This past weekend was the official start of the 2026 Cross Country season in Missouri and with it came several stellar performances from several of the State's best athletes. Much more is set to come this week, epic heat wave permitting, of course.
Each Monday this season, we will be running a poll with five candidates for Performer of the Week that was, highlighting five athletes from around the state who did something amazing in the last seven days. Vote for who you think deserves the honor!
Polls open at 7:00am on Monday and remain open until 5:00pm on Friday. The athlete who wins will move to our end-of-the-season "Performer of the Year" poll and will not be nominated again for the weekly poll for the rest of the season. Athletes who were nominated and do not win will not be eligible to be nominated for one full week.
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Here are this week's nominees:
Noah Green - Liberty Wentzville
Senior Noah Green has battled through injuries over the past year, but it appears that heading into the 2026 season, he is fully healthy and ready for a breakout final high school season. He ran a Como Kick-off meet record 9:03.76 on the Gans Creek 3K loop. It broke the old meet record by 15 seconds.
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Nathaniel Webber - Webster Groves
Webster Groves' top runner this weekend was senior Nathaniel Webber. He won the Clayton Classic Invitational in 16:32.90, the top 5K mark of the weekend, and held off several of the state's top returners including a slew of Rock Bridge boys.
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Wyatt Klaiber - El Dorado Springs
Wyatt Klaiber opened up his senior season with a dominant victory in the 3200 meter run at the Warrior Sunrise Meet hosted by McAuley Catholic. His 9:35.36 was on par with the 8:27.36 2800 meter performance he posted at the Warrior Twilight Meet last August. Klaiber won by 71 seconds on Saturday morning.
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Leo Butler - Summit Christian Academy
The Dave Denny City Championships in Lee's Summit often features some of the state's top talent and Saturday's race was no different. Leo Butler ran 9:48.88 to take the tape in a race that featured four boys under 10:00.
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Grant Fink - Festus
Festus traveled up to the CM Twilight Invite in Bethalto, IL and came away with both individual victories, one team victory, and one team runner-up (by one point). Grant Fink led the charge for the Tigers with his 15:30.74 mark, a 16:03.86 5K equivalent.
This past weekend was the official start of the 2026 Cross Country season in Missouri and with it came several stellar performances from several of the State's best athletes. Much more is set to come this week, epic heat wave permitting, of course.
Each Monday this season, we will be running a poll with five candidates for Performer of the Week that was, highlighting five athletes from around the state who did something amazing in the last seven days. Vote for who you think deserves the honor!
Polls open at 7:00am on Monday and remain open until 5:00pm on Friday. The athlete who wins will move to our end-of-the-season "Performer of the Year" poll and will not be nominated again for the weekly poll for the rest of the season. Athletes who were nominated and do not win will not be eligible to be nominated for one full week.