Since 2006, Big River Running Company has been providing the fans and athletes of cross country with a set of XC Rankings that are just for fun that we hope serve to give athletes a little additional motivation as the season moves along.
The rankings are based on a number a factors including the MoMileSplit database and Virtual Meet features. If you feel we missed someone please feel free to comment or email peverett@milesplit.com.
Now on to the rankings...
TEAM RANKINGS
Girls
1. Lee’s Summit West - We ranked the Titans #1 in our pre-season poll and we see no reason to change that now. The girls edged St. Teresa’s in a dual meet and held off Kearney at Ray-Pec with Kennadee Williams and Annika Sisson finishing in the top 5 overall.
2. Ste. Genevieve – The defending Class 3 champions move up to our #2 spot after their impressive performance winning the Forest Park XC Festival. Clearly Taylor Werner’s contributions get much of the attention but don’t overlook the other sophomores on this squad. Mia Jerman finished 8th and Mallory Koller was 24th in a very competitive field at the Festival.
3. Francis Howell - The defending champs had some pretty big spikes to fill after graduating two all-state seniors in 2012 but freshman Maddi Leigh has been a huge addition to an already solid team.
4. Rock Bridge – After winning the Liberty Invitational, the Lady Bruins were just one point back of Francis Howell at Forest Park.
5. Nerinx Hall – The Markers move up two spots from our pre-season poll after a 5th place finish at Forest Park preceeded by an impressive 30 point showing at the Fleet Feet Kickoff held at Parkway Central.
6. Kearney - We had this team ranked much higher than their 10th place showing at state this year and they clearly are a team to watch as they were within 8 points of Lee’s Summit West at Ray-Pec.
7. Eureka - The Wildcats lost two top 10 finishers from the state meet last year but thanks to newcomer Andra Staciu and a much improved Rachael Yergensen, these ladies made us look foolish in leaving them out of the pre-season rankings after a win at the Brooks Twilight.
8. St Teresa’s Academy – The Stars are another program that continues to have athletes step up and fill the void left by graduating seniors.
9. Festus - Led by senior Jamie Kempfer’s hot start, the Tigers crack our top 10.
10. Lafayette (Wildwood) – The Lancers formidable 1-2 punch of Sarah Nicholson and Anna West help grab the final spot of our rankings.
Boys
1. West Plains – The Zizzers claim our # 1 spot with an impressive team victory at the Brooks Twilight followed up with a perfect 15 at the Jim Marshall meet in Jeff City.
2. Liberty - When Liberty opened the season at #9 in our pre-season poll, Coach Fritson called it bulletin board material. Lets see how the Blue Jays respond to the higher perch of #2 earned by a razor thin victory over Rock Bridge at the Liberty Invitational.
3. Rock Bridge – Runners up to O’Fallon, Illinois, at Forest Park, the Bruins were the top Missouri team at the Festival.
4. Lafayette (Wildwood) – The Lancers were just two back of Rock Bridge and move up 6 spots from our pre-season rankings.
5. Ray-Pec - With a season opening 15 at Cass County followed up by a victory at their home invitational, the Panthers come in at #5.
6. Rockhurst – An avid KC track and field observer was asked who they thought was going to win the 4 x8 moments before the state track meet . His answer was, I know it doesn’t look this way on paper but somehow Rockhurst will find a way to win. While it didn’t look like on paper in the pre-season that this was a top 10 team, the Hawklets once again find themselves in this thick of things.
7. St. Louis University High - Our pre-season #1 finished behind Rock Bridge, Lafayette, and Rockhurst at the Festival but we expect the defending state champions with a 28 second 1-5 split at the Festival to move up as the season progresses.
8. Festus – Michael Karls and Tyler Gilliam have been running well together so far this season and the Class 3 champs lost to SLUH in a tie-breaker at Forest Park.
9. Kickapoo – The Chiefs finished 7th in a very tough field at Forest Park but brought along a number of dedicated fans.
10. Warrensburg – The Fighting Tigers were defeated by Liberty at the UCM Mule run but hang on to our final spot.
Top 15 Individuals
Girls
1. Taylor Werner, Ste Genevieve - 16:47, Current US#1 time for Girls at 5000 Meters. I’m not sure what else you can say but how about this; Taylor’s time was faster than 96% of all the boys who raced on Saturday.
2. Hannah Long, Eureka – Hannah opened the season with an huge victory and course record at the Brooks Twilight and finished 2nd at the Festival. The defending state champ and 10th place Foot Locker last year told Craig Martin she plans on using that race as motivation to help her train this season.
3.Sophia Racette , Nerinx Hall – I remember watching Sophia’s high school debut a few years ago. This talented athlete just keeps getting better.
4. Jamie Kempfer, Festus - Jamie has started the season off strong with victories in Wentzville and McNair Park followed up with an 18:07 at Forest Park.
5. Maddi Leigh , Francis Howell – The Freshman from Francis Howell is the latest super freshman to come along in Missouri and her 18:08 on Saturday puts her at #6 all time on the list of thousands of girls who have run at Forest Park.
6. Jill Whitman, Cor Jesu - Number 7 on that all-time list is Jill Whitman who was less than a second back of Leigh.
7. Nicole Lee, Clinton – Nicole had a 13 second victory at Ray-Pec, defeating a field of Class 4 runners.
8. Ann Campbell, St. Teresa’s Academy – Ann opened the season with a 2nd place finish at the LSW/STA Dual meet and followed it up leading the large school girls at Ray-Pec.
9. Maddy Brown, Parkway West – Our pre-season rankings anticipated a strong season for Brown and her first place finish at the Parkway Quad and 7th place finish at Forest Park are early indicators we may have been right on this one.
10. Mia Jerman, Ste Genevieve - 2nd at Lutheran South and 8th and Forest Park keep an eye on the other half of the Dragons 1-2 punch.
11. Tabitha Griffith, Farmington – Tabitha opened with a win at Jackson and followed it up with a PR of over a minute at Forest Park.
12. Arnica Zitting, Francis Howell – This senior from the defending state champs was just a tick back of Griffith on Saturday.
13. Courtney Rogers, Lutheran St. Charles – Rogers was in cruise control, winning the Varisty White division by 55 seconds at Forest Park.
14.Sarah Nicholson, Lafayette(Wildwood) - After a win at her home meet, the 6th place finisher in Class 4 trimmed 11 seconds off her PR on Saturday.
15 Sam Farmer, Rock Bridge – Just 3/10 back was Farmer who improved her 2012 Festival time by 15 seconds.
Honorable Mention: – Katie Anderson (Nerinx Hall), Sammy Laurenzo (Liberty North), Marilise Stamps (Rock Bridge), Hannah Pierson (Marquette) Anna West (Lafayette), Kennadee Williams (Lee’s Summit West)
Top 15 Individuals
BOYS
1. Noah Kauppila, Marquette- While many felt Noah was the pre-season #1, we deferred to the #1 returnee. Noah trimmed 5 seconds off his 2012 Festival time in another head to head battle with Patrick Perrier of O’Fallon, this time finishing 2nd but earning the top spot from Missouri.
2. Spencer Haik, Glendale – The two-time 1600 champion is also a powerhouse in the 5k. Spencer said the race opened his eyes a little more about where he needs to be to close that final gap and compete for the top honors at the state meet.
3. Cole Rockhold, Truman – Cole made the trip across the state for the 2013 Festival and earned a 4th place finish.
4. Stephen Mugeche, Blue Springs – This guy has spent the last few years as one of the top runners in the state and he is only beginning his junior campaign.
5. Evan Schulte, Rock Bridge – The top 5 names on this list were also the top 5 in our pre-season rankings, (with a slightly different order) – Schulte’s 15:33 at Forest Park was over 30 seconds faster than his time in 2012.
6. Camden Barrett, West Plains – A couple of first place finishes at Brooks Twilight and Jim Marshall have helped West Plains earn the #1 spot in our team rankings.
7. Michael Karls, Festus – Karls won the Fleet Feet race in Quail Ridge Park and the 1st Capital Invitational prior to his 9th place finish at Forest Park.
8. Tyler Gilliam Festus – Last season we saw some great 1-2 combos on the boys side and this pair from Festus have already established themselves as a potent combo.
9. Jason Fambrough, Ray-Pec –Jason is 2/2 in '13, winning by comfortable margins at Cass County and his home meet.
10. Zac Miller Central, St Joseph – A win at the Greg Wilson Classic began the promising 2013 XC season for Zac and his win over #4 Mugeche gives him a slight edge in the rankings over a couple of boys who finished a little ahead of him at Forest Park.
11. William Thompson ,Rockhurst – Thompson’s 3rd place finish at the Greg Wilson Classic and 11th place finish in Forest Park moves him off the honorable mention and into the top 15.
12. Dylan Quinsnberry, Lafayette (Wildwood) – The Lancer sophomore won his home meet prior to his top 12 finish at Forest Park.
13. Austin Del Rosso, Desmet – Austin opened the season with a pair of victories at Parkway Central and Webster Groves.
14. Galvin Galanes, Francis Howell – A 30 second improvement at Forest Park propels this Francis Howell senior into our top 15.
15. Clayton Adams. Kearney – This freshman has created a buzz in our discussion forum with a win at the Kris Solsberg Invitational and a 2nd place finish at Ray-Pec.
Honorable Mention: Connor Crabtree (Rock Bridge), Nathan Hall (Kickapoo), Ty Hughes (Liberty North), Tucker Melles (Park Hill South), Andrew Moore (Ste, Gen).