Unpacking the Weekend: Gans Creek Totally Rewrites Rankings

Sep 29, 2026

This past weekend was a wild one for Missouri teams in-state, in Illinois, Kentucky, Alabama, and Kansas. Perfect distance running weather led to a major rewrite of the individual and team rankings statewide. Let's unpack some of the biggest repercussions from the weekend.

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1. SLUH and Rockhurst are separating from the field

First and foremost, the Class 5 Jesuit battle is on.

Rockhurst and SLUH locked horns at the Forest Park XC Festival two weeks ago and SLUH took the win on their home course, dominating with 35 points and beating their cross-state rival by a whopping 82 points. Jack McGovern took the individual win, though, over Jackson Miller.

This weekend, both teams were back in action after a weekend off. Rockhurst was the top Missouri team in the Gans Creek Classic Elite Twilight, finished third overall, putting three boys under 15:30 (non-seniors, might we add) and two more at 16:07 and 16:10. McGovern led the way with his state record 14:25.80, Jack Morrison crossed in 15:24, and Charlie Sullivan hit 15:29. They are currently 1-6-9 in Class 5.

Across the biggest river, though, SLUH was busy putting the screws to some of Illinois's best teams, winning the always competitive Palatine Invite - Meet of Champions with a 14:54 1-5 average and 14:32.00 from their frontman Miller. Six of their top seven ran 15:23 or better for 3 miles (~15:56 for 5K). The 14:54 team average would be the best in the state if you convert it to a 5K: ~15:25.

Liberty North is lurking with Nathaniel Haberlach and his 14:40 personal best and aggressive racing style, but may have lost their current scoring number 5 to injury. Lee's Summit, Lee's Summit West, Rock Bridge, and Raymore-Peculiar all look strong, but are all looking for a #5 under 16:25. Rockhurst and SLUH have that in spades. The Jesuit schools are locked into a battle for the Class 5 title heading into October.

2. Isabel Burlbaw is breaking out in 2026

Rockwood Summit's Isabel Burlbaw is having a massive breakthrough sophomore season and forcing the entire state to take notice.

Burlbaw was the top Missourian at the Gans Creek Classic Elite Twilight Friday night, finishing eighth overall and just ahead of track State champion Lily Hurt of Liberty. Her 17:36.50 is a MO No. 16 mark all-time and fourth-fastest all-time among sophomores behind only all-time greats Taylor Werner, Hannah Long, and Megan Thompson.

She now sits atop the Class 4 ranks by a full 30 seconds over Cor Jesu senior and recent SLU commit Kaitlyn Loeffelman, putting herself in the "Class 4 favorite" conversation as we head into October.

3. St. Teresa's, Cor Jesu continue to assert themselves

Cor Jesu Academy's 18th place on Friday night may not have been impressive on its face. But when you look closer, you see they did it without that afore-mentioned Class 4 #2 ranked athlete Kaitlyn Loeffelman.

Loeffelman was notably absent from the Chargers' lineup Friday night, but they were still able to finish as the top Class 4 school in a field that included Webster Groves and Parkway Central. Cor Jesu was led by freshmen Annie Zenker and Mary Fitzpatrick, and sophomore Reese Luna third. Zenker ran an impressive personal best of 18:33.50, Fitzpatrick crossed in 19:03.90, and Luna hit 19:38.30. The latter two were close to their personal bests, but just off of them. So add in Loeffelman at even her season best of 18:06.01 and you see a 146-point swing, pushing Cor Jesu to around tenth with 351 points, and the second-best Missouri team on the day.

The best Missouri team on the day, though, was a St. Teresa's Academy that has separated from the rest of the Class 5 field at this point.

Blue Springs South is the only other team besides the Stars with five girls under 20:00 - St. Teresa's has six. With an 18:37.24 1-5 average and 77-second 1-5 split, it is one of the most impressive teams not just in 2026, but of all time. Only two of the top seven girls set a season best on Friday night, but they were still able to place fourth overall in the race. Caroline Bowen and Polly Fendler led the way, once again, with Bowen finishing 22nd and Fendler crossing in 27th. They were the only Missouri team in the top 11 on Friday and appear to be the team to beat in Class 5 heading into October.

4. Herculaneum is the best team in Class 3...on both sides

Death, taxes, Herculaneum at or near the top of the Class 3 rankings. Heading into October, the Blackcats are dominating both sides of the Class 3 ranks, riding high from their performances in the Gans Creek Classic Gold division on Saturday.

The girls performed well against the strong combination of runners from Classes 2-5, finishing third as a team behind Webb City and Owasso (OK). Freshman Adysynn Gonzalez led the way with a massive 19:06.30 personal best, 1 minute and 46 seconds better than her previous best from the Forest Park Festival. Senior and two-time all-Stater Emerson Reeves shattered her personal best with her first career sub-20:00 mark - 19:24.90. Brylee Wishard came through two seconds off her career best, but set a 77-second season best of 19:58.00. It was a breakout weekend for a team that was already among the top squads in Class 3. Their 1-5 average of 19:50.84 is 85 seconds clear of MICDS in second and would be ranked 14th in the state if it was attached to an individual runner.

The boys were led by Noah Fitzgerald once again. The sophomore hit a new personal best of 16:09.80, already 11 seconds better than the mark which earned him 12th at last year's Class 3 State meet. While he was a full minute ahead of his next closest teammate Allen Wallman, the gap between Wallman and six-man Tristan White was a minuscule 12 seconds. In fact, the gap between #2 and #7 was 25 seconds. The Herky boys are looking to use that tight pack to win their first state title since 2021 and fourteenth overall.

5. Festus boys are back, but Class 4 Boys race is tighter than ever

The Festus boys were experiencing one of their slower starts to the season. Of course, it is not uncharacteristic for them to wait until halfway through October to shift into gear and take Class 4. After sitting back out of the top 10 in the team rankings heading into the weekend, the Tigers donned white on white jerseys and roared to life at the On Twilight at PR'Ville in Huntsville, Alabama.

Festus now sits first in Class 4 according to our team rankings feature, 10 points ahead of Webster Groves, 20 points ahead of Central (Springfield), and 28 points ahead of defending champions West Plains. It is a tight race, but the Tigers also have the frontrunner among the group of teams. Grant Fink posted his second sub-16:00 mark in a row with a massive personal best of 15:22.71. Lucas DeClue added his first career sub-16:00 mark with his 15:54.46 best. It was also a 91-second improvement from his previous season best 5K. Matthew Collier also had a big day, hitting a 55-second overall improvement with a 16:17.76 best.

But the team race in Class 4 is tighter than ever. Festus has the edge from 1-3, but will need help from their 6th and 7th men who are the slowest among the group of five teams. Webster Groves has the tightest 1-7 spread led by Nathaniel Webber at 16:08.20. There are 32 seconds between their first and fifth man and 49 seconds between #1 and #7.

Central (Springfield), however, has the strong frontman in Ronald Timm - 15:30.00 - to go along with a tight pack from 2-6. Between their second fastest man and sixth fastest man are only 20 seconds. The surging Bulldogs are quickly throwing a wrench in the typical Class 4 boys' hierarchy.

West Plains picked up a dominant win at the Marshall County Invitational in Kentucky on Saturday. Hunter Stanley led the way with the individual victory and led the Zizzers to a tiny 28-point total in the 21-team field. Like Festus, they will be there at the end of the year when it matters most as they go for a three-peat in Class 4.

6. Springfield Catholic, Lexington are in the Class 2 driver's seat

The Lexington girls put on a show in the Gans Creek Classic Gold division on Saturday. Led by sophomore phenom Ellie Lichte, the Minutewomen stole the top three individual places from the higher enrollment counterparts and pulled off the rare 1-2-3 feat at the highly competitive meet.

Reigning back-to-back State champion Addison Smith was second in 18:18.30 and Phoebe Engelbrecht hit a massive personal best of 18:25.70. But it was Lichte who scored the victory in 18:15.20. Not only are these three the only Class 2 runners at 18:25 or better, they are the only ones at 19:00 or better, head and shoulders above the rest of the field.

With 6 points through the top 3 runners, the 107 points through 4 and 5 are still enough to push them to the top of the Class 2 rankings.

On the boys' side, Springfield Catholic's margin over West Platte is impressive. With 6 runners in the top 34 scoring places, the Irish are dominating the field at the moment. Kyle Hathcock leads the squad with a 15:35.60 season best he dropped for fifth in the Gold division on Saturday. They are one of only two teams with five boys under 18:00 and the only one with five under 17:30.