Big River Rankings #2 2012
For those of you who have followed our rankings over the past few years you know that these are just for fun and hopefully serve to give athletes a little extra motivation as the season rolls along. We will come out with the rankings every few weeks. For those of you who are new and checking out the rankings for the first time we hope you enjoy them and if you have anyone or any team that we missed let us know by emailing Kyle Cameron at kyle@bigriverrunning.com
USA CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS: Exciting news; The Saint Louis Track Club has joined on as a major sponsor of the USA Cross Country Championships. Anyone who signs up for the 2012-2013 Frostbite Series will receive a FREE entry into the Community and/or High School race that will take place before some of the best distance runners in the country battle for spots of the World Championship team. To keep up with all Championship news like the meet on Facebook, follow it on Twitter and check out the Meet website.
TEAM RANKINGS
TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS
#1) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST – LSW finished third at Rim Rock where Pine Creek (CO) came down from altitude and looked amazing against the best squads from Missouri, Iowa and Kansas. Still, the Titans looked very good and very deserving of the top spot here.
#2) EUREKA– Eureka won handily at Parkway Central and then finished third without their number one, Hannah Long, at Hancock. Insert Long and they win the meet, though it would have been close.
#3) FRANCIS HOWELL– The Lady Vikings showed their full hand for the first time in a few weeks at Hancock and the result was a victory. This group is one of four or five teams with a real shot to win at all in Class 4 in November.
#4) ROCK BRIDGE– Rock Bridge was second to Francis Howell and just nine points back at Hancock. They are a young and dangerous bunch with a top five made up of all freshman and sophomores.
#5) STE GENEVIEVE– These ladies scored a five-point win at Paul Enke and then rolled to a dominating victory in the Class 3 race at Hancock. This Taylor Werner-led squad can compete with anyone.
#6) ST. TERESA’S ACADEMY – St. Teresa’s tackled man-maker hill at Sioux Passage and came out second to Ste Gen before attacking Billy Mills Hill at Rim Rock where they finished sixth.
#7) LEE’S SUMMIT NORTH– LSN topped Kearney in a tiebreaker to earn the win at Blue Springs.
#8) KEARNEY– The Lady Bulldogs were as close a second as you can be at Blue Springs and then seventh and Rim Rock where they bested a number of squads looking to crack the top ten.
#9) NERINX HALL– Nerinx made the short trek over to SIUE for the Edwardsville Invite on the 15th and scored a big win over several solid teams from Illinois.
#10 TIE) MARQUETTE – Led by three freshman, the Lady Mustangs were eighth at Rim Rock to remain in the top ten.
#10 TIE) SMITHVILLE– The ladies of Smithville make their first appearance in the rankings after a really impressive showing at their home invite and a runaway victory in the Rim Rock Blue race.
TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) BLUE SPRINGS- Blue Springs scored two wins in the last two weeks and looked good doing it. They dominated at home before rolling to a 41-point victory at Rim Rock.
#2) WEST PLAINS- Watch out Blue Springs. The Zizzers made the trip to Saint Louis for the Hancock Invitational and won by fifteen points over Rock Bridge. Coming into the season no team had lost more on paper than West Plains and yet here they are at #2 and in contention for yet another State title.
#3) ROCK BRIDGE- Rock Bridge put three in front of West Plains’ two and scored just 80 points in a 23-team meet at Hancock. They are still right there in the hunt for the top spot.
#4) SLUH- The Junior Billikens made the five-hour trek up to northern Illinois for the prestigious Palatine Invite. Against all the big players from the vaunted Chicago suburbs SLUH finished 12th and put five at 16:05 or better for three miles.
#5) LAFAYETTE- The Lancers are having a great season and they continued their hot streak these past two weeks with a win at Paul Enke and a third-place effort at Hancock.
#6) FESTUS- Festus scored just 46 points in the Class 3 race at Hancock to cement themselves as favorites in that division come November.
#7) LIBERTY- The Blue Jays tested themselves at two of the bigger meets in the Midwest, finishing fourth at the Southern Stampede and fifth at Rim Rock.
#8) MARQUETTE- Marquette was unbelievable up front at Rim Rock with Adam Roderique and Noah Kauppila going 1-2. They ended up seventh so they have a little ways to go but with that kind of firepower they will almost always score well in any meet.
#9) WEBSTER GROVES- This Webster Groves team has been a little under-the-radar, choosing to run at some low key meets early, but they won at Parkway Central and they did it again at Hazelwood West.
#10) FOX- Fox joins Webster Groves as newcomers to the rankings this year after their fourth-place showing at Hancock.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
All season long we will try to keep an eye out for the top 15 runners in the State. Again, these are the top 15 regardless of Class. Occasionally we miss a runner or two so we apologize if we shorted you or your teammate. Feel free to email Kyle at kyle@bigriverrunning.com if you know someone who should be on the Big River Top 15. Enjoy!!
TOP 15 GIRLS
#1) Taylor Werner, FR, Ste Genevieve- The hits just keep on coming from this unassuming freshman. Werner set course records at arguably the two most historic courses in Saint Louis, Sioux Passage and Jefferson Barracks, over the last couple of weeks.
#2) Hannah Long, SO, Eureka- Long laid low after her amazing run at Forest Park, winning handily at Parkway Central before skipping Hancock to rest up for the Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina on the 29th.
#3) Kaitlyn Fischer, SR, Herculaneum- Fisher won by 25 seconds over the much-heralded Maggie Montoya from Arkansas in the mud at the Southern Stampede. She followed up with an 18:27 at Hancock, further proving that she has reached a new level in 2012.
#4) Nicole Mello, SR, Hickman- Mello was second to #1 Werner at the Paul Enke Invite, running three seconds faster than a year ago when she ended her season as a Foot Locker National Finalist. She was also ninth at Rim Rock in 15:15 for 4k.
#5) Sophia Racette, SO, Nerinx Hall- Racette was a runaway winner at the Edwardsville Invite where she covered the challenging SIUE layout in 18:43.
#6) Sarah Jacobsen, SR, Potosi- Jacobsen was third at the Stampede, ahead of a number of top-notch runners. She makes the jump to #6 but with the disclaimer that after five, this set of rankings could be flip-flopped any number of ways.
#7) Nicole Lee, JR, Clinton- Lee was the champ at the Hermitage Invite after finishing fourth at the Southern Stampede.
#8) Maddy Brown, SO, Parkway West- Brown can officially be called a super sophomore now. She went from 12th at Forest Park, to third at the Paul Enke, to first at Hancock. In the latter she beat a long list of young ladies that had bested her just three weeks earlier.
#9) Sarah Nicholson, FR, Lafayatte- Nicholson, the second freshman on this list, was third at Parkway Central and runner-up by a half second at Hancock.
#10) Angie Sumner, SR, Eureka- Showing how close all of these girls are, Sumner was second at Parkway Central where she beat Nicholson and third at Hancock where she was just less than a second-and-a-half from the win.
#11) Alyssa Jones, SR, Rockwood Summit- Jones, a staple near the front of most every cross country race she’s entered over the last three years, returns to the rankings after fourth place showings at Paul Enke and Hancock.
#12) Kristen Adams, JR, Francis Howell- Adams led her Francis Howell squad to victory at Hancock with her fifth place finish individually.
#13) Jill Whitman, JR, Cor Jesu- We ended up putting a lot of weight into the Hancock results this time around since so many top girls faced off head-to-head. That hurt Whitman since she was only sixth there but her 17:31 over three miles at famed Detweiler Park in Illinois on the 15th was one of the top performances by any Missouri runner over the past two weeks.
#14) Brigette Caruthers, SR, Branson- Caruthers scored a nice win at Nixa in 18:39 to secure her spot in the rankings.
#15) Sammy Laurenzo, JR, Liberty North- Laurenzo won handily at Platte County before traveling to the Palatine Invite in suburban Chicago where she was a respectable 30th in 18:17 for three miles
Honorable Mention: Whitney Adams (Francis Howell), Ellyn Atkinson (Glendale), Saga Barzowski (Arcadia Valley), Melissa Brown (Oakville), Courtney Coppinger (St. Teresa’s), Ashley Coonfield (Kearney), Sam Farmer (Rock Bridge), Bailey Hession (Willard), Elise Marker (Villa Duschene), Courtney Rogers (Lutheran St. Peters), Kaley Ruff (Jefferson City), Kiersten West (Lee’s Summit West), Kennadee Williams (Lee’s Summit West)
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Adam Roderique, SR, Marquette- To the victor go the spoils. After a win over teammate Noah Kauppila and the rest of the outstanding field at Rim Rock, Roderique suddenly finds himself as the top-ranked runner in Missouri.
#2) Noah Kauppila, JR, Marquette- Kauppila may be #2 this week but his overall credentials are still tops among all contenders. Is it too early to talk about a possible one-two finish at the State Meet?
#3) Simon Belete, SR, Blue Springs– Belete won at home and then finished third behind Marquette’s two-headed monster at Rim Rock.
#4) Chris Mooneyham, SR, Glendale– The Southern Stampede was a mud-bath this year but it didn’t stop Mooneyham from rolling to a five-second victory over a strong field.
#5) Cole Rockhold, JR, Truman- Rockhold took home top honors in the Rim Rock Crimson race, good for fifth fastest time on the day.
#6) Stephen Mugeche, SO, Blue Springs– The super sophomore was fifth at Rim Rock, helping his team to the overall win. He was also runner-up at his home invite a week earlier.
#7) Nathan Keown, SR, Rock Bridge- Keown notched a big win at the historic Hancock Invitational. His 16:11 there is a good time on the tough Jefferson Barracks layout
#8) Spencer Haik, JR, Glendale- Haik shoots back up the rankings after a fourth place showing at the Southern Stampede where he was just 11 seconds back of his teammate Mooneyham.
#9) Ian Frazier, SR, Kickapoo- Frazier won by a whopping 40 seconds at the Hermitage Invite and led his team to victory in the process.
#10) Nicholas Stewart, SR, McCluer North- Stewart cruised to victory at Hazelwood West in 16:34.
#11) Evan Schulte, JR, Rock Bridge- While Marquette went 1-2 at Rim Rock, Schulte and #7 Keown were busy doing the same at Hancock. The junior was just eight seconds back of his teammate and well ahead of the rest of the field.
#12) Jason Fambrough, JR, Ray-Pec- Fambrough had a big couple of weeks to vault himself into the rankings. The Ray-Pec junior was fourth at Blue Springs and then runner-up at the Gatorland Run in Kentucky.
#13) James Barnett, SR, Blue Springs- Barnett comes in at #12, giving Blue Springs three in the top 15, after his 15:56 at Rim Rock. Thirteenth there is very impressive.
#14) Matt Nicholson, SR, SLUH- Nicholson moves up a notch after his 15:20 three mile at Palatine placed him 24th in an incredibly deep field.
#15) Kirk Smith, SR, John Burroughs- The John Burroughs star is back in the rankings after a 16:00 runner-up finish at Edwardsville and a big win at Hancock in the Class 3 race. His 16:26 there would have been third in the Class 4 race.
Honorable Mention: Jeff Bachman (St. Joe Central), Camden Barrett (West Plains), Amos Bartelsmeyer (MICDS), Austin Del Rosso (DeSmet), Brian Hernan (Parkway South), Sheldon Keence (St. Charles West), Derek Legenzoff (Lafayette), Jordan West (Lafayette), Dillon Williams (Webster Groves)
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