The dust has settled on State Championship Week One of Two and now the Class 3, 4, and 5 schools are ready to make their own waves in Jefferson City this weekend.
It's a star studded cast with plenty of storylines, teams in the hunt for their respective championships, athletes to watch, and Class record holders that should feel nervous about whether or not their record will remain standing when it's all said and done. Here, we are previewing each of the six meets that make up this Large School Championship weekend with each of the teams, athletes, and races to watch. Best of luck to all the competing athletes and we will see you out there at Jefferson City High School!
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Class 5 Boys
Teams in the Hunt: Rock Bridge, Liberty North, Staley, Liberty, St. Louis University High, Lee's Summit West
Athletes to Watch: Keion Grieve, Casey Hood, Andrew Hauser, Jackson Cantwell, Derek Grubb, Ryan Wingo, Hobbs Campbell, Ian Kemey, Joshua Manning, Angel Dickerson
Meet Record Watch: 800, 300m Hurdles, 4x100, Shot Put
The Class 5 Boys race models Cross Country season as it appears that it will come down to Liberty North and Rock Bridge.
Amazingly, Rock Bridge was dominant on their home track at the Sectional meet, but head into the State meet only projected to score 24 points. That just goes to show that they can hold back a touch and still dominate against some of the state's best teams. The Bruins are, of course, led by reigning 100 and 200 Meter Dash runner-up Casey Hood and reigning 1600 Meter Run Champion Andrew Hauser. Ian Kemey, Hudson Summerall, Drevyn Seamon, Ty Welty, and Justin Giles all provide point opportunities both in their open events and all four relays. It's another deep Bruins team, with qualifiers in three field events as well, that should look like a favorite to repeat heading into the weekend.
Liberty North is locked and loaded and ready to shock Rock Bridge again, much like they did this fall. Their distance squad is undeniably strong led by Sage Wilde, Collin Kleinhen, Grayson Tapp, and Sean Forquer. They qualified two sub-1:57 boys in the 800, two sub-4:20 boys in the 1600, and reigning Cross Country champion Wilde in the 3200. Not to mention, they also qualified a 7:53.41 4x800 relay team. It's a solid Eagles distance squad that should put heavy points for their team once again this year. They will also add points with their 4x100 and 4x400 relays, Colin Madison in the 300 Hurdles, Javon Smith in Discus and Shot Put, and, of course, reigning Javelin State Champion Matthew Morrison, who looks ready to "grip it and rip it" to another gold medal this weekend. Liberty North appears to be the most dangerous team in regards to Rock Bridge's title defense.
In addition to a fun team title chase, which should also include Staley, Liberty, St. Louis University High, and Lee's Summit West, among others, be on the lookout for the following meet records to go down:
Capital City's Keion Grieve heads in with a personal best in the 800 Meter Run two full seconds ahead of Lazarus Williams' 1:53.29 Class 5 record from 2019. He's run 1:55.07 so far this year, but has shown he is fully capable of going even lower already. Carthage's Miguel Solano, Waynesville's Tyrell Phinn, and Joplin's Hobbs Campbell are all also candidates to roll under that record.
Smith-Cotton's Derek Grubb threw down a massive personal best of 37.64 at last weekend's Class 5 Sectional 2 meet. He is now almost a full second ahead of the next closest challenger and could absolutely take out Savion Cauveren's Class 5 meet record of 37.41.
Rockhurst is absolutely rolling in the 4x100 Meter Relay at the moment, led by Kenechukwu Okpareke. They are the top seed heading into the weekend with a 41.95 mark from last weekend and are only three-tenths of a second off Liberty North's 41.63 meet record from 2016.
Finally, Nixa's Jackson Cantwell will challenge the Class 5 meet record in his first high school campaign. The freshman has been making even the biggest shot put sectors small with his massive heaves this spring. Last weekend, he cleared the Class 5 meet record (19.09m) with ease so, should all systems still be go, Cantwell should snag a meet record in his first ever go-around, and solidify himself as one of the top shot putters not just in the state, and not just among freshmen, but for all throwers across the country.
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Class 5 Girls
Teams in the Hunt: Cardinal Ritter, Blue Springs, Rock Bridge, Lafayette (Wildwood), Pattonville, Lee's Summit West
Athletes to Watch: Zaya Akins, Maya Anderson, A'Laji Bradley, Genesis Dixon, Grace Tyson, Athena Peterson, Morgan Cannon, Mason Meinershagen, Josie Baker
Meet Record Watch: All 4 Relays, 100, 200, 400, Javelin, 3200, 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, High Jump, Triple Jump
It was already an insanely deep Class 5 field. Adding Zaya Akins to the mix upped the adjective to otherwordly.
Akins heads into the Class 5 State Meet fresh off two golds and two all-conditions Class 4 state meet records in 2022. She ran 11.32 (+2.5) to shatter the 100 Meter Dash record and 53.41 in the 400 to break that 11-year record, one day after scratching out of the 200 Meter prelims. She's moved up to Class 5 now and ready to win all three sprint titles in her final season as she heads in MO No. 1 with 11.36, 23.16, and 52.83 season bests. She is ranked 15th in the country in the 100, 10th in the 200, and 7th in the 400.
On the team side, get your popcorn ready, because Cardinal Ritter and Blue Springs are about to put on an absolute show.
Heading into the meet, Blue Springs, coming off an incredible day at the Class 5 Sectional 2 meet where they took down title contender Rock Bridge on their home track, are projected to score a whopping 72 points to Cardinal Ritter's 69. The difference between the two teams? Abigail Brackenbury and Paige Stuart. Both teams will certainly trade blows in the short sprints and field events, but Blue Springs comes out on top in the distance events with these two girls, Faith Fotiades, and their top-ranked 4x800 relay. Arianna Calloway, Kayleigh Jenkins, Ariana Jackson, and Adrianna McMurray all add to a Wildcats contingent that appear ready to upset the defending two-time champions. Blue Springs is truly one of the most dangerous teams across the board that we have ever seen.
All that being said, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best, and over the last two+ years, Cardinal Ritter has been the best by far.
All signs point to another Ritter rout in Jefferson City as they enter with three top two ranked sprint relays. Of course, the team ahead of them in the 4x200 and 4x400 is Blue Springs. They will boast two entries in the 100, 200, 400, 300m Hurdles, and Triple Jump. Kyndall Spain is their lone 100m Hurdles at 13.99 and Alexis Taylor was the only one to make it out in the long jump. Aniyah Brown leads the way once again, hoping to take down the titan that is Zaya Akins to win her third 100 Meter and 200 Meter Golds in as many tries. Charlye Moody and Nevaeh Bryant will all have plenty of work in their opens and relays, giving the Lady Lions a realistic shot at holding off Blue Springs for the repeat.
But don't forget about Lafayette, Rock Bridge, and Pattonville. All three squads are led by superstars with Grace Tyson hoping to lead her Lancers to the podium along side the Barnard Sisters, Carolyn Ford, Mae Walker, and Grace Parsons carrying the load for the Bruins, and A'Laji Bradley quietly throwing her name in for multiple top three finishes in all three sprint events. Pattonville also gets help from their middle distance star Camryn Hubbard, an 800 Meter title contender. And lest we forget the dynasty that is Lee's Summit West, led by sprints phenom Mikah Scott.
Of course with this many superstars, the Class 5 meet record book may just have to be torn up and completely restarted. We may see upwards of THIRTEEN Class 5 state records go down. Cardinal Ritter's squads plus Lafayette and Blue Springs in the 4x800 put all four meet records in danger (respectively: 46.14, 1:37.85, 3:50.84, and 9:15.22). Zaya Akins should challenge for the meet records in all three sprints. So we have already mentioned half.
One of four girls all have a shot at Genesis Dixon's 13.57 mark from last season. In fact, MICDS' Maya Anderson was only 0.02 seconds off the mark and two other girls have broken 14.1 seconds this season, as well. The afore-mentioned Kyndall Spain has run 13.99 three times and John Burroughs' Aaliyah Elliott has run 14.07. They all four went head to head in a barn-burner at Ladue's Brusca/Strobach Invitational with Anderson running 13.99 for the win. Only 0.23 seconds separated the field. Subsequently, the 300 Hurdles record of 42.35 is in danger, as well.
The High Jump (1.72m), Triple Jump (12.08), and Javelin (48.15) are all in danger, as well, as Arianna Calloway looks poised to challenge the High Jump mark with her 1.73m personal best, Maya Anderson pushing her meet record Triple Jump already - she jumped 12.25m last weekend, and Morgan Cannon looking to defend her 2022 title in the Javelin. Cannon bettered it last week with a throw of 45.26 meters. The 3200 Meter Run record is also in danger and it could be broken by any one of Tyson, the Barnards, MICDS senior Julia Ray, or Brackenbury, among the several others. The current mark of 10:38.38 is well within reach for these ladies.
The Class 5 portion of this weekend's festivities appears to be just as exciting, if not more, than last year's. You're not going to want to leave your seat on Saturday.
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Class 4 Boys
Teams in the Hunt: Festus, Hillsboro, Kearney, Grandview, Helias Catholic, Lutheran St. Charles, Smithville, MICDS
Athletes to Watch: Griouard Weddington, Ian Schram, Josh Allison, Jayce Farrell, Arhmad Branch, Matthew Malmstrom, Grayson Smith, Ryan Seabaugh
Meet Record Watch: Javelin
As we head into the older classifications, the meet record watch section takes a nose dive, but the teams and athletes to watch remain just as full and interesting.
Festus and Hillsboro appear ready to trade blows all weekend as they figure out who truly is the best of the Jefferson County programs. This fall, Hillsboro ended Festus' 9-year state championship streak with a convincing and impressive victory in Columbia. This weekend, they will look to do the same, once again with the stellar distance boys, but also a strong supporting cast. The Allison brothers lead the way, alongside Orville Mann. Josh Allison is entered in all four distance events, with Jonah running the 800, 1600, and 4x800 Relay only. The 4x800 Relay has posted the only sub-8:00 time in Class 4 so far this season. Noah Holland is strong in support in the 100, 200, and 400. He will surely contribute to one of the three sprint relays that qualified, as well. Other potential point scorers for the Hawks include Mitchell Lutes, Dalton Ross, Nick Marchetti, Alex Whaley, and Payton Brown. It's a balanced lineup that should post upwards of 70 points at the state meet, which could very well enough to win state championship number two in 2023 and of all-time.
Festus is their biggest challenger, it seems, and appears just as deep. The distance squads have not (and may never, at this point) go away as they bring in senior Ian Schram and freshman Carson Driemeier, foremost. Schram is looking to cross the line first in four races just like his former teammate Jacob Meyers did last season. He has had an incredible senior campaign with personal bests of 1:54.29, 4:17.91, and 9:20.99 to his name -- not to mention a 52.09 best in the 400. Driemeier has had an incredible freshman campaign as he appears to be the Tigers' torchbearer when Schram moves on to Wichita State next week. He is putting all his focus on the 3200 and heads in with the third fastest seed time from Sectionals with a 9:30.78, though he has run MO Freshmen No. 5 all-time 9:27.85. These two boys should add significant points to Festus's total this weekend.
The Tigers also qualified all-state caliber 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams, plus Reece Johnson in the 200, Austin Schutte in the Discus, two of the top five Javelin throwers in Tyler Shepherd and Cody Evans, the top seed in the long and triple jump - Arhmad Branch - and Austin Johnson in the Pole Vault. With so many top seeded athletes and relays in so many events, Festus is projected to come out on top and earn their first ever team championship in track and field. Of course, there are several teams in the hunt, including a Kearney squad who is looking to defend last year's team championship. They are led by Luke Noland and Grant Noland in the hurdles and long jump, Zachery Grace, Theodore Grace, and Aiden Smith in the Javelin and Discus, and Zachary Proctor in the High Jump.
Some individuals to keep an eye on include Griourd Weddington of Grandview. Weddington arrived on the track for the 2023 season later than most, but has picked up exactly where he left off last year, looking to pick up individual wins in the 100 and 200 Meter Dashes. Helias Catholic's Matthew Malmstrom is looking strong in the 110 and 300 Meter Hurdles as we approach the pinnacle of the season. And, with Willard's throws crew moving up to Class 5, Smithville's Jayce Farrell comes in as the top seed in both the Shot Put and Discus, based on Sectional marks.
Two events to watch include the Javelin and the Boys 800 Meter Run. The Javelin has the best shot at producing a state records among the 19 events and it could possibly come from Washington's Clyde Hendrix, Payton Brown, or Class 4 newcomer Joseph Lepak. It will be fun to watch as all three boys enter with personal bests at 57.68m or better (189 feet). The 59.68m record from last year is still daunting, but one of these three boys has a great shot at grabbing.
The Boys 800 Meter Run in both Class 5 and Class 4 is highly anticipated. This year, we quietly saw one of the deepest 800 Meter Run fields that we have ever seen. In 2022, there were only 4 boys under 2:00 at their Sectional meet and 10 under 2:02. This year, Sectional weekend saw 4 boys go under 1:57 and all 16 boys run 2:01.63 or better. The field is led by Josh Allison, Farmington's Evan Fuller, Schram, Lutheran's Isaac Lind, and Ft. Zumwalt East's Tyler Anderson, five of the biggest names in middle distance running at the moment, which should make for an incredible race. After some 2:00+ all-staters the last two years, we may see an athlete run in the 1:57s and miss out on the podium this year.
The Class 4 boys meet may not bring the same fireworks as the Class 5 girls meet, but it is still littered with interesting storylines and intriguing matchups.
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Class 4 Girls
Teams in the Hunt: Ladue, Parkway Central, Kearney, Pleasant Hill, Jefferson City, Helias Catholic, Cor Jesu
Athletes to Watch: Skyye Lee, Reagan Kimrey, Delaney Brinker, Kayleigh Norris, Ava Lawless, Sydney Ward, Krysta Miller, Adrienne Luna
Meet Record Watch: 100m Hurdles, 300m Hurdles, Triple Jump
Skyye Lee is back for the Parkway Central Colts and appears ready to drop a 40 piece on the rest of the state.
Lee enters with top Sectional marks in the 100, 200, and 100 Meter Hurdles. She is fourth in the 300 Meter Hurdles based on Sectional marks, but is third among entrants. She has her sights set on both of the hurdle records and has shown over the last two weeks to be coasting in the longer race. Her personal best of 43.76 puts her firmly in the driver's seat, still. If Lee can pull off the quadruple gold, and Central can pick up scattered points in a few other events, expect them to be back on the podium this spring.
The Class 4 girls meet is loaded with talented teams and athletes, even with Zaya Akins moving on the Class 5. Ladue, Kearney, and Pleasant Hill all appear ready to throw down with Parkway Central for the team crown.
Ladue is led by long sprints aficionado Delaney Brinker, who dropped an eye-popping 55.93 at the Sectional 1 meet last weekend, the Lady Rams will pick up significant points from her and their strong sprint relays. They should also pick up points from Karina Griffin, a 2:19.79 800 Meter runner, and Journee Williams mo in the 100 and 200 Meter Dash. It may not seem like a lot, but Coach Buckvar has his girls in the right place to push for 40+ points on the day.
Pleasant Hill and Kearney, two schools from just outside of Kansas City with similar school color styles, will be in the mix for a team title, as well, as they both have high point scoring athletes and great depth. Pleasant Hill is led by throws phenom Reagan Kimrey, who is seeded first in both the Shot Put and Discus by a massive margin. She is over 3 meters ahead of the next closest challenger in the Discus and 1.5 meters ahead of the next closest shot putter. Brooke Beck is a major point scorer for the Chicks, too, as she will go for the 400/800 double. She has run 57.22 and 2:16.44 this season, both extremely impressive marks.They hope to pick up big points in the 4x200 and 4x400 Meter Relays, as well as the 300 Meter Hurdles from Laura Irwin and first year vaulter Makyna Faust.
Kearney hopes to blow all three out of them out of the water with their own stable of stars. Ava Lawless is the biggest name as she comes in hoping to defend her Triple Jump State Champion title, as well as improve upon her runner-up and third place finishes in the Long Jump and 100 Meter Hurdles, respectively. She has earned personal bests in all three events so far this spring and enters top-ranked in the Triple Jump, second in the Long Jump, and second in the 100 Meter Hurdles. She's also third-ranked in the 200 Meter Dash this year. It may be hard for her to grab 40 points with someone like Skyye Lee ahead of her in two events, but she should reel in big points for her squad either way. Jadyn Barnes heads in to the weekend looking to defend her 800 Meter Run title and the rest of her distance squad teammates could really help out the cause with jumps in the 1600 and 3200. They will also look for points in the 4x400 and 4x800 Meter Relays and Discus with Alli Poage.
As for meet records, we have already mentioned the three in most danger of going down. Skyye Lee is in perfect position to take out both records, no matter how ridiculously fast they are (41.79 in the 300 Meter Hurdles). Lawless is about 3 centimeters off the Triple Jump record, but has closed the gap, and could pop one off to knock off a 28 year old Class 4 meet record.
The Class 4 girls field will be the most competitive of the weekend with 10 teams legitimately competing for the top spot.
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Class 3 Boys
Teams in the Hunt: Bowling Green, Pembroke Hill, Maryville, Southern Boone, Buffalo, Centralia, Herculaneum, East Newton
Athletes to Watch: Connor Burns, Kaiden Snyder, Marcus Starks, Adam Snoke, Brett Schwanke, Caelan Harland, Dylan Dalton, Louis Dieckmann
Meet Record Watch: 1600, 3200, 100, Javelin, Pole Vault, High Jump
We all know who to watch for this weekend in Class 3 Boys - it's Connor Burns.
The Southern Boone senior has everyone on pins and needles waiting to see just what he will do in the 1600, 3200, and 4x800 Relay. In the 1600 and 3200 over the last two weeks, he's cruised through the District and Sectional meets, taking it out smooth for the first 90 percent of the race, before kicking everyone's doors down and storming ahead to victory. In the 4x800, he has had to work to come from behind, but he has still made 1:53 and 1:54 look easy. He is the clear favorite in both open events and, in all reality, should be in the hunt to break the Class 3 and Overall meet record of 4:03.54 in the 1600, set by Head Meet Referee Jason Pyrah and his own class and overall meet record in the 3200 of 8:48.76. Southern Boone is also the top seed in the 4x800 with an 8:11.13 mark. If Burns receives the baton within 10 seconds of the leader, expect him to cross in first.
The team title race has a clear favorite, as well, with Bowling Green having separated themselves from the field emphatically over the last few weeks. The Bobcats are led by Marcus Starks and his multi-faceted attack. Starks has a shot at the Class 3 record in the High Jump as he has cleared 2.12 meters this season, just a tick under the 2.13 meter record set in 1989. He has also posted finals-caliber marks in the 110 and 300 Meter Hurdles races, and has run strong anchor legs for their 4x100 Relay. Ben Chance provides insurance in the 1600, 3200, and as a leg on the 4x800 Relay, but where the Bobcats really stack points is in the throws and jumps. Bowling Green benefits from the talents of Devin Rue and Teddy Charlton in the Discus, Dylan Dalton and Gunner Bryant in the Javelin, and Bleyne Bryant in the Long and Triple Jump, along with Starks in the High Jump. Based on Sectional marks, the squad is projected to pull in just over 50 points, 13 and 14 points ahead of the next closest teams, Pembroke Hill and Maryville.
Some more athletes to watch include Macon sophomore Caelan Harland in the Pole Vault, who has a realistic shot at clearing the 30-year-old meet record of 5.10 meters, though he will have a bit of climbing to do. Kaiden Snyder of St. James in the 110 and 300 Meter Hurdles. He follows in the footsteps of the St. James hurdlers before him who have entered the state meet as the heavy favorite in both hurdle events. Buffalo's Brett Schwanke has consistently been between 10.60 and 10.81 all season in the 100 Meter Dash and has a real shot at breaking the meet record of 10.58 set in 2014. And, finally, watch out for Adam Snoke of Lutheran South in the 800 and 1600 Meter Runs. Last June, Snoke ran 1:52.71 at the St. Louis Festival of Miles and should be the heavy favorite to win the 800 should he repeat that feat. His 4:15.60 personal best in the 1600 should affix him to the runner-up spot behind Burns.
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Class 3 Girls
Teams in the Hunt: Centralia, Lutheran St. Charles, Eldon, Summit Christian, Palmyra, Clinton, El Dorado Springs
Athletes to Watch: Zoe Martonfi, Elle North, April Phillips, Makayla Myers, Elsa Henry, Jersy Nelke, Maliya Clark, Lyric Ford
Meet Record Watch: High Jump
The Class 3 Girls meet is highlighted by a couple of multi-event stars and teams with just enough depth to carry them to the podium. It is a wide open race for the team title with no one truly separating themselves and the kind of meet is begging for someone to break through and be that "talk of the weekend" type athlete.
The first candidate for those honors is Eldon's Zoe Martonfi. Martonfi heads into the weekend as the top seed based on Sectional marks in the 800, 1600, and 300 Meter Hurdles, and third best in the Triple Jump. This multi-event star could carry her Eldon squad all the way to the top with a big point total, and she will hope to get some help from her teammates in the Discus, Shot Put, and 4x400 Meter Relay. As it stands, the Mustangs are projected to score 39 points, with 36 of those coming from their star junior.
Lutheran St. Charles is making a play for the state championship led by sophomore Elle North. North heads in as the top seed in the 400 Meter Dash after an impressive personal best at the Sectional meet of 57.65. Her 25.59 personal best in the 200 has her sitting third in the 200, as well, which could mean big points for her team. She also runs important legs on their top-ranked 4x200 Meter Relay and seventh-ranked 4x400 Meter Relay. She will get help from the recently transferred Kennedy Williams, who is the second seed in the 300 Meter Hurdles and will hope to climb into the top eight in the 100 Meter Hurdles, as she is not too far off. She'll also run legs on their 4x200 and 4x400 Meter Relays. Williams came to Lutheran from Hazelwood Central this spring and has already made an impact on the squad in her first year. Their 4x100 Meter Relay will hope to pad some points to the total as, should their stars and relays do their jobs, they could find themselves in the top spot and ready to join their Boys team in Class 4 next year.
The current favorite in terms of the team title, though, is Centralia. The Panthers are projected to score 42 points, 1 ahead of Lutheran, and 3 ahead of Eldon, led primarily by Shelby Lewis in the 200 and 400 Meter Dashes and Ellie Berendzen in the Discus. Lewis is the second fastest seed in the 400 with her 58.31 personal best and sits fourth in the 200 with a 26.05 best. Berendzen is the top seed in the Discus with a mark of 37.54 Meters. Jozelynn Bostick will be busy in all three open distance events and the 4x800 Meter Relay. She has had a strong senior season and looks to go out by helping her squad to the team title. Kaylie Ensor and Autumn Hawkins are important pieces in the Pole Vault and Long Jump who could add key points to the total. And big days from their 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800 Relays could really seal the deal. Centralia's girls have never won a state championship in track and field and 2023 could finally be the year.
The lone meet record watch belongs to Summit Christian Academy's April Phillips in the High Jump. Phillips heads into the weekend with a personal best mark of 1.73 Meters from last weekend's Sectional 4 meet, which is MO No. 2 overall. She is chasing down former Summit Christian phenom Carlie Queen's 1.80 mark from 2017 and certainly should challenge that on Saturday afternoon. She's also a top four seed in the Long and Triple Jumps, and a key part of Summit Christian's quest for a team podium finish.