Two straight weekends of perfect running weather and exceptional competition from out-of-state teams coming to Missouri and in-state teams out of the state has rewritten the rankings significantly. We are now into October and the second half of the 2026 season already. Conference meet results are coming in already - it's starting to get exciting.
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Class 5
| Boys | Girls |
| District 1 | District 1 |
| Boys | Girls |
| District 2 | District 2 |
| Boys | Girls |
| District 3 | District 3 |
| Boys | Girls |
| District 4 | District 4 |
| Liberty | |
| Top 8 Boys Teams | Top 8 Girls Teams | |||
| 1 | SLUH | 1 | St. Teresa's | |
| 2 | Rockhurst | 2 | Father Tolton | |
| 3 | Blue Springs South | 3 | Blue Springs South | |
| 4 | Lee's Summit West | 4 | Eureka | |
| 5 | Kickapoo | 5 | Rock Bridge | |
| 6 | Lee's Summit | 6 | Liberty | |
| 7 | Liberty North | 7 | Lafayette | |
| 8 | Rock Bridge | 8 | Nixa |
With District 2 and 4 both including a number of Kansas City teams, it would appear that a total of 7 of the 16 Class 5 teams will come from the Kansas City metro on the boys' side and 5 of the 16 on the girls' side. The western side of the state continues to be the strongest as I project they will pull in 2nd through 7th place in the boys' race and 4 of the top 8 spots in the girls' race. SLUH reigns supreme right now, though, and may be the best team we have ever seen.
St. Teresa's continues to impress everywhere they go. A surge from the Father Tolton ladies has them trending upward and back into the State title conversation after finishing 8th last year. Keep an eye on the Liberty ladies with their strong top 3. If their backend scorers take a leap in the next few weeks, they could challenge for the top 4. We'll also be watching the Liberty North boys who may be able to capitalize on their stellar top 3 if they can scrounge up the help at 4 and 5, too.