Barnard and Norris run into History Books in 3200 Meters
The girls 3200 saw 16 girls break the 11-minute barrier. A pair of Kansas ladies took the top two spots as Topeka-Seaman sophomore Ryin Miller ran to victory in 10:13 while Salina Central junior Katelyn Rupe ran 10:17. Missouri Class 5 defending state champion and 2023 Class 5 state cross country state champ Natalie Barnard crossed the finish 3rd.
The Lafayette (Wildwood) senior and Mizzou signee earned a 6-second PR, and finished in 10:29.56. She moved past Sarah Nicholson into 2nd on the Lafayette performance list behind only Anna West. She also moved past All-Time Missouri greats Tori Findley, Andrea Fischer, Diane Robison, Samantha NIghtingale, and Megan Yohe and now sits 10th on the Show-Me State prep list.
Harrisonville junior Kayleigh Norris, the defending Class 4 1600 meters and cross country state champion, wasn't far behind Barnard. She finished just a few seconds behind, earning an 8-second season and personal best of 10:33.44. Norris now sits 13th in state history, just ahead of Robison and NIghtingale, and behind Nicholson.
Also in the race, St. Teresa's Gracie Jacobs ran 10:58 to place 15th while St. Michael's the Archangel senior Elsa Henry ran 11:01 to place 17th in a field of 25.
Buggs-Tipton Blazes
Green City superstar hurdler and jumper Asher Buggs-Tipton, a 9-time state champion and Wichita State University signee, had a legal tailwind this year at the relays. Last year he earned a wind-aided/wind-illegal PR of 13.87 in the prelims. Friday, there was no wind in his preliminary heat. He blew away the competition, running 13.77, for a 0.65-second win among 38 finishers. The performance put him in a tie for 6th on the fully automatic timing/wind-legal national performance list. Among all performances, including hand-timed and without wind gauges, Buggs-Tipton sits in a tie for 16th nationally.
In the 300-meter hurdles, Buggs-Tipton earned his 2nd victory. He ran to nearly a full second PR and a MO#1 37.66. The performance puts him 37th on the national performance list.
Seven MO Boys Go Under 9:22 in 3200 Meters
Twenty-six boys toed the line for the 3200-meter run. The competition and the atmosphere pushed them to fast times. Norris (Nebraska) High School senior Riley Boonstra, a University of Nebraska signee, won by a more than 5.5-second margin in 9:02.25.
A week after winning the best regular season 1600-meter race in state history where 10 boys ran under 4:18.5, Rockhurst junior Henry Acorn ran to a 4th place finish in the 3200. Acorn finished in a 7-second personal and 10-second season best of 9:12. Two weeks after running to a 4:13 1600 PR, Farmington senior Evan Fuller crossed the tape in a new 3200 PR of 9:15.36 to take 6th. Webb City senior and defending Class 4 state champ Evan Stevens made it back-to-back Evans across the line. Stevens earned a 3-second PR, taking 7th in 9:15.73. Farmington's Evan Fuller returned to the track in the 800 where he placed 3rd in 1:54.46.
Lincoln College Prep senior, Class 4 state cross country champ, Foot Locker XC National qualifier, and Iowa State signee Isaac Rivera was 8th in a PR of 9:16. Rolla sophomore Cameron Martensen was 10th in a PR of 9:17. A week after winning the Ken Peek 3200 in a PR of 9:15, Liberty senior and Kansas State signee Peyton Willbanks was 12th in 9:21. West Nodaway/North/Nodaway Valley 8-time Class 1 state champion Riley Blay earned a personal best of 9:21.63 to place 13th.
Liberty North takes 2nd, Loses Meet Record
The Liberty North boys ran to victory and the meet record in the 4x1600 at last year's Kansas Relays. The Eagles ran 17:47 in 2023 after winning the 2022 Class 5 state cross country title. It took another excellent performance from another excellent program to end the North record after just a year.
The Bentonville, Arkansas boys moved to the front on the 3rd leg and held on for the win. The Tigers won the title and got the record with a 17:42.49. Coaches Dave Chatlos and Brian Curp's Liberty North boys, a completely different foursome from last year, ran well and placed 2nd in 17:54. Bentonville's squad included junior Carter Beasley, the son of Rogersville, Missouri's Carrie (Sell) Beasley and Arkansas native Andrew Beasley. Sell-Beasley ran at Logan-Rogersville Hogh School and Missouri State University (SMS) while Andy Beasley ran at Missouri State University and the University of Arkansas. The Bentonville boys also claimed the Distance Medley Relay in 10:13 for a 3-second win.
And...
Pleasant Hill junior and defending Class 4 state champion Brooke Beck placed 2nd in the 400 prelims in 55.77 to improve to her season best and move to 4th on the state season list. She later placed 2nd in the 800 in 2:14.69.
Lee's Summit West senior Bryce Mitchell ran 48.58 to place 2nd in the 400 prelims and move atop the state performance list. Defending Class 2 state champion, (Lee's) Summit Christian senior Marcus Jones was 3rd in 48.83 to move to 2nd on the state list.
The Blue Springs Girls captured the Distance Medley in12:11 for a nearly 15-second win. Standouts Paige Stuart, Ariana Jackson, Layla Redding, and Abbey Brackenbury ran 1200, 400, 800, and 1600-meter splits of 3:41, 56.31, 2:20, and 5:13.