BIG RIVER 2008 PRE-SEASON RANKINGS
08.15.08
TEAM RANKINGS
TOP 10 GIRLS TEAMS
#1) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST – The Titans return all five of their scorers from last year's Class 4 State Championship team. Led by mulitple-time All-Stater Brittany Tate LSW has five potential top 25 finishers on November 8th in Jefferson City.
#2) PARKWAY CENTRAL - Just 12th at State a year ago the Lady Colts should make a huge leap this year with the addition of two-time Foot Locker finalist Emily Sisson, a transfer student from Nebraska. She joins defending Class 4 State Champ Diane Robison and returning All-Stater Kathleen Thompson to form an incredible 1-2-3 punch.
#3) EUREKA – Last fall's runners-up in Class 4, the Wildcats return four from that formidable squad. Led by the speedy Chelsea Chrisman, second in the State 800 this Spring, look for this yellow and purple clad bunch to challenge for a top three finish in Class 4 come November.
#4) WEST PLAINS – They may lose the great Brittani Johnson but they return four of their next five from last year's Class 3 State Championship team. Ranking teams three through eight is really difficult but as the reigning champs the Zizzers get the nod at #4.
#5) BRANSON – Look out for this team in 2008. They were just two points back of Ste Gen last year and their returners beat Ste Gen's at every position save for number five. This is a team on the rise led by perrenial All-Stater Erin Huddleston.
#6) STE GENEVIEVE – Second to the Zizzers in Class 3, the Ste Gen girls return two All-Staters and five in the top 70. What should make Ste Gen a mainstay in our rankings this year is the one-two punch of Nicole Rottler and Jennifer Bauman who were 7th and 8th at State in 2007.
#7) CAPE CENTRAL – We are ranking Cape at #7 for now but we think they have the potential to be much closer to the top by season's end. They return five from last year's Trophy-wininng group and three of those five are sophomores with lots of room to improve. Plus, a healthy Brittany Moreland could mean a very low stick up front to complement last year's 14th placer Veronica Schabbing.
#8) JEFFERSON CITY – The Jays have looked unbeatable for much of the last two years only to have sub-par days at the State Meet. Look for this resilient bunch to respond with another great season and don't be surprised if they find their way back to the top of the rankings after they come to St. Louis for the Forest Park Cross Country Festival.
#9) HERCULANEUM – The defending Class 2 State Champs return all five scorers and they were all freshman and sophomores. That could spell trouble not only for their Class 2 foes but everyone in the Big River Rankings.
#10) ROCKWOOD SUMMIT - Third a year ago in Class 4, Summit loses two-time State 3200 Champ Aimee Bonte and All-Stater Andrea Marshall. They do return a solid group though and could move up the rankings depending on how their young talent progresses.
............................................................. TOP 10 BOYS TEAMS
#1) SLUH – The defending Class 4 State Champs ended last year as the #1 squad in Missouri and put a stamp on the season with a third place finish at Nike Team Regionals. Believe it or not this year's team looks far superior to that squad with a healthy John Clohisy leading a group that already has five runners in sub 16:30 shape.
#2) KICKAPOO – Losing Rick Elliot to graduation certainly hurts but everyone else returning eases the pain a bit. Number one man Danny Thater should be a contender for the individual crown. An early matchup against SLUH at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival could show just how good this group is.
#3) WEST PLAINS – Don't look now but the Zizzers may just have their best team since the days of Jason Sandfort and Josh Harper. The 2008 squad returns all five scorers from a group that nearly knocked off Potosi at last year's State Meet. Surely another summer of high mileage down in the hills of Southern Missouri has this bunch ready to climb back to the top of the Missouri ranks.
#4) POTOSI – For the fifth year in row the Potosi Trojans enter the year with an incredible one-two punch. This time it is once again the dynamic duo of Jacob Swearingen and Nick Niggeman that will lead the way. It is unclear exactly how deep they will be past these two but if they can find three guys who can run around 17 minutes that should do the trick.
#5) LEE'S SUMMIT WEST – The LSW boys had an incerdibly consistent season in 2007 that culminated in a fourth place finish at the Class 4 State Meet. They got hit pretty hard by graduation but do return All-Stater Kevin Colon to lead the charge in 2008.
#6) COLLEGE HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN – The defending Class 1 State Champs ended 2007 at #8 in the Big River Rankings. They begin this year #6 with the return of five of their top seven. Look for them to once again put on a show at the Southern Stampede on September 20th.
#7) OAK PARK - There are a lot of question marks due to graduation for teams seven through ten. Oak Park, returning four from last year's sixth place squad gets the nod over Hickman for now.
#8) HICKMAN – The Kewpies are a traditionally strong team and they will look to last year's 10th placer Jordan Fleming to lead this year's squad. They typically come out of the gates strong so keep an eye on them early on to see what they have in 2008.
#9) NOTRE DAME CAPE GIRARDEAU – This team was a mainstay in the Big River Rankings in 2007 and could be again in 2008. They will be paced by Logan Davis, 14th at State a year ago, and a legitimate top five contender if healthy.
#10) ROCKHURST – For a few years now this group has been developing a team with lots of numbers. Numbers mean depth and depth can place you very high at big meets. If their strong junior varsity from a year ago can step up to the varsity level they will once again be a top ten contender in Class 4.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
08.13.07
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) Emily Sisson, JR, Parkway Central – Sisson comes to Missouri via Nebraska where she was a multiple-time State Champ and a two-time Foot Locker Finalist. Her running resume' is a lengthy one and includes a USATF Junior National Title at 5,000 meters, a 14:25 course record at the Nebraska State Cross Country Meet, a Foot Locker Midwest Regional Title and a third place finish at Foot Locker National Championships in 2006.
#2) Diane Robison, JR, Parkway Central – Robison will no doubt have a new training partner in Sisson and that can only mean good things for the super-talented junior. The defending State Champ, Robison finished 2007 atop the Big River Rankings after a stellar cross country season in which she burst onto the scene and never looked back. She followed that up with a fantastic track season that saw her go sub 11:00 for 3200 meters at the State Meet.
#3) Alyssa Allisson, SR, Festus - Allison gets the #3 spot after a track season that included State Titles and Class 3 State Records at 1600 and 3200 meters. Outside of Sisson the Fetsus senior has the best track times of anyone in Missouri and she should challenge Robison for the title of Sisson's number one challenger.
#4) Natalie Todd, SR, Ladue - Todd had an outstanding cross country season in 2007 that culminated with a Class 3 State Title. Her track season was riddled with injuries so her outlook for the 2008 cross country season very much depends on her health. As has been shown though, if she's healthy she will be tough to beat.
#5) Ashley Scott, SR, St. Clair - Believe it or not Scott's 12th place finish at last year's State Cross Country Meet was an uncharacteristic sub-par performance and should not lower any expectations for this normally consistent performer. At State Track she notched two third place finishes and left with the third fastest 3200 time among underclassmen.
#6) Kat Oberle, SR, Oakville - While you may have to go down the list to number 50 to find Oberle's name on the 2007 State results it doesn't take much detective work to find out that this Oakville senior will place much higher in 2008. She was the new girl on the scene this track season and finished with a bang by placing third in both the 1600 and 3200 in Class 4.
#7) Sarah White, SO, Potosi - White finished second at the 2007 State Cross Country Meet just nine seconds back of #4 Todd. Her strength appears to be in the longer distances as she ran comparitively better in the 3200 than in the 1600 this Spring. Her 11:12 3200 bodes well for the 5k this fall.
#8) Natalie Becker, SR, Parkway West - For some reason Becker seems to lack the message board fanfare of some of the other girls on this list but all she does is go out and get the job done in the big races. She finished just two ticks behind #6 Oberle in both the 1600 and 3200 at State Track, setting her up for a big senior cross country season in 2008.
#9) Brittany Tate, SR, Lee's Summit West - Tate also ran 11:12 for 3200 meters at State Track, good for ninth in Class 4. The LSW senior has been a top level runner since the day she arrived on the scene as a freshman so look for her to go out with a bang in November.
#10) Chelsea Chrisman, JR, Eureka - Chrisman finished just three ticks back of Tate at the State Meet a year ago when she placed sixth in Class 4. This spring she tore up the track with a 2:13 clocking for 800 meters and she will lead a strong Eureka team this fall.
#11) Courtney Wood, SO, Neosho - One of only three sophomores on this list Wood finished an impressive fourth at the 2007 State Meet. She backed it up this Spring, clocking 11:09 for 3200 meters at the State Track Meet where she finished seventh in Class 4.
#12) Erin Huddleston, SR, Branson - It always gets tough to rank these last few spots but Huddleston has more than earned the benefit of the doubt after an incredible career that has seen her finish All-State nine times individually including a 3200 meter championship in 2007.
#13) Megan Yohe, JR, Liberty - Yohe was a solid 11th in the Class 4 State Meet last fall and then ran her way to the final medal in the 3200 meters in the Spring when she finished 8th in 11:10.
#14) Johanna Kleinsasser, SO, Lee's Summit West - The second half of a dymanic duo with teammate Brittany Tate, the super sophomore Kleinsasser will look to improve upon her eighth place finish from 2007.
#15) Alicia Anderson, SR, Jefferson City - Anderson gets the nod over several other runners for the 15 slot because she is a senior and because she ran a solid 11:22 for 3200 meters at State, better than the other contenders for the coveted final spot in the rankings.
TOP 15 BOYS
#1) Jacob Swearingen, SR, Potosi – The Potosi tradition continues with Swearingen who may end up with better cross country credentials than even the famous "Joshes". The smooth-striding senior has all the tools to be one of the best runners in the entire Midwest in 2008. Check him out at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival where the course record of 15:28 could be in jeopardy.
#2) Stephen Saylor, SR, Raytown South - Saylor has a lot of things going for him entering his senior campaign. Most notable is his record in big races. He was seventh at last fall's State Meet and then pulled off a 9:20/ 4:17 double at the State Track to finish third and sixth in the 3200 and 1600. In all three races he finished higher than predicted but that will be tough this year as everyone now knows what to expect.
#3) Matt Estlund, SR, Chaminade - Another runner who had a huge State Track Meet was Estlund who wound up fourth in the Class 4 3200. Two weeks later he traveled to the Golden West Invitational and laid down a 9:15, establishing himself as one of the favorites to take the individual Class 4 Title this fall.
#4) Danny Thater, JR, Kickapoo - Only a sophomore at the time Thater was just four ticks back of #2 Saylor at the State Cross Country Meet last fall. With the graduation of Rick Elliot Thater will be counted on to lead Kickapoo in search of a State Team Title.
#5) Max Storms, SR, O'Hara - Storms was the run-away champ at last year's State Cross Country Meet in Class 2. O'Hara competed in Class 3 on the track and Storms finished runner-up to #1 Swearingen in the 3200. He'll get another chance to run against Swearingen and most of the others on this list when he and his O'Hara teammates make the trip to St. Louis for the Forest Park Cross Country Festival.
#6) Nick Niggeman, SR, Potosi – A mainstay on these rankings for two full years now Niggeman enters the 2008-09 school year looking to add to an already long list of career accomplishments. Most notably he and teammate Swearingen would like to go 1-2 at the State Meet, a feat accomplished by Potosi in 2005 and 2006.
#7) Connor Callahan, SR, DeSmet - Callahan jumps ahead of a couple of guys who beat him at last year's State Cross Country Meet after a strong track season that ended with an All-State performance at 3200 meters.
#8) John Clohisy, SR, SLUH - Like his conference foe Callahan, Clohisy jumps ahead of a couple of runners who bested him last November on the strength of a solid track season and a big pre-season performance at the St. Louis Track Club's Cross Country Kickoff where he blitzed a 15:51 on a hot and humid morning.
#9) Nick Happe, SR, Francis Howell North – The FHN star loses former running mates Matt Scwab and Nate Shipley to graduation but that is unlikely to deter the determined senior. Don't forget that Happe finished seventh at the Nike Heartland Regional Championships last fall just a week after State.
#10) Maksim Korolev, JR, Harrisonville – Korolev has been a high level runner since he was a freshman and has steadily improved. The gutsy sophomore-at-the-time led for much of the first five laps in the State 3200 this spring en route to sixth place finish. He followed that up on day two with a 4:27 1600, good for ninth place.
#11) Ben Chapman, JR, Glendale – Chapman surprised a lot of people with his 16:19 at last fall's State Meet. We remarked at the time that it would make him a marked man for this year and indeed it has. He begins the year at #11.
#12) Jordan Fleming, SR, Hickman - Fleming ran his best race of the season last year at State to finish 10th and running well when it counts most is the mark of a great runner. He begins this season at #12 but could certainly move up if he rounds into form a bit quicker this year.
#13) Hayden Legg, SR, Mexico- Legg was fourth in Class 3 a year ago with an impressive 16:24. His State Track Meet is a bit deceiving as he had raced four times in nearly every meet all season long resulting in tired legs come the end of May. A fresh and ready Hayden Legg may be very tough to beat at the 5k distance.
#14) Charles Johnson, SR, Hazelwood East – The Hazelwood East senior has come a long way since taking the lead in the first 400 meters of the State Cross County Meet as a freshman. Last year he cross the line just behind #7 Callahan at the State Meet and could very well be yet another of the contenders for the victory in Class 4.
#15) Austin Cookson, SR, SLUH – Cookson was a solid 26th last fall and followed that up with an even better performance at the Heartland Regional where he was 17th. He pr'ed at 16:14 two weeks ago at the St. Louis Track Club's Cross Country Kickoff.
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