Saturday's Class 5 District 3 meet, held at the esteemed and oft-altered McNair Park in St. Charles, featured two of the state's powerhouses. A district that spanned from North and South St. Louis County to the heart of Boone County, and everywhere in between along the I-70 corridor, two of the schools located the furthest west flexed their muscles in their final tune-up before the much-anticipated Class 5 State Championship.
Sievers, Rock Bridge Make Easy Work of the Boys Field
The Rock Bridge boys, sporting the unique "Pierpont" jerseys, took the race out hard, led by reigning Class 5 individual champion Luke Sievers.
Sievers, the wire-to-wire winner, left very little doubt and even less to the imagination as he dominated a field which included eight other boys who have broken or ran exactly 16:00 on the season. In fact, his 15-second victory over Liberty Wentzville's Ayden Taylor was his first of the season after Taylor beat him at the Gans Creek Classic in late September, a race in which Taylor finished second in 15:06.90 and Sievers was third in 15:11.20, 2 seconds of his current season best. He is among a group of 4-6 boys who are considered among the favorites to pull in the individual Class 5 victory this Friday. Rolla's Cameron Martensen stormed into third after pulling away from North Point's Hunter Stahl at the 4K mark. Stahl would finish fifth by a shoelace as Rock Bridge's Cook Hudson out-leaned him at the line for fourth, both boys running 16:00.66. There were four juniors in the top five and eight in the top twelve.
With Sievers in first and Hudson fourth, the Bruins were able to secure 29 points with their next three runners across in sixth (Matthew Kim), seventh (Ethan Hockman), and fourteenth (former Michigander Samuel Shatto). The point total was 49 points ahead of Liberty Wentzville in second and the 16:10 1-5 average was 39 seconds clear of the Eagles. A surging Ft. Zumwalt West, led by junior William Doyle in eighth and sophomore James Senaldi in thirteenth, finished third as a team with the Hickman Kewpies holding off Rolla by 1 point and Pattonville by 5 points for fourth. 
Champions-Rock Bridge Bruins
Runners-Up-Liberty-Wentzville
--
.jpeg)
Wilmes, Father Tolton Girls Hold Off Rock Bridge For District Title
The Columbia schools were dominant in the girls' race, as well, with Father Tolton Regional Catholic and Rock Bridge taking the top two team places. Tolton, the preseason favorite for their fourth straight state championship in three different classes, sealed the deal with 62 points in their final tune-up before the big dance on Friday. The Lady Bruins were not far behind, though, with 76 points, led by sophomores Kaitlyn Reid and Alyssa Ritter. Junior Mae Walker was back in action for her second race of the season, finishing thirteenth. She will be a game-changer for Rock Bridge as they eye a podium spot Friday. Cor Jesu Academy was a fairly distant third with 103 points and Liberty Wentzville carried their momentum from the GAC XC Championships into a fourth place team finish.
.jpeg)
A much more tactically ran race by the front pack quickly stretched out after Tolton's Elyse Wilmes began to push the pace around the halfway point. She would hold on for the victory in 18:27.04, holding off a late-charging Charger - Cor Jesu's Mary McKenzie - in a showdown of two girls who returned for the 2024 season with sub-18 personal bests. Wilmes has pushed her personal best to 17:09.50 at this point, while McKenzie is trending toward her 17:40.90 mark once again this season. She was only 9 seconds behind the senior in 18:36.24.Francis Howell Central senior Reese McDevitt came across third in 18:45.55 with Liberty Wentzville's Bella Navaro-Sanchez fourth in 18:56.90 and Tolton's Madison Taylor fifth in 19:10.30.
.jpeg)
It was once again not a full contingent for the Trailblazers as they were without Makaylin Viet, but their depth was on full display with the 14-point victory. Angelina Cottone continues to climb back into the fold as she finished eleventh on the day. Sophomore Sarah Kesterson and freshman Kayla Perrone capped off the scoring with 22nd and 23rd place finishes. Addison Wheeler almost made it 6 in the top 30, but came across 31st. They will hope to have the full squad back for Friday's showdown with Blue Springs South, St. Teresa's Academy, and Eureka, among others.
Champions-Tolton Catholic
Runners-Up-Rock Bridge
