Coach Pickett Reaches 200th Career Victory; Junior High Results From April 9

Effingham Junior High School's seventh-grade boys track team provided Coach Steve Pickett with the 200th victory of his coaching career when it defeated Mattoon in a dual meet at Effingham High School track Tuesday.

Pickett, now in his 20th year of coaching track at the junior high level, was the head boys track coach at Effingham Central Junior High School for 13 years from 1970-83 and has been the seventh-grade boys track coach for the past seven years at EJHS.

While he was at the helm of the Effingham Central program, he guided his boys' teams to eight Class A and eight Class B IESA district titles. After advancing from district to sectional competition, three of the Class A teams and five of the Class B teams won sectional championships. Also two Class A and one Class B teams brought home second place sectional plaques while two Class A teams and one Class B team finished third.

His boys' teams also won many invitational and conference crowns while he was at Central. They garnered three Class A and five Class B team titles at the Effingham Central Mighty Mustang Invitationall. They also finished first twice in Class A and once in Class B at the Lincoln Trail Conference Meet. Two seventh-grade and one eighth-grade Charleston Little Trojan Invitational team titles also were won by his teams. In addition, one team finished second at the Charleston little Trojan Invitational while two other teams took second in the Class A and Class B divisions of the Effingham Central Mighty Mustangs Invitational.

The biggest trophy was the 1978 Illinois  Elementary School Association's boys Class B fourth place state trophy.

Pickett not only coached boys track at Central, he and Ray Long were the first girls coaches at the junior high school. They coached the girls team for only one year in 1976. That year Central's girls won both the Class A (seventh and eighth grade) and Class B (sixth grade) divisions of the Illinois Elementary School Association's girls district titles and then continued their success at the IESA sectional where the A team reigned as champions while the B team earned the second place hardware. These girls also copped first place trophies in Class A and B divisions of the Prairie State Conference and Little Trojan Invitational. Both teams also won trophies in the Effingham Central Mighty Mustang Invitational with the Class A team snaring the first place trophy and the Class B team grabbing second.

"The highlight of that wonderful 1976 season, though, was when the Class A team brought home the biggest trophy they won yhat year," said Pickett. "The Illinois Elementary School Association's girls Class A second place state trophy."

In 2007, Pickett began his second tenure as junior high track coach, coaching the boys seventh-grade team at EJHS. Here his teams have continued to rack up wins. during these years, his teams have 50 wins and five losses in duals, triangulars and quadrangular competition. His teams have continued to be succesdful in multi-team meets also. At the IESA boys' seventh-grade sectional, they have finished in the top three teams five times procuring the following plaques, one first, three seconds and one third place. Also teams under his direction have won the Hillsboro Dragon Invitational seventh-grade division three times, the Little Apollo Conference seventh title once and the South Central Conference seventh-grade crown once.

In addition, his team has brought home two second place trophies from the Mount Zion Invitational and one second place plaque from the Hillsboro Dragon Invitational.

Eighty-four boys and 12 girls have competed at the IESA boys state track meet on Pickett-coached track teams during his 20 years at the junior high school.

At Effingham High School

SEVENTH-GRADE BOYS

Team Scores -- Effingham (E) 66, Mattoon (M) 48

110 Hurdles -- 1. Hill (E), 16.04 sec. (new record, 16:07 by Hill, 2013), 2. Vasquez (E), 18.97; 3. Reynolds (E), 19.36

100 -- 1. Hill (E), 12.19 sec.; 2. Brown (M), 13.59; 3. McCabe (E), 13.59

1600 -- 1. Ghere (M), 5:35.9 min.; 2. Koester (E), 5:43.9; 3. Jones (M), 5:44.7

400 -- 1. Hoshaver (M), 1:02.21 min.; 2. Lee (E), 1:10.07; 3. Morrissey (E), 1:11.45

200 -- 1. Line (E), 27.47 sec.; 2. McCabe (E), 28.11; 3. Schuette (E), 28.70

800 -- 1. Pocrnich (E), 2:31.43 min.; 2. Kremer (M), 2:39.88; 3. Grasl (M), 2:50.15

Pole Vault -- 1. Morrissey (E), 7 ft. 6 in.; 2. Vasquez (E), 7-6; 3. Devore (E), 7-0

Shot -- 1. Schniederjon (E), 31 ft. 6 in.; 2. Branson (M), 30-7; 3. Callow (M), 29-4

Discus -- 1. B. Moncel (M), 78 ft. 5 in.; 2. G. Moncel (M), 73-9 1/2; 3. Branson (M), 70-5

Long Jump -- 1. Hayes (M), 15 ft. 7 in.; 2. Grasl (M), 15-3; 3. Pocrnich (E), 15-0

High Jump -- 1. Hill (E), 4 ft. 8 in.; 2. Grasl (M), 4-4; 3. Krame (M), 4-4

400 Relay -- 1. Effingham (Hill, Line, Pocrnich, McCabe), 53.5 sec.; 2. Mattoon, 55.88

800 Relay -- 1. Effingham (Schuette, Ramos, Mulherron, Reynolds), 2:04.24 min.; 2. Mattoon, 2:06.57

1600 Relay -- 1. Mattoon, 4:47.81 min.; 2. Effingham, 4:48.36

SEVENTH-GRADE GIRLS

Team Scores -- Effingham (E) 79, Mattoon (M) 26

Hurdles -- 1. Hite (M), 18.98 sec.; 2. Schwartz (M), 20.14; 3. Fox (E), 20.49

100 -- 1. Hite (M), 13.69 sec.; 2. Alvis (M), 14.8; 3. Russell (E), 14.9

1600 -- 1. Kull (E), 6:53 min.; 2. Feager (M), 6:58; 3. Hirtzel (E), 7:18

800 Relay -- 1. Effingham, 2:05 min.; 2. Mattoon, 2:11

400 Relay -- 1. Effingham, 59.27 sec.; 2. Mattoon, 1:00.3

400 -- 1. Weis (E), 1:12 min.; 2. Fearday (E), 1:13; 3. Funneman (E), 1:17

200 -- 1. Taylor (E), 29.5 sec.; 2. Kuhlman (E), 29.9; 3. Kinkelaar (E), 32.0

800 -- 1 Armstrong (E), 3:04 min.; 2. Schwartz (M), 3:13; 3. Doty (M), 3:17

1600 Relay -- 1. Effingham, 5:04.7 min.; 2. Mattoon, 5:30.1

Discus -- 1. Myers (E), 83 ft. 4 in.; 2. Haythorne (E), 60-5; 3. Koester (E), 51-1 1/2

Long Jump -- 1. Taylor (E), 14 ft. 4 1/2 in.; 2. Funneman (E), 13-1/2; 3. Smith (M), 12-10

Shot -- 1. Myers (E), 26 ft. 10 in.; 2. Haythorne (E), 23-3; 3. Beck (M), 22-4

High Jump -- 1. Hanks (E), 4 ft. 2 in.; 2. Kuhlman (E), 4-2; 3. Alvis (M), 3-10

EIGHTH-GRADE GIRLS

Team Scores -- Mattoon (M) 54, Effingham (E) 47

Hurdles -- 1. Heuerman (E), 17.42 sec.; 2. Boggs (E), 18.76; 3. Stiingley (M), 20.94

100 -- 1. Thompson (M), 13.0 sec.; 2. Conkling (E), 14.4; 3. Rankin (M), 14.9

1600 -- 1. Monnet (E), 7:12 min.; 2. Gordon (M), 7:20; 3. Homann (E), 7:55

800 Relay -- 1. Effingham, 2:06 min.; 2. Mattoon, 2:11

400 Relay -- 1. Mattoon, 53.9 sec.; 2. Effingham, 1:01.7

400 -- 1. Nichols (M), 1:11.14 min.; 2. Clinton (M), 1:15.61; 3. Marten (E), 1:18.55

200 -- 2. Jackson (M), 27.08 sec.; 2. Longwell (E), 30.19; 3. Conkling (E), 31.13

800 -- 1. Card (M), 3:03.7 min.; 2. Blanchette (M), 3:15.3; 3. Monnet (E), 3:15.8

1600 Relay -- 1. Effingham, 5:18.5 min.; 2. Mattoon, 5:18.9

Discus -- 1. Pierson (E), 72 ft. 10 in.; 2. Brush (M), 56-10; 3. Mosier (E), 54-1

Long Jump -- 1. Jackson (M), 14 ft. 8 in.; 2. Conkling (E), 13-4 1/2; 3. Boggs (E), 13-4

Shot -- 1. Brush (M), 24 ft. 10 in.; 2. Pierson (E), 23-6 1/2; 3. French (M), 21-9

High Jump -- 1. Thompson (M), 4 ft. 4 in.; 2. Martin (E), 4-4; 3. Rankin (M), 4-0