Lindbergh girls nip Jackson at the wire

The Jackson girls track team was unable to hold off Lindbergh in the Class 4 District 1 meet Saturday afternoon, settling for second place by 3 1/4 points.

Lindbergh swept the boys and girls district crowns at Jackson. The Flyers girls edged Jackson 153.25 to 150, while Lindbergh's boys scored 139 points to Central's 99.

Lindbergh had wins in the 400- and 800-meter runs from Kelli Oettle and a 1-2 finish in the 300 hurdles along with wins in the 1,600 and 3,200 relays.

The meet was decided by the 1,600 relay, the meet's final event, with the Flyers placing first and the Indians finishing second by about 4 1/2 seconds.

Jackson sent a message that it will be reckoned with in sectional and state meets, however, with eight event victories and four runners-up.

Jackson senior Rachel Kahle won the 100 and 200 sprints and added wins in the long jump and triple jump. Junior Heather Hileman won the high jump and the 100 hurdles and also qualified for sectional in the 300 hurdles. Senior Amanda Peiffer beat teammate Jill Rushin for the discus crown, while Rushin, a freshman, was the runner-up to Central's Briann Egbuka in the shot put, where Peiffer placed third. Freshman Landon Wachter won the 400 and was second in the 800.

Jackson also qualified its 800 and 3,200 relay teams.

Central finished third with 95 points.

The Tigers' foursome of Latosha Terry, Sadie Pittman, Rita Walter and Mary Pearson swept both the 400 and 800 relays. The Tigers advanced all four relay units.

Egbuka added a third in the discus to her shot put win. Tiffany Mead was second in the 400, Rachel Burchyett was fourth in the 800, Brittany Moreland was second in the 1,600 and Veronica Schabbing was third in the 3,200.

In the boys meet, Central edged SEMO North meet champion Poplar Bluff for the runner-up spot.

The Tigers picked up wins from Tyler Terry in the long and triple jumps and from Chase Johnson in the 800 run. Terry also teamed with Anwar Glenn, Jauvaris Walker and Kadeem Hammonds to win the 400 relay and place third in the 800 relay. Tyler Yeargain was second in both the 1,600 and 3,200 runs.

Jackson tied for fourth without a first-place finish nor a sectional-qualifying relay team. Wren Harris and Adam Zweigart were two-event qualifiers and will be joined at the sectional by Jacob Bullinger, Alex Austin and Greg Gibson.

Class 1 sectional

Led by senior Brandon Etzold, the Saxony Lutheran boys track team lined up for a shot another state trophy with seven sectional victories in Centralia.

The Crusaders were second in the state in Class 1 last year.

Etzold will return to defend his titles in 800 and 1,600 meters. He won both events Saturday along with the 400. He led 1-2 Saxony Lutheran finishes in all three events. Etzold edged teammate Ross Gage in the 800, winning in 2 minutes, 5.56 seconds. Gage finished second in 2:06.27 to qualify for the state meet, which will include the top four finishers from the sectional meets.

Etzold and Gage also finished 1-2 in the 1,600. Etzold claimed the 400 in 50.28, with teammate Max Wieser (52.67) just behind.

Etzold also was a member of the winning 1,600 relay team (3:35.62), which also included Andrew Etzold, Wieser and Alex Jauch.

The Crusaders also picked up victories in the 800 and 3,200 relays. Andrew Etzold, Joe Buerck, Gage and Wieser won the 3,200 in 8:19.29. Clay Obergoenner, Trevor Mabuce, Wieser and Jauch claimed the 800 in 1:35.27.

Jauch provided another sectional title in breaking the tape in the 300 hurdles in 41.37.

Peter Winningham placed third in the 3,200 (10:57.84) to also qualify.

In the girls competition, Saxony Lutheran freshman Cassie Simpher qualified in four events. She won the 200 (26.12) and 400 (58.49), avenging a district loss in the latter race, and she placed second in the 100 (12.93) and long jump.

-- From staff reports