BIG RIVER 2009 RANKINGS #1
9.17.08
preseason rankings
For those of you who have followed our rankings over the past few years you know that these are just for fun and hopefully serve to give athletes a little extra motivation as the season rolls along. We will come out with the rankings every few weeks. For those of you who are new and checking out the rankings for the first time we hope you enjoy them and if you have anyone or any team that we missed let us know by emailing Ben at ben@bigriverrunning.com
TEAM RANKINGS
TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS
#1) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST – The Titans are scary good. Consider this; at Mizzou they scored only 17 points and put four runners at 20:05 or better. If anyone is going to beat them this year they are going to have to have a very special day.
#2) KICKAPOO – The ladies from Springfield are two-for-two this year with wins at the SWCCA Meet and of course at Forest Park where they dominated with a 30 point win over rivals Jefferson City. This is a team that could have that special day it would require to upset LSW.
#3) JEFFERSON CITY – The Lady Jays looked great at home with a win over a strong Herculaneum squad and came back in week two with a runner-up finish at Forest Park.
#4) LEE'S SUMMIT NORTH – LSN finished third at Forest Park but consider a couple of things. They had one runner miss the meet, another run the race only forty minutes after finishing her ACT, and they have Taylor Hynes still coming back from a knee injury that wiped out her track season. She was their third at Forest Park but ran 18:36 at State a year ago. All we're saying is lookout above!
#5) JACKSON – The ladies from the southeast part of the State jump into the rankings at number five after a fourth place performance at Forest Park where they impressed with a 39 second spread.
#6) ROCKWOOD SUMMIT– We weren't sure what the Lady Falcons had this year and they just missed out on our pre-season rankings but they have been very impressive early on with wins at First Capital and Webster Groves over some solid teams.
#7) EUREKA – Never count out Eureka. These ladies are always good and they are off to a nice start this year with a win at Fleet Feet and a fifth at Forest Park. Watch for them to get better as freshman Angie Sumner was very impressive with an 11:12 over 3k at Forest Park to win the freshman division.
|
#8) NERINX HALL – Nerinx moves up two spots to number eight after runner-up finishes at the Fleet Feet XC Kickoff to #7 Eureka and at Webster Groves to #6 Summit.
#9) RAYMORE PECULIAR – Ray-Pec kicked things off with an impressive showing at Cass County where they went 1-4 and 6. They did not fare as well at their home invite but that was without number one runner Courtney Dickerson. Put her in the results and they win the meet by one point.
#10) ST. TERESA'S ACADEMY – You could really have St. Teresa's at nine and Ray-Pec at ten. They are pretty much interchangeable. St Teresa's looked very good at Ray-Pec scoring only 35 points.
.............................................................TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) SLUH – We put the Junior Bills at #2 in our preseason rankings waiting to see if the supposed depth that they brought back would be enough to vault them over Lee's Summit West. After convincing wins at First Capital and at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival they have proved worthy of the #1 spot. At the Festival they put nine under seventeen minutes with a 33 second 1-5 spread.
#2) LEE'S SUMMIT NORTH – We predicted the LSN boys were ready for a big year in our preseason rankings and here they come. Their 1-5 sweep at the Mule Run was mighty impressive especially with a 17 second spread, albeit over 4k.
#3) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST – LSW scored a nice win at Mizzou but their 1-5 spread of 1:56 will need to come down a bit as the year goes on. Knowing their history it probably will.
#4) LIBERTY – The Kansas City side of the State looks strong team-wise as evidenced by Liberty who took down Rock Bridge in a tiebreak at the Liberty Invite.
#5) ROCK BRIDGE – A tiebreak second to Liberty over 2 miles and a strong third at Forest Park nabs Rock Bridge the fifth spot here.
#6) WEST PLAINS – The Zizzers traveled to Tennessee and took home the title at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic for the second year in a row.
#7) PARKWAY WEST– We know some folks thought West should have grabbed a spot in the preseason rankings and they were right. With wins at the Parkway Quad and at Stan Nelson they are a serious contender for a Class 4 trophy. In fact, comparing times they compare well with teams three through six on this list and time will tell if they move up even further.
#8) FESTUS - There is no better test than a big meet to see just how a team stacks up and Festus looked good finishing fifth at Forest Park, beating the likes of Rockhurst, Jeff City and Kickapoo.
#9) ROCKHURST – Speaking of Rockhurst they are an easy pick for the fourth KC team on the list after a win against some solid Kansas teams at the St. Thomas Aquinas Meet which they followed up with a sixth at Forest Park.
#10) JEFFERSON CITY- The Jays are in need of a bit tighter spread but once they get it they could vault up the rankings pretty quickly. Why is that? Well, quite simply they have the best one-two punch of all the major contenders with David McAdams and Alloch Burton up front.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
All season long (though maybe not as often as the team rankings) we will try to keep an eye out for the top 15 runners in the State. Again, these are the top 15 regardless of Class. It is a lot easier to miss a runner or two so we apologize if we shorted you or your teammate. Feel free to email Ben at ben@bigriverrunning.com if you know someone who should be on the Big River Top 15. Enjoy!!
TOP 15 GIRLS
#1) Emily Sisson, SR, Parkway Central – Sisson has yet to race yet and rumors have her nursing an injury but with a track record like hers you stay at #1 until you get beat.
#2) Diane Robison, SR, Parkway Central – Robison took a wrong turn at the Parkway Quad which cost her the official win but she ran fast...we know that much.
#3) Megan Yohe, JR, Liberty - Yohe is off to a solid start including a ten second win over two miles at her home invite.
#4) Courtney Wood, JR, Neosho - Wood put up a big win at the Mule Run in Warrensburg with a 15:04 clocking over 4k.
#5) Briana Watson, JR, Jefferson City - Watson vaults up the rankings with her win and sub 19 clocking at Forest Park. The race was very impressive as she lead virtually the entire way, seeming generally unfazed even as Bridwell from MICDS made a late push to try and catch her.
#6) Samantha Nightingale, SO, Blue Springs South - The BSS sophomore notched a 20 second win in week one over LSN's Rachel Carpino at the Greg Wilson Classic and came back with a runner-up finish to #4 Wood at the Mule Run.
#7) Grace Bridwell, JR, MICDS - Bridwell was beaten in the mud her first time out by Potosi's Sarah Jacobsen but came back in week two with a huge performance at Forest Park where she finished second to Watson.
#8) Chelsea Phoebus, JR, Lee's Summit West - Phoebus took home victories at the Bob Craddock and Mizzou which is no easy task when you consider who her teammates are.
#9) Colleen Quigley, JR, Nerinx Hall - Quigley is two-for-two this year with convincing wins at the Fleet Feet XC Kickoff and at the Webster Groves Invite.
#10) Liga Blyholder, SR, Lee's Summit West- Blyholder was second to teamate Phoebus at Mizzou with a solid 19:31 clocking.
#11) Conradette King, SO, Jefferson City- Just to show how close all of these girls are and how things can change as the season goes along King was just two seconds back of #7 Bridwell at Forest Park and actually finished ahead of her teammate Watson at Capital City but she grabs the 11 spot here.
#12) Jenny Govero, JR, Rockwood Summit- Govero joins the rankings on the heels of a big win at First Capital and a runner-up to #9 Quigley at Webster Groves.
#13) Sarah Jacobsen, FR, Potosi - Jacobsen started off her High School career with a win in the slop at the Lutheran South Invite and followed it up with a solid fourth place finish at Forest Park.
#14) Olivia McCormick, JR, West Plains- McCormick, the Zizzers #1, was eighth at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic in 19:50.
#15) Johanna Kleinsasser, JR, Lee's Summit West- The third LSW Titan on the list, Kleinsasser earned her spot with a third place finish at Mizzou. She gets the nod over a host of worthy candidates including Hickman's Nicole Mello, Staley's Kristen Brosnan, Summit's Alyssa Jones, Festus' Sadie Darnell and Cass Midway's Mackenzie Wies among others.
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Caleb Hoover, JR, College Heights Christian- Normally it would be tough to unseat the defending Class 4 State Champ without beating him head-to-head but after back-to-back sub 15:40 clockings including a win over an unbelievably deep field at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival Caleb Hoover gets the nod at #1.
#2) Kevin Colon, SR, Lee's Summit West– Colon opened his season with a win at Mizzou in which spectators said he looked smooth and controlled.
#3) Maksim Korolev, SR, Harrisonville – The tall Harrisonville senior opened the season in fine fashion by smashing his own course records at Cass County and Ray-Pec. His 15:34 at Ray-Pec bettered a mark he had set when besting Colon at KC Metro a year ago.
#4) Ben Chapman, SR, Glendale – Chapman had to deal with Hoover in each of his first two outings so his performances were somewhat overshadowed but two sub 16s and third place at Forest Park proves he is a serious contender for the Class 4 crown.
#5) Caleb Wilfong, SO, Rock Bridge– Jumping from unranked to #5 is not something we have seen happen very often, if ever, on the boys side but this super soph from Rock Bridge surprised us at Forest Park by taking the race out from the gun and leading some of the State's most experienced runners for much of the race. Then he held on for fourth place in 15:55. Only 91st at State as a freshman look out for Wilfong to be the most improved runner at the 2010 State Meet.
#6) Danny Thater, SR, Kickapoo – There were some rumblings that Thater was hurt or not ready to go but the Kickapoo senior showed he was healthy and fit at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival with a solid fifth place finish in 16:03.
#7) Wynn McClellan, SR, Cape Notre Dame– We have enjoyed watching this runner's steady climb over the years and now as a senior he is all the way up near the very front of the pack. His sixth place at Forest Park earns him the 7th spot here.
#8) Brent Collins, SR, Hermitage– Some may not have heard of Collins but he earned his spot here by besting Herky's Alex Mason and the Jeff City duo of McAdams and Burton at the Capital City Classic. A 16:45 there is worth much faster on a flatter course.
#9) Alex Mason, SR, Herculaneum– It was great to see the Herky senior knock heads against the "big boys" at Forest Park and he proved he bleonged in a big way with a 7th place finish and 16:08 clocking.
#10) David McAdams, SR, Jefferson City– One half of an incredible one-two punch for Jeff City, McAdams bested his running mate by a spot at Forest Park, turning the tables from their finish at Capital City.
#11) Alloch Burton, SR, Jefferson City– The 3200 meter All-Stater is proving his worth on the grass with solid finishes at Capital City and Forest Park.
#12) Caleb Ford, SR, SLUH – Ford opened his season in a big way with a sprint-to-the-finish win over #13 Everett at First Capital. Then he had what we think may turn out to prove an off day at Forest Park where he finished 10th but watch for him to climb back up the rankings next time out.
#13) Daniel Everett, JR, Westminster – Everett was less than a tick back of Ford at First Capital before putting up a DNF at Forest Park. There is no question that he'll be back up near the top before long.
#14) Jacob Shultz, SR, West Plains–You can almost always bet that at least one Zizzer will make his way into the top 15. Shultz finshed 5th at the Brooks Memphis Twilight Classic to earn his spot.
#15) David Lambus, JR, University City– Lambus gets the lean at #15 over a host of guys that include Parkway Central's Kevin Krumrey who he literally outleaned for the win at Webster Groves as well as Eureka's Ethan Lambert and St. Charles West's Brett Klosterhoff amog others.
SUPPORT THE STORE THAT SUPPORTS THE SPORT!
Big River Running Company
14059 Manchester Road
Manchester, MO 63011
636.394.5500
5352 Devonshire Ave
Saint Louis, MO 63109
314.832.2400