District 5
Class 4 District 5 will be held an Inman Elementary School in Nixa, MO. This course has a reputation for being very fast, so we should see some good results here.
The boys team title looks to be hotly contested between Kickapoo, Nixa, and West Plains. In the virtual meet West Plains had edge based on season bests, but were recently handed a one point loss at the Ozark Conference Championships by Kickapoo. Kickapoo defeated Nixa at SWCCCA and Hermitage. I think Kickapoo should win, but West Plains, as everyone knows by now, is no stranger to coming up big in the State Series.
The individual race looks to be very interesting, as no one in the race has been super consistent. Eros Sustaita (Nixa) has the fastest season best coming in with a 15:48, followed by Brady Bauder (Kickapoo) at 15:55, Riley Simpson (West Plains) at 16:03, Zack Finley (West Plains) at 16:08, and William Kershaw (Nixa) at 16:11. I'd give the edge to Bauder as he hasn't lost to anyone in this field this year, beating the Nixa duo twice, and recently beating the West Plains duo at the Ozark Conference Championships.
Class 4 No. 6 West Plains will be the heavy favorite heading into the weekend on the girls side. All five of their scorers are ranked in the top 9 with their season bests, and they recently just defeated Kickapoo by 23 points at the Ozark Conference Championships.
The girls individual title looks to be a three way race. Alicen Ashley (Nixa) enters with the fastest season best with an 18:55, followed by Mia Harris (West Plains) at 19:01, and freshman Klarie Brown (Kickapoo) at 19:04. Ashley split her matchups against Brown, winning at Hermitage and finishing behind her at SWCCCA in August. Harris beat Ashley at Missouri Southern, but lost to Brown at the Ozark Conference Championships last week. I'm going to give the freshman, Klaire Brown the slight edge in this one.
For the Full District 5 Virtual Meets Click Here
"Expert" Picks
| MileSplit "Experts" | Girls Teams | Boys Teams | Girls Individuals | Boys Individuals |
| Ryan Taylor | 1. West Plains 2. Kickapoo 3. Nixa 4. Branson | 1. Kickapoo 2. West Plains 3. Nixa 4. Branson | 1. Klarie Brown 2. Alicen Ashley 3. Mia Harris 4. Sally Cybulski 5. Elizabeth Kitchin | 1. Brady Bauder 2. Eros Sustaita 3. Riley Simpson 4. William Kershaw 5. Tyler Harris |
| Kyle Deeken | 1. West Plains 2. Kickapoo 3. Nixa 4. Branson | 1. Kickapoo 2. West Plains 3. Nixa 4. Branson | 1 Mia Harris 2. Klaire Brown 3. Alicen Ashley 4. Jayna Gunter 5. Kaylee Lamb | 1. Brady Bauder 2. Eros Sustaita 3. Riley Simpson 4. William Kershaw 5. Zack Finley |