The weather in California at the Arcadia Invitational was perfect for some excellent performances from a handful of Missourians.
Just as we expected, the contingents from Cardinal Ritter, Ladue, MICDS, and Lee's Summit West, as well as the individuals Carson Driemeier and Priya Cheatham, are all returning to the Show-Me State with impressive season and personal best marks.
Starting with Cardinal Ritter, the Lady Lions once again showed just how deep and dominating they can be in the sprints, hurdles, and sprint relays. Their 4x200 meter relay kicked things off on Friday with a new MO No. 1 mark of 1:39.46, a new school record and the fourth fastest time in State history.
On Day 2, we saw strong marks in the hurdle events from Kyndall Spain, Naila Kerr, and Raegan Boyd.
Spain added another sub-14 second mark to her ledger in the 100 meter hurdles, running a MO No. 1 13.57 (+1.8) to finish fourth in the invitational division. She then came back in the evening to grab another top state-ranked mark in 2025, as well as MO No. 3 all-time performance, in the 300 meter hurdles, becoming only the third Missourian to ever break 42 seconds with her 41.92 personal best.
Kerr, a sophomore, is enjoying a strong start to her 2025 season. She dipped under 44 seconds in the 300 meter hurdles Saturday evening, running 43.97 - the second fastest time in the State so far. She also went 14.25 (+1.0) in the 100 meter hurdles, her third mark under 14.7 seconds so far this season after entering the season with a 14.72 best, her only career mark under 15. Spain and Kerr are currently 1-2 in the 100 and 300 meter hurdles, respectively, a strong 36 points on the State virtual meet as they look to win yet again this spring.
For Boyd, she makes it three Lions under 15 seconds so far. Her 14.96 best currently sits eighth in the state regardless of class. On Saturday, she ran 15.07 (+1.0).
Ritter also posted a 4x400 meter relay mark of 3:59.48, third among Missouri teams so far this season. They also saw a season-best 58.57 400 from Mekenzie Rogers who continues to chase the incredible 56.62 mark she posted in 2021. Cami Costello, their equalizer in the throws arenas, added a 10.98m (36-0.25) mark in the shot put.
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Ladue, who will be seeing Cardinal Ritter often in this 2025 season and throughout the entire state series, posted significant marks in the state in their own right.
The Brinker sisters proved they are a strong 1-2 punch once again. Delaney nearly pulled off the victory in the invitational section of the 400 meter dash, but settled for a 54.85 mark in her season debut. She came back later Saturday night to split 53.78 in the invitational 4x400, bringing the Rams across the line in a time of 3:48.41, the top time in the state by just over 10 seconds, and already 2.5 seconds off their near-state record 3:45.91 from 2024.
Zoey Brinker shocked everyone by clearing the highest bar of the entire meet in the high jump out of the open division Saturday morning. Her 1.75m (5-9) performance is tied for fourth in State history and adds a new wrinkle to the outlook in the Class 5 high jump. Top returner D'marihanna Newton cleared a new personal best 1.76m (5-9.25) on Friday in Kansas City, but Brinker appears to be right on her heels.
Laila Murray added a 56.43 400 meter mark, a new personal best, and the second best mark in the event in Class 5 so far. So while Ritter appears to post close to 40 points in the 100 meter hurdles this season, Ladue could add 36 in the 400 if these results hold. Murray was a key piece of their 4x400 relay, as well, and could be a member of their all-star 4x200 and 4x800 casts.
Karina Griffin and Aaliyah Rogers also made the trip for the 800. While neither of them posted new personal bests, their respective 2:20.34 and 2:22.68 marks are fourth and twelfth in Class 5 so far. Rogers headed into the season with a 2:11.59 best to her name and ran 2:16.89 this winter.
Reigning Class 4 State champion Bella Jones cleared 1.60m (5-3) as she continues to climb back up toward her 1.64m best. Their lone male representative, Rylan Wilson, ran 49.31 for 400 meters, a second mark already under his 2024 season best of 49.64.
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Lee's Summit West also brought a large group of girls to the west coast classic. Their 4x200, 4x400, and 4x800 crews all posted top six marks in Class 5 so far, though their 9:36.85 mark in the 4x800 was two seconds off their better mark from the Rusty Hodge Invitational last weekend. Their 4x200 time of 1:44.50 sits sixth among Class 5 teams and the 3:59.73 is the fourth fastest of four sub-4:00 marks so far.
Miller Wood won the Rising Stars division of the Pole Vault on Friday, clearing a season-best 3.43m (11-3) and earned the opportunity to jump again on Saturday, clearing 3.23m (10-7). She has gone as high as 3.64m (11-11.25) in her career.
Jaimy Birmingham was the other individual finisher for the Titans, running 12.35 in the 100 meter dash and 45.77 in the 300 meter hurdles in her season debut in the events. She is sixth so far in the 300s in Class 5 and eighth in the 100 meter dash.
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MICDS brought three girls to California. Senior Grace Coppel posted a MO No. 1 mark in the 800 meter run, hitting a new outdoor personal best of 2:13.07. She is building nicely off of the 2:13.21 indoor best she threw down at the New Balance Nationals Indoor meet in February.
Nicole Green put up the second best triple jump so far in the state, clearing 11.81m (38-9, +1.2 m/s) in her first try this spring. She jumped 11.94m (39-2) this winter and is only three centimeters off her outdoor best.
Sophomore Justyce Sanders is already tracking just behind the reigning Class 4 champion in the 400 with her 56.36 on Saturday. Pleasant Hill's Brooke Beck, the current gold medal holder in Class 4, went 55.59 on Friday in Holden.
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Festus junior Carson Driemeier had one of the most impressive performances of the evening as he took advantage of the perfect weather conditions and star-studded competition to become only the twelfth Missourian to ever break 9:00 for 3200 meters. He just barely snuck under the barrier, closing his final lap in 62 seconds, to run 8:59.27.
After running 9:06.28 this winter and opening up his outdoor season with a 9:05.35 two weeks ago, the two-time individual state champion is continuing to push the envelope and separate himself from the rest of the Class 4 field. He is now a part of an elite and illustrious group of Missourian distance running legends with a season and a half left in his high school career.
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Parkway Central's Priya Cheatham added marks in the shot put and discus on Saturday. She 11.75m (38-6.75) and 38.1m (125-0) in the respective events. Though they are not personal or season bests for the junior, she has already pushed her shot put best over 40 feet this year (12.4m, 40-8.25).