District 3
Class 4 District 3 will be taking place a Big Driver in Washington, MO this Saturday. Big Driver is likely the toughest District course, so it's going to take some grit along with speed to do well in this one.
Jefferson City looks to be the favorite on the Boys side of the team race, but they will have to run very well with two good teams just behind them. Francis Howell and Ft Zumwalt West both are within striking distance should Jefferson City slip up, or if they have a good day. Jefferson City beat Howell in their only head to head meeting this year at Forest Park but has not faced Zumwalt West this year, and Howell recently defeated Zumwalt West in the GAC South Championships.
In the race for the individual title, it looks like its going to be Jack Crull (Helias Catholic) running for the win. The Class 4 State title hopeful has a MO No. 1 season best of 15:23, and it would require a major upset for him to lose here. He also won the Borgia Invitational which took place on Big Driver last weekend, so he'll know exactly what he's getting in to. Other top runners will be Thomas Roehl (Jefferson City) at 15:59, Seth Gleason (Ft. Zumwalt North) at 16:05, Deaken Walker (Jefferson City) at 16:06, and Nick Cimmarusti (Francis Howell) at 16:14.
In the girls race Class 4 no. 10 Francis Howell will be the favorite heading into the race. This race though could be a lot closer than it appears in the virtual meets, as Howell has been dealing with some injuries. However, it appears that they will have their entire lineup back for the weekend though. Liberty (Wentzville) will be their top challenger and they recently just ran extremely well at the TRXC Border Wars. Also it would be foolish to count out the hosts, as Washington always finds a way to perform and often exceed expectations at Big Driver. These teams have matched up a handful of times, with Washington beating both Howell and Liberty at Forest Park. Liberty then beat a banged up Howell squad at Gans Creek to even the series between the two after finishing behind Howell at Forest Park.
The individual title race could be very interesting as well, with the top runners from those three teams squaring off. Sarah Russom (Francis Howell) and Mack Flynn (Francis Howell) will match up against Ally Kruger (Liberty - Wentzville), and Mia Reed (Washington). Kruger has the fastest season best with a 19:06, but finished well behind Russom (19:15 SB) and Flynn (19:31 SB) at Gans Creek and Forest Park. Reed has yet to break the 20:00 barrier this season, but did beat the other three at Forest Park and has ran well at Big Driver in the past. If I had to pick a winner I'd give a slight edge to Russom as she's been consistently sub 20 all season long.
For the Full District 3 Virtual Meets Click Here
"Expert" Picks
| MileSplit "Expert" | Girls Teams | Boys Teams | Girls Individual | Boys Individual |
| Ryan Taylor | 1. Francis Howell 2. Washington 3. Liberty 4. Timberland | 1. Francis Howell 2. Jefferson City 3. Ft Zumwalt West 4. Helias Catholic | 1. Sarah Russom 2. Mia Reed 3. Mack Flynn 4. Julia Donnelly 5. Madelyn Gray | 1. Jack Crull 2. Nick Cimmarusti 3. Seth Gleason 4. Thomas Roehl 5. Lucas Wright |
| Kyle Deeken | 1. Francis Howell 2. Washington 3. Timberland 4. Liberty | 1. Jefferson City 2. Francis Howell 3. Ft Zumwalt West 4. Helias Caatholic | 1. Sarah Russom 2. Mia Reed 3. Mack Flynn 4. Ally Kruger 5. Madelyn Gray | 1. Jack Crull 2. Nick Cimmarusti 3. Seth Gleason 4. Thomas Roehl 5. Deaken Walker |