Rock Bridge Boys are poised to repeat in Class 5
Last spring, Rock Bridge dominated the track on route to an emphatic 51 point team victory. This year probably won't be much different.
We know all about the Bruin boys distance squad. Junior Andrew Hauser and senior Ian Kemey are back to continue to climb up the all-time state ranks in the 1600 and 3200. They lost a couple of pieces, but have added some strong underclassmen to the mix and have 1:57 man Hudson Summerall, who was buzzsawed at last year's Class 5 District 4 meet. Last year, between the four distance events, the Bruins scored 37 points and are already projected to score 43 without considering the 4x800.
The sprint crew is the second piece. Senior Casey Hood leads the way with personal bests in the 100 and 200 of 10.53 and 21.18w, respectively. He was runner-up in both events at the Class 5 state meet last spring and has a legitimate shot at winning both this year (as long as Ryan Wingo doesn't have anything to say about it). Cooper Allen is the other key returner on the sprints side. He ran 49.49 for 5th in the 400 last May and is the fourth fastest returner in Class 5. The progression of sophomores Drevyn Seamon and Justin Giles are going to be important in their title defense.
The biggest questions marks are: will they be able to pick up any points in the field events? And what's the relays encore? The Bruins ran a top 5 all-time mark in the 4x100 (41.50) and a state record in the 4x200 (1:24.90), the first team to break 1:25 in state history. Their 4x400 team capped off the team victory with a Class 5 championship of their own, as well.
The squad we think could really challenge these Bruins are Liberty North, who are coming off a cross country state championship and returns 200 foot javelin thrower Matthew Morrison, among others.