The 2023 season is officially upon us! We are ready to preview all of the craziness that comes with it.
Class 5 features a changing of the guard in some areas and Round 3 of a battle that's been raging for what seems like forever now. The state's established powers will do battle with teams looking to sneak back to the top of the podium for the first time in 22 years, or just onto the podium for the first time in 23 years, or, in some cases, ever!
Take a look at the athletes, teams, and storylines to watch for in Class 5 this season. The other four classes will be released over the coming days.
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Top 7 Contenders
Liberty North's Sage Wilde silenced the crowd at last year's Class 5 State Championship en route to his first state gold in 15:05.90. Wilde had a breakthrough sophomore cross-country campaign in 2022 and though he stalled a bit during the 2023 spring season, he came roaring back in the fall. After winning his first three races in an average time of 14:51, he placed 2nd at the Gans Creek Classic and Chile Pepper Festival (Ark.), both times to Connor Burns. Another undefeated run followed, which culminated in a convincing victory over a star-studded field on the Gans Creek course in November.
Now a senior, Wilde is coming off a strong 2023 track season with personal bests of 4:20.13 and 9:17.70 in the 1600 and 3200, respectively, to go along with his 14:36.20 MO No. 2 All-Time 5K mark. He will be one of the top contenders for the crown once again but will have to hold off a major rival who is on his own quest to return to the top of the podium.
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Rock Bridge senior Andrew Hauser has been a major part of the Missouri boys cross-country renaissance over the last three years that has produced six of the eleven boys to have ever broken 15:00 for 5K in state history. Hauser's 14:38.15 from his stellar sophomore campaign has him MO No. 3 All-Time.
The reigning Class 5 State Champion and Gans Creek Course Record holder heading into 2022, Hauser produced one more sub-15:00 time but was unable to match that incredible mark from his 2021 season. He ended up in 4th place at the Class 5 State Championships, behind teammate Ian Kemey, helping his team to a runner-up finish.
On the track this spring, Hauser recaptured some of the magic, going sub-9:00 in the 3200 at the always-fast Arcadia (Calif.) Invitational and 4:11.20 in the 1600 at the Drake Relays en route to a 4:12.87 full mile. His comeback in the last 50 meters of the Class 5 State 1600 Meter Run will go down as one of the more incredible finishes at the state meet in recent memory, as he made up a staggering amount of space in only a few seconds before out-leaning Joplin's Hobbs Campbell for the victory.
Hauser is a clear contender for the crown and a return to Class 5 State glory this fall.
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Rockhurst's Henry Acorn built off one of the more successful freshman campaigns in state history by dropping even further under 16:00 as a sophomore in 2022.
Acorn led the Hawklets to a 7th-place team finish at the Class 5 State Championships with a 6th place individual finish. His 15:47.40 mark was just off his 15:31.35 personal best mark from the week prior - a mark which earned him runner-up honors in District 2.
After grabbing his second state medal in cross country in as many tries, Acorn picked up personal bests in the 1600 (4:19.23) and 3200 (9:19.97), qualifying for state in the 1600 and running into a buzzsaw in the Sectional 4 3200, placing 5th. He's an upset pick heading into the season and should be viewed as one of the favorites to break into that Wilde/Hauser tier in the coming months as he challenges for Rockhurst's first XC state title since Wesley Porter. So far, he's essentially matched or surpassed Porter mark for mark and state place for state place up to this point in their careers...
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Jack Williams - Lee's Summit West
After the two seniors at the top graduate, the state's next two superstar names will most likely be Rockhurst's Acorn and Lee's Summit West junior Jack Williams.
Williams and Acorn have been going back and forth over the last two years for the top spot in the Class of 2025. Williams can boast personal bests of 1:59.06 in the 800, 4:20.60 in the 1600, and 9:30.96 in the 3200, to go along with his 15:33.30 personal best 5K. He was also the freshman/sophomore division champion in the snow at Team Midwest Regionals last November over hundreds of competitors from nearby states.
Williams appears to have only gotten faster and stronger this spring and should be one of the seven guys on which to keep an eye this fall.
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Last season, Liberty's Peyton Willbanks had a massive breakthrough, going from a 17:16.20 best and 67th place finish at the district meet to a 15:40.71 best and 13th place finish at the Class 5 State meet.
He was a relative unknown after missing the 2022 track season and only running three meets during the 2021 cross-country season, but Willbanks proved the cross-country breakout was no fluke with 4:24.30 and 9:20.90 personal bests on the track this spring. His second all-state medal of his career came in that electric Class 5 3200, where he finished 7th.
Now Willbanks is one of the top 5 returners for the 2023 cross country season and should be poised to make some serious noise this October and November.
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It wouldn't be a season preview without at least one athlete from Blue Springs as one of the state's strongest programs of the last decade will throw Keagan Enicks into the Class 5 supremacy conversation this fall.
Enicks missed out on the postseason last fall, probably due to an injury, but came back strong for the 2023 track season. He posted a personal best of 9:29.14 in the 3200 and just missed out on his 4:20.51 1600 best from his sophomore year.
Enicks was a 16:41 runner as a freshman and has dropped all the way to 15:40, even on back-to-back abbreviated seasons. A fully healthy 2023 campaign should yield some strong results from the Wildcat harrier.
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The St. Louis area's top returner is from Pattonville for the first time in a long time, but Luke Stevenson appears ready to take the east side of the state of Missouri by storm this fall.
Stevenson broke out in a big way in 2022 with wins at the Stan Nelson and Dale Shepherd Invitationals, bronze medal finishes in the Suburban Conference Championships and District 3 meet (behind two Rock Bridge stars), and, finally, an 8th-place finish at the Class 5 State meet. His seven performances from last cross-country season are the top 7 fastest marks for Pattonville in our database, headlined by his 15:49.30 personal best.
He overcame a winter injury to post a 9:34.21 3200 best this spring and should be ready to drop the hammer this fall as a senior.
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Freshmen To Watch
Jackson Miller - St. Louis University High
After watching him dominate the Festival of Miles Middle School race in a new National Record mark of 4:22.23, watching him break 4:00 in the 1500 en route to a convincing victory at the AAU Junior Olympics, and seeing his sub-2:00 in the 800 for third at Junior Olympics, rising freshman Jackson Miller is ready to set the cross country course ablaze for the SLUH Junior Bills. After picking up a couple of solid Class of 2026ers last season, Coach Porter will add one of the most intriguing 8th-grade prospects in several years. Though his cross-country experience is limited compared to his track experience, Miller should have no problem making an impact on the Jr. Bills' Varsity squad this fall as they look to ascend the Class 5 throne once again this November.
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Ryan Haley - Lee's Summit West
The Lee's Summit West Titans are adding an intriguing prospect this fall in Ryan Haley. Haley dropped a 4:53 1600 this spring and has an 11:02.45 best to his name in the XC 3200. He has already run 11:11 early on in the Clash of the Titans Time Trial this past weekend and should be a strong back-end varsity runner for a sneaky Titans squad.
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Top 4 Teams
The reigning Class 5 Champions didn't lose much to graduation this spring and appear poised to repeat this fall.
Liberty North is led by Sage Wilde, the reigning individual champion in Class 5, and returns an impressive contingent behind him. The Kleinhen brothers, Collin and Kaden, are solid 2/3 guys with 15:45 and 16:10 personal bests. They were also stellar on the oval this spring, providing huge legs in the 4x800, and appear to be no stranger to the limelight. Sean Forquer is back, as well, and adds another boost at #4 with his 16:11 personal best. Where they are behind in the objective rankings on MileSplit is at #5. Right now, it's sophomore Isheanesu Nziramasanga at #5 with his 17:37 personal best, but their depth is lacking based on returners. Should Nziramasanga make the leap into the mid-16s, the Eagles should be able to hold off the charge from those around them. We'll definitely be watching those early season meets to see if they've added the necessary depth this fall.
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Another year, another Rock Bridge squad contending for Class 5 State gold as a team.
The Bruins are building a balanced group with seasoned veterans up front and stellar young talent in the pusher spots. Andrew Hauser leads the way, of course, after graduation of Ian Kemey, Ty Welty, and Hudson Summerall, and should score very few points wherever he goes. What will make the difference for the Bruins this fall is how their young group progresses through the season. Specifically, what kind of leap can sophomores Matthew Kim and Luke Sievers make this year? Kim ran 16:05.50 in the 5K, 4:34.27 in the 1600, and 9:37.86 in the 3200 as a freshman, while Sievers posted 16:10.80, 4:33.48, and 9:35.09 bests in his own right. They both look like the future of the program and should be pushing the mid-15s this fall while Hauser flirts with 14:30s again. Ethan Hockman and Hudson Cook at #4 and 5 will be the biggest keys to their success as they look to push into the low 16s themselves.
It's a strong young core that should keep the Rock Bridge dynasty competitive over the next several years, and we'll see how that translates in 2023 for the crew. They will look to earn their 12th state trophy since 2009.
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It looks like Nixa is ready for the kind of culmination of a youth movement that Kickapoo has had over the last few years.
The Eagles have been building and building over the last couple of years and look ready to surprise some folks heading into the 2023 season. On paper, they are the top returning team in Class 5 led by senior Mason Shank. Shank ran 15:37.33 for 2nd at the COC Championship, 1 of 4 marks at 16:00 or better in 2022, but finished 93rd at the Class 5 State meet. He's one of the top returners for the 2023 season and should be a solid lowstick for this team. The next four for Nixa all come in within 33 seconds of each other, culminating a 59-second 1-5 split for the Eagles. Aaron Ashley is coming off an impressive track season and will be an important piece as the #2, especially if he catches up to Shank's mid-15s. Reyes Martinez and Logan Richart come in within 2 seconds of each other in the mid-16s and Devon Kemp rounds out the top 5 returners with a 16:36 personal best - a mark most squads would love to have as their top returner.
Nixa should not be discounted this fall and has a real shot at the top podium spot in November for the first time in school history.
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Coach Dierks' Hawklets are back in the mix and ready to pounce on another Class 5 State title. They haven't been on the podium since winning it all in 2018.
With junior Henry Acorn leading the way, Rockhurst has a really solid Class of 2025 squad ready to dominate the top enrollment class in Missouri over the next two years. Justin Waldron and Andrew Davis are the next two juniors with 16:14 and 16:29 personal bests, respectively, and they are coming off strong track seasons. Kai Somasegaran posted an impressive 9:32.69 best in the 3200 this spring which means he should be able to shatter his 16:31.54 personal best from last cross-country season. They have some depth and several guys challenging for #5, which not all teams near the top can say. Rockhurst finished 7th last year, but is a preseason favorite to rejoin the podium finishers this fall.
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Dark Horse Team To Watch
Lee's Summit High School was already a dark horse with their contingent of returners not just in the 5K last fall, but also in the 3200 this spring. Their 1-5 average of 17:30.83 among 2023 returners doesn't catch the eye right away, but their 1-5 average of 10:19.52 in the 3200 during the 2023 track season was among the top 7 teams in the state - and that's when you only consider the non-seniors. Led by junior Derebe Carr, the Tigers have also added a potential front-man in Knob Noster transfer Hunter Deleeuw. Deleeuw, also a junior, will be making his cross-country debut this fall but already heads into the season with 4:39 and 9:43 personal bests in the 1600 and 3200 to his name. With two guys with the potential head under 16:00, the Lee's Summit Tigers should be one to really watch as we head into October and beyond.