Ladue Horton Watkins sweeps Class 4 MSHSAA championships

Ladue Horton Watkins became the third school to sweep track and field championships in the past 10 years.

On Saturday, the boys and girls teams each won the Class 4 titles on the final day of the MSHSAA State Track and Field Championships in Jefferson City.


The girls won with 68 points, a 14-point margin over Father Tolton Regional Catholic. For the boys, Ladue had 62 points and held off Kearney, which had 49.

Since MSHSAA went to five classes in 2015, only two schools have swept the team titles. Westminster Christian Academy won both in 2022, while the now-closed Trinity Catholic in 2019. Both of those came in Class 3.

The last Class 4 school to win both titles was Hazelwood Central in 2013.


"It is one of the things we love, we are a combined program it gives us challenges at times but both groups fuel and feed off each other," Ladue coach Nick Buckvar said. "We practice together and divide up by position group but boys and girls are together. They support and challenge each other."

The previous state title for Ladue's boys came in 2019 in Class 4 (of 5). The championship for the girls was the No. 3. The other two championships -- 2005 and 2009 -- came in Class 3 when there were a total of 4 classifications.

However, the trophies for both were No. 11 for each.

Ladue's boys brought home a trophy for the first time since 2019 and the team won two relay titles that year. The same thing happened on Saturday when the 4x100 and 4x400 won. There was just a single runner on both relays, showcasing the depth of the Rams.

Dwayne Foley, Evan Via, Jordan Williams and Shaun Roberts won the 4x100 in 41.88 seconds. Owen Levine, Chase Storman, Rylan Wilson and Gavin Via were on the 4x400 that cruised to victory over Cardinal Ritter and the field in 3:17.78 -- a more than 4-second win. The time put the Rams 3rd on the overall season performance list, as Lee's Summit North and Lee's Summit would just edge them minutes later by 2 and 1/100ths of a second in the Class 5 4x400 final. 


Gavin Via anchored the Rams to victory in the 4x400 and placed 2nd in the 400. 

Roberts was a surprise champion for the Rams by winning the 100 in 10.80 seconds. He was seeded fifth after Friday's preliminaries. The senior earned four all-state medals, taking sixth in the 200 and was on the 4x100 and 4x200 -- which took third


Ladue senior Shaun Robers (#2/#4426) sprints to victory in the Class 4 100 meter dash in 10.80 at the 2024 State meet.


On the girls' side, the Rams scored points in all four relays and won the 4x200 and 4x400. Ravyn Thomas, Journee Williams, Laila Murray and Delaney Brinker ran 1:40.28 to win the 4x200, while Murray, Brinker, Aaliyah Rogers, and Karina Griffin ran a Class 4 record 3:45.91 and the 2nd-fastest time in state history. 

Brinker said the team wanted to break the school record that was set in 2011 -- which also won a title and featured current assistant coach Samantha Levin. Levin also set the state and state meet overall record that year with a 2:06.74 in the 800 prelims, when that event had two rounds.


With her closest competitors just handing off the baton in the distance, Ladue's Delaney Brinker runs off the curve just before the backstretch as the Lady Rams raced to a 3:45.91 4x400 to win the Class 4 title, breaking the Class 4 state meet record, and running the 2nd fastest time in state history.



Brinker was sixth in the 200-meter dash and was a runner-up in the 400, giving her four all-state medals. 

The 4x800 placed 2nd in 9:34, only behind Father Tolton Regional Catholic and was led by two standouts in junior Karina Griffin and freshman Aaliyah Rogers


Ladue's 2nd fastest 4x400 in state history of (left to right) Delaney Brinker, Aaliyah Rogers, Karina Griffin, and Laila Murray,