Helias Catholic Girls Storm Up to Class 5, Win State Title
It is been a slow and quiet build, but this year the team to watch, possibly across all five classes, is the Helias Catholic girls.
An enrollment drop from last year to this year almost kept them in Class 4 even with their championship factor, but nevertheless, Helias not only remains loaded, but has added some impressive freshman talents to their roster.
Isla Alfultis leads the way with personal bests of 11.76 (+1.7), 24.45, 57.73, and 42.73 in the 100, 200, 400, and 300m hurdles, respectively. The junior finished third, third, and second in the 100, 200, and 300m hurdles, and also helped their 4x200m relay win the Class 4 title by 0.02 seconds.
Alfultis is complimented by a cavalcade of stellar sprinters: Leah Polley, Deaven Duemmel, and Corynn Frank, but they will also be adding freshman Nicki Frank. Polley boasts personal bests of 25.98 in the 200, 15.24 in the 100m hurdles, and a triple jump best of 10.42m (34-2.25). She was eighth in the 100m hurdles last year and a relay contributor. Duemmel was also a relay contributor, and has run 57.49 for 400 meters, an event in which she finished fourth at State. Corynn Frank ran 59.27 last season and contributed to their relay success. Her younger sister, Nicki, comes in with bests of 26.69, 59.78, and 15.40 bests in the 200, 400, and 100m hurdles. She has also high jumped 1.57m (5-2), long jumped 5.11m (16-9.25), and even thrown the middle school shot put 10.57m (34-8.25). Cecilia Hake also joins the fold, a 12.92/26.98 runner in the 100 and 200. It is a deep stable of sprinters that should be competitive for the top spot in all three sprint relays, as well as state hardware in the individual events.
Complimenting the sprint squad are such athletes as Magdalena Barnes in the distance events, AnnaJo Hill in the jumps and javelin, Daelyn Crisostomo in the pole vault, and Megan Bruce in the Shot Put. Barnes ran 19:53.60 for 5K this fall and was 10th at the Class 3 State meet. She ran 5:23.03 for 1600 meters in eighth grade. Hill owns personal bests of 1.57m (5-2) in the high jump, 5.34m (17-6.25) in the long jump, and 38.5m (126-3.75) in the javelin. Crisostomo is one of the top vaulters in the state with a 3.51m (11-6.25) best and Bruce owns an impressive 11.9m (39-0.25) mark in the shot put.
We have seen teams accumulate points across several events on their journey to a State title. Helias may not have any champions in any events - though they are returning three of the four from their 1:40.53 4x200 and 4:00.15 4x400 relays and could compete for the win with those times - but they could pick up significant points in as many as ten events with improvements from certain role-player athletes. They will have to contend with Ladue and Cardinal Ritter, among others, but our first bold prediction for the year is that Helias Catholic reigns in Class 5 as the top girls team.
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Photo: Chris Auckley
Sinry Mendoza and/or Jackson Miller Breaks Long-standing State Meet 1600 Record, Breaks 4:00 at FOM
Every year we say it: This is the year.
This is the year that Jason Pyrah's State meet record, set at 4:03.54 in 1987, goes down. And every year there it is, still upright and ready to attack the best Missouri has to offer the next year.
In 2026, more candidates to break his record have entered the fold, possibly more than ever. The two candidates we are watching the closest are Hollister's Sinry Mendoza in Class 3 and SLUH's Jackson Miller in Class 5.
The biggest question for Mendoza in 2026 will be how that cross country season impacted his overall aerobic fitness. After years of playing football in the fall, Mendoza trained through an entire cross country season and came out of it with another Class 3 State gold and a 15:03.99 personal best 5K. Now he heads into the 2026 season looking to improve upon his 4:07.78 1600 best from the Festival of Miles Missouri Mile he won. His lone race this indoor season was a 4:26.07 mile in Nashville, Tennessee, but we expect the Oklahoma State commit to pop off early and often this spring as he runs to win a Class 3 distance treble and, potentially, snag a State record.
Photo: Jorge Espinosa
Jackson Miller is the other one we are watching. His 2025 season was mostly a wash due to a lingering knee injury, though he was able to return for the 4x800 at the Sectional meet and, subsequently, the State meet where he anchored in 1:54.84 and the team finished in fourth. The junior then went on to run a 4:14.24 full mile at Festival of Miles and 15:07.00 at this fall's State Cross Country championships. His winter breakthrough has us turning our heads, though, as he dropped a 4:08.38 full mile and 8:58.52 2 Mile, both state records. If Mendoza breaks the record in Class 3, Miller may be right behind him Class 5 the following weekend.
Other candidates includes Carson Driemeier, Luke Sievers, Gabriel Voelker, Thomas Garrett, and Wyatt Klaiber, among others.
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Photo: Don Sisson
Bailey Hensgens Earns Jumps Treble in Class 4, Breaks Two State Records
Not a super bold one here as she has already shown on the indoor circuit the kind of level she is on at the moment and she finishing in the top two in the three events last year: High Jump, Long Jump, and Triple Jump. Nevertheless, indoor stats do not count toward outdoor stats so Bailey Hensgens still needs to duplicate her indoor success in the outdoor arena to bring home the state records. We have a feeling it's going to happen.
The "breakout," if you could call it that, is on for Incarnate Word junior Bailey Hensgens. Already a superstar athlete as a sophomore, Hensgens took it to another level this winter, winning the Nike Indoor Nationals High Jump with a US No. 2 mark of 1.82 (5-11.75). She also cleared a US No. 3 12.91m (42-4.25) for the silver medal, both indoor state records. She has the chops to be not just a state title contender, but national title contender wherever she goes.
The outdoor Missouri state records stand at 12.80m (42-0) so Hensgens has already shattered that mark in perfect (indoor) conditions. She has also tied once and cleared another time the outdoor state record of 1.80m (5-11). No Missourian has ever cleared 6 feet on the indoor or outdoor circuit, and Hensgens appears poised to be the first, at least in the latter format. The overall State Championship records are in danger, as well: 12.44m (40-9.75) and 1.80m.
Theoretically, anyone who can clear 42 feet in the triple jump can clear 20 feet in the long jump, at least. Hensgens' personal best in the long jump currently stands at 5.76m (18-10.75) with a wind aid, but we expect that mark to be much higher by the end of the year. We expect to see her on the podium for all three jumps, as well as one other hurdle or sprint event this May.
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Photo: Don Sisson
Missouri has seen a surge in the Pole Vault over the last 10 years and this year, at least three more stars take center stage on the boys' and girls' sides.
Ft. Zumwalt East's Avery Foster is not only looking for a three-peat in Class 4, but to join the exclusive 4 meter club. Only one Missourian girl has cleared 4 meters in their career - Liberty's Rachel Homoly - and two others have hit 3.99 meters. She and fellow St. Charles County native Rebecca McGuire are tied with the top returning marks: 3.81m (12-6). McGuire is looking to win her second State title in Class 5 this year. Both girls join Butler's Tandee Hiser as candidates for that 4 meter club in what could be the best year for Girls Pole Vault we have ever seen.
Photo: Don Sisson
Blair Oaks senior and Mizzou commit Tomas Gonzalez leads the charge on the boys side and should be the next Missourian to clear 5 meters, joining a long line of all-time greats. A three-time silver medalist in Class 3, Gonzalez has a clear path to his first career State title in 2026. He owns a personal best of 4.90m (16-1). Only eight Missourians have cleared a 5 meter bar in state history and Gonzalez should be number nine this year.
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Photo: Don Sisson
Bryson Jacobs Breaks National Javelin Record
Eight meters, that's all he needs to do it. And it isn't like he has never improved by eight meters year-over-year. In fact, Adrian's Bryson Jacobs did basically that last season when he climbed from a career best of 59.67m (195-8) in 2024 to 67.13m (220-3) in 2025. Sure only five guys have ever cleared 70 meters and one of them did it twice (according to the NFHS website), but it is not such a lofty goal for an athlete like Jacobs. He threw over 60 meters eight times last year and was a consistent superstar week to week and meet to meet before winning the Class 2 championship by over eight meters and bringing home a victory at Nike Outdoor Nationals.
"But Kyle, 75.21 meters? That is a truly insane mark." That's why they are called bold predictions!
Helias Catholic Girls Storm Up to Class 5, Win State Title
It is been a slow and quiet build, but this year the team to watch, possibly across all five classes, is the Helias Catholic girls.
An enrollment drop from last year to this year almost kept them in Class 4 even with their championship factor, but nevertheless, Helias not only remains loaded, but has added some impressive freshman talents to their roster.
Isla Alfultis leads the way with personal bests of 11.76 (+1.7), 24.45, 57.73, and 42.73 in the 100, 200, 400, and 300m hurdles, respectively. The junior finished third, third, and second in the 100, 200, and 300m hurdles, and also helped their 4x200m relay win the Class 4 title by 0.02 seconds.