Over the next several 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. Let's take a look at the Boys 200m Dash.
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Class 5 Outlook
Much like the 1600 and 3200, shot put and discus, long and triple jump, and hurdle races, the 200 meter dash will feature many of the same names from the 100m dash outlook. For example, the state leader in the 100 is also the state leader in the 200 heading into the 2025 season: Hickman's Langston Thomas.
The Duke commit exploded last season, going from a solid varsity scorer in the jumps to a borderline nationally-ranked short sprinter in his junior season, posting marks high on the state's all-time leaderboard. He won the 100 dash in dominant fashion, but was out-leaned at the line by Staley's Robert Collins Jr for the state title in the 200. Thomas ran a meet record 21.21 (+1.9) in the prelims, the top mark among 2025 returners, and has run 22.23 already indoors this winter.
Collins is the reigning state champion, though, and deserves his flowers just as much as Thomas. Collins is only a toenail behind on time, though his 21.23 (+1.2) was good enough for the win in last May's 200m finals. Ninth in 2023, Collins has posted the majority of his 200 meter marks in the month of May as he has only four marks outside of the final month of the season in each of his first three campaigns, but he has shown he has the chops to run fast when it matters most.
Rock Bridge's Riley Rolwing
Ozark's Kannon Williams
A whopping eight total Class 5 boys head into the 2025 season under 22 seconds, four of whom were on the Class 5 State podium. They are Thomas, Collins Jr, No. 3 returner from Rock Bridge, Riley Rolwing, and Ozark's Kannon Williams, who is tied for fourth with Hazelwood East senior Melvin Sledge. Rolwing emerged as one of Rock Bridge's next great sprinters in 2024 and will surely be back for more success in 2025 after running a personal best 21.76 and ending up 5th overall at the State meet. Williams finished 7th in his sophomore season, running a personal best 21.79 (+1.9) in the State prelims and is one of only two Missourians under 22 seconds indoor so far this winter - Hickman's John Moss is the other. Sledge had a stellar sophomore campaign for the Spartans in 2023, but stalled out somewhat after moving up to Class 5 last season. He has run 21.70 (+2.3), but topped out at 21.79 last spring, and won the Class 4 400 meter dash in 2023. It appears that a sub-22 will be the bare minimum to climb atop the podium once again this year, just as it was last year when 10 boys broke 22 seconds in the State prelims.
Hazelwood East senior Melvin Sledge
Hickman freshman John Moss (#5277) anchored the Kewpies to the 4x100 State Title.
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Class 4 Outlook
Only three 2024 200 meter dash all-staters return for the 2025 season in Class 4. Lutheran St. Charles senior Jacob Fieberkorn leads the way, just as he did in the 100 meter dash, with his 21.61 (+1.6) personal best. He won this event seven times in 2024 before finishing third in prelims and finals at the State meet.
Not too far behind is MICDS junior Henry Rohan, whose 21.71 (+1.5) personal best was good enough for fifth in the prelims at the State meet, but a stroke of bad luck struck in the finals and he would cross the line in 27.32 for eighth.
The only other returning all-stater is Parkway Central's Stanley Brown. Brown (below) had a breakthrough junior season which saw him climb the podium in both the 200 and 400 meter dashes, and finish out his season with a 21.77 (+1.6) personal best in the former.
The western side of the state is represented in the top 5 by Harrisonville's Nate Reynolds, who ran 22.22 on the track at Pittsburg State in early April, finished fourth at his District meet, but posted a DNS at his Sectional meet. Osage short-sprint phenom Noah Northrip comes in fifth among returners with a 22.28 personal best, though he, too, was absent from the State meet in this event. In fact, he scrapped it in favor of the 100 meter dash in mid-April. The only other state qualifier who neither graduated nor is moving up to Class 5 is Helias Catholic's Alex Marberry, who heads into his senior season with a 22.45 personal best.
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Class 3 Outlook
Only one Class 3 returner heads into the 2025 season with a best under 22 seconds and it is Fair Grove's Canyon Crowley. A busy man so far this winter, Crowley is picking up right where he left off last outdoor season when he ran 21.79 (+0.7) and ended up a silver medal at the State meet. Now the pre-season favorite on paper, Crowley has posted a 22.27 indoor best this winter, already much faster than where he kicked off the 2024 outdoor campaign.
Seven boys come in after Crowley between 22.04 and 22.30 making for a crowded field of 200 meter dashers this spring. Only two other non-seniors finished on the podium last May, Borgia's Harry Mitchell (the third-best returner on time) and Strafford's Jesse Barry (the seventh-best returner on time). Mitchell went under 23 seven times and ran a personal best 22.14 (+0.4) to make it to State finals, but sits behind Eldon's Andrew Beanland on the Class 3 performance list. Beanland was all-state in the 100m dash, but fifth at his Sectional meet, and posted a personal best of 22.04 at the Licklider Relays in mid-April.
El Dorado Springs senior Justin Brown had a rough state series, barely crossing the line in the 100 in State prelims and no-showing the Sectional meet 200 after winning his District in his personal best of 22.15. Brown is running strong this indoor season, though, with 6.86 and 22.62 personal bests in the 60 and 200 (indoor) meter dashes. We expect him to be fully in the state title fold again this spring. Lutheran North's Michael Clark is fifth among returners. The reigning 400 state champion will get much more of a headline when we get to that event, but of his two performances in this event last spring, he did still post a 22.18 to win the District 2 meet and put himself in the gold medal conversation in the 200 meter dash.
Lutheran North's Michael Clark
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Class 2 Outlook
Now we have arrived at who may be Missouri's next short sprint superstar: University Academy Charter sophomore Christian Davis. We mentioned Davis in the 100m dash outlook as the top Class 2 returner there, and his spot in the 200 is no different. Davis's 21.64 (+0.7) came in the State prelims, but an unfortunate turn of events had him run a 26.19 in the finals to finish eighth. His 22.17 indoor personal best this winter shows that he has hardly skipped a beat and is the heavy favorite in Class 2 in the preseason.
Adrian's Mason Rusow is the next closest competitor. He ran 22.04 last spring and ended up forgoing this event in favor of the 400 meter dash and high jump at the State meet. Charleston's Kamirion Wiley is next on the list and was the top non-senior on the podium last spring, finishing third in his personal best of 22.08 (+0.8). Heading into his junior season, we could see a major breakthrough from Wiley in the long sprints.
Sophomores Kamirion Wiley of Charleston (right) was 3rd at State and University Academy Charter's Cameron McFarlin (left) was 5th.
After Wiley at the State meet came, in fact, three sophomores and two freshmen. They were fourth-ranked returner Matthew Waltman (22.15, +0.8), sixth-ranked Cameron McFarlin (22.22), eighth-ranked Josiah Lockridge (22.57, +-0.7), and Salisbury's Brayden White (22.67, +0.7). That is not to mention fifth-ranked Xavier Harris from Malden, whose 22.17 personal best came at the District 1 meet. He was ninth at the State meet.
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Class 1 Outlook
It's Albany's Kyle Emerson stealing the headline in Class 1 once again as the reigning State champion, who went undefeated in his 23 100 and 200 meter dash races last spring, looks to cap off his career with a just as stellar senior season. He ran 21.67 (+0.7) in the State prelims before winning gold in his second-best mark of 22.22 (+0.5).
The rest of the top five returners are the only other boys under 23 seconds, led by Hayti's Jeremy Alexander. Alexander (below) ran 22.05 last spring and finished runner-up to Emerson at State, nearly pulling off the upset in a breakthrough sophomore campaign.
Knox County's Cooper Clair is next with his 22.67 personal best. He finished ninth at last year's State meet in his sophomore season. Dora's Cade Nold, the 400/800 specialist and reigning State Champion in both, ran 22.75 last season, but should not be considered an all-state contender, unless the 22.76 he's run this winter means he will be adding it back into his state series workload in 2025. Sweet Springs junior Joey Rapp is the final sub-23 returner with his 22.96 (+0.7) personal best. He earned a seventh place medal at last year's State meet.
Knox County's Clair (far left) and Sweet Springs Rapp (right)