TEAM RANKINGS
TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS
#1) JEFFERSON CITY – Another impressive win, this time at the Paul Enke Invite, cements them at number one. They did all the things we look for in the rankings; beat other good teams, had a strong frontrunner, and a great 1-5 spread. They did it again at Springfield, scoring a mere 21 points against a pretty darn good Kickapoo squad.
#2) WEST PLAINS - The Zizzers scored only 94 points at the Southern Stampede, a meet with 36 teams and 392 runners. That is impressive. And did you notice that 2-time defending State Champ Brittani Johnson was back!
#3) CAPE CENTRAL – A hugely impressive win at Hancock followed up a win at their home meet in week three. Looking at the numbers they look very similar to West Plains so they may climb even higher by year's end.
#4) ROCKWOOD SUMMIT – Look out for the Falcons. They avenged an earlier defeat at the hands of Ste Gen with their second place showing at Paul Enke. That was with last year's State 12th placer Kelsey Rich. Without Rich they were second at Hancock so it is tought to tell where they belong but we'll keep them at fourth for now.
#5) STE GENEVIEVE – Third place at Paul Enke means fifth place here. That is how deep that race was. This squad may have finished behind Jeff City and Summit but they bested Lee's Summit North and St. Teresa's, two of the best teams from Kansas City.
#6) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST – Bested everyone at the KC Metro Meet with a sub 60 second spread. Impressive stuff.
#7) ST. TERESA'S ACADEMY – Yet another team that ran at the Paul Enke Invite. These ladies finished fifth there and then finished a strong second at KC Metro, beating LSN who had gotten them at Paul Enke.
#8) LEE'S SUMMIT NORTH – Still without the outstanding Ashley Mark, this squad was still able to top St. Teresa's at the Paul Enke Invite. Finished fourth at KC Metro the next week, still a vey good showing.
#9) NOTRE DAME DE SION – Back into the top ten for this squad after an impressive 4th place showing at the Stampede and a fifth place at KC Metro.
#10 TIE) LINDBERGH – There first journey into the top ten this year, and maybe they should have already been here, but a nice win at the Parkway Central Invite over Lafayette lands them in ninth. Lafayette returned the favor at Fox so we call it a tie!
#10 TIE) LAFAYETTE – Flip-flopped places with Lindbergh; second at Parkway Central and first at Fox. A very solid group.
HONORABLE MENTION (alphabetical order): Eureka, Kickapoo, Liberty
TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) SLUH – The Junior Bills impressed again at the Jesuit Invitational, winning big over a good Xavier (Ohio) team. Rumor has it that #1 man John Clohisy will be back at Rim Rock.
#2) POTOSI – It doesn't appear that any team in Missouri can touch these guys at the 1-2 spots as Jacob Swearingen and Nick Niggeman are turning into National Class runners. They still need to be a little better at the four- five spots to overtake SLUH but it could happen if the young guys progress.
#3) KICKAPOO - First at the Springfield Invitational, but not by much, over a good Jefferson City squad. We think their one-two punch will separate them further in a big field.
#4) PARKWAY WEST - The Longhorns took a huge step toward establishing themselves as Trophy contenders with a dominating win at Hancock.
#5) OAK PARK – These guys remain the class of Kansas City with a big win at KC Metro. They have a great #1 man in Will Hansen as well.
#6) WEST PLAINS - Fifth at the Stampede keeps them in sixth place here.
#7) COLUMBIA HICKMAN – The Kewpies won at Paul Enke and were second at Hancock, besting #8 FHN on both occasions.
#8) FRANCIS HOWELL NORTH – This team will always be in the hunt with their power up front. Their last two weeks were very solid with a runner-up finish at Paul Enke and a third at Hancock.
#9) JEFFERSON CITY – The Jays ran very well at the Springfield Invite, finishing eight points back of # 3 Kickapoo.
#10 TIE) ROCKHURST– Came to St. Louis and beat a tough DeSmet team on a tiebreaker, then finished just ahead of LSN at KC Metro.
#10 TIE) DE SMET – This one was pretty simple. They tied Rockhurst at the Jesuit Invitational so they garner the tie here.
HONORABLE MENTION (all these teams were very close to being in): Lee's Summit North, Lee's Summit West, Festus, Cape Notre Dame.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
All season long (though maybe not as often as the team rankings) we will try to keep an eye out for the top 15 runners in the State. Again, these are the top 15 regardless of Class. It is a lot easier to miss a runner or two so we apologize if we shorted you or your teammate. Feel free to email us at info@bigriverrunning.com if you know someone who should be on the Big River Top 15. Enjoy!!
TOP 15 GIRLS
#1) Natalie Todd, JR, Ladue – Another couple of weeks and another couple of huge wins. First at the Paul Enke Invite and then at the Hancock Invitational. She is starting to look invincible.
#2) Aimee Bonte, SR, Rockwood Summit – In many other years, Bonte would be the one undefeated as she has only lost to Todd. Still though, she has been rock solid and added a large schools win at Hancock to her resume' this past weekend.
#3) Diane Robinson, Parkway Central – We missed this young lady in our last set of ranking and with wins at Parkway Central and Fox since that time she has served notice that she is a serious threat for a top spot.
#4) Ashley Scott, JR, St. Clair - Scott continues to improve and jumps up to number five after a third place showing at the Stampede.
#5) Liz Reida, Nixa - Reida impressed again, this time with a 30 second win at home over previously ranked Erin Huddleston.
#6) Sarah White, FR, Potosi – White was second to Todd at Hancock and continues to be the highest freshman on the list.
#7) Alyssa Allison, JR, Festus - Allison was third at Hancock behind Todd and White.
#8) Natalie Becker, JR, Parkway West - Becker moves on up after finishing ahead of Keaveny at the Paul Enke.
#9) Elizabeth Keaveny, SR, St. Teresa's Academy - Keaveny traveled across the State and finished fourth among a very good field at the Paul Enke Invite. Didn't finish as high as expected at KC Metro but her past accomplishments speak for themeselves.
#10) Chelsea Chrisman, JR, Eureka - Chrisman was just a few ticks back of Scott at the Stampede and ran a courageous race at Hancock, hanging tough with Bonte early, on the way to an 11th place finish.
#11) Lauren Borduin, SR, Rock Bridge - Borduin finished second at Parkway Central, behind Robinson and ahead of defeding State Champ Hilary Orf.
#12) Brittany Tate, JR, Lee's Summit West - Tate got another win, this time at Swope Park in week three.
#13) Dacey Mitchell, JR, West Plains - Mitchell was only one second back of Chrisman at the Stampede in leading the way for the powerful Zizzers.
#14) Johanna Kleinsasser, FR, Lee's Summit West- Kleinsasser, the second freshman on the list, earns her spot with a fourth place at KC Metro.
#15) Kelcey Varnarsdall, JR, Fort Osage- Varnarsdall has had a lot of good races already this year and added another one with a sixth place finish at KC Metro.
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Eric Fernandez, SR, Parkway West – Fernandez continued his undefeated campaign with a big win at Hancock in 15:47, the fastest of the day.
#2) Jacob Swearingen, JR, Potosi– In week three he threw down a 15:00 at the Southern Stampede to best a huge field and even though a second place finish to Behnke at Hancock put a small blemish on his record his past wins still keep him at #2.
#3) Rick Elliot, SR, Kickapoo – Finished second at Springfield but seemed like he might have just been running with his teammate.
#4) Adam Behnke, SR, Lutheran South – Behnke got the monkey off his back by finally besting the Potosi boys with his small schools win at Hancock in 16:07. He also put up a 15:41 in week three at Lutheran North.
#5) Nick Niggeman, JR, Potosi – Solid as always, Niggeman ran a quick 15:10 for second at the Stampede and then finished third at Hancock to Behnke and his teammate Swearingen.
#6) Matt Scwhab, SR, Francis Howell North – Schwab was second at Paul Enke and then finished second again at Hancock. Seems to be solid every time out.
#7) Sam Masters, SR, Columbia Hickman – Avenged an earlier defeat to Howell North's Schwab with a win at the Paul Enke Invite and followed that with a solid sixth at Hancock. Tough to gauge what that sixth means but when he's on he is very tough to beat.
#8) Jeff Kaiser, SR, Rock Bridge – Won handily at Parkway Central in week three and moves up one spot in the rankings.
#9) Phillip Palomino, JR, West Plains – The West Plains junior vaults up to #9 with a 15:40 at the Stampede.
#10) Stephen Saylor, JR, Raytown South – A one-minute win at the Ottawa Invite moves Saylor up to #10. A 17:02 on a course that is tougher than the State Course says a lot for the Raytown South junior.
#11) Will Hansen, SR, Oak Park – Scored one of the most prestigious wins of the year with a six second win at KC Metro.
#12) Phillip Hickman, SR, Blue Springs – Second to Hansen at KC Metro, Hickman is solid every time out.
#13) Matt Estlund, JR, Chaminade – The junior makes his first trip into the top 15 with a very solid third place finish at Hancock, only five seconds back of Schwab and ahead of top runners Nick Happe, Darwin Price and Sam Masters.
#14) Phil Bascio, SR, CBC – Bascio has not raced since Forest Park but we suspect he will vault way up the rankings after he races at Rim Rock.
#15) Danny Thater, Kickapoo – Won the Springfield Invite over his teammate Elliot.