Thanks to an impressive performance at the Class 3 District 1 cross country meet at Potosi, the bus ride today to the state meet in Jefferson City will be a little more crowded for the Perryville Pirates.

Perryville's girls squad finished first and the boys took second at Potosi to send both programs to Saturday's state meet at the Oak Hills Golf Center.

"We had a good day on Saturday," Perryville coach Wes Armbruster said.

The top five runners for Perryville's girls would have qualified individually for the state meet by finishing in the top 15 at Potosi. Leslie Schilli led Perryville in fifth place. Chris Schremp, Lauren Blechle, Kasey Riney and Vivian Wheeler rounded out Perryville's top five. Jen Warfield and Melissa Freeman are Perryville's No. 6 and No. 7 runners and will also make the trip to Jefferson City.

"If we could be in the top 10, that would be a big accomplishment for us," Armbruster said.

Terry Wood and Jesse Kueker finished 11th and 12th respectively in the district meet to lead Perryville's boys. William Benline, Kyle Burt, Kyle Trapp, Kevin Sargent and Andrew Thieret will also make the trip to state for Perryville.

"We're hoping to be in the top eight," Armbruster said.

The Bulldogs are back

The Notre Dame boys team will make a return trip to Jefferson City after finishing second at the district meet behind defending state champion Herculaneum. The Bulldogs finished second in Class 2 last year and have three runners back -- Greg Kanneberg, Austin Critchlow and Matt Pfau.

No area teams will make the trip in Class 4, with Central and Jackson sending two girls apiece. Jennifer Pancoast and Holly Shaffer will go from Central, and Rachel Schmidt and Ashley Meyr will represent Jackson. Pancoast has finished in the top 10 at the state meet each of the past two years.

Schmidt and Meyr, both seniors, will be making return trips to state after making their first appearances in 2003.

"Last year was freak-out time," Jackson coach Andrea Talley said. "You're nervous and scared, there are elbows flying everywhere. There are a lot of new things. This year, hopefully, they'll know what to expect. They're solid performers."

John Kipper and Cory Huskey of Central will be the only boys representing the area in the Class 4 race.

The runners will have a slightly different course to deal with this year due to recent construction at the Oak Hills Golf Center. A portion of the first mile has been adjusted in the areas of the clubhouse and the No. 8 fairway.