Girls
Top 5 Contenders
Alexandra Volkart - Southern Boone County
With Elyse Wilmes and the Tolton girls moving out of Class 3, the graduation of Lillian Jackson, and no other seniors among the top 17 finishers at the 2021 state meet, it looks like Southern Boone County's 1-2 punch is ready to stake their claim for cross country supremacy. Alexandra Volkart is coming off a state championship in the Class 3 3200 and 3 PRs from her sophomore campaign. She ran 18:38.02 at the ultra-fast Bowling Green Invitational last fall and finished 5th at the 2021 state meet. She's now coming in with 2:24.03, 5:15.79, and 11:15.23 personal bests from track season, not to mention a 4:55.00 1500 best over the summer. She's ready to grab her first state cross country title after two 5th place finishes.
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Evan Mauney - Southern Boone County
Evan Mauney is her teammate's biggest challenger this fall. Mauney finished 7th at the Class 3 state meet in 19:14.40, but she has also gone under 19:00 when she ran 18:57.00 at the Gans Creek Classic. She added a 3rd place medal in the Class 3 3200, even though she wasn't able to improve upon her 11:18 personal best from 2021. She ran a 5:18.89 1600m personal best, but ran into a buzzsaw at the Class 3 Sectional 2 meet. It's easy to progress and enjoy what you're doing when you have a training partner like Alex Volkart so expect Mauney to take another leap forward this fall.
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Lyric Ford - Montgomery County
Lyric Ford really broke through in the 2021 calendar year. She ran 5:20.65 before finishing in 5th at the Class 3 State 1600. She then dropped from 19:24.76 and a 23rd place finish at the 2020 Class 3 State cross country meet to an 18:57.40 best, six marks at 19:40 or better, and a 14th place finish in 2021. This past spring, she ran 3 personal bests, earned another all-state medal (1600m), and now enters her senior campaign with some seriously impressive range (2:22.22/5:09.75/11:42.09/18:47.40). She should be a safe bet for a top 5 finish this fall.
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Malia Rodgers - Montgomery County
We have two tandems at the top of our list heading into this season as Montgomery County's Malia Rodgers enters the season as our pick for fourth. Rodgers ran 19:01.30 at last year's Gans Creek Classic and came back to the course in November to run 19:44.60 for 16th at the state meet. She did qualify for the state track meet in the 3200, clawing her way out of a tough sectional, to finish in the dreaded 9th place position in Jefferson City. This was not before an 11:36.58 personal best. Watch for Rodgers to claw her way all the up to the top 5 this fall.
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Eldon's Zoe Martonfi has to be wondering why she went backwards heading into the season. She dropped the hammer when it mattered most in 2021, running a personal best of 19:02.30, and finished 3rd at the Class 3 state meet. Does this mean she'll finish 5th this year? No. She could very well win it all with the kind of pedigree she brings. She won 5 meets in 2021, including the Class 3 District 4 meet, and finished no worse than 3rd all year. She then went on to high jump 1.65 meters, run 45.02 in the 300m Hurdles, 5:13.11 in the 1600, 2:25.82 in the 800, and 11:45.29 in the 3200. She earned three 2nd place finishes in the high jump, 300m hurdles, and 1600. It's speed, it's grit, it's range, it's the makings of someone who could challenge for the whole enchilada in November.
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Next 5 Up
Genevieve Wacker - St. Charles West
St. Charles West's Genevieve Wacker had the race of a lifetime at last year's Class 3 State Meet. She entered with a 20:01.70 personal best from the Gans Creek Classic, but left with a 56 second personal best 19:05.70, earning her 6th overall. Wacker jumped from low 20s to low 19s in one of the most clutch performances of the entire weekend. Now a rising sophomore, Wacker returns after a respectable track season highlighted by a 12:07.88 3200 personal best. As the Warriors' new #1, Wacker will lead the way for a potential podium finisher as a contender for a top 5 finish.
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Owensville's Ilene Limberg had two massive races on the Gans Creek course last fall, running her two fastest marks of 19:21.50 and 19:14.80. The latter earned her 8th overall in the Class 3 state meet. Limberg earned two more state medals in the 1600 and 3200 in the spring with personal bests of 5:22.80 and 11:51.27, respectively. It's a program that historically churns out top individuals at the state level and Limberg looks ready to push her way into the top 5 this November.
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Grace Schaff - Lutheran St. Charles
While the boys made their case for a top program in the entire state, Grace Schaff was quietly busy as Lutheran St. Charles' top girl last fall. She finished out the year with an impressive 9th place after a consistently solid season. She posted six marks under 20:00, headlined by her 19:18.90 personal best at the state meet. While that didn't necessarily translate to state hardware on the track, she did close out the spring with a 12:14.64 best in the 3200 and is preparing to make her bid for a top 5 finish.
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California's Kenzleigh Goans may have finished 15th last year, but she gets to the bump into the top 10 for our projections based on her 19:11.10 personal best from the Gans Creek Classic. Goans was the 6th highest freshman finisher in Class 3 in 2021 and returns with the 11th fastest mark among her peers. She won seven 3200 meter races this spring, but didn't end up qualifying for the state track meet. She ran 12:07.23, though, which helps her case to continue her success this fall.
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Elsa Henry - St. Michael the Archangel
Elsa Henry ran posted one mark in 2020 - a 25:27.90 at the St. Pius X Invitational. She then proceeded to return one year later and ran just over six minutes faster, finishing 10th at the Class 3 State Meet in a time of 19:21.60. Henry is another athlete who has shown they have the chops to compete on the course that matters the most as she has run her two best times at Gans Creek. After a track season in which she ran 2:34.26 and 5:16.72, and finished 6th in Class 3 in the 1600, Henry should find herself in the top 10 once again this November.
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Dark Horse to Watch
Katherine Schaefer - Hollister
Hollister's Katherine Schaefer returns for her junior campaign with a personal best 5k of 21:29.65. The thing is, this is the only mark she's run that's under 22:00 and she finished 93rd at the Class 3 State Cross Country Meet. But wait, there's more! Schaefer really broke through in the middle distance races this spring, running a 21-second personal best in the 800 (2:27.48) and 41-second best in the 1600 (5:26.12), qualifying for the state meet in both events. She's one to watch absolutely this fall and should make a play for an all-state medal or more this fall.
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Incoming Freshmen to Watch
Zafaran Satterfield - Southern Boone County
Personal bests: XC - 11:41.40 (2500), 13:36.62 (3200), 15:07.70 (3500); Track - 2:38.47 (800), 5:45.98 (1600)
Personal bests: XC - 10:42.56 (2400), 13:53.10 (3200); Track - 2:40.66 (800), 5:47.41 (1600)
Personal bests: XC - 13:49.22 (3200), 14:19.70 (3500); Track - 2:31.36 (800), 5:49.12 (1600)
5 Team Contenders
| Southern Boone County High School (MO) | ||||
| 1) Alexandra Volkart | 18:38.02 | |||
| 2) Evan Mauney | 18:57.00 | |||
| 3) Elizabeth Hess | 20:26.60 | |||
| 4) Chloe Bukowsky | 20:48.40 | |||
| 5) Ava Leininger | 22:16.31 | |||
| Average Time: 20:13.27 Total Time: 1:41:06.33 1-5 Split: 3:38.29 | ||||
| 6) Moravia Satterfield | 23:40.50 | |||
| 7) Aubrey McGuire | 25:16.20 | |||
With a 1-2 punch like Volkart and Mauney, Southern Boone County is a favorite to win the Class 3 state title this fall. They get a lot of help from their 3rd and 4th runners and should get some help from their incoming freshman class. It's really easy to score high well when you score 3-4 points with your first two runners. These Eagles finished 4th last fall, but appear poised to jump all the way to the top this time around.
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| Potosi High School (MO) | ||||
| 1) Alyson Skiles | 20:14.10 | |||
| 2) Celeste Sansegraw | 20:21.20 | |||
| 3) Allison Land | 21:22.20 | |||
| 4) Carlee Moss | 21:22.90 | |||
| 5) Ava Wright | 22:12.00 | |||
| Average Time: 21:06.48 Total Time: 1:45:32.40 1-5 Split: 1:57.90 | ||||
| 6) Addison Sansegraw | 22:20.90 | |||
| 7) Allie Heeter | 22:31.21 | |||
Potosi didn't have a single girl all-state last November, yet they finished 5th overall. Now, in 2022, the Lady Trojans return their entire top 7 for a run at a title. Celeste Sansegraw was their top finisher at the state meet with her 30th place finish. Alyson Skiles is the top returner based on time with a 20:14.10. They'll need help at the back end, but their depth could help push a number 5 into a spot to win it all for the first time in school history.
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| Lutheran South High School (MO) | ||||
| 1) Reese Schelp | 20:03.90 | |||
| 2) Elizabeth Saitz | 20:20.10 | |||
| 3) Mara Yaeger | 20:33.70 | |||
| 4) Sophia Horrell | 21:37.30 | |||
| 5) Emma Labbee | 23:54.60 | |||
| Average Time: 21:17.92 Total Time: 1:46:29.60 1-5 Split: 3:50.70 | ||||
| 6) Sophia Norris | 23:55.45 | |||
| 7) Ella Arbeiter | 24:11.10 | |||
Another year, another Schelp in the Class 3 mix for Lutheran South. This year, it's Reese, who is returning with a 20:03.90 and 22nd place medal to her credit from the 2021 Class 3 state meet. She gets a lot of help from Elizabeth Saitz and Maira Yeager, but the biggest question is: Will this solid top 3 be enough to make up for a number 5 around 24:00? We'll see what kind of leap the Lady Lancers can make from 3rd on a tiebreaker to a potential state champion spot.
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| St. Charles West High School (MO) | ||||
| 1) Genevieve Wacker | 19:05.70 | |||
| 2) Avery Jackson | 20:10.80 | 19 | ||
| 3) Claire Horstmann | 20:45.00 | 33 | ||
| 4) Vivian Jones | 23:08.50 | 101 | ||
| 5) Abigail Loftus | 23:13.60 | 104 | ||
| Average Time: 21:16.72 Total Time: 1:46:23.60 1-5 Split: 4:07.90 | ||||
| 6) Adeline Nichols | 24:03.40 | 134 | ||
| 7) Sara Senyard | 24:09.01 | 138 | ||
| Centralia High School (MO) | ||||
| 1) Jozelynn Bostick | 19:07.00 | |||
| 2) Shelby Lewis | 20:46.42 | |||
| 3) Gretchen Marriott | 21:28.60 | |||
| 4) Annie Robinson | 22:26.00 | |||
| 5) Rylee Palmer | 23:49.78 | |||
| Average Time: 21:31.56 Total Time: 1:47:37.80 1-5 Split: 4:42.78 | ||||
| 6) Emily Kribbs | 25:57.58 | |||
| 7) Samantha Scheeler | 27:22.20 | |||
Centralia is a quiet contender this season after missing out on qualifying as a team last year. In fact, they were SEVENTH at their district meet, but they return 7 of their top 8 - headlined by all-stater Jozelynn Bostick - and should get some incoming freshman help. They truly could be considered a dark horse team to watch, but they should actually be competitive for a podium and one of the biggest leaps we've seen in a long time.
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Dark Horse Team to Watch
| Montgomery County High School (MO) | ||||
| 1) Lyric Ford | 18:57.40 | |||
| 2) Malia Rodgers | 19:01.30 | |||
| 3) Destiny Shaw | 22:17.85 | |||
| 4) Carie Schroer | 23:46.30 | |||
| 5) Olivia Shaw | 24:43.59 | |||
| Average Time: 21:45.29 Total Time: 1:48:46.44 1-5 Split: 5:46.19 | ||||
| 6) Claire Cobb | 25:26.73 | |||
| 7) PRESLEY SCHLUSS | 39:27.79 | |||
The Wildcats came across even lower than Centralia at the district meet last year, finishing 9th. Lyric Ford and Malia Rodgers will score so low that it may offset their lack of overall depth. Of course, they could get some help from incoming freshmen and, with some improvements from their 4-6, they could find themselves in the top half of the state this year. Possibly, the podium.
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