CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS ARE READY TO RUN

Not that most high school athletes don't work hard, but those who compete in cross country have to be some of the most dedicated around.

Their sport is not only grueling, with countless miles of pounding the pavement, but cross country runners generally compete with little or no fanfare, usually cheered on only by relatives and close friends.

But that doesn't stop them from competing -- and generally competing well.

The area annually turns out some top-flight cross country teams and that should again be the case this season.

Last year, Cape Central's girls qualified for the Class 4A state meet and Kelly's boys finished sixth in Class 2A while Notre Dame, Jackson, Perryville and Advance all had their share of individual state qualifiers.

Following is a look at the area squads as the season opens next week. All the teams except Notre Dame will begin the campaign next Saturday (Sept. 4) in the annual Jackson Invitational. Notre Dame will also compete there but the school will actually kick off the season Wednesday at Murphysboro, Ill.

Cape Central

Central's program is coming off a banner season. In addition to the entire girls team qualifying for state, the boys squad won the 1998 SEMO Conference title with a perfect score and finished second in district before just missing out on a state berth.

"We had an excellent season last year with both teams," said coach Mark Hahn.

And, despite some major graduation losses, Hahn expects the Tigers and Lady Tigers to be extremely competitive once again.

On the boys side, 11 runners graduated but Central returns two state qualifiers in juniors Mark Stone and Justin Hawkins.

Other returning varsity runners for the Tigers are juniors Ross Tilghman and Gabe Austin. Hahn has also been impressed with several other runners, including seniors Ty Fidler and Morgan Maki; juniors Jon Lowrance and Leland Woelk; sophomore Elliott Swoboda; and freshman Mike Gerber.

"We lost some good kids but we have some good ones coming back," said Hahn of the Tigers. "We don't have the depth we had last year, but we've got some quality athletes."

Central's girls are coming off their first-ever team state berth. Two seniors graduated from that group while Brittany Ballard -- who won district and was 30th at state as a freshman last year -- has moved out of the state.

Still, there is plenty of returning talent off a squad that finished second in both the conference and district meets before making the state meet.

Returning runners off the state squad are seniors Lorie Bittle and Liz Meyr; junior Amanda Hutteger; and sophomores Rachael Sprigg and Lainie Bohnsack. Another runner, junior Katie Hawkins, would have competed at state but was injured.

Hahn will also be counting on the likes of seniors Lane Thomasson and Katie Kunz; sophomores Kim Pancoast and Megin Patrick; and freshman Whitney Pingle.

"I think we'll do well," Hahn said of the Lady Tigers. "We have some depth. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out."

Central will host its annual invitational meet Sept. 18 at Cape County Park. Central will also serve as host for this year's SEMO Conference meet in October.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame has had trouble fielding truly competitive teams since beginning the cross country program seven years ago, but the school has generally turned out some strong individual runners.

Coach Wayne Nenninger looks for that trend to continue this season.

"Our numbers are up. We've got 24 runners, which is the most we've ever had," he said. "Overall, we'll probably be like we've been in the past. We'll have some good individual performers but it's tough to compete real well as a team."

Notre Dame's boys figure to be led by senior Rick Smith, a returning 2A state qualifier. Other returning runners are senior Jason Peters, who was injured much of last season, and juniors Adam Eftink and Matt Frey.

The Bulldogs will also be counting on the likes of senior Jaime Higgins, who has run in the past but wasn't on the team last year; sophomore Marcus LeGrand; and freshman David Unterreiner.

On the girls side, the Lady Bulldogs will be led by junior Susan Judd, a two-time state qualifier. Another returning runner is senior Jean Stoverink.

"Susan has been a fine runner for us the past two years and it would be a super accomplishment if she made it to state again," Nenninger said.

Jackson

Coach Jim Stoverink expected his girls team to be extremely strong this year -- but then some circumstances beyond his control took over.

According to Stoverink, in addition to suffering some key graduation losses, four of what were expected to be the Lady Indians' top five runners decided not to compete.

While Stoverink still expects the Lady Indians to be competitive, they will also be extremely young.

"I think we'll still be pretty decent, but not what it could have been," he said. "We've kind of had to rebuild and we're real young, but the girls have a lot of potential."

The Lady Indians figure to be led by senior Julie Wunderlich, Jackson's lone returning state qualifier who finished 24th in the 1998 4A state meet to earn all-state honors.

Jackson's other two seniors are Jennifer Stiegemeyer, a returnee, and Amanda Lowes, who ran as a freshman and sophomore but did not compete last year.

The Lady Indians have two juniors, Jessica Craft and Shannon Stover, who have both been bothered by injuries.

Stoverink is also impressed with three sophomores and three freshmen. The sophomores are Jennifer Watkins, Carol Koenig and Laura Unverferth while the frosh are Heather Sanders, Sara Jaskowski and Erin Hyden.

On the boys side, Jackson is even younger, with only one senior and three juniors. The lone senior is Brian Niedbalski, who has run track in the past but is in his first year of cross country.

Stoverink looks for his top runners to be juniors Zach Friedrich and Chris Fields, although he said competition among the squad is extremely close. The Indians' other junior is Jeremiah Keller.

Stoverink will also be counting on the likes of sophomores Josh Minson, Doug Dixon and Michael Birk, along with freshman Lee Strickert.

"Our boys have potential and they're working hard," Stoverink said. "They could improve quite a bit as the season goes on."

Perryville

Joe Dandridge, a former standout runner for Southeast Missouri State University as well as a graduate assistant coach at Southeast, takes over the Perryville program.

"I'm excited about the opportunity," said Dandridge of his first high school head coaching position. "Hopefully I can use the experience I had (as a graduate assistant) at Southeast to help build the program here."

Perryville's teams were both hit hard by graduation, with the boys and girls each returning one of three state qualifiers from last season. But Dandridge likes what he's seen so far.

"The work ethic and attitude seem to be real good," he said.

Perryville's boys return state qualifier Nathan Moore, a junior. Also back from last year's varsity are senior James Boice and sophomore Nathan Fritsche.

Others competing for varsity spots are senior Daniel Winningham; juniors Jacob Schneider and Jesse Gegg; sophomores Brian Schlichting, Curt Brewer and Tim Chitwood; and freshmen Kent Hadler, Tim Winningham and Jeff Koenig.

On the girls side, Perryville won't have much depth. Senior Renee Schlichting was 32nd at last year's state meet while junior Melissa Hahn also competed on the varsity.

Dandridge will also be looking for contributions from junior Amanda Giesler, sophomore Jennifer Brotherton and freshman Gina Buerck.

Kelly

Kelly has built quite a program in only four seasons of cross country and coach Bill Davis is once again excited about both his teams, who have impressive numbers on their rosters.

"We've got 33 boys out, which is a good number, and we've got 15 girls out, which is up a few from last year," said Davis. "The thing I'm really proud of is the freshmen. We've got 10 boys and six girls who are freshmen and that's where you build a program."

Kelly's boys, who won a state title in 1996, will look to continue their impressive string of qualifying for state. The Hawks have made it to the big meet in the first four years of the program, when they have won district three times and finished second once.

If the Hawks do make it back to state, it will have to be with a new-look lineup. Kelly lost six of its top seven runners from last year, including all-stater Nathen King.

But Davis believes he still has some good talent, led by the only returning member from last season's state team, sophomore Ashley Hahn.

Davis will also be counting on the likes of sophomores Adam Daughetee and Tyler Schlosser; juniors Richard Reeves and Kyle Kern; seniors Brandon Sander and Dustin Kluesner; and freshman Lance Scheffer. Most of them were in the program a year ago.

"It's the first time we've lost that many (varsity runners), but we figure we should be right in the running (for a state berth)," Davis said. "Our goal is always to go to the `Big Show,' which is what I call the state meet."

Kelly's girls, who won state in 1997 but failed to qualify last year, should be solid as the Lady Hawks return eight of their 11 team members from last season, including five of their top seven runners.

Back from last year's varsity are one state qualifier, senior Jenny Riley, along with senior Melissa Garner and three juniors: Megan Nelson, Laura Ruff and Nancy Lewer. Davis also has high hopes for sophomore Natalie Lewer, a first-year runner.

"I think our girls will be strong," said Davis. "We got fourth at district last year and we're hoping to maybe get one of the top two spots and get to state."

Advance

Despite having a cross country program for only two years, Advance's boys have fared well, finishing third in their 1A district both seasons and narrowly missing out on a team state berth.

As Jim Stoverink, the son of Jackson's coach who is formerly the boys basketball coach at Chaffee, takes over the program, he has high hopes that the Hornets will nudge up to the top two at district and qualify the entire squad for state.

"We've got a really good group of kids and they're working hard," Stoverink said. "The boys have gotten third in district last two years and we have a lot of those people back. I think we have a chance to get the whole team to state, which is our big goal."

The Hornets will be led by returning state qualifiers Ross McFerron and Chad Johnson, both seniors.

"Ross and Chad should be right up there competing probably in every race we go to," said Stoverink. "We'll be counting on them a lot. Both are running real well."

Other runners back from last season who Stoverink will be counting on are senior Brandon Middleton and two sophomores: Justin Kennedy and Chris Walker.

While Advance doesn't have a full girls team, three first-year female runners will compete in meets: seniors Neeley Bollinger and Kristin Foster and sophomore Katie Thompson.