State Meet Bold Predictions and Sleepers

Sleepers 


Class 4 Girls

Lucy Ndungu - Pattonville

Current Ranking: 51st

Season Best: 19:34.36 (Parkway West Dale Shepherd Invitational)

Okay everyone, it's officially time to put Lucy Ndungu on the 2019/2020 watch list. 

Maybe the Pattonville sophomore won't win it all this year, but she could be an early sleeper pick to contend for titles in the next two years.

Why? Her results this season have shown the kind of fearless competition that breeds winners on the state level.

For starters, she has only finished outside of the top 5 once this season - a 7th place finish in the gold division at Forest Park. Beyond that, she has finished 2nd at Parkway West, 2nd at the Suburban Conference Championships, 1st at Class 4 District 3, and 2nd at Class 4 Sectional 2, among other results. The significance of these performances cannot be understated.

The Parkway West runner-up finish was in her 19:34.36 personal best and the Conference runner-up was ahead of names like Chloe Hershenow, Claire Smout, Alyssa Forbes, and Abby Juedemann, among others. Her District 3 victory was on one of the three hardest courses in the state at Parkway Central and the Sectional 2 runner-up finish came at another barnburner in the Cole County Fairgrounds and behind super-frosh Ally Kruger.

In conclusion, the Kenya native and 3200 meter state qualifier last spring is on the kind trajectory to which we should be paying attention. Look for her to settle in with the big dogs on Saturday and establish herself as a big dog in her own right.