Boys
The Chase Pack
Liam Adair had an all-star freshman campaign with a 16:50.21 personal best. He's turned around as a sophomore and dropped that mark to 15:50.91 while picking up victories at the Smithville Invitational and Suburban Blue Conference meet. He was third at Saturday's District 4 meet to Isaac Rivera and Andrew Johnson, but he's certainly cemented his spot among the Class 4 elites. Watch for this Warrior in green to challenge for a top 5 spot on Friday.
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Andrew Johnson - Platte County
The 17th President of the United States, Andrew Johnson is picking up momentum when it matters most. The Platte County junior enters the Class 4 State Meet on a 3 race winning streak after earning victories at Grain Valley, the KC Suburban White Division, and the District 4 meet. He's also earned two runner-up finishes: the Platte County Invitational and Gans Creek Classic Blue Division. His District 4 victory came in a new personal best of 15:53.15. In fact, his last three victories have been his three best marks of the season. Johnson is on a crash course to crash the party on Friday and maneuver his way into the top 5 in the Class 4 race.
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Make that 3 Hillsboro boys among the top 8 entering Friday's finale. That's real good for the Hawks. Orville Mann has been sitting right behind his teammates all season as he's finished 3rd or 4th at 7 different meets, and even grabbed a 2nd when Jonah was out at the Ladue Invitational. He enters this Friday's meet coming off his first sub-16:00 performance of his career - a 15:54.30 mark - which bodes well for him individually. The Allison brothers will more than likely give the Hawks single digits through 2, but if Mann can make it 15 or fewer points through 3, look out below.
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Tate Riney has helped keep Festus afloat while Cullen Krieg has been working back into shape. Now he's a solid No. 2 on paper, but Krieg was able to reclaim his spot on Saturday. Riney makes it three Tigers who have run under 16:00 in their career with his 15:54.80 from the Chile Pepper Festival. He's been 4th or 5th three times and was 6th overall at District 1. Expect for him to challenge for a top 10 spot this year after finishing 23rd last November.
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The freshman phenom Cameron Martensen is ready to strut his stuff on the biggest stage. He's never raced this course so he won't have the experience that all of the other contenders ahead of him do. But he's already a season cross country veteran even as a 9th grader and boasts a 15:55.23 personal best from Ha Ha Tonka State Park. He's run 16:02 twice with his most recent one coming at the District 2 meet. It earned him a runner-up finish which bodes well heading into this Friday. A top 10 finish on this day would really put him in a position to soar as he continues through his high school career.