With the Kansas City Chiefs' thrilling overtime 25-22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII Sunday night, another former Missouri High School track and field athlete secured the title of "Super Bowl Champion".
Sunday continued a recent trend, as three former MSHSAA All-State track and field performers turned NFL defensive linemen have earned the biggest prize in football and one of the world's biggest prizes in sports.
The Chiefs won their 3rd Super Bowl in five years, despite having the youngest defense in the NFL. The average age of players on the defensive side of the ball was 25 years and 279 days old. It marked just the 2nd time the league's youngest defense advanced to the Super Bowl, as the 2009 Colts made it but lost to New Orleans.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah
One of those young defenders was Felix Anudike-Uzomah. The rookie was the final pick in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, taken by his hometown team while the draft was held in Kansas City. The 6-4, 255lb defensive end was the 2022 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year at Kansas State.
Before college in Manhattan, Anudike-Uzomah shined on the football field and in field events in track and field at Lee's Summit High School. He earned All-State honors as a senior in 2019 with a Class 5 8th-place triple jump finish at state.
Anudike-Uzomah's personal best came at Sectionals his senior year, a 14.21m/46-7.5 hop, skip, and jump. He also long jumped and threw the javelin and shot some.
Anudike-Uzomah had a big stuff of 49ers All-Pro running back and Offensive Player of the Year Christian McCaffrey on Sunday. Despite an injury-depleted defensive line, the Chiefs' defense limited the big plays by the 49ers while forcing a turnover.
On the season, Anudike-Uzomah played in 18 games, had 15 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 0.5 sacks, and 3.5 stuffs for 10 yards of loss.
Khalen Saunders
He joined the team last offseason while Khalen Saunders' 4-year stint with the Chiefs ended. St. Louis native Saunders was an All-State thrower for Parkway Central. The standout in the shot put with a 60-7.25/18.47m personal record (PR) which ties him for 23rd on the state performance list, also starred as a defensive lineman and tailback for the Colts.
With just one Division I football scholarship offer, Saunders took the Western Illinois scholarship and made the most of it. The 6-0, 320lb defensive tackle went viral with videos of him doing backflips at the Senior Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him in the 2nd round of the 2019 draft.
Saunders was an important cog in the Chiefs 2019 and 2022 Super Bowl title runs. Saunder even had one of the only 2 sacks of Super Bowl LVII versus the Eagles last year, sprinting after Jalen Hurts and diving to take the NFL MVP runner-up down behind the line of scrimmage.
Saunders' play earned him a big payday as he signed as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints last Spring.
The 2020 season Super Bowl pitted Saunders and the Chiefs against The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Khalil Davis.
Khalil Davis
Khalil Davis and twin brother Carlos Davis were throwing superstars at Blue Springs High School. The pair helped power one of the great, dynastic runs of any boys' program in state history, the mid-2010s Blue Springs Wildcats.
Carlos and Khalil went 1-2 in the discus their junior and senior years at state (Class 4/4 in 2014, Class 5/5 in 2015). They sit 2nd and 4th on the state performance list in the discus with bests of 214-4/65.32m and 205-8/62.68m. Kahlil sits 9th and Carlos 26th on the state shot put performance list with bests of 63-2.75/19.27m and 60-5.75/18.43m.
The defensive linemen played at Nebraska where they continued their success in the discus. They each qualified for the NCAA Division I Preliminary Championships four times where Khalli advanced to the national championships once and Carlos twice.
Khalil was drafted in the 6th round of the 2020 NFL draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like Saunders a year before, Davis won a Super Bowl ring his rookie year. The Bucs beat the Chiefs 31-9 in Miami, as the Chiefs offensive line struggled to give Patrick Mahomes much time to throw.
This year, Davis played for the Houston Texas. He shined in first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans scheme. Davis had 32 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 7 stuffs for 14 yards.
Brother Carlos was taken in the 7th round of the 2020 draft and played with the Steelers for 2+ years. He was on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad this season and just signed to play Spring football with the UFL's Birmingham Stallions.
Felix Anudike-Uzomah
2023 Champion with Kansas City ChiefsDefensive End
Kansas City Chiefs 2023 Rookie
Lee's Summit, MO. Lee's Summit High School
Khalen Saunders
2019 and 2022 Champion with Kansas City ChiefsDefensive Tackle
Kansas City Chiefs 2019-2022
New Orleans Saints 2023
St. Louis, MO., Parkway Central High School '14
Western Illinois University
2nd Round Draft Pick2020 Champion with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Defensive Tackle
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2020-2021
Houston Texas 2023
Blue Springs, MO. Blue Springs High School '15
University of Nebraska
Other Missourians on the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl LVIII Team
Blaine Gabbert, Quarterback
12th Year,
Ballwin, MO. Parkway West High School,
University of Missouri
Tershawn Wharton, Defensive Tackle
4th Year,
St. Louis, MO. University City High School
Missouri S&T
Nick Bolton, Linebacker
Frisco, Texas
