Class 5 Girls
Individual Contenders
Five girls head into the Class 5 race this weekend with season best times under 18:00: Brooke Samuelson, Ava Doll, Ella Messner, Mary McKenzie, and Caroline Bowen.
Samuelson appears to be the frontrunner this year after missing the entire season last fall. The fact that the Wildcats still pulled off their team championship without her is no small feat as the 2:14/4:57 track star was a key piece of their returning squad in 2024. Nevertheless, this season, she kicked off her season with her first career sub-20:00 performance...an 18:39.41 victory at the First Capitol Invitational. Since then, Samuelson has been nothing short of impressive, running under 18:40 in each of her next 5 races. She enters the weekend with two marks under 17:40 to her name this season, including a MO No. 13 all-time mark of 17:33.50 from the Chile Pepper Festival. The Gans Creek Classic Elite Twilight runner-up is looking to improve upon that in her next visit to Gans Creek this weekend.
Joplin's Ava Doll also heads into the weekend's festivities with two sub-18:00 marks to her name. Most recently, her season and personal best came at the District 2 meet en route to a victory: 17:46.01. She also won the COC Championship and finished 2nd in the Gold Division at the Gans Creek Classic Gold Division. St. Teresa's Ella Messner and teammate Caroline Bowen are the strongest 1-2 punch in the State and are looking to score low for their team with top 5 finishes this Friday. Messner, a freshman phenom, has not slowed down in her sophomore season and appears poised to improve upon her 6th place finish from last year. Cor Jesu's McKenzie is looking for her first individual title to go along with the 3 top 8 finishes she has posted so far in her career. Her 17:40.80 personal best came at the 2023 State Championships where she nabbed a 3rd place medal.
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Watch List Individuals
Two more individuals to watch include reigning State Champion Bella Navarro-Sanchez and Webb City's Brooke Hedger. Navarro-Sanchez held of Liberty North's Lucinda Wright (who has battled back from injury to qualify for State again this year) by a razor-thin margin and is making moves once again late in the season. Her victory on Saturday at Sioux Passage Park moved her into third all-time on the course and was her third straight win. She also won the Louisville XC Classic and GAC XC Championships.
Webb City's Hedger enjoyed a standout 2025 track campaign and is lurking as a contender for the State title this Friday. She boasts 3 firsts and 2 second place finishes this year and a new personal best of 18:07.27. She was fifth at this meet last year.
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Team Contenders
The usual suspects Blue Springs South and St. Teresa's Academy are both looking to play spoiler to Eureka's bid for a second straight Class 5 team title. On this course in September, St. Teresa's actually did take down the Wildcats by a whopping 41-points, led by Messner and Bowen's sub-18:00 efforts. Polly Fendler ran 18:46.49 that day, as well, and the teams fourth and fifth runners both came in under 19:25. It's a deep team once again and the Stars are looking to finally break through and pick up their first team championship since 1994.
But to be the best, you have to beat the best. Eureka may have graduated some key pieces, but adding Samuelson back and getting her massive sub-18:00 contribution has been a key to their re-ascent. Sophomore Claire McKinnon also appears to be peaking at the right time with her first sub-19:00 performance of her career coming this weekend. The Suburban Conference champions hoisted last year's first place trophy in Class 5 with steady contributions throughout the race from key role players - they very well could do that again on Friday.
Blue Springs South has a solid 51.5 second spread and the experience at the State meet needed to compete for the win. Ashlyn Wahrenbrock, the District 4 champion, leads the way for this Jaguars squad, who may just pick up team trophy number 9 in a row.
Watch List Team
The Rock Bridge Lady Bruins are making all the right moves at the end of the season. Their victory over Father Tolton and Liberty Wentzville on Saturday was a major statement, led by junior Kaitlyn Reid in second. She was the CMAC Champion this year and is looking to pick up her first career individual all-state honor. Sitting ninth presently in our team rankings feature, keep an eye on the District 3 champions as they make their move for their first team trophy since 2021.