Central finds speed in unexpected places

Just two weeks ago, Central track coaches would not have expected their 1,600-meter relay team to run near the front of the field at the Sikeston Twilight Relays.

Two laps into Friday's race, the Tigers' opponents probably couldn't believe it either.

But with the emergence of sprinter/hurdler Kenion Bluford and freshman Thomas McElmurry, the Tigers have a suddenly competitive team, as shown in the second-place finish behind Poplar Bluff on Friday in Sikeston.

The Tigers foursome finished in 3 minutes, 35.36 seconds, a little more than a second behind the Mules, but ahead of the higher-seeded Sikeston and Notre Dame foursomes.

Chase Johnson, a Class 4 state medalist last year in the 800 meters, put the Tigers in the lead with his opening leg. And Lucian Johnson finished with an impressive anchor run, during which he fell behind Notre Dame 400-meter specialist Mark Zimmer and then passed him in the home stretch.

But Central coach Lawrence Brookins and assistant Mark Hahn pointed to the newcomers as key.

"The young freshman, Thomas McElmurry, is going to be good," Brookins said, "I think a future star in Cape in track."

And Bluford, who last year as a sophomore posted one of the top times in the 110 hurdles in Southeast Missouri, was the final piece of the puzzle.

"I thought with his gait — he's got long strides — I thought he would be a good prospect for that group," Brookins said. "And we were missing one more fast kid to make that a decent 4x4 group.

"I was able to convince him, with coach Hahn's help, to make the sacrifice because nobody right now wants to run the 400. It's the toughest race in track and field."

Few in the area run it better than Zimmer, which made Lucian Johnson's anchor leg even more impressive.

"Lucian is a hard-nosed kid. He's a competitor," said Brookins, who calls Chase and Lucian "The Brothers Johnson" even though they are not related. "Lucian will do anything you ask him to do, and he did a good job keeping us in the race. He has heart; he's a fighter."

Relay photo finish

The third-place finish in the 1,600 relay wasn't the only time Notre Dame was edged for a spot at the line Friday.

The opening boys relay of the day, the 3,200, featured an outstanding finish as Malden zipped into a first-place finish by moving up two spots in the final leg. The Green Wave foursome was credited with a time of 8:37.5. Notre Dame settled for second in 8:37.8, as John Unterreiner crashed into the finish line; and Saxony Lutheran was a close third in 8:37.9.

Saxony's foursome consisted of the same runners — Ross Gage, Andrew Etzold, Joe Buerck and Max Wieser — who won the Class 1 state title a year ago.

Relay dominance

The Central girls team won the three longest relay events Friday.

The Tigers closed the meet with a win in the 1,600, which was run by Rita Walter, Brittney Moreland, Tiffany Mead and freshman Asia Thomas.

Moreland and Mead teamed with Schabbing and Jordyn Richmond for an easy win in the 3,200 relay. All four were members of Central's cross country team, which was coached by Hahn to a fourth-place finish in the Class 4 state meet in the fall.

In the distance medley, which consisted of 800-, 400-, 1,200- and 1,600-meter legs, the Tigers used Rachel Burchyett, Mead, Mary Dohogne and Moreland for the win.

The sisters Schabbing finished second and third in the 1,600 meters, with Victoria finishing in 5:34.6 and Veronica in 5:38.5.

"Mark has some veteran kids in his distance and middle-distance group," Brookins said. "And God sends us Asia Thomas, a freshman who is going to be just as good as her momma, who was a record-holder at Cape Central. Asia runs just like her momma, a carbon copy."

Unexpected strength

Notre Dame's boys track and field team has emphasized the track in recent years with relays, middle-distance and long-distance runners, but the Bulldogs flexed some muscle in the shot put and discus Friday.

Notre Dame won the discus relay with Matt Kiblinger launching a throw of 156 feet, 3 inches that was just 4 inches shy of the school record he set during last year's Class 3 state meet. The Bulldogs were second in the shot put as Shane Judd came up with a throw of 46-3.

"They have just been tremendous for us. A nice, pleasant surprise," Notre Dame coach Bill Davis said.

Logan Davis was second in the 1,600-meter run for Notre Dame, while Wynn McClellan was third.