The arrival of Halloween usually means one thing: Districts weekend is close.
This Saturday, eight venues across the state will play host to twenty District meets and determine which sixteen teams will compete for the State championship in their respective classes next Friday and Saturday in Columbia.
Several questions are still left to be answered as we head into the State series. Here are five of the many storylines we are monitoring on what is sure to be a fun weekend.
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1. Class 4 Frontrunners Webster Groves, Festus Face Off Again in District 1
One of the major storylines that has come into view from this season is the rise of the Webster Groves Statesmen to the position of authority in Class 4, slightly ahead of the perennial powerhouse Festus. After doing battle at the Forest Park XC Festival and Patriot/Statesmen Classic already this season, the frontrunner squads will face off for a third time this Saturday in Cape Girardeau before their finale next Saturday in Columbia.
Both of the regular season matchups have gone Webster's way as they finished 59 points ahead of the Tigers at Forest Park and a measly 11 points ahead at their 16-team home meet. Festus has closed the gap and is doing their usual thing: putting all the pieces together at the end of the season.
The Tigers are strong up front with sub-16:00 men Carson Driemeier and Tate Uding, but Webster balances their attack with Dominic Buckman, Corbin Cole, and Drew Upperman. Driemeier has posted a 15:05.90 mark this season and Uding has run between 15:46-16:02 over his last three races, but the Statesmen trio boast an average personal best mark of 15:39. At No. 4, Henry Boland comes in ahead of Festus' third man, Trevor Bayless, and fifth man Andrew Kuehler sits right behind both Bayless and the fourth Tiger, Lucas Campbell. As of right now, the Festus fifth man is one of their two freshmen studs - Hudson Bates or Lucas DeClue.
The edge goes to Webster at the moment, as in the 16-team matchup on Saturday, they are 21 points ahead according to our virtual meet feature. Regardless of who takes the crown, both teams should comfortably qualify for another date together in Columbia on November 9th, where they will surely lock horns with West Plains, Parkway Central, and Lincoln College Prep.
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2. Can Kirkwood Close the Gap on SLUH in Class 5 District 1?
As expected, the addition of Graham Stevener this fall has proven fruitful for the Kirkwood Pioneers. Stevener is in the mix for the individual championship, much like former Pioneer Levi Rowan last fall, and could help pull Kirkwood into another trophy spot - their first since 2019.
Saturday will be a big test for Kirkwood, as they face off with one of their St. Louis Metro area rivals, SLUH, for the first time this season. SLUH, as usual, is using their pack-running prowess to ascend to a spot among the top teams in Class 5. As of right now, the Jr. Billikens are in a trophy spot once again led by super sophomore Jackson Miller. Though it has been a slightly quieter season for Miller in 2024, the Kirkwood native has still run impressive marks in the 3 Mile and a 15:24.70 best on his home course at Forest Park. Seniors Alexander Bendana and August Talleur provide the insurance at numbers two and three with fellow sophomores Michael Luna and Benjamin Yoffie on the cusp of a breakthrough at four and five. Their 49-second 1-5 split is one of the top marks among Class 5 schools.
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The storyline to watch and big test for Kirkwood will be if they can close the gap on the Jr. Bills. Their 1-5 average stands at 15:57, 5 seconds back of SLUH, but the 1:57 gap between No. 1 and No. 5 is the biggest piece of the puzzle. Peyton Ferkel and Joseph Harrison both sit in all-state positions, with freshman Andrew Bain running strong as their fourth man. If they can pull their number five, Henry Walker, from 17:03 down into the 16:30s, and we see Kirkwood push themselves ahead of SLUH at this weekend's district meet, Kirkwood will be a team to watch for the individual team title next Friday, even against nationally-ranked squad Rockhurst.
As it stands, though, SLUH is the favorite in District 1 and, should they hold on, will be among the team title contenders next Friday.
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Photo Credit: Chris Auckley
3. How Will Blue Springs South Respond to Tolton's VA Showcase Performance?
After a slow start to the season, the Father Tolton girls traveled out to Mechanicsville, Virginia for the VA Showcase and showcased just what we expected to see this year from them: utter dominance. Now back in the driver's seat in Class 5, Tolton will be looking to hold off some top contenders in District 3 (i.e., Rock Bridge, Cor Jesu, Francis Howell Central, and Liberty Wentzville) as the look to cement their position as the most dangerous team in Class 5 heading into State week.
Elyse Wilmes' MO No. 4 all-time 17:09 led the way for the Trailblazers as they posted an 18:52 1-5 average and finished 6th in the 33-team race, featuring teams primarily from the east coast. Madison Taylor and Makaylin Viet both dipped under 19:00 for the first time in 2024 and their next three girls, all not named Angelina Cottone, dipped under 19:52. Cottone, their number two runner in 2023, is working her way back up to her freshman year marks, but should still be a major contributor for the squad over the next two weeks. After sitting behind Blue Springs South for the vast majority of the season, Tolton is back in charge.
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So this Saturday, the question is: How will Blue Springs South respond? On the same day two weeks ago, the Jaguars handled the impressive field at the KC Suburban Gold Conference, scoring 35 points and running a 19:14 1-5 average. Ella Rew is among the individual title contenders in Class 5 at the moment, even if her 18:05 personal best is nearly a minute behind Wilmes, but even a score of 2 at the State meet will be solid for her squad. They will face a tough test on Saturday with the up-and-coming, freshman-led St. Teresa's Academy looking to pull off a major upset and a sneaky Lee's Summit West team looking to pick up some steam heading into State weekend. The course at Jesse James Park in Kearney is not known for being fast, but it has produced fast times in the past by some impressive talents. If Blue Springs South can match what they ran on the course at Lee's Summit North or drop under 19:00 1-5, we could be heading for an even tighter rematch of the epic battle we saw in 2023.
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4. Can Anyone Catch Krueger, St. Charles West?
As the 2024 season as rolled along, the St. Charles West girls have continued to pull away from the Class 3 field as they seek out their third straight State championship. Now, the only team in Class 3 with a 1-5 average under 20:00, and one of only four under 21:00, St. Charles West will be looking to make one final statement in District 3 on Saturday before heading into the State meet.
Sophomore Brianna Krueger is looking for her first career State title after finishing third a year ago. The top-ranked Class 3 runner has picked up major victories at several large meets this season, including the Forest Park XC Festival, Parkway West Dale Shepherd Invitational, and GAC XC Championships, to go along with a runner-up finish at the Gans Creek Classic and fourth place finish at the Missouri Southern Stampede. Her 18:09.58 personal best is over a minute ahead of the next closest competitor, Lutheran St. Charles' Madalyn Mahoney, so the question is: Can Mahoney or Martina Ressel or Kelly Frank or Lily Coy or anyone else close the gap on Krueger this weekend, or will she simply run away with the Class 3 individual title next week?
As for the team race, Herculaneum, Lutheran St. Charles, and Notre Dame Cape Girardeau are all the other three teams under 21:00 1-5, but they all sit over a full minute off the Warriors' team average. Mahoney and Lutheran will get a shot at St. Charles West in District 3 in Fulton and how that race shakes out will be telling on how the State meet will shake out for both teams. Herculaneum and Notre Dame Cape will do battle in Cape Girardeau on Saturday with the winner of that showdown surely being the favorite to take down the Warriors at State.
As it stands, though, nobody is even close. Expect this weekend to show us that St. Charles West is cruising into their third straight team championship in Class 3.
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5. Will District 2 Produce Top 4 Class 1 Boys Teams?
Southwest Missouri appears to be the haven for Class 1 Cross Country at the moment as the top 4 ranked boys teams in Class 1 all sit in District 2. On Saturday, after the dust settles, we will get a clearer picture of whether or not District 2 could produce all 4 podium teams next Friday.
Those four teams, in no particular order, are McAuley Catholic, Thomas Jefferson Independent, Mansfield, and School of the Ozarks.
Thomas Jefferson handled McAuley at the early-season SWCCCA Invitational, but McAuley has picked up the pace since then. They are now the top-ranked squad and have two boys in the top five overall. Michael Parrigon and Trae Veer lead the way with their 16:13 and 16:31 bests, helping their squad to a 17:11 average. Excellent performances at the Hollister XC Open from freshman Kellen Robertson and senior Ethan Howard have the Patriots trailing just behind McAuley now.
Mansfield came down from Class 2 and, with it, so did Nolyn Corder, a major player for the individual championship. He and Parrigon getting one more look at each other on Saturday will certainly help paint a clearer picture of who the favorite for the win next Friday will be. Mansfield is also a podium contender team. Thomas Jefferson may have fallen behind McAuley as the season has worn on, but they still have the chops and the best 1-5 average among the top 4 teams we have mentioned. Will Twiss, Braden Honeywell-Lynch, and Spencer Long provide an excellent 1-2-3 punch for their squad. Finally, can defending champions Hermitage pull off some late-season magic and punch their fourth straight ticket to state and keep their four-peat hopes alive?
The story here is: How the team race shakes out between these four teams on Saturday will have a major impact on our outlook next Friday. Also, we are keeping an eye on Van Buren in District 1 and Vienna in District 3 to see if either of those teams can close the gap.