 19:29. Victoria Schabbing was 34th (21:07) and Cassi Weisenberger was 49th (22:27).

ANDREW JANSEN ~ Special to the Southeast MissourianCentral's Brittany Moreland competes in the Class 4 sectional cross country meet at Jefferson Barracks.

Jackson was able to qualify two girls to the state meet. Taylor Dickerson was 21st (20:47) while Tori Parry was 24th (20:53).

Central will have two boys join the girls team at state as Roy Leighton was 11th (17:12) and Eric Schott was 23rd (17:38).

Jackson's Greg Gibson was the top local boys finisher. He was sixth (16:52).

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Team Scores -- Central 79, Washington 81, Parkway Central 86, Lindbergh 91, Lafayette 108, Eureka 110, Jackson 133, Rockwood 176

ANDREW JANSEN ~ Special to the Southeast MissourianCentral's Roy Leighton competes in the Class 4 sectional cross country meet at Jefferson Barracks.

Local finishers

Central -- 4, Veronica Schabbing 19:29; 5, Brittany Moreland 19:51, 10, Mary Dohogne 20:11; 34, Victoria Schabbing 21:07; 49, Cassy Wisenberger 22:27

Jackson -- 21, Taylor Dickerson 20:47, 24, Tori Parry 20:53; 41, Lindsey Seabaugh 22:01; 48, Jordan Whitener 22:26; 51, Diane Strong 22:27

Boys

Team Scores -- Parkway West 55, Desmet 83, Lindbergh 89, Oakville 97, Lafayette 99, Parkway Central 122, Cape Central 149, Vianney 191

Local finishers

Central -- 11, Roy Leighton 17:12; 23, Eric Schott 17:39; 55, Alex Crawford 18:32; 56, Colin Summers 18:33; 66, Neil Bradley 19:00

Jackson -- 6, Greg Gibson 16:51; 61, Cody Green 18:43; 62, Dustin Spooler 18:44