Panthers reach state meet -- one at a time

The Meadow Heights girls cross country team is small but mighty.

All four runners on the team qualified for the state meet Saturday by finishing in the top 15 of the Class 1 District 1 meet on Saturday morning at Jackson City Park.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, cross country requires five runners.

"If we would've had a fifth runner, we'd be in heaven," said second-year Meadow Heights coach Shawn Seabaugh. "I'm so proud of the four I've got. They really did a fine job representing the school."

Senior Carly Smith earned her second straight trip to state by finishing eighth in 24 minutes and 59 seconds. Whitney Breitenstein placed 10th, while freshmen Abi Whissore (12th) and Jenna Hahs (15th) also qualified for state.

Jenna Hahs' brother, Joel, placed fifth in the boys race.

Close but short again

The Oak Ridge cross country team also won't be going to state as a team in boys and girls.

The Bluejays ended up in third place in both the boys and girls races for the second straight year. The girls missed out by just seven points.

"We're just trying to get past that bubble," said assistant coach Karen McClellan, who noted her team had a thin margin with just five runners.

Sam Zoellner will return to state on the strength of a fourth-place finish. She was in the 40s at state last year and eyes a spot in the top 25 to earn all-state honors.

"She's having a great season so far," McClellan said.

The Oak Ridge boys had two state qualifiers -- Dustin Owens (13th) and Austin Morrison (15th) -- and placed five runners in the top 22.

"I was pretty proud of the boys," Bluejays coach Jason Niswonger said. "They ran exactly how we wanted them to run. Valley Park was just a better team today."

Youth is served

While Meadow Heights had two freshmen qualify for state, Saxony Lutheran had freshman Deana Dippold get through with a fifth place finish in the district.

"She ran a smart race," Saxony coach Larry Cleair said.

Dippold progressed through the pack during the race and finished in 24:13, about 18 seconds behind Zoellner.

The Saxony boys team also had a boost from freshman Max Wieser, who was his team's fourth runner across the line in 11th place.

-- Toby Carrig

Rough day

Central senior Holly Shaffer finished 12th at the Class 4 sectional meet at Jefferson Barracks Park to earn her third trip to the state cross country meet, but she and fellow state qualifier Jennifer Pancoast had much more on their minds after the race ended.

Linnea Woldtvedt, who also ran at state last year, was unable to finish the race and was taken from the park by ambulance for dehydration.

"I'm actually really scared for my best friend," Shaffer said after the race. "We ran awesome as a team, but we can't enjoy that right now.

"It's just a real bummer, but we'll get her up there [to Jefferson City, Mo.] next weekend to cheer us on."

Central missed out on qualifying for state with a fifth-place showing but finished 40 points better when compared to its margin of victory in the District 1 meet against Lindbergh. All of the state qualifying teams came out of District 2.

Snow reigns

Defending Class 4 state champion Merideth Snow, a Southeast Missouri native and Nebraska state champion who runs for Eureka, ran away with the sectional crown at Jefferson Barracks Park with a time of 18:57, nearly a full minute ahead of the second-place runner.

Perryville strong at Potosi

Perryville qualified both its boys and girls teams for the state meet after strong showings at the Class 3 District 1 meet at Potosi on Saturday.

Terry Wood finished 11th in 18:18 and Jesse Kueker was 12th in 18:23 to lead Perryville's boys to a second-place finish with 83 points. Potosi won with 15 points.

Perryville's girls won the meet with 41 total points. Perryville had five runners finish in the top 15, which qualifies an individual for the state meet. Leslie Schilli finished fifth (22:11), Chris Schremp was 10th (23:07), Lauren Blechle finished 12th (23:41), Kasey Riney 13th (24:00) and Vivian Wheeler was 15th (24:09).