Boys
Joseph Dawson (Webb City)
Dawson was the fastest freshman in the State last year with a time of 16:16, and was also the first freshman to finish at State with a 57th place finish. He followed up a great freshman campaign in Cross Country with a solid track season this Spring. He held the fastest freshman time in the 3200m in Class 4 with a 9:59, and was also the second fastest freshman in the 1600m with a 4:38. The Cardinals will be missing Ryan Riddle this season, but it looks like Dawson may be their next big thing.
Matthew Hauser (Rock Bridge)
The Rock Bridge Bruin Sophomore was the 4th fastest freshman in Class 4 last season with a PR of 16:44. He ran his slowest time of the season last year at State, and will look to correct that with a strong showing this year. He had a solid track season this Spring with the 4th fastest 3200m among freshman in Class 5 with a time of 10:08. He just missed out on a State Berth in that 3200m race where he placed 5th. He should be a good bounce back candidate this fall.
Micah Bruggeman (Joplin)
Bruggeman had an absolutely stellar freshman season last year. He was the 6th fastest freshman in Class 4 with a time of 16:48, but was injured during his race at Sectionals and was unable to qualify for State. He was more than healthy for track though. He earned a State Medal in the 800m where he finished 5th in Class 5. His PR of 1:56.99 is over 5 seconds faster than the next fastest freshman last year. He also was the second fastest freshman in both the 1600m and 3200m with times of 4:35 and 9:56 respectively. He looks to be a contender for medals throughout the next few years.
Brock Wooderson (Blue Springs)
As a member of the State Championship team at Blue Springs last year, Wooderson comes into this year with solid experience. His PR of 16:58 was the 8th best time among freshman last season. He enjoyed a pretty successful track season as well, and his 9:59 3200m was the third best among Class 5 freshman last Spring. He also had the 9th fastest 1600m among those freshman with a 4:44. Look for Wooderson to keep improving this year and establish the next generation of great runners from Blue Springs.