Moreland paces Central girls

Central sophomore Brittany Moreland placed first in the Class 4 District 1 cross country meet on Saturday and teammate Veronica Schabbing finished second to lead the Tigers girls squad into a top-four finish in the qualifying meet for next weekend's sectional.

The Jackson boys and girls teams both advanced to the sectional, which will take place Saturday at Jefferson Barracks Park in south St. Louis County.

Moreland covered the course where she had won the SEMO Conference meet nine days earlier in 19 minutes, 18 seconds. Schabbing, also a sophomore and runner-up in the conference by less than a second, finished in 20:00.

That gave Central 83 points for third place. The top four teams and top 30 individuals advance to the sectional, which serves as the qualifier for the Nov. 4 Class 4 state meet in Jefferson City.

The disappointment for Central's boys came as senior Tyler Yeargain, the SEMO Conference boys winner, was unable to run. Central advanced Cole Bradley and Shawn Owens to the sectional.

"Tyler missed all week with pneumonia, so he didn't even get to ride on the bus today," said Central coach Mark Hahn, who also had to turn away No. 2 runner Dale Brannock due to a fever Saturday. "It happens. Unfortunately for Tyler, there's no tomorrow. It's a shame for Tyler. He would've been right there with that first guy."

The first guy was Northwest's Zach Kassman in 16:40, which was 4 seconds slower than Yeargain's conference time.

Jackson sophomore Greg Gibson, who was second in conference, was second Saturday in 16:45. He paced Jackson to a fourth-place finish in the team standings. Junior Tanner Cline, sophomore Cody Green and sophomore Caleb Statler also were in the top 30.

"We're happy to get through this time of the year healthy," Jackson coach Andrea Talley said. "It will be tough to get a few out of sectionals, but our boys see the possibilities for the future. This is an up-and-coming team."

Getting many girls through the sectional won't be easy for Central or Jackson. Hahn called the opposite district for the sectional pairing "the district" in the state. Even winning team Lindbergh will have a challenge.

"We're at least going to have a table at the plate," Hahn said. "Sectional is always a tough challenge, but you never know. We've got a couple of kids with low scores, so there's hope. You just go up there and run your best and see what happens."

After Moreland and Schabbing, Tiffany Mead helped Central with an 18th-place finish.

Jackson's first runner, Casey Hatton, didn't come across until 15th, but the Indians finished just behind Central and just ahead of Fox with a tight lead pack in Amanda Craven (16th) and Beth Barton (17th). Amy Sterling and Nicole Parrish also finished in the top 30.

"The girls were in a pack, right where they needed to be," Talley said. "The sectional we're headed into could very well come away with the four state trophies."

BOYS RESULTS

Team standings -- 1, Lindbergh 51; 2, Fox 56; 3, Northwest 72; 4, Jackson 94; 5, Seckman 132; 6, Vianney 143; 7, Oakville 177; 8, Central 212.

Jackson -- 2, Greg Gibson, 16:45; 15, Tanner Cline, 17:56; 20, Cody Green, 18:12.84; 23, Caleb Statler, 18:18.70; 34, Earl Popp, 19:02; 40, Nick Welker, 19:35.38; 45, Joe Miller, 19:56.

Central -- 26, Cole Bradley, 18:22; 30, Shawn Owens, 18:36; 52, Greg Sprengel, 20:49; 53, Anwar Glenn, 21:19; 55, Cory Fowler, 21:29; 57, Sean Waterman, 22:01.

GIRLS RESULTS

Team standings -- 1, Lindbergh 37; 2, Cor Jesu 80; 3, Central, 83; 4, Jackson 88; 5, Fox 91; 6, Northwest 148; 7, Seckman 175.

Central -- 1, Brittany Moreland, 19:18; 2, Veronica Schabbing, 20:00; 18, Tiffany Mead, 21:43; 31, Jenny Huo, 23:16; 32, Jessie Hahn, 23:21; 44, Charlotte Schaffer, 23:55; 51, Emily Ponder, 25:06.

Jackson -- 15, Casey Hatton, 21:32; 16, Amanda Craven, 21:37; 17, Beth Barton, 21:40; 19, Amy Sterling, 21:54; 26, Nicole Parrish, 22:42; 39, Ashley Miller, 23:53; 43, Amber Crites, 24:26.