Kyle Deeken

Sep 12, 2024

Weekend number 2 in the state brings a cavalcade of top tier meet with it as the Forest Park XC Festival, Stan Nelson Invitational, and Raymore-Peculiar Invitationals all appear to provide major rankings shake-ups. Let's break down these big three meets on tap.

1. Forest Park XC Festival

The Forest Park XC Festival is back for its 19th installment on a new-ish course which is being labeled by the meet directors from Big River Running and host school SLUH as, in a word: "FAST." Recent construction at the Forest Park Visitor's Center - where the course moved two years ago - has forced the head crew to remove several of the twists and turns that tended to slow down athletes in the past couple of years. Don't call it a slow place to run, though, as Marion (IL) 2024 graduate Dylon Nalley shocked everyone when he shattered the 15:00 barrier for a meet record 14:54.70. With fewer divisions this year (two instead of three) as well, we expect this year's festival to be one of the fastest ones yet.

2024 Meet Entries

In the Boys race, Rockhurst is the headlining team. Coming off a big win at the Todd Warner Kickoff Classic, they trek from Kansas City to St. Louis once again to do battle with the east side's best. They have gone back and forth with Jesuit in-state rival SLUH and Class 4 powerhouse Festus over the years at this meet and appear poised to do so once again in 2024. All three squads are coming off decisive wins in Week 1 with SLUH picking up the victory at the Robinson/Lang Invitational in Granite City and Festus winning the Fleet Feet Classic on Wednesday. Another team to watch is St. John's Houston (TX), who have posted a 10:06 2 Mile 1-5 average this season and are led by Andrew Wasserman and Jay Woodhouse, both of whom have run under 9:50 for 2 miles already. Other teams in the mix include O'Fallon (IL), John Burroughs, Parkway Central, Webster Groves, and Lincoln College Prep.

2023 Results

Left to Right: Thoman, Somasegaran, Driemeier, Acorn, Miller, and Davis

Individuals to watch include Rockhurst's big three of Henry Acorn, Andrew Davis, and Kai Somasegaran. Acorn posted a 15:19 with Davis not too far behind in 15:26 at the Warner Kickoff over the weekend. Somasegaran is still busting the rust from a missed track season, but has run 15:25 in his career and ran a respectable 16:10 on Saturday. Festus junior Carson Driemeier told MileSplit after his win on Wednesday that he is aiming for Nalley's meet record and feeling ready to break 15:00 for the first time. A 9:41 2 mile opener surely sets the stage for a big performance, especially in this field. SLUH's Jackson Miller is coming off a 3 Mile time of 14:21 that converts to sub-15 in its own right. He was right behind O'Fallon (IL)'s Zach Thoman in that race and Thoman will be in the FPXC field, as well. The field is stacked with these boys, the 1-2 punch from St. John's Houston, and others like Parkway Central's big three of Alexander Moresi, Brendan Alfonso, and Lucas Amador, Charles Glatz (John Burroughs), Gabriel McLain (Benton IL), Dominic Buckman (Webster Groves), and Roman Garcia (Lincoln College Prep), among many others.

2023 Photos

The girls division is just as stacked with several top teams coming together to do battle on the Visitor Center course; Cor Jesu Academy, St. Charles West, Bishop Kelley (OK), Festus, St. Joseph's Academy, and Francis Howell Central are the top teams to watch. Last year's Green Division champs, O'Fallon (IL) will be looking to defend their title, though, with the entire contingent they ran in last year's race. Ellie Bush leads the way once again this year after running 17:34.10 for 3 Miles at the Robinson/Lang Invitational last Saturday. The junior will face off with another junior, Mary McKenzie of Cor Jesu, who is the defending Green Division individual champion. McKenzie breezed to victory at the Fleet Feet Classic on Wednesday and is the favorite to reign over the FPXC Festival once again in 2024.

2023 Videos

R to L: Bush, McKenzie, Curd, Krueger, McDevitt, and Rossomanno all return from '23

St. Charles West looks to prove once again that though they compete in Class 3, they can hang with anyone the state throws at them. Brianna Krueger is off to a stellar start to the 2024 campaign and her supporting cast is forming in well behind her. Bishop Kelley (OK) brings in a strong group themselves led by star senior Gwyneth Meyers. Her 17:55.26 personal best came last Thursday, vaulting her into a power position heading into this weekend. Other individuals to watch include Cedarburg (WI)'s Charlize-Trinity McKenzie, Rockwood Summit's Caterina Rossomanno, Ozark's Ellsie Estes, Francis Howell Central's Reese McDevitt, Brentwood's Kensington Curd, and St. Joseph's junior Savannah Amann.

2024 Forest Park XC Festival Meet Page

Division and Box Assignments

2. Stan Nelson Invitational

Head down to Jefferson County for what is becoming one of the premier meets in the state, even if it always falls on the same weekend as arguably the premier meet in the state each year. The long-standing Stan Nelson Invitational will renew itself for its 59th year and may, once again, prove to produce some of the fastest times the state has seen up to this point of the season.

Run on the blazing fast Northwest Early Childhood and Senior Center course, the meet named for one of Missouri's all-time great coaches will provide serious fireworks in 2024. In the boys race, the team title will surely come down to one of Lee's Summit, Kirkwood, and Eureka, with Lafayette Wildwood and Parkway South looking to play spoilers.

Lee's Summit's Hunter Deleeuw

Lee's Summit makes the trip down from Kansas City once again to try to assert their dominance over the eastern part of the state. Led by a stellar 1-2 punch of Hunter Deleeuw and Derebe Carr, the Tigers' long drive may be well worth it this year. Deleeuw has opened his season well with 9:56 and 15:41.30 marks already in the 3200 and 5000. The 15:41.30 mark is 0.1 seconds faster than the mark that earned him 22nd at last year's Class 5 State Championships. Carr has posted 10:06 and 16:19 marks already, but owns a 15:54.20 personal best. As a team, they are coming off a sixth place finish at the hyper-competitive Todd Warner Kickoff Classic last week.

Graham Stevener

Kirkwood has yet to post a 5K mark, but came out of the gates hot at the Jackson Invitational. Graham Stevener did not disappoint in his cross country debut, posting a 10:00 2 Mile mark to win the Senior division. Peyton Ferkel was, unsurprisingly, not too far behind in 10:15, with freshman Andrew Bain posting a 10:30 for the win in his division, and Joseph Harrison running 10:31. Their 1-5 average of 10:28 has them among the favorites to take home the top spot in this race.

Eureka, Lafayette, and Parkway South have performed well in their early season meets. Eureka posted a 4th place finish at the Granite City Invitational with a 40-second 1-5 spread in the 3 Mile race, led by Joseph Rauls, Logan Ghormley, and Evan Wilke up front. Lafayette busted the rust at the FZN Twilight Invitational, picking up a huge 16:26.60 debut from freshman Ezekiel Hagen and a 16:56.70 debut from senior Matthew Minton. Parkway South is led by 2023 Class 5 26th place finisher Andrew Rebholz. Rebholz posted a 9:52.30 2 Mile opener on Wednesday and 16:41.70 mark at the Parkway Quad on Parkway Central's course.

Other individuals to watch include Hillsboro's Landon Pogue, Timberland's Maddox Riley, Lutheran St. Charles' Milo Rush, and host team Northwest Cedar Hill's Michael Kershaw, among others.

Kirkwood senior Katie Klein

Eureka senior Daphne Bishop

The girls race will be fun to watch as Kirkwood, Eureka, Parkway South, and Lafayette (Wildwood) all come together to battle it out for the team title. Kirkwood is, of course, coming off their 4th place finish at last year's Class 5 State Championships and will be looking to stamp their spot among the top Class 5 teams once again with their first 5K of the season. Katie Klein leads the way for the Pioneers, coming off a track season in which she finished 8th in the Class 5 3200. Sophomore Maggie McKay opened her season well in Jackson with a 13:03 2 Mile and is already well ahead of where she started the 2023 season - a season in which she posted a 19:42.70 personal best. Eureka has posted a 1-5 team average of 12:47 at the Fleet Feet CC Classic 2 Mile after a 20:53 at Memphis Twilight. Expect them to keep progressing, led by Daphne Bishop and Olivia Pearce. Parkway South put together an impressive 1-2-3 punch with Natalie Lena and Allison Miele running 12:10.80 and 12:13.70, respectively, at the Fleet Feet CC Classic, and Eleanor Yonker running 12:56.40. Lafayette is reloading and looks like a team on the rise with several freshmen and sophomores in the mix, led by sophomores Alexis Sandberg and Kelly Archambeault. Expect these Suburban Conference teams to all duke it out with Lutheran St. Charles, led by Madalyn Mahoney, Seckman with Jessica Lane and Savannah Hirtz, and Lindbergh.

Stan Nelson 2023 Results

Stan Nelson 2024 Meet Entries

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3. Raymore-Peculiar Invitational

Though a handful of Missouri's top teams will travel across the border to the hyper-fast and competitive Olathe Twilight, the Raymore-Peculiar Invitational should still prove to be the premier invitational for KCMO area schools.

Ashley, Voelker, and Younger (left to right)

Nixa heads up north for this one, bringing one of the top teams in the state to the beautiful course in Peculiar. Aaron Ashley leads the Eagles and is the top individual seed in the race, coming off a 15:31.65 at the SWCCCA Richard Clark Invitational. He had a stellar spring with 1:54 and 4:12 personal bests and is looking to improve upon last year's 7th place finish at the Class 5 State Championships. Ray-Pec's Gabriel Voelker had an impressive season debut in 15:53.90 and will surely be right on Ashley's heels throughout this race, as will his teammate Carter Younger, Ashley's teammate Reyes Martinez, the Joplin duo of Chance Tindall and Grey Edwards, and the Lee's Summit West trio of Jack Williams, Parker Williams, and Kaden Deain. Nixa, Lee's Summit West, Ray-Pec, and Joplin will all be in the mix for the team title in the boys race.

On the girls side, we are looking forward to a battle between St. Teresa's Academy, Lee's Summit West, and Blue Springs. St. Teresa's opened their season at the Greg Wilson Classic, running what appears to be their full contingent (though we should get a clearer picture this weekend as to whether or not that is true), and freshman Ella Messner did not disappoint, leading her team with a 19:31.40 debut. With middle school personal bests of 5:05.96 for a full mile and 9:07.60 for 2400 meters on grass, there should be no doubt that time will come down soon. Their 20:19.58 1-5 average has them in a solid spot to start the season. Lee's Summit West impressed at the Todd Warner Kickoff Classic with a tight 37.70 1-5 spread, led by Eva Garlich and Morgan Thacker. They will surely use their pack-running prowess to hunt down the rest of the field in their team title bid. Blue Springs was without several of their top girls in their opener at the Tim Nixon Invitational two weeks ago, but a nearly 1:30 personal best from sophomore Tavia Briles has us saying, "here we go again..." According to the meet entries, we will see the season debut of Paige Stuart and the cross country career debut of 2:15 800 runner Layla Redding, which should absolutely move the needle upward for the Wildcats. Other individuals to watch include top individual seed Gianna Ezekwe, who ran 19:05.60 at Nixon and 19:07.80 at Warner, Joplin's Ava Doll, and Lee's Summit's Kenley Halferty