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Girls and Boys 1600, Boys 800, Girls 4x800
The 2015 Class 5 Sectional 1 was, arguably, the most competitive non-state meet held in the month of May in state history. In fact, hosted by Washington High School that year, it may have given the 2019 Class 4 State Championships a run for its money as the strongest meet ever run on that track.
In particular, though, it featured some of Missouri's all-time best distance runners vying for four measly qualifying spots to the state meet.
In the first year of five classes, the Sectional 1 meet hardly lost it's luster. Over the years when Class 4 was the largest, the Sectional 1 meet would feature the best of the best from South and West St. Louis County and the Southeastern part of the state, as you will see, and when the fifth class was added, most of those phenomenal teams and athletes moved up with it.
Girls 1600
The 1600 races were particularly bonkers in 2015. Featuring Eureka's Hannah Long at her peak as a senior, one needed a 4:56.21 to qualify to the state meet here. Long would finish first with her 4:49.49, the 5th fastest time of her illustrious career and 11th fastest time in the past decade. Lafayette's dynamic duo of Anna West and Sarah Nicholson would finish 2nd and 3rd in 4:51.94 and 4:55.31 with fellow junior Jackson's Chelsea Drum stealing the final spot in 4:56.21. What makes this race particularly wild was that in 5th was Marquette's Hannah Pierson in 5:00.38, a time which would have earned her 5th the next weekend.
Long, West, Drum, and Nicholson would go on to finish 1-2-3-6 at the state meet.
Boys 1600
On the boys side, the race was just as stacked.
Lafayette's dream team was nearing the peak of their dominance and sent Dylan Quisenberry and Alec Haines to the line to face off with SLUH's Dustan Davidson, Marquette's Kevin Ganahl, and Oakville's Griffin Bailey, among others. Each of the first four boys finished their high school careers with personal bests in the 1600 at 4:12 or better with Bailey's personal best of 4:19.59 coming on this day.
Davidson, like he was wont to do in the 1600, took the tape in 4:13.58 with Ganahl (4:14.39) out-leaning Haines (4:14.61) and Quisenberry grabbing 4th in 4:15.72. These four marks are among the top 75 of the past decade overall. Haines would go on to win in Jefferson City with Ganahl finishing 3rd, Davidson taking 4th, and Quisenberry finishing 5th. Bailey's 5th place finishing performance at the Sectional meet would have earned him 6th at the state meet.
Boys 800
All 5 of those same guys would do battle later that day in the 800, putting together one of the filthiest 800 meter races we've ever seen outside of Jefferson City.
Davidson would take the win again in 1:53.02, the fifth fastest mark of the past decade not posted at a state or post-state meet. Behind him was a mad dash for the final three spots as Quisenberry would finish second in 1:54.07, with Ganahl third in 1:54.62, and Bailey grabbing the fourth spot in 1:54.80. In fact, over the past ten years, and probably over the course of state history, we have never seen a meet on Missouri soil pre-state with 3 boys under 1:55, much less 4. Haines would finish in the unlucky 5th place position here in 1:55.25, good enough for 5th at the state meet the next weekend.
Davidson would go on to finish 2nd at the state meet, Bailey would take 3rd, Quisenberry took 5th, and Ganahl finished 7th.
Girls 4x800
Last among the races featured from this meet was the Girls 4x800 Meter Relay, which featured the first, second, seventh, and ninth place finishers at the 2015 Class 5 State Meet.
Out front, of course, perennial 4x800 powerhouse Eureka led by the state's all-time 800 leader: Hannah Long. The Eureka girls crossed the line in 9:19.09, the third fastest time that year behind their state meet performance and Lafayette's state meet performance. In fact, it was a time that would have been good enough to finish among the top 3 at any state meet, any class, over the past decade.
In second was Nerinx Hall in 9:23.11, followed by Jackson in 9:24.28, and Lafayette in 9:31.41. It would prove to be the second fastest Sectional 4x800 all-time, but that will come later.
Lafayette would make the jump the next weekend on the heels of a 2:12.80 anchor leg from Anna West. Of course, it was still no match from Long's 2:06.24 anchor, but still helped the squad finish second. Nerinx took seventh and Jackson was ninth.
2015's Class 5 Sectional 1 meet was truly one for the record books.
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2014 Class 4 Sectional 3 Boys 3200
The Class 4 Sectional 3 Boys was particularly interesting because it featured a rare attempt by a team to take all four qualifying spots to the state meet in an event.
The Rock Bridge foursome of Zach Cook, Connor Crabtree, Evan Schulte, and Luke Walters were coming off one of the most surgical and clinical performances for a group of four teammates at a state meet, replicated only a couple years later by the Lafayette boys in 2016, but impressive nonetheless, in which they ran between 9:38.94-9:38.99 to earn the top four spots at the district meet. With such a clean sweep of the district meet, it was hard to imagine that either of these boys would miss out on a medal at the Sectional meet.
Enter Glendale's Spencer Haik, one of the state's all-time best.
After posting a convincing 12 second victory in the 1600 in a then MO No. 7 all-time 4:09.64, Haik was eyeing the distance double with a victory in the 3200. If that were to occur, though, it would mean one of the Rock Bridge boys was going to be left out of the state meet fun.
On the day, Haik would take the victory with a 9:20.70. He would go on to win it all the next weekend in 9:14.09 in the final year of only four classes. The Rock Bridge boys would take the next four spots, with Cook, Schulte, and Crabtree all earning state meet berths in one of the most impressive showings by a single team in state history. The three would run 9:23.41, 9:23.87, and 9:26.79, respectively, with Walters getting the short straw even with a 9:32.65 finish, a mark which would have earned him 8th the next weekend.
Not to be outdone, Parkview's Cameron Byrley was the sixth place finisher on the day in 9:38.86, a mark good enough for all-state most years. Future Olympic Trials Marathon qualifier Quinlan Moll (Kickapoo) would finish seventh in 9:47.10 and West Plains' Jeremy Inman took eighth.
The entire state was rocking in the 3200 in 2014. The slowest seed time at the state meet that year in Class 4 was 9:44.92 and only 3 of the 16 boys held seed times from the sectional meet over 9:40.
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2019 Class 5 Sectional 3 Boys 4x200
In one of the stranger moves MSHSAA has made over the years, the 2019 Class 5 Sectional 3 meet spanned the entire width of the state, including teams from the KC Metro, STL Metro, and Columbia.
Luckily for the track fans in attendance, it provided fireworks across several events, especially the Boys 4x200 meter relay.
The Lee's Summit North boys, with their star-studded stable of sprinters, set the sectional meet on fire en route to their second place finish at the state meet. Led by Class 5 all-staters Keyon Mozee and Nyles Thomas, their performance at the sectional meet - a blazing fast 1:26.85 - proved to be the second fastest mark of the season and MO No. 13 all-time in our database.
What made the race so wild was that it featured the second, third, sixth, and seventh place finishers at the state meet and it took a 1:28.02 to get out. The three Columbia schools took the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place spots with defending Class 5 state champions Rock Bridge coming in at 1:27.01, Hickman at 1:27.92, and Battle taking the final spot.
The top 4 teams ended up being 4 of the top 6 in the entire state on the year, making this one of the most impressive 4x200 fields we've ever seen outside of the state meet.
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2012 Class 4 Sectional 1 Boys 4x800
One of the beautiful parts of MileSplit - videos like this are only a few simple clicks away.
Like most years, the Sectional 1 meet featured the state's best 4x800 squads and on this day, those teams would beat each other up for just under 8:00 in one of the most thrilling sectional meet races of the past decade.
Fox would grab the win in one of the fastest pre-state meet marks in state history. With the help of juniors Keenen Hindes and Larry Lopez, sophomore Cyle Quick, and senior Ethan Scherer. Deep in their 4x800 relay heyday, the Warriors posted a 7:51.91 mark, the second fastest non-state meet mark we've seen over the past decade.
In second was Marquette, but not too far off first. Their 7:52.41 posting was the fourth fastest non-state meet time we've seen over the last decade and featured one stellar team: Noah Kauppila, Jeff Orf, Adam Roderique, and Ryan Lehr.
Lindbergh grabbed third in 7:54.39, headlined by a strong split from Tommy Skosky.
On this day, it took a 7:55.24 to qualify for state. Ladue would post the mark for the fourth and final qualifying spot, leaving a 7:57.96 Lafayette squad in the dreaded 5th place position.
The qualifying teams would go on to finish 4th, 7th, and 11th in one of the fastest 4x800 races in state history. Lindbergh was 4th, Marquette 7th, Ladue 11th, and Fox would leave with an unfortunate disqualification for impeding.
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2010 Class 4 Sectional 2 Boys 4x200
Before the five class system took hold, the Sectional 2 meet was often one of the toughest places to qualify for state in any event, especially in the early years of the past decade. In the sprints, North St. Louis County teams ruled and in the distance events, the greats of St. Charles County had to do battle with the always deep St. Louis University High. Since then, consistent changes to the configurations have separated these teams.
Looking back on those sectional meets, several races stand out among them, but the 2010 Boys 4x200 meter relay may just have been the craziest.
The state record in the 4x200 belongs to the 2007 Hazelwood Central squad who ran 1:25.62 en route to their Class 4 state title. The second fastest time in state history belongs to the second place team at that same meet -- McCluer North: 1:25.76. The third fastest time in state history belongs to the Hazelwood Central team of Laron Cook, Marc Franks, Sean Willis, and Spencer Davis, who ran 1:25.82 at the sectional meet.
The Hawks would go on to earn a well-deserved state championship with a 1:26.80 in prelims and 1:27.06 in finals en route to their first of four straight team championships. That year, in the 4x2, they ran the 7 fastest marks in the entire state.
The gap was wide between first and second at the sectional meet as Riverview Gardens who ran 1:27.91. They would go on to finish second at state. Hazelwood East took third in 1:28.73 with McCluer High School in fourth in 1:29.23 and Pattonville making it five teams under 1:30 at 1:29.72.
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The 2013 Class 4 Sectional 1 meet was just as stacked as any Sectional 1 meet, but two races in particular stood out in this one and, once again, they were of the distance variety.
Girls 1600
Hannah Long could truly have her own article on her sectional meet performances.
Before we dive into the 1600 race on this day, though, it's important to reiterate the strategy that may go into a distance race at a sectional meet, particularly for a national level athlete like Long who is trying to qualify in three distance races. At the sectional meet, it's all about crossing the line before at least four of your competitors do so it would be easy to set a pace and make the rest of your competitors play off of it. For Long, a pace that many would see as blistering could be considered conservative, so it may be difficult what to expect as one of her challengers.
On this day, Long ran 5 seconds off what she would run the next weekend, crossing the line in first in 4:54.66. Was it a conservative effort? Maybe, but with four of the state's best milers vying for one of those other three spots, the footsteps never really got far away for comfort.
St. Joseph's Academy's Lucy May took second, less than two seconds behind Long, in 4:56.45. Cor Jesu great Jill Whitman was third in 4:56.45 and Long's teammate Angie Sumner finished fourth in 4:59.43. To summarize, if you weren't under 5:00, you weren't going to state. Unfortunately for Parkway West sophomore Maddy Brown, her personal best 5:04.67 wasn't going to cut it this time.
At state, Long cruised to the victory in 4:49.53, the only one under 5:00 in the race. May finished second, Whitman crossed in fifth, and Sumner was sixth.
Boys 4x800
All day, the boys' distance races were on fire - mainly Marquette's Noah Kauppila's doing - but, like 2012's race, the 4x800 was especially hot.
This relay race featured the eventual second, fourth, fifth, and seventh place teams at the state meet. Marquette would earn the win with Kauppila's anchor leg, taking down a similar Fox team to the one which bested them a year earlier. The team was absolutely stacked with studs, though, as Adam Roderique, Kevin Ganahl, and 37.95 300 meter hurdler Jared Michel passed off the baton before Kauppila received it. The Mustangs crossed the line in 7:52.53, just a few ticks slower than their runner-up performance from 2012.
In second was another one of Fox's best ever teams. Hindes, Lopez, and Quick returned for this year, but Tommy Skosky joined the squad after a move from Lindbergh to add another powerful punch to their relay. They ran 7:53.52 here a year after posting the afore-mentioned 7:51.91.
Lafayette would not be denied this year as they would take third in 7:54.57, helped by freshman phenom Dylan Quisenberry and senior star Jordan West. Lindbergh placed fourth in 7:55.22, keeping a 7:58.29 Webster Groves squad out of a well-deserved state meet berth.
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2014 Class 3 Sectional 1 Girls 3200
Taylor Werner vs Jamie Kempfer. Stop me if you've heard it before.
In 2013 and 2014, the distance scene in Class 3 was ruled by Festus and Ste. Genevieve superstars Jamie Kempfer and Taylor Werner. In those two years, Werner won 6 state championships, 2 each in the 800, 1600, and 3200, and Kempfer finished on the podium 4 times with runner-up finishes in the 1600 and 3200 in 2014.
Before they finished 1-2 at the state meet, Werner and Kempfer duked it out in the two fastest times we've ever seen at a sectional meet. When the dust had settled, the duo ran 10:47.36 and 10:47.55, respectively.
What made this race so intriguing was that Kempfer had just run the top mark in the state the week before at the district meet, finishing ahead of Werner in her personal best and MO No. 3 all-time (at the time) 10:21.74. The two were also meeting in the 1600, too, with Kempfer winning the district and sectional meet battles before Werner ran her career best 4:44.26 to win the state meet.
Not to be outdone, Ste. Genevieve qualified two more individuals to the 2014 state meet in the 3200 with fellow sophomores Mia Jerman and Amy Huck running 11:03.00 and 11:35.92 placing third and fourth. Spelling out just how difficult it was to get out of Sectional 1 at the time, Villa Duchesne's Elise Marker finished fifth in 11:47.62 with her teammate Hannah Billings taking sixth in 12:02.97.
As an aside, the boys 3200 was similarly hot with the Festus junior trio of Michael Karls, Jacob Schweiss, and Tyler Gillam placing 1-2-3 in 9:28.26, 9:28.96, and 9:29.45, and Ste. Genevieve freshman Ben Naeger finishing fourth in 9:32.89. Talk about firepower.
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2011 Class 4 Sectional 1 Girls 4x800
The St. Louis Metro has always been an absolute hub for the 4x800 meter relay, as noted above, but in 2011, the Class 4 Sectional 1 meet hosted one of the most electric races over the distance we've ever seen.
With too many deserving squads for as many state qualifying spots as there were, something was going to have to give. Led by senior Colleen Riley, a 2:13 open runner, Lindbergh would stun reigning state champions Eureka with their 9:15.85 mark. It was two seconds better than Eureka's 9:17.84 posting, even with a solid anchor leg from four time all-state half-miler Alyssa Rebecca, making this a race in which two of the five fastest pre-state meet marks were recorded.
In third was a Kirkwood team which carried just as much firepower, namely with 2:14 open runner junior Hannah Richardson, among others, as the two teams ahead of them. They finished in 9:22.37. In fourth was a Ladue squad with state-record 800 runner Samantha Levin. They ran 9:27.08 to push Lafayette to 5th even with a 9:31.20 mark.
The next weekend, Lindbergh would once again hold on for the win, but this time it was over Kirkwood instead of Eureka and these three squads went 1-2-3 in Jefferson City. Ladue would make the podium, too, with a 7th place finish, even though Levin did not make an appearance in the race.
Truly one of the most competitive 4x800 races outside of a state meet of all time.
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2013 Class 4 Sectional 2 Girls 4x400
The penultimate event of the 2013 Class 4 Sectional 2 meet featured two of the all-time fastest girl's 4x400 meter relays in state history.
On one side was the Francis Howell Lady Vikings, the reigning Class 4 state champions, with three of the members of their 2012 state title team on the 2013 squad: junior Taylor Knoche, future 800 meter state champion Valeska Halamicek, and multi-time state champion and jack of all trades Whitney Adams. Sophomore Breanna Wages replaced the graduated Allison Barker to fill out one of the strongest 1600 meter relay squads of all time.
On the other side was the up-and-coming McCluer North squad which featured future state and state meet record holder Jasmine Barge, juniors Rachel Culberson and Miche-Ala Woods, and two-time hurdle state champion senior Kimberlin Simon. Culberson and Woods may have never won an individual state title, but they did finish out her high school career 55.94 and 57.83 respective bests in the 400.
This would prove to be one of the fastest non-state meet 4x4s we've ever seen, but McCluer North would pull off the victory in 3:51.19, anchored by a 55.97 split from Barge. Howell finished second in 3:53.56 even with a head-spinning 53.88 split from Adams. McCluer High crossed third in 3:55.83 with three legs under 60 seconds and Hazelwood Central relied on four 60 second splits to finish fourth in 4:01.23.
Howell, though would get the last laugh, though, as they defended their 2012 title the next weekend with a MO No. 4 all-time 3:49.06 posting with the Lady Stars in second in 3:50.59. The next season, that McCluer North squad minus Simon, but plus freshman phenom Sydney Rodgers ran a MO No. 3 all-time 3:48.82.
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2015 Class 5 Sectional 3 Girls 4x400
This race may not have brought the firepower that the afore-mention 4x400 relay did, but it still featured some of the best squads western and central Missouri have ever seen.
Blue Springs won the star-studded event with a time of 3:53.12 followed by Rock Bridge in 3:56.65, Lee's Summit North .06 seconds later in 3:56.71, and Jefferson City fourth in 4:02.59. The race was hotly contested and produced some of the best marks in the past decade, but it was what unfolded at the state meet the next weekend that made this race even more spicy.
Lee's Summit North, led by all-state quarter milers Rhema Taylor and Aliyah Hakim helped their squad pull off a convincing victory in Jefferson City against some of the state's all-time best squads with their 3:50.99 posting. Senior Jennifer Krause and junior Lexi Rampetsreiter filled out the other two legs of the team which overcame Blue Springs to pull in the win. Their time still stands as a MO No. 6 all-time mark.