Bulldogs occupied four of the top seven spots Saturday as Notre Dame's boys won their own Notre Dame Cross Country Invitational.

Senior Sam Montgomery led the Bulldog finishers by placing third with a time of 17:06.6 on the 3.1-mile layout at Notre Dame Regional High School.

Finishing in a pack behind Montgomery were teammates Austin Critchlow (5th), Ryan Roggow (6th) and Matt Pfau (7th), who all finished within 10 seconds of each other. Greg Kanneberg finished 13th to round out the Bulldogs' winning total of 34 points. All five of the Bulldogs were among the top 20 finishers and medaled.

Poplar Bluff placed second with 50 points, followed by Perryville (96), Kelly (105), Saxony Lutheran (140), Meadow Heights (146), Sikeston (156) and Advance (177).

Sikeston featured the boys' overall winner in sophomore Clay Lincoln, who covered the course in a meet-record 16:34.5. Lincoln finished nearly 15 seconds ahead of John-Mark Lewis of Poplar Bluff.

The victory was the second of the season for Notre Dame's boys, who also finished ahead of Poplar Bluff in winning the Kelly Invitational.

"Our boys ran extremely well," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said. "I was really proud of them. Pack running in this sport is so important. Running as a group and running close to the front. That's the only way to win."

St. Charles West, third in the Class 3 state meet last year, featured the top seven finishers in the girls' race to separate itself in the four-team field. St. Charles finished with a perfect 15 points and was followed by Perryville (69), Notre Dame (74) and Kelly (86).

St. Charles West's Melissa McDonnell won the race in a meet-record 20:26.50.

Led by the first-place finish of Cody Essner, Notre Dame's boys won the JV race.

Central girls place second

Jennifer Pancoast finished third to help Central place second at the Hazelwood East Invitational in St. Louis.

Holly Shaffer was sixth and Linnea Woldtvedt 10th for Central's girls, which trailed winner Fort Zumwalt South by 26 points.

Central's boys were fifth, led by 15th-place John Kipper.

Schmidt paces Jackson

Rachel Schmidt's 14th-place run helped Jackson's girls finish eighth at the Parkway West Invitational, which was moved to St. Charles because of a scheduling conflict.

Jackson's boys also were eighth, led by 37th-place Norman Popp.

SOFTBALL

Notre Dame finishes second

Notre Dame saw host and unbeaten Incarnate Word score six runs in the top of the seventh inning as the Bulldogs fell 7-4 in the championship game of the Incarnate Word Tournament.

Notre Dame (15-3), which had beaten Trinity and St. Joseph's Academy earlier in the day to reach the final, had taken a 3-1 lead into the seventh inning.

Incarnate Word, the top-ranked team in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch poll, finished with 10 hits on the game.

Lindsay Reinagel (11-3), who pitched all 22 innings in the tournament for Notre Dame, suffered the loss. She struck out four and didn't walk a batter.

Reinagel, Laura Weissmueller and Whitney Ostendorf, who went 2-for-2, had doubles in the game.

Reinagel allowed just five hits in the Bulldogs' two earlier wins. She went all eight innings in a 4-3 victory over Trinity. Alana Weissmueller delivered the decisive blow, a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the top of the eighth. Ostendorf added a triple and Alana Weissmueller, who went 2-for-3, had a double.

Reinagel then took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of a 5-1 victory over St. Joseph's. She allowed one hit and one run in the seventh. She struck out six and walked three in the game. Laura Weissmueller had a triple and a double and went 3-for-4 for Notre Dame. Stacey Seyer and Sarah Scherer each went 2-for-3.

BOYS SOCCER

Whitfield 3, Notre Dame 1

Notre Dame fell behind 2-0 at halftime and couldn't rally on the road against the defending Class 1 state champion.

Jonathan Market scored the only goal for Notre Dame (7-6-1) late in the game after an assist by Wade Cramer.

Notre Dame's JV (8-0-1) won 3-0. Abe Dirnberger had two goals and an assist. Brett Heischmidt also scored, and Jack Wedemeier and Kirk Boeller had assists.

Jackson 4, Belleville West 2

Tyler Beussink scored two goals and helped Jackson overcome an early deficit at Belleville, Ill.

Jackson (3-11) trailed 1-0 before taking a 2-1 lead into the break. West tied it 2-2 before Jackson pulled away.

Derrick Biri and Cole Humphrey added goals. Biri had an assist.

Jackson's JV won 2-1 with goals from Corey Murphy and Andrew Schlick. Stephen McKinney had an assist.

VOLLEYBALL

Eagle Ridge sweeps at Festus

Eagle Ridge defeated Twin City and Sedalia in a one-day event at Festus.

Ashley Hughes had 14 assists, Rachel Carbaugh had 12 kills and six aces, Chelsey Clark had eight points and Autumn Crowden had three aces and three kills in a 25-20, 25-19, 15-6 win.

In a 25-12, 23-25, 15-9 defeat of Twin City, Hughes had 16 assists, Carbaugh 16 kills, Crowden six kills and nine points and Clark nine points and four aces for Eagle Ridge (16-6).

EIGHTH-GRADE FOOTBALL

Poplar Bluff 28, Central 21

Joe Uhls had two touchdown receptions Saturday for Central, and teammate Derrick Walker had a rushing touchdown.

Walker also had a two-point conversion for Central (1-2).

NINTH-GRADE FOOTBALL

Poplar Bluff 22, Central 6

The Tigers avoided a shutout when John Evans scored on a 25-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Central fell to 3-2.

--From staff reports