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Class 5 Boys Distance events the deepest of all time?
When it comes to the distance events at the state level, last season's Class 5 events were some of the deepest we've ever seen. But several of the athletes that made up the 800, 1600, and 3200 fields at last year's meet are back for another go, making 2023's field of athletes quite possibly the deepest we've ever seen.
It starts with Rock Bridge's Andrew Hauser, Liberty North's Sage Wilde, and Capital City's Keion Grieve. Then you get into Kickapoo's Tyler Harris, Rock Bridge's Ian Kemey, Joplin's Hobbs Campbell, Nixa's Mason Shank, Ft. Zumwalt West's Jaxson Copelin, and the myriad others who made this year's Class 5 cross country field the kind of field it was.
Grieve is the top returner in the 800 with a best of 1:51.26 from this past summer's AAU Junior Olympics. It was the 9th fastest mark for a Missourian all-time and puts him in the driver's seat to repeat as state champion in his junior season. Behind him are Campbell (1:54.54) and Copelin (1:55.57). The top 8 returners are all under 1:58 a year after the top 7 finishers ran under 1:58 and 8th place posted a 1:58.32. The top 16 returners are under 2:00.
Hauser comes in as the top Class 5 returner in the 1600 after holding off Campbell by a nose last May - 4:11.72 to 4:12.19 Hauser and Campbell will most likely go toe to toe again this year and both should push for sub-4:10 this season. Kemey is not too far behind with his 4:12.81 best and you have to imagine Wilde will be in the mix, too, this year. Shank is the fourth fastest returner with Blue Springs' Keagan Enicks and Kickapoo's Grant Musick at 5 and 6 with 4:20.x bests to their respective names.
Last year's Class 5 3200 was the fastest 3200 race in state history, supplanting 2017's Class 4 race. Harris became the fastest 8th place finisher in state history with his 9:14.96 finish and the average mark among the all-state earners was 9:07. Wow. Many of those medalists will not be back this year, and yet, this could be an even better year for the 3200. Class 5 has 8 boys returning sub-9:31 and 36 returning sub-10:00. Hauser and Kemey are the top returners at 9:05.11 and 9:10.36 respectively.
Don't forget about the 4x800 relay. Rock Bridge, as mentioned already, returns three boys with an open 800 under 1:57.4. Liberty North will have a comparable group coming off their championship last year and cross country team championship this year. Three of the four from last year's winning squad are back, and neither of them are named Sage Wilde.
If this past cross country season was any indication, we will see some serious fireworks in the Class 5 distance races this fall.