Big River Rankings #4 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 now available for the 2013 USA Cross Country Championships! The Big River High School 4K (7th – 12th graders) and the FLEET FEET 4K (adults and kids) will both include individual and team division. 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– The five-time defending State Champions put all their scorers safely under 20 minutes at Districts to retain their number one ranking.
#2) FRANCIS HOWELL– Howell makes the jump to number-two after a decisive victory at the District 4 meet. You could easily make the argument that they are more like a 1A. It’s that close.
#3) EUREKA– Eureka won a very tough District 2 meet by three points over Marquette. The Wildcats are loaded up front, but as with any team, they’ll need to run well at the four and five spots to earn a trophy at State.
#4) STE GENEVIEVE– Ste Gen put on a clinic at the Borgia Invitational where they scored just 24 points. Like Eureka, they could use a little tighter spread but with Werner up front they are essentially only scoring four.
#5) MARQUETTE– These ladies call themselves the gobblers and they certainly gobbled up plenty of spots at Districts where their 1-5 spread was just 49 seconds with a mere four seconds between their 2-5 runners.
#6) ST. TERESA’S ACADEMY – St. Teresa’s was second to LSW at the District 7 meet. Their spread was just over a minute and we would certainly put them in the hunt to take home a trophy in two weeks.
#7) NERINX HALL– The Markers move back into the rankings in a big way after dominating the District 3 meet.
#8) LEE’S SUMMIT NORTH- LSN was third at the very tough District 7 meet over the weekend with a spread of just 1:05.
#9) ROCK BRIDGE– Rock Bridge squeaked out a one-point win in District 5 over Jefferson City. This team has the firepower to run really well at State if things click on the day.
#10) JEFFERSON CITY– Jeff City comes in at #10 this week after a nail-biter of a loss at the District 5 meet to Rock Bridge.
TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) BLUE SPRINGS- The Wildcats stay atop the rankings as they have all year with yet another impressive showing. This time it was a win at the District 7 meet over an ever-improving Rockhurst squad.
#2) SLUH- Ladies and gentleman the race for #1 just got a lot tighter. SLUH put all five scorers under 17 at Districts with a 37-second spread. The Jr. Bills will have a shot to win it all in two weeks but they’ll need to stay just as close amidst all the chaos at State.
#3) ROCK BRIDGE- The Bruins got to see fellow Class 4 State Title contender, West Plains, at Districts and they came away with a one-point victory.
#4)WEST PLAINS- The Zizzers were an oh-so-close second at the District 5 meet to #3 Rock Bridge. Both squads will be in the thick of things in two weeks.
#5) ROCKHURST- The definition of a team on the rise, Rockhurst nearly upset the State’s #1 team, Blue Springs, at Districts on the strength of a great run from number one man William Thompson and a 2-5 pack separated by just four seconds. Like SLUH, they could win it all if things fall their way at State.
#6) WARRENSBURG- These boys put on an absolute clinic at their home invite, putting five under 17 with a 35-second spread. Don’t forget that they were just two points back of Rockhurst at KC Metro at the beginning of the month. Teams three through six here could really be in any order.
#7) LAFAYETTE- The District 2 champs are super-dangerous with the emergence of freshman all-state contender Dylan Quisenberry. If they shore up their spread a bit a trophy is a definite possibility.
#8) LIBERTY- Liberty won the District 8 title and looked good doing it. They are one of eight teams with a very good shot to take home a trophy in Class 4.
#9) RAYMORE-PECULIAR- Ray-Pec was just three points back of Rockhurst at Districts, which speaks to how wide-open the boys’ teams are this year.
#10) FESTUS- Last time we saw Festus at full strength was at the Potosi meet where they scored just 33 points. They ran at Clayton this past weekend but that did not appear to be their complete squad.
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, ranked in the top 20 in the nation, rolled a 17:55 on one of the State’s toughest courses at Borgia on October 13th. We’ll talk more about it next week but it’s going to be awfully exciting to see her kick off the State meet as the Class 3 girls go first this year.
#2) Hannah Long, SO, Eureka- The Eureka soph cruised to a 45-second win at the Class 2 District meet. It may not be good for the athletes to look ahead but we sure are excited to see what Long does to the State course in two weeks.
#3) Kaitlyn Fischer, SR, Herculaneum- Fischer won by a whopping 1:24 at Farmington where her 18:11 padded an already outstanding resume’ heading into the end of the season.
#4) Nicole Lee, JR, Clinton- Lee’s 18:00 at the Chile Pepper Invite in Arkansas was further proof that Missouri is amazingly deep on the girls’ side this year and that Lee is yet another potential Foot Locker finalist from our State.
#5) Nicole Mello, SR, Hickman- Mello was the District 5 champ this past weekend, her third win in a row.
#6) Sarah Jacobsen, SR, Potosi- Jacobsen ran a 19:00 on the tough Borgia course where she was second to #1 Werner.
#7) Maddy Brown, SO, Parkway West- Brown kept the rankings the same through seven with her runner-up finish in District 2.
#8) Sophia Racette, SO, Nerinx Hall- Racette was the District 3 champ, running sub 19 in a nearly solo effort.
#9) Kristen Adams, JR, Francis Howell- Adams went sub 19 at the District 4 meet where she led her squad to a commanding victory.
#10) Brigette Caruthers, SR, Branson- The Branson star is back in the rankings after a solid fifth place showing at Chile Pepper and a District 6 win over Willard’s Bailey Hession.
#11) Sarah Nicholson, FR, Lafayatte- Nicholson was third in a very tough District 2 race.
#12) Saga Barzowski, SR, Arcadia Valley- Back in the rankings for the first time since mid-September, Barzowski looked impressive at Clayton where she won in 19:02.
#13) Melissa Brown, JR, Oakville- Brown has been in and out of the rankings this year, but she is now firmly in after a District 1 win over Summit’s Alyssa Jones.
#14) Alyssa Jones, SR, Rockwood Summit- Jones was just two ticks back of #13 Brown at Districts.
#15) Kennadee Williams JR, Lee’s Summit West- Williams led the LSW charge at the District 7 meet where she was the champ in 19:07.
Honorable Mention: Whitney Adams (Francis Howell), Ellyn Atkinson (Glendale), Bailey Hession (Willard), Ashley Coonfield (Kearney), Jenny McCarty (Fulton), Courtney Rogers (Lutheran St. Peters), Angie Sumner (Eureka), Katie Tuck (Smithville), Tessa Weber (Camdenton), Jill Whitman (Cor Jesu), Kourtney West (Lee’s Summit West)
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Noah Kauppila, JR, Marquette- Kauppila seems to have mastered running sub 16 in a controlled way after his 15:51 win at the District 2 meet. We can’t wait to see him let it rip at the State meet.
#2) Adam Roderique, SR, Marquette- Roderique crossed the line in 15:55 at Districts. The scary thing for anyone trying to win the individual crown at State is that Roderique seems more than capable of going stride-for-stride with Kauppila nearly the whole way. We’re not math majors but it’s always harder to beat two guys than one.
#3) Simon Belete, SR, Blue Springs– Belete was the District 7 champ in a speedy 15:25. Surely the Blue Springs senior is looking for a shot at revenge against Marquette’s two-headed monster in two weeks. More importantly he’s looking to score a mere one point to help his team in what could be a tight team battle.
#4) Spencer Haik, JR, Glendale- Lookout folks. The Class 4 State 1600 champ is on a big-time roll after wins at the Cowboy Jamboree, Conference and Districts. There is no doubt that he is in the conversation to win it all in two weeks.
#5) Stephen Mugeche, SO, Blue Springs– Mugeche stuck close to his teammate Belete at the District 7 meet and finished just nine ticks back in second.
#6) Chris Mooneyham, SR, Glendale– Mooneyham moves up this week after a second place showing at the District 5 meet. The top six spots are now occupied by members of just three teams
#7) Jason Fambrough, JR, Raymore Peculiar– Fambrough makes a huge move from honorable mention to #7 after what was arguably his best performance of the year; a third place showing at District 7.
#8) Ian Frazier SR, Kickapoo- Frazier was the District 6 Champ in 15:45, finally getting a chance for a victory after two straight meets against Haik and Mooneyham.
#9) Cole Rockhold, JR, Truman- Rockhold’s undefeated season came to an end at the District 7 meet, but do not count him out at State. We can never be sure how different teams and runners approach the District and Sectional meets which are essentially qualifying rounds. The rest of his resume’ indicates he’s a top four guy.
#10) Nicholas Stewart SR, McCluer North- Stewart won a tight District 3 meet by three seconds over Webster Groves’ Dillon Williams.
#11) Nathan Keown,, SR, Rock Bridge- Keown was third in District 5. That performance was yet another solid run in what has been a very consistent season.
#12) Evan Schulte, JR, Rock Bridge- Schulte, fourth at Districts, is now making a habit of sticking right with Keown and that’s going to be very important for Rock Bridge the first Saturday in November.
#13) Tyler Rush, SR, Linn- Rush scored a 53-second win at Owensville his last time out. Districts and State await.
#14)James Barnett, SR, Blue Springs- Barnett was fifth in the very tough District 7 meet. He has cemented himself as the State’s best #3 man.
#15) Billy Leighton, SR, Cape Girardeau Central- Looks who’s back! Leighton spent much of the season injured but he re-appeared in a big way this past weekend with a win at the District 1 meet.
Honorable Mention: Amost Bartlesmeyer (MICDS), Cameron Byrley (Parkview), Austin Del Rosso (DeSmet), Andrew Gordon (Kirksville), Brian Hernan (Parkway South), Andrew Moore (Ste Genevieve), Matt Nicholson (SLUH), Liban Samatar (Oak Park), Kirk Smith (John Burroughs), Jordan West (Lafayette), William Thompson (Rockhurst), Dillon Williams (Webster Groves)
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