2023 MSHSAA State Championships Preview: Class 2 Boys

The District Champs - Individuals

Reed Layton - Woodland

Woodland senior Reed Layton is on a crash course toward closing out a stellar cross country career with his first ever individual state championship. He has finished in the top ten in Class 2 in each of the last seasons, crossing the line in fourth last fall behind three seniors. 

The 2023 season has been in line with his junior and sophomore campaigns in terms of success. He has picked up victories at the Arcadia Valley Invitational, Woodland Invitational, SCAA Conference meet, Heartland Conference meet, and, most recently, the Class 2 District 1 meet. His 16:27.20 personal best on the Dexter course is tops among Class 2 runners at the moment and has him in the driver's seat heading into Friday, though he has a couple of challengers not too far behind him. 

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Nolyn Corder - Mansfield

Mansfield's Nolyn Corder has flown well under the radar this season, but has come on strong in October as he looks to take home the Class 2 crown this weekend. 

Corder has picked up victories in each of his last five meets not named the Chile Pepper Festival (where he finished 216th). His Class 2 District 2 win succeeded wins at the Summit Conference meet, Mountain Grove Open, Plato Eagle Invitational, and Hollister Invitational. He also owns a runner-up finish in the Class 2 division of the Steve Waggoner Invitational. 

After a 14th place finish in 2022, Corder picked up big personal bests in the spring of 4:28.65 in the 1600 and 9:57.59 in the 3200. Those marks have translated to cross country success as his 16:48.66 best from last weekend's District meet has him firmly among the contenders for the Class 2 win. 

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Jaxson Jobe - Calvary Lutheran

With eleven races under his belt already this season, Calvary Lutheran's Jaxson Jobe is hoping that number twelve will produce his first career individual state championship. 

Jobe was the Class 2 District 3 champion on Saturday, a year after finishing ninth. He was 15th at the Class 2 State meet last fall and heads into this year's meet as a title contender. His 16:37.00 personal best came at last season's Smithton Pumpkin Run, but his 16:51.80 season best at the Bowling Green Invitational has him firmly among Class 2's best. He also boasts victories this year at the Dixon Invitational, Calvary Lutheran Invitational, and Belle Invite.

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Brandon Hammett - Butler

Butler sophomore Brandon Hammett is enjoying a major breakthrough season and may be poised to turn some heads this Friday as he races for a Class 2 state championship. 

The Class 2 District 4 champion one year removed from a 75th place finish at the Class 3 State meet last year, Hammett has been trending up since winning the small schools division of the Grain Valley Sock It To Cancer Invitational. He had already broken 17:00 earlier in the year, but that marked his first career cross country victory. From there, he would go on to win his home meet and earn runner-up finishes at the Ozark Highlands Conference meet and Montrose Invitational. His 16:47.83 best is among the cream of the crop in Class 2 and should firmly cement his claim to the individual crown. 

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The District Champs - Teams

Woodland

Woodland continued to cruise through the season with a convincing victory at the Class 2 District 1 meet. The Layton brothers, Reed (at top) and Calvin (above), led the squad with first and second place finishes. Both boys could very well finish 1-2 on Friday as Calvin has posed a 16:31.50 personal best. It would be the fifth time he has finished second overall in a race to his brother. The Cardinals had five boys inside the top twenty-five and scored 56 points, 79 ahead of second place St. Pius X Festus. With a 17:23.75 1-5 average, they should be considered among the contenders to with the Class 2 team championship this weekend a year after finishing tenth. A trophy here would be only their second in school history and first since 2016.

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New Covenant Academy

New Covenant Academy is riding high after a Class 2 District 2 victory, led by David Kendall's fourth place finish and Kian Edwards' sixth place finish. They scored 57 points to hold off Mansfield and Alton. The Warriors have a strong front-runner in Kendall, whose 16:47.31 best has him among the ten best runners in Class 2 heading into the weekend. They are solid through four, but will need some help from their fifth man if they hope to break into the top four this weekend. 

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Elsberry

Quite probably the biggest jump we have seen this season from a Class 2 team is out of Elsberry. A year removed from finishing fifth at the District meet and graduating frontman Dashaun Dodson, the Indians have received a huge boost from sophomore Jedidiah Heras and senior Ezekiel Byers. While Heras was the District 3 runner-up and boasts a personal best of 17:13.45 from the EMO Conference meet, Byers may have the biggest year-over-year improvement of anyone at the District meet as he went from 120th in 2022 (clearly a fluke) to 8th this year. 

Elsberry is an intriguing squad in that they are riding some serious momentum from their first ever district title and boast the best 1-5 pack of any of the 16 Class 2 teams. If Heras and Byers can sneak into the top 10, and their supporting cast can provide the pick-me-up they need, we may be saying State Champion Elsberry for the first time since their girls won it all in Class 1 in 2002. 

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Lutheran (Kansas City)

Lutheran Kansas City remains a mainstay among the state leaders and should be considered among the contender for the Class 2 crown after a four-point victory over North Platte.

Led by David Reimer, the District 4 runner-up, Lutheran relies on their top 3 boys to pull down the score early. The Nord brothers, Graham and Wyatt, have been consistently their numbers 2 and 3 this year, but on Saturday it was Rex Lyle who stepped up to the plate to secure the win for the Knights. It's a squad that can make some noise when it counts and should not be counted out this weekend.

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Keep an eye out for...

Alton

Alton may have finished third on Saturday to sneaky New Covenant and Mansfield squads, but make no mistake, they are clearly one of the five best teams in Class 2 at the moment. Led by individual title contender, Rydan Deckard and his 16:28.30 personal best, and Trenton Cunningham at 16:53.89, the Comets should be able to secure a trophy a year after finishing fifth.

Notably, Deckard has enjoyed an incredibly successful season in which he has picked up seven victories and two runner-up finishes. His win at the Brian T. Simpson Invite earlier this month in a time of 16:36.70, personal best of 16:28.30, and season average of 17:00 should solidify him as a major player for the individual championship 

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North Platte

North Platte grabbed the fourth trophy in Class 2 last season and should be considered among the 5-6 teams that could bring one home this season. The Panthers are led by a solid 1-2 punch of Drake Keraus and Noah Heckman in the very low 17:00 range and finished only four points behind Lutheran Kansas City for the District 4 crown. Another trophy would be their second in a row as they look to continue the run of success their girls program has experienced over the last four years. 

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Brett Payne - Bourbon

Brett Payne may not have much of a supporting cast around him at Bourbon, but he has continuously sought out opportunities to do battle with the best of the best in the state and that may serve him well this weekend. Payne boasts wins at the Steelville Invitational and GVC Championship, to go along with runner-ups at the Gans Creek White Division race and Owensville Invitational. He was third at District 3 and even competed in the Forest Park Green division, where he finished 34th. 

Payne's personal best of 16:38.40 on the Gans course in September has him as an intriguing pick to win it all this weekend. He clearly does not fear racing with the best the state has to offer and should not be counted out on Friday.