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 Discus.
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Class 5 Outlook
Of course Nixa junior and reigning State Champion Jackson Cantwell sits atop the Class 5 returner rankings in the Discus, but it is not by nearly as wide of a margin as the Shot Put. Cantwell's 62.59m (205-4) heave at the 2024 Kansas Relays stunned onlookers and was good enough for a state and national record for sophomores.
The mark is also tied for second in the nation among returners, just over a foot behind the national leader. Whereas the Shot Put has become a sure thing for the 5-star football recruit, he may have some stiff competition if he hopes to repeat in the Discus.
Troy's Zavier Winton is that stiff competition as he heads into the season a respectable 3 and a half meters behind Cantwell, boasting a 59.08m (193-10) personal best.
Any other year, Winton, who is 11th among returners nationally, would be a heavy favorite for the win. This year, he will have some work to do, but 200 feet is surely within range for the Trojan senior - he would become the sixth Missourian to clear that milestone.
Class 5 is unique in that the top five returners own personal best marks in the 200s, 190s, 180s, 170s, and, finally, the 160s. The large gaps in-between athletes make it a much more spread out field than some of the other more tightly packed groups. Nixa's Hayden Mays earned a third place medal behind his teammate Cantwell and Winton last spring and returns with a 56.89m (186-7.75) personal best. Fort Osage senior Anthony Thompson has the fourth best mark, 53.42m (175-3.25). Though he was 11th at last year's State meet, he added an impressive 10 meters to his personal best from 2023 to 2024.
Joplin's Neil Barstow is the final returning all-stater and fifth among returners with his 49.9m (163-8.5) personal best. Barstow finished 7th overall in 2024.
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Class 4 Outlook
The Class 4 field also features some gaps in competitors at the top of the rankings as the top two returners Kearney's Tyrus Smith and Parkway North's Mark Goldman, two young men who know each other well at this point even though they are on opposite sides of the state, head into the season with nearly eight feet separating them. Smith was the 2024 State Champion with a 53.8m toss, but his personal best stands at 56.74m (186-1.75) from late March.
Goldman, on the other hand, was fourth at the 2024 State meet and boasts a personal best of 54.33m (178-3). They are both top shot put throwers in Class 4, as well, and will surely be in a tier of their own should Capital City's Brooks Horton, the third best returner with a 49.36m (161-11.25) best, moves up to Class 5.
Only one other Class 4 athlete heads into the season over 160 feet: Kirksville's Andrew Williams. Williams was fifth at last year's State meet with his 48.89m (160-5). The rest of the all-state field were seniors last Spring, but Hannibal's Houston Morrison did finish ninth. He sits behind Cody Cox and Omar Hussein among top returners based on overall performance.
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Class 3 Outlook
Last year's Class 3 Discus State Championship featured seven seniors, seven juniors, and one freshman (Lamar's Terren Williams). This year's field is full of upperclassmen once again, as well as six boys within five feet of each other at the top.
The top returner based on State finish and overall mark is Kennett senior Kevin Thompson, whose third place finish at the State meet came as a result of his 47.29m (155-2) personal best throw. Thompson experienced a major breakthrough last April when he threw an 8 meter personal best and cleared 40 meters for the first time. In his next nine tries, he finished under 41 meters only once. Maryville's Carson Sterling was just inches behind Thompson at State and heads into 2025 with his 47.26m (155-0.75) personal best.
Maryville's Carson Sterling
Owensville's Eli Graham, Seneca's Brock Pendergraft, and Lutheran South's James McCoy all return with marks over 48 meters, with McCoy being the top State finisher (fifth) among the trio.
Owensville's Eli Graham
The aforementioned Terren Williams is sixth among returners and second in the entire state among sophomores with his 45.77m (150-2) personal best.
Williams was 14th at State, a part of the Lamar Tigers squad that won the team title.
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Class 2 Outlook
Adrian's Hank Tenholder leads the field in Class 2 with the only returning mark over 160 feet. He won State gold with a 49.81m throw, but it was the 50.46m (165-6.5) mark for the win at his Sectional meet that stands as his personal best. The senior won 11 times in 12 tries last spring, with his only loss being a runner-up finish at the Knob Noster Invitational.
Behind him are four boys with marks between 150 and 157 feet, led by Carter McCabe of Jefferson (Festus). McCabe was the second best performer in Class 2 last year, but had his biggest hiccup of the season at the State meet. He holds a personal best of 47.68m (156-5.25) from the JCAA Conference meet. Scott City's Carter Burger is next with his 46.36m (152-1.25) personal best. He earned a fifth place medal last May. Fayette's Carter Vroman makes it three Carters in a row as he enters the season with a 46.02m (151-0) mark and a third place State medal to his name. Salisbury's Daunte White rounds out the top five returners and all of the Class 2 boys over 150 feet with his 45.77m (150-2) mark. He was sixth at his District meet, but will surely be among the podium contenders in his senior season.
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Class 1 Outlook
The largest gap between the best and second-best athletes of any of the five classes is in Class 1. Polo's Maverick Gentry sits a whopping 7 meters exactly ahead of the next closest returner as he eyes a third straight State championship in the event. He was undefeated in the Discus in 2024, and only lost once in 2023, and boasts a personal best of 52.21m (171-3.5).
North Shelby's Drake Prange is Class 1's best hope, currently, at an upset bid with his 47.21m (148-4) mark. Prange was sixth at the State meet in 2024 which puts him behind Gentry and Tina-Avalon's Tyler Singer based on State performances. Singer, though, is third on marks with a 44.15m (144-10.25) best and finished third at State.
Tyler Singer
Bell City's Kale Richardson may be ninth among returners based on marks, but he was seventh overall at the State meet with his 39.57m (129-10) personal best. Magnum Fenimore, Tanner Singer, and Hunter Lowrey are the other three Class 1 athletes with marks over 40 meters, but Wellington-Napoleon's Joe Heater is the last of the all-state returners after having grabbed an eighth place medal last spring.
Tanner Singer