The 2023 MSHSAA State Championships are finally upon us and we are excited for another thrilling and chilly November weekend of racing!
This year's Class 2 Girls State Championship will be the final race of the day on Friday with a 12:00pm start time. The race features a thrilling hunt for the individual title and a runner-up team looking to bring home their second team title in three years.
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Check out our preview of the field, with District champions highlighted and the other major contenders discussed among the strong field of candidates. This year, the Top 4 teams will still continue to be honored with a trophy, but a new development means the Top 30 athletes will be honored with medals. According to MileSplit's rankings, the 30th fastest runner in Class 2 Girls is currently 21:39.64.
The District Champs - Individuals
Madelyn Griffard - Valle Catholic
Valle Catholic's lone female state qualifier this year is junior Madelyn Griffard, who picked up her second straight Class 2 District 1 individual title and third straight top-two finish. Her 20:18.94 mark on the challenging Notre Dame Cape Girardeau course was a season best and moved her closer to her lifetime best of 19:47.12 from last year's District meet.
Griffard will be looking to improve upon a tenth place finish from the 2022 State meet and pick up a third career individual medal in as many tries. She is certainly among the cream of the crop in Class 2 once again this season and showed her prowess taking out some serious contenders this past weekend.
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Clara Trent - New Covenant Academy
New Covenant Academy swept both races at the Class 2 District 2 meet with junior Clara Trent taking home the win in very convincing fashion.
The 40-second victory was her third in a row as she really seems to be firing on all cylinders at the right time. She has posted three straight sub-20:00 performances and earned victories in the small schools division of the Riann Lubinski XC Invitational, the Clever Invitational, and then at the District 2 meet. Her 19:29.48 mark is fourth among Class 2 athletes, making her a major player in the individual race on Friday.
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Kensington Curd - Brentwood
Brentwood sophomore Kensington Curd has significantly distanced herself from the field heading into this Friday's Class 2 girls race and should be considered the heavy favorite to bring home the individual victory.
Curd has gone head-to-head with several of the state's overall best and held her own at every juncture. She boasts victories at the Fleet Feet Classic at Parkway Central, Lutheran North Invitational, Northside Invitational, Patriot/Statesmen Classic, St. Louis Fall Classic, and Class 2 District 3 meet. Her margin of victory last Saturday was nearly a minute as she finished 58 seconds ahead of Hermann standout Amelia Uthlaut.
With a personal best of 18:38.50, and five more marks under 20:00, Curd should be found up front from the gun this Friday as she tries to improve upon last year's fourth place State meet finish.
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Chloe Heckman - North Platte
North Platte won last year's Class 2 State meet convincingly, but lost four key seniors to graduation. While they have been able to climb back into a state qualifying position, they will still need big performances from their returners to jump back into the top four this Friday.
Class 2 District 4 champion Chloe Heckman will be the key front-runner once again for the Panthers as she comes in to this Friday's meet off of a phenomenal season of racing. Heckman has finished either first or second eight times this fall, including victories at the North Platte 2 Mile, Mound City Invitational, Brian T. Simpson Invite in her personal best of 19:32.04, Cameron Invitational, and the District 4 meet. Only a sophomore, Heckman is showing her talent and prowess this year and should be among the front group from the start this weekend.
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The District Champs - Teams
Woodland
Woodland was dominant last Saturday, picking up the team victories in both races. The girls won a shootout with Steelville and Grandview Hillsboro, but came out on top thanks to the runner-up finish from sophomore Faith Rouggly and fifth place finish from senior Presley Ridings. Rouggly was 16th last November and looks ready for a major breakthrough this Friday. With the way things are sitting heading into Friday, she could lead her squad to their first ever team trophy.
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Sparta
With only seven full teams and only two of them with more than five girls, it was hard to say how the District 2 meet would turn out in the team race. Sparta came out on top with 39 points, 20 ahead of Pierce City, and 34 ahead of Sarcoxie. They are led by Rylie McMurry and Claire Rains and are made up of a unique mix of four freshmen and two seniors. They should be considered among the teams with a legitimate shot at a team trophy after their District 2 victory.
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Hermann
Hermann just missed out on a repeat team title last season, finishing second to a stellar North Platte team. They graduated two key seniors, but have returned a strong contingent looking to move back to the top of the podium. It will be a tough road ahead with several teams in the same boat as them when considering each team's depth, but with a solid low-stick in Amelia Uthlaut, last year's third place finisher, they should at least get a single digit score on the board to start. They were the Class 2 District 3 champions by six points over a Monroe City squad which is looking like a strong title contender so the Bearcats may be clicking at just the right time to make another podium run.
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Stockton
The feisty Stockton Tigers are back for more Class 2 success, this time on the girls side. Stockton has not seen the Class 2 podium since three straight trips from 2011-2013, but after a District 4 victory over two title contenders, they are looking like a major player in the top four race.
Stockton is led by freshman Lillie Burchett, who dropped a massive personal best of 20:55.81 for fifth at the District 4 meet. She is followed by senior Faith King at 22:12.94. A top four team on paper, we will see just how it plays out on Friday, but are confident they will find themselves in a trophy position on Friday.
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Keep an eye out for...
Lafayette County
Lafayette County ran into a tough challenge at the District 4 meet, with Stockton and North Platte sandwiching their second place team finish. Do not be fooled, though, as Lafayette County has the pieces to put together a State title run even after that District meet hiccup.
Senior Hailey Linebach leads the way for the Huskers as she is looking for her first Cross Country All-State medal of her career. Her personal best of 20:22.40 came at this year's Battle of Lexington Invitational and has her firmly among the ten best girls heading into the meet. Her teammate Caydence Shipman is not to far behind with her 20:29.80 mark from this year's Gans Creek Classic. Both girls are firmly in the front group mix and should help their team, which is the only Class 2 team to boast five girls with a season best under 23:00 and a 1-5 average of 22:00, compete for the team title. A win on Friday would be their school's first team win and first team trophy.
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Monroe City
Monroe City is another title contender squad who experienced a minor setback at their District meet. The Panthers finished a very close second to the defending State runner-up Hermann Bearcats, but appear, at least on paper, to be a major player in the race for the Class 2 team championship.
Their top runner heading into Friday is freshman Bradi Keller with her 20:25.56 personal best, which was good enough for second on the Gans course at the Brian T. Simpson Invite. Keller will be a key low stick for a team that will need to overcome Lafayette County and Stockton's number five runners well ahead of theirs. Watch for Monroe City to be in the mix for their first state championship and first team trophy in school history.
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Emma Hunt - Pierce City
Among the best of the non-district champions is Pierce City sophomore Emma Hunt.
Hunt was third on Saturday in the District 2 race, but has shown this year that she has the chops to run with any of her Class 2 foes. Hunt won the Gold (Small Schools) Division of the Missouri Southern Stampede in her personal best 19:12.22. She has also won the Hot Dawg Invitational at Aurora, and was the runner-up at both Diamond and Ash Grove.
A stellar freshman track campaign has vaulted this Pierce City Eagle to the top of the Class 2 Cross Country ranks and has her firmly "in the hunt" for an individual State title, a year after finishing 13th.
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Emerson Selsor - Jefferson (Festus)
Jefferson R-IV's Emerson Selson was not too far back of Valle Catholic's Madelyn Griffard, but should still be considered among the front group heading into Friday's finale. She posted a personal best of 19:13.20 at the Northwest Last Chance meet two weeks ago and has picked up victories at the Bismarck Invitational, Woodland Invitational, and Oak Ridge Invitational. She will look to improve upon a 20th place finish from 2022.