Big River Rankings #3 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: Registration is coming soon for the 2013 USA Cross Country Championships! The Big River High School 4K will be available to any 7th-12th graders and we encourage you to get your friends together and sign up as a team. See you in February!
TEAM RANKINGS
TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS
#1) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST– LSW adopted a pack strategy at the Maymont XC Festival in Virginia with their top five finishing within nine seconds of one another. This past weekend they took six of the top seven spots at their conference meet. To beat them a team is going to have to be really strong up front because it’s tough to imagine anyone besting them at the four and five spots.
#2) EUREKA– Eureka won the Ron Jorgensen Meet without their number one, Hannah Long, and then finished a close third at the very competitive Suburban West meet without their number two, Angie Sumner. We know Long was at another meet and as long as Sumner comes back they are certainly one of the top two or three teams in the State.
#3) FRANCIS HOWELL– Unless we are missing something the Lady Vikings did not race their top seven in the last two weeks. They were scheduled to run at the Border Wars Meet but it was postponed. We know they’re really good though.
#4) ROCK BRIDGE– Rock Bridge scored a solid win at Parkway West over good squads from Lafayette, Marquette and Nerinx Hall.
#5) STE GENEVIEVE– Ste Gen won handily at Potosi where they put just 27 points on the board. They are a big favorite in Class 3.
#6) ST. TERESA’S ACADEMY– St. Teresa’s was super-impressive at KC Metro against a deep field. They scored just 80 points and bested a good Kearney squad by 57.
#7) LEE’S SUMMIT NORTH– LSN looked as good as ever in winning the Suburban Gold Conference Meet this past weekend.
#8) MARQUETTE– Marquette won one of the most prestigious conference meets in the State when they took home top honors in the Suburban West over Lafayette and Eureka.
#9 JEFFERSON CITY– Jeff City makes the top ten this week after two really good runs at Camdenton and Helias in back-to-back weeks. Their number one runner Kaylee Ruff is really good and their spread was only 1:20 this past weekend.
#10) KEARNEY– Kearney was third at KC Metro and then finished runner-up to Smithville at home, but that was without their number two Olivia Franklin. The Lady Bulldogs get the nod here over Nerinx and Smithville, both very good squads
TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) BLUE SPRINGS-- Blue Springs was sixth at the Roy Griak Invitational, one of the best meets in the country. That pretty much speaks for itself.
#2) SLUH-- The boys from Saint Louis U. High are back where they like to be, near the top of the rankings. Their win over Rock Bridge at Parkway West and their 43 second spread at the MCC meet prove they are a threat to once again win it all in November.
#3) ROCK BRIDGE-- The Bruins were second at Parkway West but were just 12 points back of #2 SLUH. Their State Title hopes should still be very much alive.
#4) WEST PLAINS- The Zizzers won the Ozark Conference Meet handily over a pretty darn good Kickapoo squad.
#5) LAFAYETTE- These guys continue to prove that they have become an elite team. They were third at Parkway West and then dominated the Suburban West meet.
#6) LIBERTY- The Blue Jays were just eight points back of #1 Blue Springs at the KC Suburban Gold Conference Meet.
#7) FESTUS- Festus won handily at the Potosi meet with just 33 points.
#8) ROCKHURST- Rockhurst jumps back into the rankings on the strength of their win at the KC Metro Championships.
#9) WARRENSBURG- Warrensburg was just two points from the win at KC Metro which puts them back in the rankings. They also dominated at the Marshall Invite.
#10) LINDBERGH- The Flyers make their first appearance in the top ten after a second place showing at the Suburban West meet where they topped previously ranked Marquette. It was just enough to give them the nod over Kickapoo for the last spot.
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- Werner got a much deserved week off from racing two weeks ago and came back with another amazing run at Potosi where she ran 17:30. Folks…this is amazing stuff.
#2) Hannah Long, SO, Eureka- Long proved that she is one of the best runners in the country when she finished a close second to West Virginia’s Maggie Drazba at the prestigious Great American Cross Country Festival in North Carolina.
#3) Kaitlyn Fischer, SR, Herculaneum- Fisher broke the course record at Cape Notre Dame when she ran 18:12 over the 5k layout. She scored another win when she was elected Homecoming Queen a week later. Score one for cross country runners!
#4) Nicole Lee, JR, Clinton- Lee vaults to #3 after ripping an 18:02 at Camdenton for the fastest time of the day.
#5) Nicole Mello, SR, Hickman- Mello looks to be in really good form as we enter the final month of the season. She went 18:08 to win at Camdenton and 18:35 at Helias.
#6) Sarah Jacobsen, SR, Potosi- Jacobsen was runner-up at home to #1 Werner. Her 18:37 there was really impressive.
#7) Maddy Brown, SO, Parkway West- The Parkway West super sophomore knows how to win. She claimed two more victories these past two weeks; at home and at the Suburban South meet.
#8) Alyssa Jones, SR, Rockwood Summit- Jones seems to have found her stride after runner-up finishes to #5 Brown at Parkway West and Suburban South.
#9) Sarah Nicholson, FR, Lafayatte- Nicholson was third at Parkway West and is cementing her spot as the second best freshman in the State.
#10) Sophia Racette, SO, Nerinx Hall- Racette comes in at #10 after a solid fourth place showing at Parkway West. Her other performances suggest she may jump back up the list next time out.
#11) Angie Sumner, SR, Eureka- We did not see the Eureka senior in the results from her conference meet so hopefully everything is okay. Sumner was the champ by 22 seconds at the Ron Jorgensen meet.
#12) Kristen Adams, JR, Francis Howell- Adams holds on to her spot at #12 after two weeks without racing. She is one who could shoot up the list next time we see her.
#13) Bailey Hession, SR, Willard- A newcomer to the rankings, Hession won her home meet in 19:25 and followed up with a 19:10 for the win at the Irish Invitational.
#14) Kaylee Ruff, SR, Jefferson City- Ruff scored two runner-up finishes the last two weeks and both were to 2011 Foot Locker finalist Nicole Mello.
#15) Ashley Coonfield, FR, Kearney- Coonfield faced a lot of the other contenders for this last spot at the KC Metro meet and she topped them all, winning in 18:54.
Honorable Mention: Whitney Adams (Francis Howell), Ellyn Atkinson (Glendale), Saga Barzowski (Arcadia Valley), Melissa Brown (Oakville), Bridgette Caruthers (Branson), Courtney Coppinger (St. Teresa’s), Sam Farmer (Rock Bridge), Sammy Laurenzo (Libery North), Jenny McCarty (Fulton), Elise Marker (Villa Duschene), Courtney Rogers (Lutheran St. Peters), Katie Tuck (Smithville), Jill Whitman (Cor Jesu), Kourtney West (Lee’s Summit West), Kennadee Williams (Lee’s Summit West)
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Noah Kauppila, JR, Marquette- Kauppila, our pre-season #1, restored order these past two weeks with wins at Parkway West and at the Suburban West meet.
#2) Adam Roderique, SR, Marquette- Roderique may have been beaten by his teammate Kauppila each of the last two weeks but he did nothing to show us he doesn't deserve the two spot.
#3) Simon Belete, SR, Blue Springs– Belete was fifth at the Roy Griak meet where he bested 2011 Foot Locker finalist Addison DeHaven among others.
#4) Cole Rockhold, JR, Truman- Rockhold remained undefeated these past two weeks including a win by three tenths of second at KC Metro. Guys that know how to win close races are very dangerous at State.
#5) Stephen Mugeche, SO, Blue Springs– Mugeche was eighth at Roy Griak where he and Belete were the best one-two punch in an amazingly deep field.
#6) Spencer Haik, JR, Glendale- Haik continues to climb back up the rankings after winning the Ozark Conference meet in 16:09 over teammate Chris Mooneyham.
#7) Chris Mooneyham, SR, Glendale– Six of the top seven guys this week are from three teams, which has to be a first. Mooneyham is seventh but could easily be #4. It’s very close.
#8) Nicholas Stewart, SR, McCluer North- Stewart was third at Parkway West in 16:21 where he beat a lot of really good guys.
#9) Nathan Keown, SR, Rock Bridge- Keown was fourth at Parkway West to lead the Bruins to a second place finish there.
#10) Ian Frazier, SR, Kickapoo- Frazier was third at the Ozark Conference Meet in 16:30.
#11) Evan Schulte, JR, Rock Bridge- Schulte was just three ticks back of his teammate Keown at Parkway West.
#12) James Barnett, SR, Blue Springs- Barnett had two more big weeks, finishing 22nd at Roy Griak and third at the Suburban Gold Meet.
#13) Tyler Rush, SR, Linn- Not only does Rush get into the rankings this week but he goes straight to #13 after two wins and two fast times over the last couple of weeks. His 16:06 at Fulton and his 16:09 at the Show-Me Conference teams were high-level performances.
#14) Kirk Smith, SR, John Burroughs- Smith won the Silver division at the Ron Jorgensen Meet where his 17:05.80 was a tenth faster than Alex Riba from the vaunted O’Fallon (IL) squad.
#15) Austin Del Rosso, JR, DeSmet- Del Rosso breaks into the rankings for the first time after winning the MCC Meet over SLUH’s Matt Nicholson.
Honorable Mention: Jeff Bachman (St. Joe Central), Jason Fambrough (Ray-Pec), Andrew Gordon (Kirksville), Derek Legenzoff (Lafayette), Kyler Haumann (Ozark), Brian Hernan (Parkway South), Andrew Moore (Ste Genevieve), Matt Nicholson (SLUH), Liban Samatar (Oak Park), Jordan West (Lafayette), Dillon Williams (Webster Groves)
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Big River Rankings #3 2012