With the 2023 track and field season fast approaching, we are taking a look at the top freshmen and sophomores who may have flown under the radar last spring.
Here, we profile the freshmen and sophomores who stood out most this fall plus the underclassmen who made the biggest splashes at the state and national levels during the 2022 season.
From the 100 to shot put, and everything in between, check out the young guns to whom you should most be paying attention this spring.
Sophomores
2022 XC Standouts
Jack Williams - Lee's Summit West
We start with the athletes who are probably most fresh in our memories at the moment: the 2022 XC standouts.
Lee's Summit West's Jack Williams built off a stellar freshman campaign on the course and track to break through in a big way as a sophomore harrier. Williams ended up with a 15:33.30 personal best in the 5k and 7th place state medal in a loaded Class 5 field. He was also the individual champion in the Freshman/Sophomore division at Team Midwest Regionals. The 15:33 mark was 2nd among sophomores in the state and top 75 in the country.
As a freshman track runner, Williams posted personal best marks of 2:04.49, 4:23.48, and 9:42.95 in the 800, 1600, and 3200 meter runs, respectively. Those marks were 4th, 1st, and 1st among freshmen in the entire state. The 1600 mark was MO No. 3 all-time among freshmen according to our database, behind only Adam Perkins and Stephen Kielhofner.
After a stellar sophomore cross country campaign, Williams is ready to carry the torch for a sneaky solid Lee's Summit West squad.
Just ahead of Williams by time and at the Class 5 State Cross Country meet, Rockhurst's Henry Acorn is the other sophomore vying for Kansas City area supremacy.
Acorn has led the Class of 2025 as a freshman (15:56.00) and (15:31.35) and is on track to earn all-state honors in cross country all four years after finishing 24th and 6th in Class 5 over the last two years.
As for his freshman year of track, Acorn's marks didn't pop off the page like Williams' marks, but his 4:39.78 best in the 1600 was still 5th among freshmen and his 10:09.14 was 6th. With that 15:31.35 mark from this past fall, and a solid first year of track under his belt, Acorn should be poised to break through as a sophomore this spring.
Republic's Gracie Troester made a big leap right at the end of her freshman cross country campaign. A state qualifier in her first season, she dropped 40 seconds off her personal best to run 19:14.50 and earn 32nd in the Class 5 race. It seemed to flip a switch.
Last spring, Troester nearly missed out on state berths in the 1600 and 3200, but did still finish with bests of 5:19.70 and 11:41.59, which are 12th and 16th among returners.
She continued to move down this fall with a new personal best in the 5K of 18:51.69. Though it still hasn't brought about state hardware, this spring could be the year for the Republic sophomore.
Reese McDevitt - Francis Howell Central
After a solid freshman cross country campaign in which she posted a 19:05.00 personal best and earned 55th at the Class 5 state meet, Francis Howell Central's Reese McDevitt had a unique track season for a distance runner.
McDevitt posted personal bests on the track of 2:29.97 in the 800 meters, 4-9.75 in the high jump, and 14-3 in the long jump. There wasn't much to parlay from that heading into the cross country season, but it didn't matter for the FHC standout. McDevitt would go on to win 5 meets, including the GAC South Championship, en route to a massive 11th place performance at the Class 5 state meet. She now heads into her sophomore track campaign with an all-state medal and 18:55.80 5K best to her name.
Watch for this Spartan to take a big step forward this spring and hopefully post some stellar marks in the longer distance events.
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Returning State Champs
Father Tolton Regional Catholic superstar Elyse Wilmes is already a name on everyone's minds when thinking about the top middle distance runners in the state.
Wilmes won an individual state championship in the Class 3 800 and anchored her squad to gold in the 4x800 relay. She was about 250 meters away from a championship in the 1600, too, but accidentally stepped off the track after tripping over the rail.
Her freshman campaign saw her post marks and performances that put her among the top girls in state history. We're talking Hannah Long, Taylor Werner, Megan Thompson, Shannon Leinert, that kind of rarified air. Her 2:08.99 mark at the Hoka Festival of Miles shattered Leinert's 20 year old freshman state 800 record and her 5:01.17 is fourth all-time among freshmen behind only Long, Werner, and Thompson. She's already run a US No. 1 among sophomores and US No. 10 overall mark of 2:12.11 in the 800 this indoor season.
To put the 800 best into even more perspective, her eye-popping mark was US No. 2 in 2023 and US No. 25 all-time.
A leg injury hampered her ability to finish out the 2023 campaign as strong as she'd hoped, but she was still able to lead her Trailblazers squad to a Class 4 team title with her 7th place individual performance. Last year was the start of a truly special career for Father Tolton's Elyse Wilmes.
The pole vault can sometimes be an event that goes unnoticed at the state meet unless you specifically are looking to see a talent like Rachel Homoly or KC Lightfoot or Chris Nilsen or any of the other stellar MO talents that have come through over the years. Last year, the Class 3 state meet was overshadowed by the battles in the boys distance events and girls sprints.
But this year, all eyes should move toward the pole vault box to see what Macon's Caelan Harland can provide as an encore to his state title winning freshman campaign.
It was with a heavy heart the Harland brought home last season's Class 3 championship, competing in the memory of his recently deceased grandfather. After clearing 14-6 to climb atop the podium, Harland held up a picture of him and his grandfather as a touching tribute to someone who was surely a major influence in his young life.
Though he only cleared 14-6 at the state meet, Harland finished his first high school campaign as the only freshman to clear 15 feet in state history and one of only two freshmen to clear 15 feet in the entire country with his 15-2 personal best. This winter, Harland has continued to climb as he has soared past 16 feet already and 15 feet three more times.
Harland has set the tone for what is surely a stellar career to come. He should be on everyone's state watch list heading into 2023 and beyond.
In the entire state, there were only three freshman state champions in any event in 2022. Jasper's Crystal Smith was one of them.
Smith had a busy state meet weekend last May after she qualified in the 100 meter hurdles, 300 meter hurdles, 200 meter dash, and high jump. She posted a second place finish in the 200 and 12th place finish in the 300 meter hurdles, but it was the 100 hurdles and high jump where she thrived. The freshman earned gold medals in both events with marks of 16.02 and 5-3, respectively.
Smith now enters the 2023 campaign as the top Class 1 returner in the 100 hurdles (15.33), 300 hurdles (46.72), and high jump (5-4.25). Her 26.55 best in the 200 ranks 4th. If Smith is able to qualify in all four events once again, she may be able to bring home team hardware for Jasper all on her own.
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North Point Duo
Wentzville's North Point High School is entering its second year in existence with two sophomores who are bound for state-level stardom over the next few years.
On the boys side, it's Alex Lacke.
Lacke was the only freshman in the state to break 2:00 in the 800 with his 1:59.48 mark at the 2022 Class 4 state meet. The performance was good enough for 7th in a strong field of competitors. It was the 55th fastest freshman mark in the country, 15th fastest time in state history for a freshman half-miler, and came after back to back 2:00.xx performances at the district and sectional meets. Not to be outdone, he posted a MO Freshman No. 20 mark in his only attempt at the 400 (53.29) and No. 8 mark in the 1600 (4:41.84).
A high-level soccer player in the fall, it will be interesting to see what kind of encore he has in store in his sophomore campaign.
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On the girls side, North Point's superstar sophomore athlete is Alyssa Anderson.
Anderson was a standout in 5 events: 100m, 200m, 400m, Long Jump, and High Jump. She led the team in all 5 of those events while also posting legs on their 52.18 4x100 and 1:50.60 4x200 relays. Both relays were made up entirely of freshmen.
Anderson ended up earning Class 4 All-State honors in the 400m dash (7th) and long jump (5th), as well as qualifying for State in the 100m dash. She was the 7th fastest freshman in the state in the 100 (12.58), 4th fastest in the 200 (25.65), and 12th fastest in the 400 (59.80). Her long jump mark of 17-4.75 (+2.0) ranked 6th among freshmen and her 5-0.25 high jump mark was top 20.
While she wasn't a state leader in any specific events, this multi-sport (track and wrestling) state qualifier's range as an athlete is hardly matched among any other Class 4 athletes.
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More Stars
Hickman's Athena Peterson was quietly one of the most prolific horizontal jumpers in the entire state, regardless of age.
As a freshman, Peterson cleared 19-7.5 in the long jump, breaking the 9th grade state record previously held by Capital City's Kiara Strayhorn by 2.5 inches. Her 39-1 triple jump mark fell short of Notre Dame Cape Girardeau star Riley Burger's state record, but was still MO No. 2 all-time among freshmen. She also broke a 14 year old triple jump school record and 41 year old long jump school record.
The daughter of 2004 Olympian Derrick Peterson, who competed in the 800 meter run at Athens and finished his career with a personal best of 1:45.08, Athena finished out her freshman season with state medals in the long (5th) and triple jump (2nd), as well as the 300 meter hurdles (6th). She returns for her sophomore campaign with those jumps bests to go along with a 15.22 best in the 100 hurdles, 45.31 in the 300 hurdles, and 5-1 in the high jump.
A former AAU All-American, this Kewpie has a chance to become one of Missouri's all-time best athletes should she continue on her current trajectory.
Kyndall Spain - Cardinal Ritter
Cardinal Ritter's Kyndall Spain's rise to state level was much louder this spring.
Another former AAU All-American, Spain had been slowly building to last year's high school opening campaign. She finished out her season with Class 5 state medals in the 100m Hurdles (3rd), 300m Hurdles (4th), and 4x200m Relay (2nd), and a Class 5 gold medal as a leg on the state meet record 4x400m relay. She posted elite marks in the 100m dash (12.49), 200m dash (25.96), 400m dash (56.95), 100m Hurdles (14.01), and 300m Hurdles (43.12).
Her 100m Hurdle mark was No. 2 all-time among freshman in state history and No. 4 among all 2022 freshmen in the US. Her 300m Hurdle mark was also 2nd all-time among Missouri freshman and US No. 4 among 2022 freshmen. Unfortunately in order to get to the top in Class 5, she'll still have to battle with Genesis Dixon and Maya Anderson, but we would hardly be surprised to see her make that climb. The 2023 season may see one of the best battles in the hurdle events we've ever seen.
Carl Junction's Sydney Ward was a strong competitor in the sprints as an 8th grader and did not disappoint in her freshman campaign.
A 100/200 specialist, Ward earned state medals in both events with a 6th place finish in the Class 4 100 and 5th place finish in the Class 4 200. Her 12.11 and 25.08w marks are 10th and 11th among all returners in all conditions for this spring's season. She's also already posted a 26.35 and 59.87 mark in the 200 and 400, respectively, during this indoor season.
If it wasn't for Zaya Akins in the mix, Ward could legitimately challenge for state championships in all three sprint events. She will still be a major contender and critical points scorer for this Bulldogs.
Kearney's Theodore Grace is not just one of the best Class of 2025 javelin throwers in the state, but also in the entire country.
Grace entered his freshman year with one AAU national championship in the 14yo javelin and finished it with another AAU championship in the event, as well as a national record in the 15-16 yo division.
Grace's 2022 AAU winning throw was a massive one, 8 feet ahead of his old personal best, landing 174 feet and 1/2 inch away from where it had started. He was a district champion with that previous personal best of 166 feet, 6 inches, but placed 5th at the Class 4 Sectional 4 meet.
He now returns as the third best javelin thrower in Class 4 and will challenge for the win in that event. Not to be outdone, his 135-11 mark in the discus is 19th among returners and could change drastically as he continues to progress.
One More for the Road
Desmet's Justin Thurman may be the future for the short sprint events in the state of Missouri.
Thurman burst on to the scene with personal bests in the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash of 10.87 and 22.75, respectively. He qualified for the Class 5 state meet as a freshman, where he finished 13th - hardly a small feat.
Thurman returns No. 6 in the 100 in Class 5 and No. 17 in the 200, with the top 5 a half second away. Keep an eye out for this sophomore sprinter from Desmet.
Jordyn Buckley - McCluer North
We've rattled off several state-level sprint stars, but haven't forgotten about the McCluer North Star Jordyn Buckley.
In 2022, Buckley posted personal bests in the 200 and 400 of 25.02w and 59.26, respectively. She qualified for the Class 4 state meet in both events, making it out of the buzzsaw that was Class 4 Sectional 2 fairly comfortably. The above picture is her earning her 4th place medal at the Class 4 state meet. She also posted a personal best of 13.06 in the 100 meter dash in her only attempt in late April.
Buckley returns as the 3rd fastest Class 4 returner in the 200 and 6th fastest in the 400. She will surely have more superstars around her to fight off on her way to state, but expect to see Buckley atop at least one podium in Jefferson City this May, if not more.
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Freshmen
XC Standouts
Rolla's Cameron Martensen had a lot of hype heading into his freshman season of cross country.
After running incredible marks of 2:02.82, 4:28.78, and 9:17.00 in the 800, 1600, and 3000m runs, respectively, as an 8th grader - impressive marks for a high schooler - Martensen looks ready to take on the high school ranks after a stellar first cross country season.
Martensen was consistently in the high 15s or low-16s this fall, finishing out with a 5K personal best of 15:55.23 and 7th place finish at the Class 4 State meet. He joins a select group of athletes who have broken 16:00 as a freshman in Missouri history as he became only the eighth athlete to ever do it and fourth in the last four years.
Now we see what he can bring on the track. We've already seen his 800/1600 prowess and know he has the range with his 5K best. He has already run 4:30.34 for a full mile this indoor season so we expect to see some fireworks from the Rolla frosh. Missouri's freshman state records are pretty impressive in the distance events, but expect Martensen to challenge them.
Another highly touted 8th grader during the 2021-2022 school year was Festus's Carson Driemeier.
Driemeier's marks weren't nearly as impressive as Martensen's, but for an 8th grader, they were strong nonetheless, and put the whole state on notice. The "Festus Middle School" next to his name surely helped, but the performances spoke for themselves.
Driemeier ran 5:04.12 and 11:28.71 in the 1600 and 3200, respectively, going undefeated in the 1600 in 8th grade, and looked poised to help the elder Tigers stay atop the cross country podium once he got to high school. This fall, he was a major piece to their hard fought runner-up finish with a 16:26.50 best for 13th at the Class 4 State meet. While it wasn't a sub-16:00 performance, it was still second among freshmen in Missouri and top 35 all-time.
The future remains bright for Festus with Driemeier on the squad. Expect him to challenge for a spot on their regularly all-state 4x800 relay and a spot in the individual distance events in the state series.
Here's an athlete who had the entire state saying "of COURSE she ended up at Rock Bridge..." The rich get richer, huh?
Rock Bridge's Mae Walker added power to an already loaded Rock Bridge squad and snagged a 4th place finish at this past year's Class 5 State Cross Country meet. She burst out on to the scene with her 18:09.60 performance at the Nike Town Twilight Classic and never looked back, picking up a CMAC Conference championship and District runner-up en route to the 4th place state finish.
Walker, like Martensen above, came into her high school career with eye-popping numbers already. She was the top newcomer to the high school ranks with her 2:24.91 best in the 800 and 5:18.88 best in the 1600. These are marks that would land her top 15 in the 800 and top 8 in the 1600 among returners in Class 5 already. After a strong cross country, and with great training partners, expect Walker to fly this spring.
Madilynn Conklin - Park Hill South
Park Hill South's Madilynn Conklin only posted two marks in our database as an 8th grader: a 5:25.38 1600 and 5:23.96 full mile. Regardless, these marks put her just behind Mae Walker for Class of 2026 supremacy in the mile run.
Conklin carried over her successes into the 2022 cross country season by posting a personal best of 18:58.49 and earning a 10th place medal at the Class 5 State meet. Conklin was in the top 3 in three big meets, including runner-up finishes in her conference and district meets, which shows she's no stranger to the big stages.
Expect Conklin to continue to build off her successes and push the envelope in her first high school season.
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2022 Leaders
Claire Maland - Columbia Smithton
Columbia Smithon Middle School feeds to Hickman High School which means, barring a private school move, the Kewpies are about to pick up another superstar in Clair Maland.
Maland led the 8th grade ranks in the 100m dash with her 12.38 best. It was well ahead of her next closest mark, but stands as her best mark in our database. She also ran 27.06 in one of her three tries at the 200m dash. All three attempts were sub-28. Maland also posted a solid 1:02.73 mark in the 400m dash.
Hickman may have a dynamic duo in the jumps, though, as Maland has cleared 16-6 and was consistently over 15 feet as an eighth grader. She has a lot to learn in the triple jump, it appears, but it looks like Maland should be a force in the sprints in jumps this year alongside sophomore teammate Athena Peterson.
There isn't much to say about Lawson's Kamryn Florea other than she's a small school athlete with a lot of range.
Florea competed in the 100, 200, 400, 100m hurdles, long jump, triple jump, and pole vault. As she moves into high school, expect to see Florea compete for a spot in up to four events as she helps Lawson compete on the Class 2 level as a team.
Florea enters the high school ranks with personal bests of 13.89, 29.22, 1:11.77, and 16.93 in the 100, 200, 400, and 100m hurdles. She's also long jumped 14-8, triple jumped 30-1.25, and cleared 9-0.25 in the pole vault.
Lawson is returning with several top tier athletes already and Florea will certainly add to their prowess.
Dezephen Walker - Raymore-Peculiar East
The best incoming short sprinter is Ray-Pec's Dezephen Walker.
Walker enters the high school ranks with personal bests in the 100, 200, and 400 of 11.08, 23.65, and 53.33. He was tops among Class of 2026 100 runners, 9th in the 200, and 2nd in the 400.
Those marks should land him in the mix at most varsity meets and that kind of competition level should propel such a talented athlete to potential state qualifying status. Keep a watchful eye for Dezephen Walker in the big KC area meets this spring.
Brace yourselves, everyone. Jackson Cantwell has arrived.
Standing at a whopping 6 foot 8 and 270 pounds as a freshman(!), Nixa's Cantwell is ready to take over the shot put and discus ranks in the state of Missouri.
If you haven't heard of him, you probably have heard of his dad, Christian Cantwell. Christian is a World Champion shot putter both indoors and outdoors, as well as Olympic silver medalist, and owns the 12th best mark in world history in the event with his 73 ft 11 1/4 in heave. His son Jackson has thrown the middle school shot put 62-6.75 already and tossed the middle school discus 199-3. Those are not typos.
It's hard to believe the 6-time AAU National Champion and National Record holder would regress with the slightly heavier implements. He's a beast already and could challenge for state championships in both the shot put and discus as a freshman.
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One More for the Road
The triple jump is such a technically tricky event to teach and, subsequently for the athlete, master that anytime a non-AAU 8th grader can clear 40 feet in the event, it's piques the interest of those most engaged in the sport.
After finishing out his middle school career at Antioch Middle School in Kansas City, the now Oak Park High School freshman Nathen Michael looks to continue to progress in the jumps events in 2023. His 40-5.75 best was tops among 8th graders in 2022, and, while it didn't translate to similar success in the long jump, we can expect that it's only a matter of time before we see Nathen Michael competing for state hardware in the horizontal jumps.
Not to be outdone, Michael showed that he has some serious potential in the 400 meter dash with a 55.84 best, top 20 among his classmates.
Mahalia Metz - Columbia Gentry
Another profile, another Columbia athlete. This time, it's another one from Rock Bridge.
Metz is the top incomer in the 400 meter dash with her 1:00.76 personal best, adding depth to an already deep stable of options for the long sprint relays. While she did not post a mark in the 200 meter dash, it's hard to believe that couldn't be close to 27-28 seconds already.
Metz will hope to add to the Lady Bruins attack against the might Lions of Cardinal Ritter for Class 5 state supremacy.