Boys
The Chase Pack
Talk about peaking at the right time, it would appear that Henry Acorn is ready to really put on a show on the Gans Creek course on Friday. The sophomore has been biding his time all season, but in his last two races, he has thrown down personal bests of 15:48.49 and 15:31.35. The sophomore was 24th last year as a freshman, but has rocketed up the ranks this fall with these last two performances. We know Rockhurst runners love a good state meet so watch for the white and blue up front, challenging for a major upset.
--
Lukas Groenewald - Lafayette Wildwood
Lukas Groenewald is another one who comes from a program which loves to peak at the right time. Groenewald has two huge wins now when it's counted the most with victories at the STL Suburban Conference meet and the Class 5 District 1 meet. Both of those course are favorable, but so is Chile Pepper and he 35 seconds faster at McNair and 43 seconds at Arnold City Park. His only other sub-16 performance was at the most important place - Gans Creek (15:46.60). He's a District champ and has good experience at the state level now. Watch for Groenewald to show off some more of that Lafayette magic at the state meet.
--
Jack Williams - Lee's Summit West
Jack Williams has exemplified flying under the radar this season. Now, he's ready to pounce. The LSW Titan sophomore has had to contend with the other super-sophomore just a few miles away (Henry Acorn) for state level attention, but this Friday, he should be able to make a name for his own self. Since a tenth place finish at the Tim Nixon Invitational, Williams hasn't finished worse than fourth, headlined by third place finish at the Class 5 District 2 meet. He was behind only Tyler Harris and the afore-mentioned Acorn. He also took down the afore-mentioned Campbell and a slew of other all-state caliber athletes. Williams has a bright future ahead of him and it may all really kick off when he secures his first all-state honor on Friday.
--
Myles Thornburg grabbed the final all-state medal last November when he finished 25th in his junior campaign. He's heading into this November Classic with a 15:35.71 personal best to his name and a chance at feeling much safer heading into the final stretch this time around than last year. He has posted two important runner-up finishes in his last two meets (Conference and District), both of which to Sage Wilde, so he's been able to handle the top Kansas City competitors when it's mattered most. And as we've seen this year, Kansas City is bursting with talent at the moment. Watch for Thornburg to add a top 10 finish to his resume this Friday.
--
Kind of a dark horse heading into the season, Nixa junior Mason Shank has put together a pretty impressive third cross country season so far. He finished 111th last year, but could drop up to 100 places in 365 days as he projects to be top 10 this go around. At the COC Championship, he finished a few seconds behind Hobbs Campbell in his personal best of 15:37.33. He's posted three sub-16s after never going under 16:46 last season and has shown he's not afraid to run with anyone so far. That shouldn't change on Friday.