Tigers track down sweep

~ Strong relays help Central's boys and girls win conference titles.

The Central boys track and field team has had to battle injuries to its all-state 400-meter relay team and shuttle in underclassmen to help fill the voids nearly all season.

The Tigers have had plenty of success with those replacements. But with the district meet a week away, coach Lawrence Brookins was happy to see the 400 relay team in tact Friday for the SEMO North Conference meet at Central Junior High.

Hykeem Hammonds, Tyler Terry, Anwar Glenn and Allen Walker won the 400 relay with a time of 43.9 seconds. The quartet of juniors set the school record in the event last year in 43.05 and placed fifth at the Class 4 state meet.

"We're starting to get it back together," Terry said. "That's the first time our state relay has run together this year since the Murphysboro meet [April 1]."

Walker, a state-qualifier in the 100 last year, has battled a leg injury, while Glenn has had trouble with his back. Glenn ran in just the 400 relay, but Walker ran on the winning 800 relay as well.

"He ran that second relay really well," Brookins said of Walker's split in the 400 relay. "He ran his leg strong. That's a good thing."

Joining the trio of Terry, Hammonds and Walker on the 800 relay was freshman Jauvaris Walker.

"Our alternates have been stepping up really big," Terry said.

With the help of a clean sweep in the four relay events and a pair of individual wins from Terry in the long jump and triple jump, Central's boys easily came away with the team title. The Tigers finished with 93 points, followed by Poplar Bluff with 66. Jackson finished fourth with 42 points.

John Kipper won one of the most exciting races of the night in the 3,200. Kipper finished in 10 minutes, 19.21 seconds, just ahead of Poplar Bluff's John Mark Lewis in 10:19.26.

Jared Thomas (high jump), Matt Willingham (pole vault) and Hammonds (100) also had individual wins for the Tigers.

"Everybody's been pulling together and doing their parts," Terry said.

Central made it a clean sweep with a conference title on the girls side as well. The Tigers finished with 114 points, followed by Jackson with 98.

"Both boys and girls, that's a pleasant surprise," Brookins said. "I wasn't sure we could do that on the boys side."

The Tigers' girls team was coming off a victory at the Poplar Bluff Invitational last week in which they finished with more than 200 points. As it has done all year, Central again swept the relay events.

Nicole Jackson, Roxanne Jackson, Nadia Cox and Dani Gross ran on the winning 400 and 800 relay teams. Nicole Jackson also won the 100 and 200.

Linnea Woldtvedt (800), Brianna Egbuka (shot put), Veronica Schabbing (3,200), Brittany Moreland (1,600) and Emma Porter (pole vault) all brought home conference titles for Central. Porter set a personal record with a vault of 9 feet, 9 inches.

Heather Hileman led Jackson's girls with three event wins. Hileman won both the 100 and 300 hurdles, and cleared 5-0 to win the high jump.

"She's gotten better and better every week, she really has," Jackson coach Bob Sink said. "She's one who's really come on. She been a real surprise."

Rachel Kahle won the long jump and triple jump for Jackson, and finished second in both the 100 and 200. Kahle also finished behind Nicole Jackson in the 100 and 200 last week at Poplar Bluff.

"They hook it up," Sink said of Kahle and Nicole Jackson.

Amanda Peiffer won the discus for the Indians, and Jordan Cook, who has just recently returned from injury, won the 400.

Jackson and Central both will return to action May 13 in the Class 4 District 1 meet at Oakville High School.

"This works out well usually because it's a good meet to improve your marks [before district]," Sink said. "A lot of the time we will make some better marks. I don't know if we did tonight."

The times may have been affected by a cool breeze which seemed to stick around much of the meet. Many coaches and athletes were donning jackets by the end of the meet.

"I think it was cooler than the kids and maybe even the coaches anticipated," Brookins said.

Area results

Girls

Team scores -- Central 114, Jackson 98, Sikeston 28, Poplar Bluff 25

3,200 relay -- 1. Central 11:20 (Rachel Burchyette, Gina Yarbrough, Lisa Langenfeld, Linnea Woldtvedt), 2. Jackson 11:47

100 hurdles -- 1. Heather Hileman (J) 16.4, 2. Andrea Richardet (J) 18.50, 3. Mernetta Parchman (C) 19.50

100 -- 1. Nicole Jackson (C) 12.26, 2. Rachel Kahle (J) 12.31

800 relay -- 1. Central 1:45.07 (Nadia Cox, Nicole Jackson, Dani Gross, Roxanne Jackson)

1,600 -- 1. Brittany Moreland (C) 5:20, 2. Nicole Parrish (J) 5:59.54

400 relay -- 1. Central 50.70 (Cox, N. Jackson, Gross, R. Jackson), 2. Jackson 52.37 (Kami Miinch, Roxanne Hudak, Jordan Cook, Amanda Peiffer)

300 hurdles -- 1. Hileman (J) 50.21, 2. Yarbrough (C) 51.68, 3. R. Jackson (C) 52.77

800 -- 1. Woldtvedt (C) 2:26.52, 2. Amanda Holshouser (J) 2:31.22

200 -- 1. N. Jackson (C) 25.62, 2. Kahle (J) 26.09

3,200 -- 1. Veronica Schabbing (C) 12:23.79, 2. Jenny Huo (C) 12:47.41, 3. Parrish (J) 12:57.48

1,600 relay -- 1. Central 4:19.29 (Tiffany Mead, Langenfeld, Woldtvedt, Yarbrough), 2. Jackson 4:29.31 (Hudak, Holshouser, Richardet, Miinch)

Long jump -- 1. Kahle (J) 16-8 1/2, 2. Cox (C) 15-7 3/4, 3. Gross (C) 15-2

High jump -- 1. Hileman (J) 5-0, 2. Parchman (C) 4-10, 3. Langenfeld (C) 4-6

Pole vault -- 1. Emma Porter (C) 9-9, 2. Sarah Schneider (C) 7-6

Shot put -- 1. Brianna Egbuka (C) 38-8, 2. Peiffer (J) 35-8 1/2, 3. Katelynn James (J) 32-2

Discus -- 1. Peiffer (J) 112-7, 2. James (J) 99-7

400 -- 1. Cook (J) 1:03.36, 2. Mead (C) 1:03.37

Boys

Team scores -- Central 93, Poplar Bluff 66, Sikeston 62, Jackson 42

3,200 relay -- 1. Central 8:33 (Beau Jordan, Eddie Glenn, Tyler Yeargain, Chase Johnson), 3. Jackson 9:14

110 hurdles -- 2. Cantrell Andrews (C) 16.37

100 -- 1. Hykeem Hammonds (C) 11.05, 2. James Mowery (C) 11.25

800 relay -- 1. Central 1:31.64 (Hammonds, Jauvaris Walker, Terry, Allen Walker), 3. Jackson 1:35.23

1,600 -- 2. John Kipper (C) 4:45.07, 3. Greg Gibson (J) 4:52.83

400 relay -- 1. Central 43.9 (Hammonds, Terry, Anwar Glenn, A. Walker), 3. Jackson 45.21

300 hurdles -- 2. Darris Gerlach (C) 42.21

800 -- 2. Johnson (C) 2:03.15, 3. Grant Ressel (J) 2:03.5

200 -- 3. J. Walker (C) 23.44

3,200 -- 1. Kipper (C) 10:19.21, 3. Gibson (J) 10:30.49

1,600 relay -- 1. Central 3:34.54 (C. Johnson, Lucian Johnson, Jordan, Jared Thomas), 2. Jackson 3:39.03

Long jump -- 1. Terry (C) 20-8

Triple jump -- 1. Terry (C) 44-6

High jump -- 1. Thomas (C) 5-10, 2. Alex Austin (J) 5-8

Pole vault -- 1. Matt Willingham (C) 13-0, 3. Austin (J) 12-0

Discus -- 3. Andrew Elizalde (C) 126-4

400 -- 3. C. Johnson (C) 54.48