Boys
The Chase Pack
Another year, another Sorrell near the top of the Class 3 ranks. He was 13th as a sophomore last fall, but has really exploded here in his junior campaign. He's runner better than last year's season best (16:36.00) five times in seven tries, led by a 15:38.23 for the win at the Big 8 Conference meet. He's also picked up victories at Seneca, East Newton, and Cassville, to go along with a District 2 runner-up finish to Sean Walker. He'll be in the chase pack for sure while everyone chases the heavy favorite for second.
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It's kind of Herculaneum's modus operandi that they don't necessarily have a big time frontrunner who's competing for the individual title, but yet they stack the pack near that 20-40 range and steal away a top team finish. Vaughn was the dreaded 26th last year, but enters with a real shot at top 5 after scoring a 16:07.33 for 2nd place at the District 1 meet. Herky looks poised to grab team title number 14 and Vaughn in the top 5 would really help that bid.
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Quentin Hermann - Father Tolton Regional Catholic
Quentin Hermann was 7th at the 2020 Class 1 state meet for Columbia Independent School and didn't make it through October last fall, but after transferring at semester, he's now the key Number 1 man for a Father Tolton squad who's looking to win it all. He's posted his first 6 sub-17:00 times of his career this season, headlined by a 16:34.00 best at Louisville. He has two wins, one on his true home course and one at the AAA Conference meet at Jefferson Barracks, and has eluded MileSplit's photographers up to this point in the season. He should be more than ready to compete for a top 5 finish in Class 3.
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Mason Morris - Notre Dame Cape Girardeau
After a 71st finish at his debut at Memphis Twilight, Notre Dame Cape's Mason Morris has finished no worse than 7th in every other meet since. He has a runner-up finish at the Cape Central Invitational and a 4th place finish at the District 1 meet to his name, with his personal best of 16:26.73 coming last Saturday. Morris was 14th last year in his first trip to the state meet and should be well ahead of that this weekend. Expect for the Bulldog to be right up in the mix with the all afore-mentioned athletes as the big glob competes for a top 5 spot.
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After a stellar middle school career, we've been waiting for Arcadia Valley's Stone Gill to really break through on the state level. He was 11th last year in 16:49.40, but he's 18 seconds faster now and seems to be hitting his stride when it matters the most. His personal best of 16:31.18 came at the District 1 meet, where he finished 5th. He's been a model of consistency this season and should find himself in the top 10 this November.