Class 5
Boys
1. Staley
Top Returners/Freshmen: Jack Warner, Luke Winkler, Jesse Kuykendall, Jaylen Newberry, Don Morgan, Josh Clark, Hayden Gregg
Potential Point Opportunities: 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, Long Jump, Pole Vault, Discus, High Jump
Summary: Call it a bold prediction, call it spot-on, call it absolutely bonkers, but yes you read that right, the Staley Falcons were poised to make a jump from 19th in 2019 to 1st in 2020.
Staley was arguably the most well-rounded Class 5 boys team in the state heading into 2020. Led by the distance duo of Jack Warner and Luke Winkler, there was good reason to believe this would have been the year for the Falcons.
Warner returned with personal bests of 1:55.59 in the 800 and 4:19.71 in the 1 Mile and was coming off a cross country season in which he ran 15:46.10 for 8th place at the Class 4 State Championships. His now and future University of Missouri teammate Winkler was returning with the 7th fastest 3200 in Class 5 of 9:41.04 and finished just one place later at the Class 4 State Cross Championships in 15:46.50. The duo made up two legs of a 4x800 that ran 7:57.12 at the 2019 Class 5 Sectional 4 and was returning fellow senior Collin Riggins.
Beyond the distance events, Staley was returning 11.09/22.31/50.03 man Jesse Kuykendall to the mix, giving the squad a solid front-running sprinter to anchor their three sprint relays. Staley qualified for state last year in all three sprint relays and was returning everyone in the 4x400 and three legs in both the 4x100 and 4x200. They ran 42.45, 1:28.12, and 3:24.79 last season.
In the field events, Staley was poised to pick up points in the long jump, high jump, pole vault, and discus. Jaylen Newberry returned as the fourth best long jumper in Class 5 with a 22-5 mark. Don Morgan was tied for second and only an inch behind first in the high jump with his 6-6 clearance. Josh Clark was among four boys in the state returning with a 13-9 mark in the pole vault. And in the discus, Hayden Gregg's 163-7.25 best was good enough for second among returners.
This year's Staley squad was on a path to potentially bring home the team's first team championship.
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2. Lee's Summit
Top Returners/Freshmen: Johnny Brackins, Micah Manning, Derrick Palmer, Felix Anudike
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 400, 110 Meter Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump, High Jump
Summary: Though Lee's Summit had the potential to pull in points in fewer events than the other three podium teams, an almost guaranteed 10 spot in 3 events was going to set the Tigers on the right track to a runner-up finish this spring.
Junior Johnny Brackins was the key to Lee's Summit's team level success. The top returner in the state in the 110 Meter Hurdles (14.20, -3.0), Long Jump (25-1.5), and Triple Jump (48-10.5), Brackins was poised to pull in state victories in all three of those events. He finished second, first, and second in each event, respectively, in 2019, and was coming off an indoor season in which he cleared MO No. 1 marks in the 60m Hurdles, Long, and Triple Jumps. Furthermore, Brackins was ranked 5th in the 400 with his 49.67 best.
Senior Micah Manning was the runner-up in the 200 last May and was returning as the man to beat in the event. His 21.78 best was tops among returners and he also was second among returners considering all marks in the 100 with a 10.62 (+3.6) best.
In the triple jump, Brackins may have been the favorite for the win, but senior Felix Anudike was entering the season as the third best man in the event with his 46-7.5 best from 2019. Lee's Summit also could've picked up a point or two in the high jump from Derrick Palmer who boasts a 6-2 personal best and cleared 6-3.5 this winter.
Lee's Summit's point total would have ended up somewhere in the mid-50s most likely, giving them a comfortable seat on the podium.
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3. Joplin
Top Returners/Freshmen: Zach Westmoreland, Isaiah Davis, Micah Bruggeman, Donovyn Fowler, Nathan Glades, Evan Northcutt, Trayshawn Thomas
Potential Point Opportunities: 800, 1600, 3200, 4x100, 4x200, 300 Meter Hurdles, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Javelin
Summary: The Joplin Eagles were going to rely heavily on the strength of their field event titans this spring - namely: Zach Westmoreland, Isaiah Davis, and Donovyn Fowler - but appeared to be well-rounded enough to make a run at a team championship in Class 5.
Westmoreland and Davis were the two best returning javelin throwers after posting personal bests of 194-6 and 189-6 and going 1-3 at last year's state championships. It was once again not impossible that they would take the top two spots this season. Westmoreland, one of the best all-around athletes in the state, was also poised to contribute points in the long jump after finishing 6th in the event last season while also running legs on the 4x100 and 4x200 as he did at last year's state meet.
Fowler, one of the nation's up-and-coming sophomores in the horizontal jumps, returned for the 2020 season as the 5th best triple jumper in Class 5 and was bringing a shiny new 23-0 clearance from the indoor season with him. Trayshawn Thomas qualified for state with Fowler in the triple jump last season and boasts a 44-4 personal best.
On the track, Joplin picked up points in the 800, 1600, and 300 Meter Hurdles last May from twp key returners. Micah Bruggeman, who will be back for the 2021 season, too, was the third best returner in both the 800 and 1600 this spring with personal bests of 1:55.72 and 4:18.99 respectively. He and teammate Evan Northcutt both boast bests in the 3200 under 9:50 and are coming off cross country seasons in which they ran personal bests in the 5K, even with a shortened season in Northcutt's case.Nathan Glades finished 8th in the 300 Meter Hurdles and returned for 2020 in 5th with his 39.97 best.
In the relays, Joplin returned all four of their 4x800 squad which ran 8:10.05 in 2019 and three members of their state qualifying 4x100 and 4x200 squads, further helping us predict Joplin would have finished high up on the podium as a team this spring.
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4. Hazelwood West
Potential Point Opportunities: 200, 400, 300mH, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, Shot Put, Discus
Summary: MileSplit learned last month that all-time great Justin Robinson would not be competing on the high school circuit this spring, instead opting to run only national level and professional races in preparation for a run at the 2020 Olympics.
Can you blame him?
Losing the guaranteed 30 points in the 100, 200, and 400, and a lethal anchor leg on whichever sprint relay they want would have hurt Hazelwood West's repeat chances badly. But it wouldn't have knocked them out of podium contention completely.
Senior Brian Stiles becomes the big man on campus and would have potentially grabbed 8 points in the 400 for the Wildcats while potentially contributing points in the 100 and/or 200. He finished 3rd to his teammate and Park Hill South's Chris DuPree in the 400 last year in 47.65. Of course, his services would have been necessary to pull in significant point totals in the sprint relays.
Senior Aaron Holmes would have most likely contributed a top 3 finish in the 300 Meter Hurdles and been a significant contributor on the sprint relays, too, while Charles Davis would have been a key field event contributor as he was the second best Class 5 returner in the shot put and fifth in the discus
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Honorable Mention - St. Louis University High, Rockhurst, Raymore-Peculiar
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Girls
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Top Returners/Freshmen: Madison Hulsey, Audrey Parson, McKenna Butler, Addie Mathis, Makayla Clark, Akirah Venerable, Cydney Banks, Marissa Ritchey, Matti Toone
Potential Point Opportunities: 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 300 Meter Hurdles, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, Javelin
Summary: Everything you need to know about this year's Lee's Summit West girls team was already written back in March (while there was still hope for a sliver of a season) and can be found in this feature article.
Suffice it to say, this year's team may just have been their best ever and were gearing up to coast to team title number five in a row.
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2. Rock Bridge
Top Returners/Freshmen: Tyra Wilson, Carolyn Ford, Zakiya Porter, Mya Drayton, Maci Steuber, Ellie Dimond
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 800, 1600, 3200, 100 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, 4x800, Triple Jump
Summary: There was a very good chance that Rock Bridge was going to earn individual victories in 5 different events from 2 athletes this spring and points in all 4 relays. In fact, a bold prediction for this spring may have been that Rock Bridge was going to take down the Lee's Summit West Lady Titans, but that's not a prediction we were ready to make.
Regardless, Rock Bridge could have written 50 points next to their name and probably have put it in ink. Junior Tyra Wilson was going to contribute 30 of those in the 100 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles, and Triple Jump, and probably at least 8 more in the 200, like she did in 2019. Wilson is not only one of the state's all-time best already, but is quickly climbing the national ranks as one of the country's best hurdlers and triple jumpers. Freshman Carolyn Ford was likely to contribute the other 20 points in the 1600 and 3200 after dominating the cross country scene this fall. Not convinced? Well, she did time trial a 4:57 in the 1600 earlier this month so she was certainly in the right form for it.
With 58 points on the board for the Lady Bruins already, Rock Bridge would have look to their relays and individual sprinters like Zakiya Porter and Mya Drayton for additional help. Porter was ranked 8th among returning sprinters and Drayton, a Mizzou commit who's been a major part of their relay success over the past three years, would have been formidable in the 200 and 400, potentially. Also, after earning a second place finish in the cross country, their distance depth is hard to match and they could pick up significant points in the distance events and 4x800 with their returners.
Put it all together and Rock Bridge could have walked away with upwards of 70-80 points and truly given Lee's Summit West a run for their money. Luckily, though, Ford and Wilson will be back to lead their team again in 2021.
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3. Park Hill
Top Returners/Freshmen: Caleia Johnson, Teresa Thomas, Kristen Birmingham, Lashunda Tapp, Simone Smith
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 400, 800, 4x100, 4x200, 4x400, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put, Discus
Summary: Park Hill has been building something special over the past years and it was looking like that was going to finally culminate in state hardware this May.
Caleia Johnson and Teresa Thomas lead the way for the Lady Trojans as both girls were poised to pick up serious points in the open sprint events. Johnson, one of the top juniors in the entire state, hit a personal best 57.02 in the 400 and this indoor season and nearly matched her 24.80 lifetime best in the 200. She was 4th and 5th in the two events, respectively, at the 2019 Class 5 State Championships. Thomas, on the other hand, was looking to pick up top 3 finishes in the 100 and 200 after finishing 4th in the 100 in 2019. Her 12.09 and 24.76 personal bests were both top 4 among Class 5 returners. Both girls also contributed to Park Hill's winning 4x400 squad last year and surely would have been on any other sprint relays they would put together.
In the jumps, Thomas was also among the top returners in the long jump with her 17-9 best from last season. Simone Smith was also looking to contribute a point or two in the triple jump as she was returning with a 36-0.75 mark. Not to be outdone, Kristen Birmingham was among 4 girls returning with a 5-5 mark in the high jump, the top mark in Class 5, and could very well have contributed an important 10 points to the cause.
Park Hill also was projected to receive points in the shot put and discus from Lashunda Tapp. Tapp was returning for her senior year as the second best returner in the discus and third best in the shot put with 126-6.5 and 42-10.75 marks in each event, rounding out a very well-rounded Park Hill team.
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Top Returners/Freshmen: Lauryn Taylor, Michelle Owens, Keishauna Pleasant, Dashjia Jennings, Sherriona Underwood, Destiny Griffin
Potential Point Opportunities: 100, 200, 100 Meter Hurdles, 300 Meter Hurdles, 4x100, 4x200, Long Jump, Shot Put
Summary: When two juggernauts are stealing mountains of points at the top, all it takes is a couple of superstars pulling in their own 10-spots to land your team in the final podium spot.
It looks like that would have been the case this year.
Several teams could have made into the fourth spot in Class 5, but we're predicting that when the dust finally settled, it would have been McCluer North, led by sprint/hurdle/jump phenoms Lauryn Taylor and Michelle Owens, with the state trophy.
Taylor grabbed the state championship in the hotly contested 100 meter dash last season and returned with an 11.74 mark that put her only a few ticks behind Nerinx Hall's Courtney Williams. With a 24.74 best in the 200, she was again behind Williams and Tyra Wilson, but no one else. Taylor also contributed legs on the state championship 4x200 and 4x100 relays.
With Taylor on those relay teams was Michelle Owens. Owens, a two-time hurdle state champion, returned for her senior season with as the third best 100 meter hurdler after finishing second at the 2019 State Championships. She's also run 45.20 in the 300 meter hurdles and long jumped 18-2, making her a formidable complement to her teammate Taylor on their team's quest for a state trophy.
The Stars would have gotten help from Keishauna Pleasant on their sprint relays and possibly in the 300 hurdles, as well as Dashjia Jennings in the shot put. Sherionna Underwood and Destiny Griffin were most likely to be the two to step up into the sprint relays and help their team secure fourth.
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Honorable Mention - Battle, Nerinx Hall, Lee's Summit North