Over the next eight weeks, Missouri MileSplit will be doing a deep dive into the top returners for each event heading into the 2025 Track and Field season. We will have premium rankings pieces highlighting the top 100 returners in each classification as well as an overall outlook for each event for all non-subscribers.
With cross country still somewhat on the brain, we kick off our previews with the closest race to cross country on the outdoor track: the 3200 Meter Run.
Premium Content: Large Class Top Returners | Small Class Top Returners | All Returners Rankings
--
Class 5 Outlook
The theme with these outlooks will be that the numbers from the 2025 returners may tell one story, but this past cross country season has added another layer to the layout of the landscape in the 3200m run. Of course, Henry Acorn is the top returner and should be considered the heavy favorite for a state championship in this event after running 14:52.40 and winning the Class 5 State Championship. He heads into the 2025 season with a personal best of 9:12.62 from last year's Kansas Relays. Several other boys dropped major time this fall, though, and should be fully on the radar in the 3200, too. Liberty Wentzville's Ayden Taylor, (pictured at the top with Voelker) showed off the durability and range last spring by competing in the 4x800, 1600, and 3200 at the Class 5 State Championships and dropped his 5K personal best down to 15:04.76 and is sixth among returners with his 9:16.03 from the Class 5 State Championships. Taylor is preceded in the rankings by Rock Bridge's 2023 State Cross Country champion Luke Sievers with his 9:14.68 personal best, Ray-Pec's Gabriel Voelker, who dipped under 15:10 this fall, and Park Hill South dark horse Thomas Garrett. Garrett closed out an injury-shortened spring in style with personal bests in the summer in the 800, 1600, and 3200, running 9:15.95 at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
In general, 11 boys return under 9:30, 20 return under 9:40, 32 under 9:50, and 52 under 10:00. With some movement in an out of the classification coming this spring, and some impact freshmen stepping into the fold this fall (Jack McGovern, Ezekiel Hagen), the Class 5 3200 should once again be electric this season -- it took an eye-popping 9:19.92 mark to earn all-state honors last spring.
--
Festus' Driemeier above and DeSoto's Koerber, Webster Groves' Dominic Buckman, and DeSmet's Poelker below, left to right.
Class 4 Outlook
Class 3 and 4 is typically where we see the most movement each year, both into the classes and out of them. This will cause a shakeup to some of the top parts of the rankings in each of the classes. Nevertheless, Carson Driemeier stands alone as the top returner in the race after running 9:11.71 at his home McCullough-Douglas Invitational and then 9:17.48 to win the Class 4 State Championships last May. He posted three marks under 9:20 last spring and ran the top 5K time in the state this fall - 14:50.79 - after winning the Class 4 State Cross Country championship. His top mark is 16 seconds ahead of fellow Jefferson County harrier Carson Koerber from DeSoto. Koerber was 4th at the Class 4 State Championships last spring and boasts a personal best of 9:27.36. Just behind his is DeSmet's William Poelker whose returning best of 9:27.51 actually came last month when he ran at the Lloyd White Memorial Distance Festival in Tennessee. He ran 9:43.76 last spring, but is coming off a strong cross country season and has shown he's ready to compete with the top returners this spring. Hillsboro's Landon Pogue had a quiet cross country season with an injury a possible culprit of derailing a shot at a third straight All-State finish. Pogue finished 8th in the 3200 last spring but is the final Class 4 returner under 9:30 with his 9:28.66 personal best.
Aiden Kemnitzer heads into the season with his 9:30.27 personal best and the Parkway Central duo of Alexander Moresi and Brendan Alfonso both boast marks under 9:40, as well. We expect to see West Plains Zizzers in the fold after they won their first cross country team championship since 2008 this fall, as well as Liam Adair of Smithville after his rebound from injury this fall, and the North Point duo of Hunter Stahl (#9) and Mitchell Lerner (#10, 6th at State in 2024) to move up to Class 5.
--
Class 3 Outlook
A photo finish last spring from two sophomores has us looking forward to the rematch once again this spring. Hollister's Sinry Mendoza just held off Southern Boone's Brian Burns in a sprint to the finish to secure the victory in a 16-second personal best. His 9:27.41 personal best is tops among Class 3 returners, but the football player will have to contend with a Brian Burns who has a gold medal of his own around his neck now after winning the 2024 Class 3 State Cross Country championship. The juniors will have sophomore Wyatt Klaiber to contend with once again after he ran 9:34.80 in his freshman campaign and posted a 15:25.50 personal best in the 5K this fall. John Burroughs sophomore Joe Sperino is fourth among returners with a 9:36.89 personal best and Strafford's Colton Willis is fifth with a 9:37.98 best. Expect freshmen Sean Burns and Aidan Morris to be in the mix this spring, as well, after strong debut cross country seasons.
--
2024 Class 2 State 3200 included Payne-Top Right/#6, Layton-#8, Hammett-#1, McDaniel-#10, and Corder-#3
Class 2 Outlook
Four Class 2 boys return for the 2025 season with marks under 10:00 - Bourbon's Brett Payne, Woodland's Calvin Layton, Clark County's Mason McDaniel, and Butler's Brandon Hammett. While all four boys had strong cross country seasons, they may have to once again contend with Lexington's top two boys - Chael Lichte and Conner Soendker - as it appears the Minutemen will be moving into Class 2 for this upcoming track and field season, as well. Lichte won the Class 2 State Cross Country Championship this fall and ran a personal best of 16:00.40. He returns with a 10:11.56 personal best from a very abbreviated 2024 track season while his teammate Soendker boasts a new 9:49.71 personal best from this past November's Nashville PR 3200. Payne still returns with the top mark from last spring of 9:53.71, with Layton right behind him in 9:54.63. McDaniel and Hammett are the top returners from the State meet with their respective 3rd and 4th place finishes. Finally, Mansfield's Nolyn Corder should be in the mix, as well, as Mansfield should be among the smaller Class 2 schools this spring once again and the senior is coming off a Class 1 State Cross Country championship this fall in his own right. This will once again be a race with several boys within seconds of each other all duking out for the top spot.
--
Class 1 Outlook
For the first time since 2020, there are no Class 1 returners with a personal best under 10:10. Paris's Landen Chapman is the top man with his 10:13.51 mark, as well as the top state placer in the event after finishing third last May. The junior was the Class 1 runner-up this fall and dropped his 5K personal best to 16:19.14. He is followed by Northeast Cairo's Shaun Luecke who placed 5th in the event last spring and boasts a 10:18.16 personal best. Of course, after a massive cross country season, we expect to see McAuley Catholic's boys near the front of the pack, particularly Michael Parrigon and Trae Veer, as well as the boys from their cross-town rivals Thomas Jefferson Independent, particularly freshman Will Twiss and Braden Honeywell-Lynch.