Sprints
Liberty's Dominic Nevels heads into the 2024 season as the short sprinter to watch with his all-conditions Class 5 leading marks in the 100 and 200 meter dash.
Nevels heads into his senior season with personal bests of 10.45 (+2.2) and 21.46 in each event. He just nearly missed out on Class 5 State gold in 2023, behind Angel Dickerson by a nose hair. His 21.67 in the finals of the 200 put him third behind Dickerson and another senior, Casey Hood, making Nevels the top returner in either event by state place, as well. Watch for Nevels to potentially step up to the 400, too, after the Blue Jay sprint relays were unable to make much noise at the state level last season. He has the chance to pick up 30 points for his squad in May.
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The top quarter miler returning for the 2024 season is Blue Springs' Keith Griffin.
Griffin, a 400 meter specialist, has been under 50 seconds 17 times in his last 20 tries dating back to the 2022 season. He posted only one mark over 50 seconds in 2023 in 12 tries, running under 49 seconds in 8 of his final 9 races on the season.
An absolute machine coming off a dominant junior season, it will be interesting to see where Griffin ends up in 2024. If he is able to improve upon his 48.29 mark, he could be the first Missouri athlete to dip under 48 seconds since 2019, when we had four boys under the mark, led by Justin Robinson's 44.84.
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Staley's Jeremiah Kelley has quietly cemented himself as one of the top hurdlers not just in Missouri, but in the entire country. Kelley's 14.18 mark in the 110 meter hurdles at last summer's AAU Junior Olympics earned him lane 4 for the finals where he placed 4th, but also put him 30th among returners in the entire country heading into 2024.
In 17 tries last spring, Kelley broke 15 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles 13 times headlined by that 14.18 personal best, into a slight headwind (0.9m/s) no less. The bronze medalist in the short hurdles last spring, Kelley earned a 6th place medal in the 300 meter hurdles and returns with a 38.99 personal best, one of four returners under 39 seconds in the event. He also ran 56.00 in the 400 meter hurdles at the New Balance National Outdoor meet.
The rising junior is on his way to a stellar hurdling career.
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Jacobi Oliphant - St. Louis University High
A top name among the hurdle ranks over the last few years, SLUH's Jacobi Oliphant returns for one last swing at an elusive state gold.
As a freshman at Trinity Catholic in 2021, Oliphant earned 5th in the 110 meter hurdles in Class 4. The following year, Oliphant joined the Jr. Bills after Trinity closed down and missed out on the 2022 championships due to injury. His junior campaign turned out to be a big one, though, as Oliphant was able to pick up state medals in the 110 meter hurdles (7th), 300 meter hurdles (2nd), 4x100m Relay (7th), and 4x400m Relay (2nd).
Now a senior, Oliphant should be ready to close out his career with a bang. As the top Class 5 returner in the 300 meter hurdles (38.82) and fourth best Class 5 returner in the 110 meter hurdles (14.53), expect him to haul in plenty of hardware this May. Also of note, his split in the 4x400 finals at last year's state meet was 47.97.
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Drevyn Seamon's 2023 season was exactly what Rock Bridge needed to push along the three-peat. An up-and-coming sophomore coming off of a stellar freshman campaign, Seamon broke through in a big way in multiple events for the Bruins to be come a key cog in their machine.
Now, with the graduation of Casey Hood and others, Seamon joins Justin Giles as a dynamic junior sprints duo ready to help Rock Bridge ascend the Class 5 ranks once again. He heads into the 2024 season with personal bests in the 100 of 10.66 (+4.8), 200 of 21.81 (+2.9), and long jump of 6.74 meters. He earned all-state honors in the open 200 (5th) and was a part of the state champion 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays.
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Distance
Another year, another Andrew Hauser sighting among the top Class 5 returners.
Hauser heads into his final high school season having enjoyed one of the most decorated careers in Missouri cross country and track and field history up to this point. The two-time Class 5 champion in the 1600, Hauser will look to add to his cache of five state medals in track with a few more this season.
Hauser is the leader of one of the state's premier track and field dynasties as the Bruins go for their fourth team championship in a row. He finished third this past fall at the Class 5 State Championships, running out of steam in the last 100 meters, but still closed out his final grass campaign with a 14:48.70 mark at the Olathe Twilight meet. He returns with lifetime bests of 1:56.91, 4:11.20, and 8:58.72 in the 800, 1600, and 3200, respectively. He has already bested his state indoor record in the 3000 this winter with an 8:14.76 clocking at the Cyclone Open, a US No. 2 mark in 2024, equivalent to an 8:51 3200. Watch for Hauser to finish out his illustrious career with an impressive final track season this spring.
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Collin Kleinhen - Liberty North
Liberty North lost a couple of key pieces to their distance prowess, but still return a number of successful distance runners for the 2024 track season, with Collin Kleinhen among the headliners.
Kleinhen heads into the spring as the top returner in the 800 meter run with his 1:53.26 personal best from last June's Midwest Night of Stars. His 1:55.50 split in the 4x800 helped the Eagles win the Class 5 state title and his 1:54.10 mark was good enough for silver medal in the open event. The 49.85 anchor split in the 4x400 meter relay was good enough for gold in that race, as well.
A major contributor to the cross country team's success, Kleinhen is a two-time all-stater with 22nd and 29th place medals to his credit over the last two fall campaigns. He finally took a step up from the 800 and posted a 1600 meter time this winter, running 4:25.56 to go along with a 1:59.60 rust-buster 800. After finishing as the Class 5 runner-up in the half mile last spring, Kleinhen has a shot to pull in the gold with the defending champion potentially moving to Class 4.
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The Class 5 800 meter scene heading into the 2024 season is incredibly deep, possibly deeper than it ever has been. Waynesville's Tyrell Phinn is a significant part of that depth after breaking through in a big way in the half mile distance in 2023.
Phinn heads into the spring with an impressive 1:54.73 personal best and earned third at last year's State Championships in the event with a 1:55.63 mark. It was a 5 second drop for the rising senior, who plays soccer in the fall, and will look to continue to drop even more time this year. Do not overlook a 4:29.49 best in the 1600 and 52.20 personal best, both from his sophomore campaign. Phinn could be a major player across all three events in 2024.
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Kirkwood senior Levi Rowan heads into his final track campaign as a major contender to shake up the 2023 returner ranks and continue the breakthrough he experienced during this past cross country season.
Rowan nearly leapt from 35th in 2022 to 1st in 2023, just missing out on a Class 5 individual state championship by a few ticks, losing the sprint to Rock Bridge's Luke Sievers (who will be discussed later in this article). He finished with a MO No. 7 all-time mark of 14:52.10 and appears to be ready to make a massive impact on the Class 5 distance scene this spring. Rowan heads into the spring with outdoor personal bests of 4:36.12 in the 1600 and 9:34.72 in the 3200, but has already posted a 4:25.15 full mile mark this winter. After dropping 74 seconds off his 5k personal best and dipping under 15:00, it would not be unreasonable to expect that Rowan will challenge the 4:10 and 9:00 barriers this spring.
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Andrew Johnson - Platte County
The 17th President of the United States... er, sorry, the standout senior from Platte County, Andrew Johnson, arrives for one last go-around on the track, most likely in Class 5 once again. Platte County projects to sit right on the border between Classes 4 and 5, but appears poised to land on the latter side.
Nevertheless, Johnson is no stranger to bouncing between the classes between Cross Country and Track seasons as he has pretty much done it his entire career. This fall, the Pirate finished as the Class 4 runner-up at Gans, behind a historic performance from Isaac Rivera. He capped off his regular season with his 7th sub-16:00 time in 8 tries, and proceeded to break the barrier two more times before all was said and done, finishing out his cross country career with a 15:05.60 personal best. He enters the track season with 4:29.78 and 9:18.79 personal bests in the 1600 and 3200, the latter earning him the win in quite probably the fastest Sectional race we have ever seen. Johnson was 6th in the 3200 at last year's Class 5 Championships and should be considered among the favorites to challenge for the title and 9:00 barrier this spring.
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Jumps
Missouri jumps fans should keep a keen eye on Poplar Bluff's Darius Graham heading into the 2024 season. He has the opportunity to break a barrier that fewer than 20 Missourians have broken in state history: 2.13 meters (7 feet) in the High Jump.
Graham cleared 2.09 meters last spring en route to a Class 5 State title in the event, capping off an incredible breakout junior campaign. After clearing 2 meters for the first time at the SEMO Conference meet on April 29th, he never looked back, breaking the barrier five more times before all was said and done.
Further, Graham should be one considered one to watch in Triple Jump, as well. A state qualifier in the event in 2023, he ended his season with a 13.8 meters (45-3.5) personal best to his name and is sixth among the men returning for the 2024 season in Class 5.
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Battle's Vernell Holt enjoyed a massive breakthrough sophomore campaign, himself, wherein he eclipsed an important barrier in the Long Jump and climbed all the way to third at the Class 5 State Championships after not even competing at the Class 5 District 4 meet in the event in 2022.
Holt cleared 7.08 meters (23-2.75) at both the Class 5 Sectional 2 meet and Class 5 State meet, winning the former and securing bronze at the latter in a wind-legal jump. It was an incredible "jump" (in more ways than one) as his personal best before those 7 meter clearing leaps was 6.51 meters (21-4.25). Now, heading into 2024, Holt is the top returner in the event and only Class 5 jumper over 6.9 meters, much less 7. He is also among the top 20 returners in the Triple Jump with a 13.21 meters (43-4) personal best.
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Joseph Anderson - Westminster Christian
Westminster's Joseph Anderson returns for one last hurrah as the top triple jumper and second best long jumper in Class 5 heading into the 2024 season.
The multi-talented hurdler and jumper, who is heading to the University of Iowa for football and track and field, has been a key piece to Westminster's rise over the last few years. He has posted personal bests in the Triple Jump of 14.44 meters (47-4.5) and Long Jump of 6.89 meters (22-7.25), as well as 14.59 in the 110 meter hurdles and 39.41 in the 300 meter hurdles. Last spring, he earned his fourth and fifth state medals with a runner-up in the Triple Jump and fifth place in the Long Jump. The senior was the Class 3 champion in Triple Jump in 2022.
Expect Anderson to compete for a top 5 finish in 4 events this May and compete for gold in the Long and Triple Jump.
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Nixa's Afton Hopkins has picked up where he left off last spring this winter, already clearing 14 feet in the Pole Vault, and gearing up to climb all the way to the top of the Class 5 ranks in the event.
Hopkins is the top returner from the Class 5 State meet in the vault with a 4.38 meters (14-4.5) clearance to his name, though Lee's Summit West's Adam Wooldridge owns the highest personal best of all Class 5 returners at 4.56 meters (14-11.5). He was third in the event last spring after not making it out of Sectionals in 2022. This winter, he has cleared 4.27 meters and should be ready to take the Class 5 scene by storm this year.
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Cameron Cason - Francis Howell
Francis Howell's Cameron Cason experienced a huge breakthrough in the Triple Jump in 2023 that has pushed him to the top of the ranks in the event heading into the 2024 season.
In his Triple Jump debut last April, Cason leapt an impressive 14.18 meters (46-6.25) for the win at the Clayton Classic. He went on to win his next five meets before placing second at the Class 5 Sectional 2 meet and third at the Class 5 State Championships. Cason would go on to clear 14 meters two more times, finishing out his sophomore campaign with a 14.23 meters (46-8.25) personal best.
One of only two boys in Class 5 heading into the spring with a 14 meter personal best to their name, Cason also boasts a 1.83 meters (6-0.5) personal best in the High Jump and 6.3 meters (20-8) best in the Long Jump. Now a junior, Cason should be among the elites in Class 5 in the horizontal jumps and High Jump this year.
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Throws
We knew heading into the 2023 season that a very special talent in the throws department was arriving. And we knew there was potential that he would climb the Class 5 ladder fairly quickly. But who would have thought he would have made this large of an impact on the Class 5 Shot Put and Discus this quickly?
Nixa three-sport all-star Jackson Cantwell, son of former Olympian Christian Cantwell and NCAA and USATF Champion Teri (Steer) Cantwell, has already emerged as quite possibly the state's best shot putter overall, and the next best shot putter in the nation. After finishing MO No. 2 overall to since graduated Hayden Dixon and US No. 1 overall among freshmen with his 19.6 (64-3.75) mark, Cantwell is the far and away favorite to repeat as the Class 5 State Champion with the next closest returner nearly 2 meters behind him. He is the sixth best returner regardless of age in the nation.
He is also the top returner in the Discus and stands nearly 4 meters clear of the next closest returner and was US No. 1 in the Discus among freshmen by 15 feet last spring. Expect him to push the 70 feet and 200 feet barriers this spring and continue to climb the national ranks.
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Park Hill's Jordan Smith has one of the longest resumes among Missouri track and field athletes heading into the 2024 campaign. A tenured multis athlete, Smith has shown prowess in a number of different disciplines and even posted a few significant victories in the Decathlon (2023 AAU Junior Olympics, 2022 Great Southwest Classic) and finished 10th in one major indoor Pentathlon (2023 New Balance Nationals Indoor). He posted the 10th best Decathlon score of any high schooler in the nation last year with an impressive 6487 mark.
Smith is probably most successful in the Javelin, where he boasts a personal best of 61.88 meters (203-1) from the summer of 2022. Last year's 55.17m best, 6 meters behind his lifetime best, is still nearly 2 meters ahead of any other returners in Class 5. Not to be outdone, Smith has also run 11.00 in the 100, hit 15.51 in the 110 hurdles, jumped 1.9 meters in the high jump and 6.68 meters in the long jump, and cleared 3.95 meters in the pole vault. He's a multi-event star that could really make a statement for Park Hill this year, especially in the Javelin, though.
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Imagine being as good as Hayden Mays was last year and still not even being the best freshman on your team.
Mays was a bit overshadowed by the state champion Jackson Cantwell, but, nevertheless, he is the other part of an incredible sophomore duo in the shot put and discus. Heading into the 2024 season with outdoor personal bests of 15.72 meters (51-7) in the Shot Put and 51.46 meters (168-10) in the Discus, Mays will look to improve upon a fifth place finish at state in the latter and break through the wall in the former to throw shot at the state meet this time around. He has already surpassed his personal best in the Shot Put twice, headlined by a 16.61 meters (54-6) heave at the Prentice Gudgen Indoor Invitational.
Mays is the third best returning Class of 2026 Discus thrower in the nation and eleventh among Shot Putters. Expect him to put him significant points in both events for his Nixa squad.
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Staley's Tyler Kerkhoff heads into the 2024 season as the second best returner in Class 5 in the Shot Put. His 17.64 meters (57-10.5) personal best has him as the most significant challenger to the nationally ranked Jackson Cantwell ahead of him. Kerkhoff, to his credit, is 61st in the nation among returners and could absolutely make the climb up the ranks this season to challenge the 60 feet barrier.
In the Discus, Kerkhoff comes in with 45.08 meters personal best and sits fifth among Class 5 returners. With five of the seven guys who finished ahead of him at last year's Sectional meet graduating, Kerkhoff should be in a good spot to make a splash.
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Zavier Winton moved up to Troy from North St. Francois County last season and made an immediate impact in the Discus throw. Troy has historically had a strong throws program, so Winton was able to focus primarily on that area. He finished eighth at the Class 5 State Championship after posting a personal best 51.74 meters (169-9) to win the Class 5 District 4 title. He is the second best returner in Class 5 heading into 2024.
This winter, Winton has already posted a personal best in the Shot Put of 13.18 meters which may mean we are in for some more Shot Put performances from the Trojan senior.
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Incoming Freshmen to Watch
Jackson Miller - St. Louis University High
All eyes were on AAU National Champion Jackson Miller as he kicked off his first high school cross country campaign and he did not disappoint. His 15:17.60 personal best for 6th at the Class 5 State Championships shattered the state's 5k record for freshmen and provided further credence to the fact that he is a major part of the future of distance running in Missouri.
Miller heads into his first high school track campaign with some impressive marks already, including an 8th grade national record 4:22.33 full mile personal best. He ran 4:03.53 in the 1500 for the 13-14 age group AAU national title and 1:58.81 in the 800 for third there. His 52.77 400 meter dash personal best showcases his elite range. SLUH should continue to rank among the top track and field teams in the state and Miller will surely be a major part of that.
Curien Larkins and John Moss - Hickman
The Hickman Kewpies will benefit from the arrival of an impressive freshman duo in 2024, with Curien Larkins and John Moss looking to make an immediate impact on their already talented team.
Moss should be among the top freshman sprinters in the state this spring, should his middle school success translate to the high school scene. He boasts personal bests of 11.27 and 22.37 in the 100 and 200 meter dashes, respectively. He was consistently under 11.8 seconds in 2023, running no slower than 11.73 in his nine tries. Even more impressive, he is the only incoming freshman with a sub-50 second personal best in the 400 meter dash after having run 49.86 at last summer's AAU Junior Olympics. His 6.09m personal best in the long jump could make him a factor in the jumps scene, as well.
Larkins heads into his first high school season having posted a 14.42 personal best in the 100 meter hurdles, second among all Missouri middle schoolers last spring. He and Moss should provide plenty of fireworks for the Kewpie squad in 2024.
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Top Teams
Rock Bridge has officially established itself as a legitimate dynasty in the state of Missouri. That distinction should not change this spring.
Each year, the Bruins graduate a handful of superstar talents, but they are quickly replaced by even more superstar talent. The Class of 2023 major players moving out are Casey Hood, Ian Kemey, Ty Welty, Hudson Summerall, Benjamin Stephens, Tomisaac Johnson, and Osayamen Edo-ohonba. While those seven guys made a massive impact on the team's third straight Class 5 championship last spring, they will still return several key players, as well. Hauser and Seamon have already been previewed, but junior Justin Giles and sophomore Luke Sievers both deserve recognition for the contributions they have made and will make this year.
The Cross Country team brought home a state title this fall in quite possibly the fastest Cross Country race we have seen in this state's history, holding off an equally impressive Rockhurst squad by 8 points, and running a 15:31 team average. Sievers was the champion in the race, not Hauser, running a State meet record 14:51.90. He's built off that cross country course success with some solid marks this winter, running Mile and 3200 lifetime bests on the short track already (4:29.93 and 9:32.35). His 8:44.25 converts to an even better 3200 time of 9:22.62.
Last year, Rock Bridge scored points in nine events, winning four of them. They piled up 73.5 points, 25 points ahead of their next closest competitor.
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Liberty North finished second last spring on the back of an impressive middle distance squad. They won the 4x400 and 4x800 meter relays, picked up 9 points in the 800, and 7 points in the 1600. Sage Wilde added 5 points in the 3200, Colin Madison posted 4 points in a hotly contested 300 meter hurdles race, Matthew Morrison picked up the win in the Javelin, and Javon Smith added 3 points in the Discus.
Morrison, Smith, and one of those middle distance contributors, Grayson Tapp, have since graduated, but Liberty North still returns several formidable middle distance and long distance talents. The Kleinhen brothers, Kaden and Collin, lead the way. Sage Wilde, former Cross Country State Champion, will be looking to bounce back after an abbreviated 2023 Cross Country season. Keep an eye on up-and-comer Isheanesu Nziramasanga as someone who could take a big leap, too, after running 15:40.50 to finish 1 second away from being the team's No. 1 this fall. They were a contender for a podium spot this fall, but experienced some setbacks on the day and finished 10th at the Class 5 State Cross Country Championships.
They have a few potential contributors in the sprints and jumps, with Ja-Corey Love looking to improve upon his 11.14 and 22.40 personal bests, and Theo Gibson (6.8 meters in the long jump) and Matthew Barno (2 meters in the high jump) providing potential major point additions this May. With Madison coming back in the hurdles and a breakthrough from any of the experienced Class of 2024 returners in the throws, Liberty North could make a play to end the Bruins' dynasty this year.
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Nixa has quietly built up the kind of depth and high point totals in a number of areas that makes them a serious team to watch this spring.
Of course we have to start with the 1-2 punch in the throws ring that is Jackson Cantwell and Hayden Mays. Afton Hopkins is among the top returners in the state in the pole vault. And their distance team picked up the school's first ever team trophy in the sport this fall after finishing fourth with a 15:51 team average at the Class 5 State Cross Country Championships. Aaron Ashley, Mason Shank, and Logan Richart lead that talented distance squad.
Picking up 14-18 points in both the shot put AND the discus, plus 6-10 points in the pole vault, and a smattering of points in the four distance events, Nixa should compile enough points to land on the podium this spring with those areas only. If they can pick up points anywhere else, either from Spencer Ward in the long sprints or Zernie Vess in the jumps or from someone we have yet to meet, they could very well challenge for a state title. Do not count the Eagles out this spring.
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Staley is another squad who finished just outside of the podium last spring, but could benefit from two teams who were ahead of them potentially moving to Class 4. They have three superstars in the short sprints, hurdles, and throws in Robert Collins Jr, Jeremiah Kelley, and Tyler Kerkhoff. They have some up-and-coming talent in the pole vault in Chase Granberg, who has already set a personal best of 4.05 meters this winter, and Boston Long in the distance events, who had a solid cross country season this fall. After scoring 28 points in 2023, they lost only 6 of those points to graduation, not including the members of their third place 4x200 meter relay team. With big days from the big three we mentioned, Staley could challenge for a podium spot, or even the top of the podium.
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Dark Horse Team
I know what you're thinking - really? Blue Springs High School, a dark horse? Aren't they one of the perennial powerhouses in the state? Aren't they the largest school in the state by 9-11 enrollment by 145 over the next closest school? Surely they can put together a group of guys out of the 1200 or so they have in their school that can compete for a state title.
Over the last few years, the girls team has distanced themselves as the superior team, but this year's boys squad has a chance at reclaiming the supremacy they have experienced in the not so distant past. Keith Griffin is the key returner. If he can add the 100 and 200 to his repertoire, it could make a significant impact on the Wildcats' team trophy prospects. The quarter-mile specialist is challenging 48 seconds this spring, but would surely challenge 11 and 22 seconds, as well.
Keagan Enicks is, believe it or not, even better after a cross country season in which he ran 15:14.11 and earned a 14th place medal in the blistering fast Class 5 race this fall. He busted the rust in late January with a 9:50 3200, but he owns a 9:29.14 personal best and should be challenging to be a high point scorer this May in that event, as well as the 1600. Fellow senior Gavin Curp improved this fall, too, and could see some impactful gains in the 800. Do not forget about Montarion McAfee in the hurdles, either. His 14.60 and 40.78 personal bests in the 110 and 300 meter hurdles put him in a solid spot to grab a state medal in one or both events, should he continue to progress.
Blue Springs is a team with a rich history of success and 2024 could be the year they reach the podium once again. The last time they did was 2018, the last of a 7 year run on the podium.