For the past 21 years, Adam Perkins has held the record for the fastest time in a 5K for Liberty High School.
Last year, Myles Thornburg put a charge in the school record but came up just milliseconds away from besting the mark of 15:35.
On Saturday, Sept. 9, Peyton Willbanks became the top runner in the history of Liberty with a time of 15:23.90 at the Olathe Twilight Classic across the state border in Kansas.
The senior was 11th overall in the race and was third for Missouri runners, behind Andrew Hauser (second) and Luke Sievers (eighth) from Columbia Rock Bridge. The top three runners all ran sub-15 minutes.
He ran 15:40.71 at the same race last year, one of four times he broke 16 minutes in 2022.
This year, the Class 5 all-stater -- 13th last fall -- opened with a 15:47.30 in the Tim Nixon Invitational in Liberty.