It's obviously no secret at this point that runners across the state and country missed out on a chance to compete and improve on their personal bests this spring.
While unsigned seniors have been dealt a heavy blow to their final hopes of finding a college with the cancelation of their outdoor track and field season, and many juniors are losing out on an all important opportunity to turn college coaches' heads to them, Missouri's sophomores are feeling a similar pain in their hearts after losing their season, as well.
After getting a taste of outdoor track during their freshman year, and, for some, gaining more experience and fitness both on the cross country course and indoor tracks, the opportunity to reach their peaks this spring were dashed by the global pandemic.
After profiling 42 juniors who deserve your attention and discussing some of the potentially impactful freshmen in the Class of 2023 back in April, we're now talking sophomores who would have benefited from business as usual this spring.
The 24 Class of 2022 sophomores presented here represent a population who may have excelled as freshmen and been trending upward during their sophomore seasons, but could truly have broken out had they been afforded a full outdoor track season. It is not an exhaustive list, nor does it represent those who are already setting the state ablaze (e.g., Daelen Ackley, Mya Trober, Makayla Clark, and Kiara Strayhorn, among others), but a group of athletes who were showing breakout signs during the cross country and/or indoor seasons and deserve a spotlight before their sophomore year ends.