Mar 27, 2026

This Saturday's McCullough-Douglass Invitational hosted by Festus High School is, once again, slated to be the biggest March track and field invitational in the state this year. Meet directors Wes Armbruster and Chris Partney have once again put together a star-studded event with some of the biggest names from all over the state coming together to showcase their talents. We've sifted through the pre-finalized entries and found seven events that appear particularly intriguing at what is sure to be an action-packed meet.

1. Boys and Girls 3200

It should come as no surprise that we are highlighting the 3200s first. The marquee event of the entire meet, this race has consistently drawn top talents from not only the St. Louis area, but also the Columbia, Kansas City, and Springfield areas.

The 3200s kick off the day with one heat of girls and two heats of boys. Last year there were two more heats for the boys and one more for the girls. When the dust had settled in 2025, four boys had broken 9:10, ten went under 9:30, and twenty-eight total were under the 10:00 barrier across the four heats. On the girls side, four finished under 11:10, six under 11:30, and fourteen total girls were under 12:00 across the two heats.

This year, the boys race is similarly stacked with top tier talents. Specifically, three state champions highlight the top of the field in Rockhurst's Jack McGovern, Festus's Carson Driemeier, and Rock Bridge's Luke Sievers. SLUH's Jackson Miller, who had an incredible indoor season, makes it four boys who have either ran 9:00 or better for 3200 meters or 2 miles over the last two months. McGovern ran 9:00.05 for 2 miles at Nike Indoor Nationals earlier this month, Driemeier ran 8:59.27 last outdoor season and 9:01.24 for 3200 meters this indoor season. Sievers posted a 9:00.78 personal best for 3200 meters in the same race as Driemeier at Mizzou last month. And Miller is the high man of the group with his 8:58.52 2 mile personal best just over a month ago.

The chase pack is highlighted by several all-State cross country and track athletes. North Point's Hunter Stahl brings his 9:23.06 best from last year's McCullough-Douglass Invitational. Lafayette Wildwood's Ezekiel Hagen, Parkway Central's Lucas Amador, Parkway West's Wade Patten, and DeSoto's Carson Koerber all come in with marks under 9:30 as well. Keep an eye on Rock Bridge standouts Matthew Kim and Cook Hudson, as well as Notre Dame Cape Girardeau sophomore Aidan Morris and SLUH junior Michael Luna.

The girls race is headlined by Eureka's Brooke Samuelson, Nerinx Hall's Grace Murphy, and St. Charles West's Brianna Krueger. Samuelson will be making her career debut in the 3200 after running primarily the 400, 800, and 1600 so far. The senior is firing on all cylinders already with 2:10.55 and 4:52.99 personal bests this indoor season after running 17:33.50 this fall. Murphy had a strong cross country season, as well, and heads in with an 11:04.08 career best. She did run 10:16.51 for 3000 meters this winter which converts to 11:01.40 for 3200. Krueger is a two-time State cross country champion and ran 11:00.75 for 2nd at State last year.

Others to watch in the elite race include former Class 5 State Cross Country champion Bella Navarro-Sanchez, Brentwood's Kensington Curd (11:35.09 in 2024, Class 2 State champion), Festus's Lucy Boyer (11:26.33), Eureka's Claire McKinnon (11:43.53), and Notre Dame's Lily Coy (11:41.32), as well as Rockwood Summit's Isabel Burlbaw in her high school 3200 debut. The entire field is seeded under 12:00.

2. Girls 200

The fastest heat of the 200 is going to be fast.

A total of ten girls hold a seed time under 27 seconds, meaning two of them will not be featured in the final heat. But of the eight who will be featured, it is anyone's guess who will win among the star-studded group.

Festus junior Jahmeshia Patterson leads the way with her 24.29 (-0.5) personal best from 2024. Injured for most of 2025, Patterson closed out her sophomore year in shining form and appears healthy to start 2026. She opened her season with 12.38 and 26.02 marks last Friday.

Jefferson (Festus) junior Zoie Bradley opened her season last Friday, as well, running 12.58 and 25.42, both marks just off her 2024 personal bests of 12.25 and 25.30. Helias Catholic's Leah Polley, one of the several stellar sprinters at Helias, ran 25.98 last spring and 26.86 already this year. Timberland's Knia Graham topped out at 26.09 last spring in an abbreviated season, but ran 25.53 as a sophomore in 2024. It will be race that will surely be worth the wait on Saturday afternoon later on in the meet.

3. Girls Javelin

The fifth flight of the Girls Javelin is very interesting to us as it features 5 girls over 36 meters, including 4 of the top Class 5 returners in the state.

Lafayette's Sydney Berger leads the way with her 44.93m (147-5) personal best from last year's Sectional 1 meet. The second best returner in the state regardless of class, Berger is the current favorite for the Class 5 state title after finishing fourth last year. Jackson's Kateryna Elefson is next on the list. Tenth at State last year, Elefson has already taken a leap forward with a 40.91m (134-2.75) best at last weekend's Notre Dame Frozen Invitational. Helias Catholic's dynamic duo of AnnaJo Hill and Sawyer Hoffmeyer are also in the mix, with Hill being a State title contender now in Class 5 after finishing 11th last year. Both girls have set personal bests already this season at 39.09m (128-3) and 36.14m (118-7). Blue Springs South sophomore Leah Morgan will make the trek from the west side of the state with her 37.80m (124-0.25) personal best from her freshman campaign.

The Javelin is a ways away from the rest of the action, but we will surely be watching as the results trickle in to see just how much the state rankings get shaken up.

4. Boys Shot Put

The Boys Shot Put will be much easier to watch as it is right next to the finish line and should feature some of the best throwers the state has to offer.

The sixth flight in particular features 11 boys over 14 meters, including four over 15.8 meters (51-10). Ste. Genevieve standout Paul Taylor will do battle with CBC's Karter Woodard, though Taylor is over a meter and a half ahead of Woodard. Taylor is the heavy favorite for the Class 3 title as the top returner in the entire state. He threw 18.89m (61-11.75) last year and has already thrown 18.60m (61-0.75) this season. Woodard had a breakout performance at the Christian Coleman Invitational last weekend, going 17.15m (56-3.25), which was well ahead of his previous best of 16.61m. Watch Rockwood Summit sophomore Devin Walker, who threw 16.14m (52-11.5) as a freshman and is making his season debut, and Lafayette senior Baron James, who is also making his season debut and looking to improve upon last year's 15.86m (52-0.5) best.

5. Boys High Jump

The Boys High Jump features nine boys who have cleared 6 feet (1.83m) in their careers, with DeSmet's Braden Butler and Waynesville's Brandon Jackson being the two highest ranked athletes of those nine. Butler's career debut was at this meet last year where he won with a mark of 1.87m (6-1.75). He went on finish third at the Class 4 State meet and finally cleared 2 meters for the first time this winter. He climbed all the way up to 2.06m (6-9.25) and is a clear frontrunner in Class 4 right now.

Jackson opened up his season earlier this week with a 1.82m (5-11.75) clearance, but boasts a career best of 2.02m (6-7.5). He finished tenth at last year's State meet and was the top Class 5 returner heading into the season.

We are also watching to see if Damarien Williams can replicate the breakthrough 1.95m (6-4.75) mark he posted last weekend. Topping out at 1.82m last season, Williams is already well on his way to becoming a top high jumper in the entire state. Jackson's Ryan Larry and Helias Catholic's Julian Hooper will also be on our radar with respective 1.95m and 1.93m (6-4) personal bests.

6. Boys 400

Outside of the State Championships, the eighth heat of the Boys 400 meter dash could be the fastest quarter mile on Missouri soil we see all year. It features a cavalcade of stars from the eastern side of the state.

In the middle are Jackson's Blayne Reagan and Rock Bridge's Brennan Scott. Reagan is making his season debut and is seeded at the 47.05 mark that earned him the Class 5 State title last May, but don't forget that he also ran 46.96 at the Great Southwest Classic. Scott opened up his season with a 48.87 rust-buster and owns a lifetime best of 48.16 from last year's Sectional 2 meet. Jefferson (Festus) senior Matthew Waltman is seeded in lane 7 at 50.20 for some reason. He ran 49.41 this winter on the indoor circuit and finished third here last year in his 48.41 personal best. He was also the Class 2 State champion last year.

Other interesting names include Bayless junior James St. Vrain, who had a massive season debut last weekend at the Mike Rodgers Invitational. A relative unknown heading into the season, St. Vrain jumped from 56.26 last season to 49.56 already and appears poised to be a Class 3 State title contender now. Rockwood Summit's Rowan Jackson is making his season debut in the 400, looking to improve on a 49.90 personal best from 2025. SLUH's Spencer Williams ran 49.90 last summer, as well, and is running out of lane 2.

We are also watching Heat 7 to see what Poplar Bluff freshman Kingston Wade-Kennedy does in his second career high school meet. He ran 52.58 at New Balance Nationals Indoor earlier this month and debuted at 51.56 last Saturday.

7. Boys and Girls 800

Finally, the 800 meter runs are just as hotly contested as the 3200s as most of the athlete who are running the 3200 are coming back for the 800, similarly to last season.

The fifth heat of the Boys 800 features 14 of the state's top names. We are watching to see how Rockhurst's Jacob Bond opens up his season after running 1:52.28 last summer. He is the preseason favorite for the Class 5 title. Blue Springs South junior Burke Schwentker and Rock Bridge junior Baron Carratura come in under 1:55, SLUH's Jackson Miller is lurking at 1:55.76, and some of the top longer distance runners will try their hand at the shorter distance as Luke Sievers, Carson Driemeier, and Jack McGovern all have their hat in the ring. We are also curious how Blue Springs South's top four shape out with Nolan Voigt, Kendrick Haines, and Aizak Miller all seeded at 1:58.02 or better. Helias Catholic's Daniel Morris could be in this mix, too, but will settle in to Heat 4 with the 2:02.03 mark with which he opened his season. Morris ran 1:55.88 and is looking to shake up the Class 5 ranks.

On the girls side, heat 4 features Bella Navarro-Sanchez, Bayless standout Gabrielle Campbell, the Nerinx Hall duo Kailyn Stann and Sydney Krus, and Lafayette's Kelly Archambeault. Campbell is making her outdoor debut this weekend after dropping under 2:20 three times this winter and topping out at 2:18.67 last month.