Eagles And Tigers Reach End Of The Road at Centralia

 

  Tiger senior Justin Hazen finished fifth in the Class 1 boy’s
3200 meter run in 11:37.64 seconds. Knox County and Brashear recorded two sixth
place finishes each at the May 16, 2009 Class 1 and 2 Sectional track meets at
Centralia.

   The Lady Eagles finished sixth in the Class 2 4x800m relay.
Brady James took sixth in the Class 2 boy’s 110m hurdles.

   Brashear placed sixth in the boy’s 4x800m relay in 9:56.69
seconds. Andy Belzer, Jay Scudder, Justin Hazen and Joseph Woods were the Tiger
distance relay runners.

   Sectional results are posted on the Internet at www.mshsaa.org
and www.trxctiming.com

   Among Centralia Sectional standout performances were Amy Gangloff
of Wellsville, winner of the Class 1 girls’ 800, 1600, and 3200m events. Tyler
Malone of Chamois matched the feat in boy’s Class 2.

   Jesse Christoffer won the Class 1 boy’s shot put for North Shelby.
Paris sprinter Kelsey Heitmeyer won the Class 1 girls’ 100 and 300m hurdles and
qualified in the 100 meter dash.

   Putnam County thrower Katie Evans won the Class 2 girls’ shot
put and discus by wide margins. Nic Ford of Centralia won three Sectional gold
medals in the Class 2 110 and 300m hurdles, and the long jump. Ford joined
Novinger’s Aric Luman as a four event state qualifier. Centralia qualified in
the boy’s 4x100m relay.

   Aric Luman won the Class 1 boy’s long jump and qualified in the
100, 200 and triple jump events. Alexis Clay won the Class 2 girls’ 200 meter
silver medal for Highland.

   Kaitlin Stump won the Class 2 triple jump for Schuyler County.
Brandon Baird took the boy’s 300m hurdles gold medal for Novinger. LaPlata won
the Class 1 girls’ 4×1 and 4x400m relays.

   Joseph Woods ran the Class 1 boy’s 1600 meters in 5:14.36 seconds.

Woods scratched from the Sectional 800 meter event due to a knee injury; Knox
County district 1600 meter champion Leighton McCabe finished sixth on the track
in 4:48 seconds. McCabe was disqualified for a uniform violation.

   Katie Ausmus, Suzanne Howerton, Lorrie Peters and Kelsey Cahalan
turned in a 10:25.47 second time, good for sixth in the Class 2 girls’ 4×800
meter relay. Brady James ran the Class 2 boy’s 110m hurdles in 17.42 seconds,
taking sixth place.

   Chandi March, Katie Watson, Chloe Sykes and Stephanie Elsea ran
the Class 1 girl’s 4x800m relay in 13:17.36 seconds, finishing eighth for
Brashear.

   Knox County senior Mitchel Pegg finished seventh in the boy’s
100m dash in 11.87 seconds. Mitchel Pegg ran the 200m dash in 23.52 seconds,
good for seventh place.

   Knox County senior Mitchel Pegg and Brashear senior Justin Hazen
ran their final races for their respective schools.

   Our kids worked extremely hard and I was very proud of the way
we competed today,” said KCHS coach John Weaver.

   “It’s sad to see Mitchel Pegg go out like that his senior year,
but he is a great kid and a very hard competitor. He has a bright future ahead
of him”

   “I want to thank the kids for their hard work and effort the
past ten weeks. We will have everyone back except for Mitchel Pegg, Jacob Moots
and Tessa Ramer.”

   I look for our track and field program to continue to get
better,” said John Weaver.

  The top four finishers in each event qualified for the Class 1
and 2 Track Championships held May 22-23 at Jefferson City. The Eagles and
Tigers were shut out of the 2009 state meet.

   “Justin Hazen ran well today. We have a bunch of freshmen and
sophomores. We had a good year,” said Brashear track coach Heath Schneider. “We
will be back.”

   Knox County fell back from contention early in the Class 2 boy’s
4×400 meter relay. The Eagles ran a 3:44.14 sectional time and finished eighth.
Blair Oaks took first place in 3:36.06 seconds followed by Marceline at 3:36.31
seconds.

   David Hinkle, Leighton McCabe, Mitchel Pegg and Cody Pegg ran
the 4x400m relay for Knox County. “Our track program has turned around,” said
Eagle senior Mitchel Pegg.

   “Coach (John) Weaver has gotten kids to go out for track. I want
to thank Coach Weaver and Coach (Bruce) Vannoy for helping us get motivated and
prepared this year. When Leighton (McCabe) won the mile at districts, it was
huge,” said Mitchel Pegg.

   Mitchel Pegg graduated from Knox County R-I with the conference
200m dash gold medal. The Eagles finished in the top four of the Tri-Rivers
Conference track meet and walked away with five conference championships.

   “When Kelsey Cahalan came in and ran fast splits in the 4×4 and
4×8 it was huge. That 4×4 we blew up at districts was pretty amazing,” said
Mitchel Pegg. “I was able to set school records in the 100 (11.20 seconds) and
200 meters (23.10). We really ran well at Brookfield.”

   “I just want to thank everyone on the track team for being there
this year. Everyone was so friendly. This was a great experience and a great
way to go out my senior year. We had a great team.”