Class 4
Boys
1. Grain Valley
Top Returners/Freshmen: Mason Rogers, Logan Pratt, Royce Fisher, Jaiden Yarber, Will Lanear, Nate Booker
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 400, 1600, 3200, 110m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, 4x100, 4x200
Summary: This was a tough call.
On the one hand, Grandview - our projected second place team - won six straight state titles from 2011-2016 and won again in 2019. So they know how to win when it matters.
But on the other hand, the team Grain Valley had this year was seriously impressive.
Led in the sprint events by Mason Rogers and Logan Pratt, the Eagles were poised to make a run at the top spot in the Class 4 ranks.
Rogers was returning as the second fastest athlete in the 100 while Pratt boasted the third fastest mark among returners in the 200. Both boys were a part of the Eagles' fourth place 4x200 and second place 4x100 squads in 2019 and could have potentially linked up with fellow relay teammate Nate Booker and one of their two 300 meter hurdlers for a run at the 4x400.
Speaking of which, in the hurdles, Jaiden Yarber and Will Lanear were both among the top 8 returners in the 300 meter hurdles with sub-41 marks and Yarber, with his 15.42 best, was 5th among 110 meter hurdles returners.
Royce Fisher, an Arkansas State commit, was coming off a breakthrough cross country season in which he finished 16th at the Class 4 State Cross Country meet in 15:52.20. Fisher was already the 6th fastest returner in the 1600 (4:26.38) and 4th fastest in the 3200 (9:34.83) and had nearly matched his personal bests during the indoor season.
Put it altogether and you have a team that most likely would have broken the 50 point threshold that it typically takes to at least have a shot at the title. Would it have been enough? According to this author's projections: yes, by one point.
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2. Grandview
Top Returners/Freshmen: Reginald King, Jeffrey Willis, Justice Akinmoladun, Elisha Turner, Deyvion Franklin, Rayvon Epperson
Potential Point Opportunities: 200, 400, 800, 4x100, 4x200, Shot Put, Discus
Summary: The Class 4 team title this year was going to be a nail-biter, but, in the end, someone has to finish second.
It truly could have gone either way as, according to our projections, Grain Valley was going to score 54 points to Grandview's 53.
Senior Justice Akinmoladun was going to be the key to Grandview's success this spring. Coming off a win in the shot put and third place finish in the discus in 2019, Akinmoladun was looking ready to pull in 20 points between the two events with 59-7 and 170-1 bests. Joining in on the fun was Elisha Turner as he, with his 49-6.75 mark, was fifth among the Class 4 returners in the shot put.
An always formidable squad in the sprints, Grandview was going to be led by Jeffrey Willis this spring. Willis was the 6th fastest returner in the 200 with a 22.37 and had run 11.30 in the 100 in his career, too. Deyvion Franklin was knocking on the door with an 11.04 personal best and there's no doubt the two would have linked up to do damage in the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.
Another key piece of any 4x200 would have been Reginald King. King made his mark on the state in the 800 when he nearly snuck across the line ahead of Helias Catholic's Jack Crull in Washington last May, but settled for second. He was projected to finish second again this season. He's also run 52.16 in the 400 in his short career so a jump could have been coming there, too.
All in all, there's no doubt Grandview had some magic coming this spring and very well could have held off Grain Valley for their eighth state championship since 2011. Regardless, it would have been quite the battle as both teams, situated in District 7, would have seen a lot of each other this year.
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3. Webb City
Top Returners/Freshmen: Joseph Dawson, Haddon Spikereit, James Morgan, Mekhi Garrard, Pryce Mason, Bailey Smith, Zetthew Meister, Luke Brumit
Potential Point Opportunities: 1600, 3200, 110m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, Triple Jump, Pole Vault, Discus
Summary: Another team that does a lot of things well enough to earn points across multiple events, Webb City was entering 2020 as a sneaky good squad in Class 4.
It's hard to figure out who was the "leader" of this team, but the success does start with their top two distance runners: Joseph Dawson and Haddon Spikereit. Both sub-16:00 runners on the cross country course, Dawson was at least projected to finish 7th in the 1600 and 12th in the 3200. If he or both of them could have increased their point totals at the state meet, it would have been very hard to see Webb City not clear a podium spot.
The Cardinals were relying heavily on success in the hurdle and field events. James Morgan was projected to add points to his team's total in the 110 meter hurdles and 300 meter hurdles, Mekhi Garrard was the third best returner in the triple jump, Pryce Mason and Bailey Smith were second and fourth among returners in the pole vault, and Zetthew Meister - a discus specialist - was ready to contribute at least four points in the discus.
Webb City was getting ready to show that you don't need a proverbial superstar to secure a top spot at the state meet: all you really need are many solid athletes in many different events.
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Top Returners/Freshmen: Lance Ward, Braeden Bakos, Brendan Jewell, Blake Poorman
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 400, 800, 4x400, High Jump
Summary: Carl Junction, opposite of Webb City, was poised to show just how helpful it is to have a superstar.
Harvard commit Lance Ward was looking to potentially pull off the sprint treble as he returned with 10.87, 21.76, and 48.24 bests in the 100, 200, and 400. Projections heading into the season had him 5th, 2nd, and 1st respectively, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that he could have contributed 30 points to his team, not including a leg on their 4x400 squad.
All Carl Junction would have needed was a few more points from the likes of Braeden Brakos, Brendan Jewell, and Blake Poorman. Brakos was projected as the 8th best returner in the 800, Jewell was tied for 7th in the high jump at 6-4 and Poorman, a 41.91 300m hurdler as a sophomore, was a member of the 6th place 1600m Relay squad in 2019.
The race for fourth was sure to be tight, but with Carl Junction grabbing that final spot, it looks like Class 4 was about to be dominated by the western part of the state.
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Honorable Mention - Helias Catholic, Festus, Ladue
Girls
Top Returners/Freshmen: Alicia Burnett, Reina McMillan, Chloe Davis, Tabitha Bevan, Madeleine Ryan
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800
Summary: There was a very real possibility that Parkway North was going to sweep the individual titles in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 in Class 4, something we have not seen in a long time.
Alicia Burnett, a name every Missouri track fan knows at this point, was coming back for the 2020 season with sights set not only on state domination, but also national success.
Burnett broke the all-class state record in the 100 last May before missing the mark in the 200 by .36 seconds. With 11.47 and 23.46 lifetime bests, there's no doubt that Burnett was well on her way to individual state championships number 6 and 7 while contributing legs on the 4x200 and 4x400 relays.
In the open 400 and 800, Reina McMillan was looking poised to pull off the double this season, or at least add significant points in them. Returning with 58.18 and 2:18.47 bests, McMillan was ranked third in the 400 and first in the 800. The Bradley commit was going to have to hold off the Melvin sisters from McCluer, but there's hardly a doubt double digit point totals were coming from McMillan this May.
Role players in last year's state title were going to have to be at their best once again this year. Chloe Davis was returning with a 12.28 best in the 100, fourth among Class 4 returners, and Madeleine Ryan was back to contribute to the middle distance relay efforts. Tabitha Bevan was returning for her sophomore campaign with the 6th best mark in the 1600 of 5:20.63 and the 9th best mark in the 3200 (11:46.23). After running a personal best 5K 19:17.16 this fall, those marks were probably going down.
Put it all together and you get a Parkway North that is just as strong as last year even with the graduation of some key players. They were going to have to be at their very best to hold off an intra-district rival, though, on their quest to the repeat.
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Top Returners/Freshmen: Kayelyn Tate, Nakira Gage, Nnenna Okpara, Kennedy Moore, Mychael Green, J'nyah Elbert, Jayla Kelly
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 400, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, Shot Put
Summary: Sprint depth thy name is Parkway Central.
Very rarely do you see a team who is returning the top team based on XC scores in the 4x100, 4x200, and 4x400, but this year, Parkway Central was doing just that. (Note: You can check it out for yourself by following this link and changing the event in the url to whatever event you want to see.)
Led by sophomore stud Kayelyn Tate, who was most likely to finish second in the 100 and 200 this spring, the Lady Colts were looking as strong as ever heading into the season. In fact, Tate was among the best 60 meter runners this winter in the entire country before a hamstring injury ended her season. We may not have seen her until later in the season, but her contributions in the short sprints and on the relays would have been immense.
Following Tate is a stable (pun intended) of strong sprinters with Nakira Gage and Nnenna Okpara leading the charge. Gage was projected to finish 8th in the 100 and Okpara was 4th among returners in the 400. Both girls would have been key contributors to all three sprint relays with Kennedy Moore and J'nyah Elbert joining them.
Freshman Mychael Green was surely going to be a major contributor to the team and could potentially have changed the game completely for Central. She ran 25.53 and 1:00.41 in the 200 and 400 in 7th grade, adding more depth to an already Marianas Trench-deep squad.
It could've gone either way for this team in May and, with a healthy dose of Coach Banta's "critical mass system," the Colts could have been positioned atop the standings for the first time in team history.
3. MICDS
Top Returners/Freshmen: Julia Ray, Palmer Mihalevich, Alexis Bellamy, Kelly Ross
Potential Point Opportunities: 800, 1600, 3200, 100m Hurdles, 4x400, 4x800, High Jump, Pole Vault
Summary: The key to MICDS's rise at the 2020 state track meet was going to be whether or not freshman Julia Ray could continue to dominate as a distance runner. If the answer was yes, then MICDS was going to be in very good shape this spring.
Coming off a breakthrough cross country season in which she ran 18:13.80 for the Class 3 State Championship, Ray was looking poised to compete for victories in the 1600 and 3200. In middle school, she posted marks of 5:25.24 in the outdoor 1 Mile and 11:47.08 in the indoor 3200, among others, but her massive breakout cross country campaign paints a picture where sub-5:00 and 11:00 marks in the 1600 and 3200 were not out of the question.
Teammate Palmer Mihalevich was 8th among returners in the 800, but boasts a lifetime best of 2:20.01 that would put her 4th, adding a solid chunk to the point total.
Junior Alexis Bellamy was trending toward contributing points in both the 100m hurdles and high jump as she returned with 14.90 and 5-4 bests in both events and Kelly Ross, with an 11-6 mark in the pole vault and fourth place finish to her name already, was among the names in a hyper-competitive pole vault field in Class 4.
With contributions from the 4x400 and 4x800 relays, MICDS was looking like a comfortable choice for a top 4 finish in Class 4.
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Top Returners/Freshmen: Angelina Arinze, Eliza Maupin, Emma Kelley, Hannah Jansen, Elisabeth Ragan
Potential Point Opportunities: 800, 300m Hurdles, 4x200, 4x400, High Jump, Long Jump, Javelin
Summary: Webster Groves was looking ready to sneak into that coveted fourth place position in the Class 4 girls team race after finishing second in 2019.
Webster returns state champions Angelina Arinze and Eliza Maupin, but loses big points in the throws. Regardless, Arinze's almost guaranteed victory in the 300 Meter Hurdles, what would have been her fourth straight top 3 finish, and Maupin's almost guaranteed victory in the high jump, her second straight in as many chances, Webster Groves would have been off to a very good start. In addition to her 5-8 mark in the high jump, Maupin was among the top 8 returners in the long jump with her 17-3.5 best.
Emma Kelley, a three-time all-state finisher in the 800 and 2019 runner-up in the event, was looking ready to grab another 8 points there and contribute a leg on the solid 4x400 relay team alongside Arinze and Maupin.
Finally, Hannah Jansen was looking to make up for some of those lost points in the throws with a potential top 4 finish in the javelin. Her 130-10 was 4th among returners and will be 2nd among 2021 returners.
While the boys side was dominated by the western side of the state, the girls side pretty clearly belongs to the east side.
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Honorable Mention - Gateway, Marshfield, McCluer