Young talent emerges at conference meet

With district meets coming up, Central and Jackson both had underclassmen step forward.

While Poplar Bluff's John-Mark Lewis and Central's John Kipper ran to an expected 1-2 finish in the boys race at the SEMO Conference cross country meet Thursday, the lead pack of girls weren't exactly recognizable.

Central freshman Brittany Moreland won her first race and fellow Central freshman Veronica Schabbing ran her personal best on her home course to finish third.

Tucked in the middle was Jackson sophomore Amy Sterling, who didn't compete last season due to knee problems. Sterling's time of 20 minutes, 37 seconds was 10 seconds behind the winning mark.

"We're happy she's able to be healthy," Jackson coach Andrea Talley said. "She had her best time and really went after it [Thursday]. We're happy she's not holding back, and she attacked. I think that shows she's gaining confidence. She had always felt like she was part of the pack. Now she believes she can be a front runner."

The revelation comes at a good time with Jackson hosting the Class 4 District 1 meet on Oct. 22 at Jackson City Park. That event is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. with the boys race.

With Sterling and sophomore Beth Barton, who was limited last year after coming off an ankle injury, the Indians have a chance to make the district's top four and move on to the sectional meet, which serves as the final qualifier for the Class 4 state meet.

Barton finished sixth Thursday, helping Jackson settle for second behind Central. "She's just now coming on, too," Talley said. "I think they'll be more ready [next] Saturday.

"We weren't tapered for this meet at all," Talley said. "We were running through this meet and tapering more for the district."

Jackson also had a top-10 finish in the boys race from freshman Greg Gibson, who placed seventh.

"He has a bright future," Talley said. "He can see he's not yet on the level with some of the senior guys who were leading the race. I think he sees what he has to do to get to that level."

The upcoming races will serve as more opportunities for what Talley calls "a very, very young team" to learn racing at the state's highest level. She hopes to bring a contingent of runners to the state meet in Jefferson City, Mo., to compete and learn.

"We'd like to get some kids up there to see what it's all about," Talley said. "The first year people go up there, they get overwhelmed. The second year, they settle down and they've seen the course and they focus on competing and aren't distracted by all the people.

"We're such a young group, we're just taking it one step at a time."