BIG RIVER 2007 CROSS COUNTRY PREVIEW
The cross country season is here once again and the State of Missouri looks as tough as ever. Thanks to all of you who read our rankings last year and to those of you who have supported our store. We promise to continue our extensive coverage of high school cross country in 2007. For those of you who may have missed them, check out our State Track Videos . We will be adding video interviews this year in our cross country coverage as well. For those of you who are new to our site here is what we do: Every couple of weeks during the season we come out with our top 10 teams and top 15 individuals, regardless of class. The pre-season rankings are mostly based on last year's performances in cross country and track performances from last Spring. As always if there is a team or an individual that we missed please email us at info@bigriverrunning.com . ENJOY!!
TEAM RANKINGS
TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS
#1) ROCKWOOD SUMMIT - The Falcons were a close second at last year's State Meet and return all five scorers including the 2007 Class 4 State 3200 Champion Aimee Bonte.
#2) JEFFERSON CITY - The Lady Jays were third in 2006 and they return five of their top seven. Amazingly their seventh finisher was 69th in 2006. That depth will put them in the thick of things again in 2007.
#3) WEST PLAINS - The Zizzers are defending Class 3 State Champs and they return five of their top seven including last year's State Champ Brittani Johnson.
#4) NOTRE DAME DE SION - A mere nine points from the Class 3 Title in 2006, these ladies bring back four of their top five and five of their top seven.
#5) EUREKA - Ninth place a year ago, the Wildcats bring a very solid top three into 2007 with Katie Lienert, Chelsea Chrisman and Jordan Mays. Freshman Melissa Menchella is expected to shine as well.
#6) LIBERTY - The defending Class 4 State Champs will be a contender again this year but they do lose three of their scoring five from last year's State-Winning bunch.
#7) BLUE SPRINGS - If Liberty does not re-load then the ladies from Blue Springs may very well be the class of the West Side of the State. They pack a serious one-two punch of junior Morgan Hafner and senior Lauren Renfrow.
#8) ST. TERESA'S ACADEMY - This squad returns their top four runners from the 2006 State Meet. Look for returning fifth-placer Elizabeth Keaveny to lead the way.
#9) MARQUETTE - The Mustangs return Individual State Champ Hilary Orf to lead a squad that finished 5th in Class 4 in 2006. Orf and State 3200 ninth-placer Maddie Harrigan give Marquette a solid one-two punch.
#10) KICKAPOO - This brown-and-yellow clad bunch is young, but experienced with a junior and two sophomores who were all in the top 60 at last year's State Meet.
TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) POTOSI - The Trojans lose two of the best runners in Missouri history in Josh Mathis and Josh Thebeau, but replace them with proven juniors Jacob Swearingen and Nick Niggeman. Add in State returners Joe Skelton and Evan Kelly along with incoming freshman Jake Mathis and these guys have enough to earn pre-season #1 honors.
#2) SLUH - Second in Class 4 a year ago, the Junior Bills return four of seven from that squad including 13th placer John Clohisy. All told, they have eight runners who have run at State in cross country or track.
#3) FRANCIS HOWELL NORTH - We would put this team's top three up against anybody. Junior Nick Happe was fourth in the State 3200 last spring and seniors Matt Schwab and Nate Shipley were both in the top 30 in State cross country last fall.
#4) LEBANON - This team ran an incredibly smart race at last year's State Meet, packing four runners in the top 50. They lose their number one but return two, three and four and looked great in the 4 x 800 last spring.
#5) CBC - The Cadets are a tough bunch and they run a lot of off-season miles. They lose number one man Dan Quigley to graduation but all indications are that Phil Bascio, fresh off of a 9:18 for a full two miles last spring, will fill his shoes quite admirably.
#6) OAK PARK - These guys return their top two including All-Stater Will Hansen coming off a great track season. They should battle #7 Lee's Summit North for supremacy in the Kansas City Sectional.
#7) LEE'S SUMMIT NORTH - This team loses all but two from their sixth place squad of a year ago but they also had arguably the best Junior Varsity in the State in 2006 and should reload quite nicely.
#8) PARKWAY WEST - The Longhorns being on this list might be a surprise to some since they did not qualify for the State Meet in 2006 but we expect them to do more than just make it this time around. With State 3200 Champion Eric Fernandez and 1600 fifth-placer Ross Larimer their one-two punch is very tough and the rest of the scorers should all be 17:30 or better by season's end.
#9) WEST PLAINS - Second in Class 3 in 2006, this is a squad that undoubtedly would like to close the gap on Potosi and climb back up to the top of the podium in 2007. With six of their top seven coming back they just might have the depth to do it.
#10) NOTRE DAME (CAPE GIRARDEAU) - The third Class 3 squad in the top ten and rightly so. These guys return five of seven from a year ago when they finished third at the State Meet.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
All season long (though maybe not as often as the team rankings) 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. It is a lot easier to miss a runner or two so we apologize if we shorted you or your teammate. Feel free to email us at info@bigriverrunning.com if you know someone who should be on the Big River Top 15. Enjoy!!
TOP 15 GIRLS
#1) Brittani Johnson, SR, West Plains - Two-time defending State Champ in Class 3 starts the season at #1 despite missing the track season due to injury.
#2) Hilary Orf, SR, Marquette - The defending Class 4 Champ missed the end of the track season as well but is running again and should be at 100% by the time the State Meet rolls around.
#3) Aimee Bonte, SR, Rockwood Summit - Bonte is coming off a breakthrough track season that saw her win the 3200 and place fourth in the 1600. Her speed and the fact that she has been healthy all summer long puts her in position to leapfrog to #1 if her early races go well.
#4) Lauren Borduin, SR, Rock Bridge - Her ranking is heavily based on her track success which will surely transfer to cross county at some point. She was 24th at the 2006 State Cross Country Meet but a 1600/800 double win at the State Track Meet points to a possible jump over hill and dale in 2007.
#5) Ashley Mark, SR, Lee's Summit North - Mark has been quite the big-meet performer over the past year, finishing fourth at State Cross Country and second in the 3200 at the State Track Meet.
#6) Elizabeth Keaveny, SR, St. Teresa's Academy - Keaveny was fifth in Class 4 in 2006 and ran a gutsy race against Borduin at the State Track Meet to finish third in the 1600.
#7) Alyssa Allison, JR, Festus - The first underclassmen on the list, Allison owns the second-best 1600 PR and was a double winner in Class 3 at the State Track Meet in the 1600 and 800. She added a 3000 meter championship at the AAU Junior Olympics this summer and is a very serious threat to climb up to #1 at some point this year.
#8) Erin Huddleston, JR, Branson - Deciding on these spots is always very tough. Huddleston actually bested Allison in the State 3200 but Allison returned the favor over 4 laps the next day. Last November Huddleston was fifth at State Cross Country, leading her team to a sixth place finish.
#9) Ali Klooster, SR, University City - All-State in both distance events on the track last Spring and fourth last fall at the State Cross Country Meet. Klooster is a consistent top finisher at big meets.
#10) Natalie Becker, JR, Parkway West - Ran a fantastic come-from-behind race at State Track to finish fourth in the 3200. That performance vaults her ahead of some of those who beat her in cross country where she finished 16th at State.
#11) Ashley Scott, JR, St. Clair - Scott was third at the Class 3 State Meet last fall, running 19:40.
#12) Brittany Tate, JR, Lee's Summit West - Tate was only two ticks back of Becker at State Track and a few ticks ahead at State Cross Country. Basically, spots ten through 15 are interchangeable.
#13) Brittany Moreland, JR, Cape Central - Moreland was a very strong eighth at State Cross Countrylast fall but injuries derailed her track season. Look for a healthy Moreland to climb the rankings during the year.
#14) Marlee Tegenkamp, JR, Lee's Summit - Just behind Moreland last fall at State Cross Country to finish ninth in 19:32.
#15) Kelsey Rich, SO, Rockwood Summit - Rich was 12th at State Cross Country last fall for the Falcons, but played soccer in the spring.
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Jacob Swearingen, JR, Potosi - This kid ran 15:52 as a sophomore at the State Cross Country Meet. It was the best performance ever by a sophomore and cements him at the #1 spot here.
#2) Adam Behnke, SR, Lutheran South - Behnke finished fourth at State Cross Country and then exploded last spring running 4:13 in the 1600 at State and then again at Nike Outdoor Nationals for a full mile.
#3) Eric Fernandez, SR, Parkway West - The Class 4 State 3200 champion appears to be in great form already, running 15:40 at the St. Louis Track Club's Cross Country Kickoff.
#4) Phil Bascio, SR, CBC - Made a name for himself in the Track postseason at the Midwest Distance Gala where he ran 9:18 for a full two miles to finish fifth. He and Fernandez will do battle at Districts and Sectionals later this fall.
#5) Sam Masters, SR, Columbia Hickman - Finished second to Fernandez at State Track and beat Elliot at the Show-Me-Games cross country race this summer.
#6) Rick Elliot, SR, Kickapoo - Maybe we have Elliot too low here seeing as he did run 16:06 to finish sixth, and highest underclassmen, in Class 4 at State Cross Country. Any of these top six could easily end up number one.
#7) Nick Niggeman, JR, Potosi - Will forever be a part of the greatest team in Missouri Cross Country history, the 2006 Potosi Trojans. Niggeman, still just a junior, will try to improve on his 16:19 sixth place finish in Class 3.
#8) Phillip Hickman, SR, Blue Springs - Hickman had the seventh-best time among underclassmen last fall, running 16:24 at State. He should battle it out with #12 Will Hansen and #13 Stanton Ragland for Kansas City's top honors.
#9) Nick Happe, JR, Francis Howell North - A big-time fourth place run in the 3200 at State Track as a sophomore puts Happe high on this list.
#10) John Clohisy, JR, SLUH - Clohisy was the top sophomore in Class 4 last fall and finished less than a second behind Hickman at State. Unfortunately, an injury derailed his track season so only time will tell how he recovers.
#11) Patrick Keeley, SR, Francis Howell - A few ticks back of Happe at the State Track Meet and nine back of Clohisy at State Cross County, the Howell senior falls right in line at #11.
#12) Will Hansen, SR, Oak Park - Hansen grabbed the last All-State spot in Cross Country last fall and was a force on the track, winning his Sectional at 1600 and 3200 meters.
#13) Stanton Ragland, SR, Liberty - Let's not forget that Ragland won the Kansas City Sectional in cross country last fall, beating both Hansen and Hickman in the process. The morning of State he was hit by the door on the team's charter bus and was only able to finish 23rd at State. He may be much higher this year.
#14) Darwin Price, SR, Normandy - Quite honestly this may be too low for a runner who was second in the 1600 and won the 800 in Class 4 at the State Track Meet. Only 29th at State in cross county last fall he has the potential to be top five this year.
#15) Matt Schwab, SR, Francis Howell North - Schwab joins his teammate Happe in the top 15 on the basis of his All-State performances in cross country and in the 800 on the track.