District 2
Location: Spanish Lake Park (St. Louis)
Teams in Attendance
Cleveland NJROTC, Collegiate School of Med/Bio, Grandview Hillsboro, Hancock, Jefferson R-VII, Kingston, Lutheran North, Maplewood-Richmond Hts., McKinley Classical Leadership, Metro, St. Pius X (Festus), STEAM Academy, West County
What To Watch
It's the Malik Stewart show in District 2. Everyone else is just battling for second.
Stewart has been rolling agains top Class 3 and 4 competition throughout the season, finishing second only twice in his six races so far - the FZN Twilight and the Parkway West Invitational.
Those were hardly small races...
Look for Stewart to either cruise to save the legs for the state meet or lay down a statement race to put some fear into his Class 2 competitors. He hit 16:27.60 on the state course earlier this season and cruised a 16:54.59 on this course back in mid-September. Stewart's next closest competitor will most likely be NJROTC's Mark Hutchinson. He was 13th last year and has performed well all season.
The boys team title will be a showdown between Maplewood-Richmond Heights and Collegiate School of Med/Bio.
Jefferson R-VII has lost some of its heaviest hitters on the girls side from last season, but they appear to have retooled enough to be the top contenders for the District 2 team title. Led by senior Cheney Ervin, the Lady Jays will try to hold off challenges from West County R4 and Med/Bio.
Freshman Alivia Simily has been having a strong campaign and will be one to watch heading into the grand finale on the 9th. She appears ready to battle it out with Metro's Zofie Christian for the individual title on Saturday. Simily boast a season best of 20:21.30 and season average of 21:16.68 while Christian enters with a 20:47.92 season best and 21:19.06 average.
Top 2 Teams and Top 5 Individuals (Prediction)
Boys
2. Mark Hutchinson - Cleveland NJROTC
3. Cameron Stevens - West County R4
4. Cody Moore - West County R4
Teams
1. Maplewood-Richmond Heights
2. Collegiate Med/Bio
Girls
1. Alivia Simily - West County R4
3. Rita Eimer - St. Pius X Festus
4. Sydney Cash - West County R4
5. Cheney Ervin - Jefferson R-VII
Teams
1. Jefferson R-VII
2. West County R4