The Missouri Class 4 and 5 boys' and girls' state championship meets kick off this weekend, with the boys' Illinois Class 1A, 2A, and 3A preliminary meets following suit.
Here are some storylines to keep an eye on, as well as some local athletes in line for individual titles -
Edwardsville senior Malik Allen is the Post-Dispatch All-Metro boys track and field athlete of the year. Allen helped the Tigers win the Class 3A team championship by repeating as the state triple jump champion.
Pair of SWC rivals looking for titles
The Southwestern Conference rivals will look to bring home some individual titles back from Charleston.
Edwardsville senior Malik Allen is the defending Class 3A Triple Jump champion, poised to repeat the feat. His season-best leap of 15.11 meters (49 feet and 7 inches) is the top in the state in all classifications.
After not making it past the prelims last year, O'Fallon junior Omar Mims posted the state's fastest 200-meter dash time, 21.43 seconds, set during last week's Class 3A sectional meets.
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Pattonville’s A’Laji Bradley during the Dale Collier Invitational on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
Bradley gunning for gold
Pattonville senior A'Laji Bradley took home three top-three finishes last year as a junior, behind Raytown South's Zaya Akins.
With Akins taking her talents to the University of South Carolina, Bradley's path to winning the Class 5 sprint crown is clear.
The future University of Kentucky Wildcat's times in the 100-meter (11.58) and 400-meter (54.13) dashes are the best in the state, and her 200-meter dash time of 24.16 is only behind Parkway Central's Skyye Lee.
More on Lee later.
Her biggest challenge to those Class 5 crowns will be Cardinal Ritter senior Aniyah Brown. The future Ohio State University sprinter has posted times of 11.78 (100-meter), 24.26 (200-meter), and 55.72 (400-meter) that will push the Pirate in all three sprints.
Skyye Lee is looking for a rare quad-repeat
The future University of Florida athlete capped off an impressive quad title weekend last year, capturing titles in the 100-meter and 200-meter dash before grabbing both hurdles titles.
Last year's All-Metro Runner of the Year is in prime position to repeat as a four-time state champion in those events, pushing her state title collection to an eye-popping 10 before sprinting to the SEC.
Westminster’s Joseph Anderson during the Dale Collier Invitational on Saturday, April 29, 2023, at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Mo. Paul Halfacre, Special to STLhighschoolsports.com
Anderson looking to end career with a title
Joseph Anderson will head into the weekend with the mark to beat in Class 5. The Wildcat triple jumper posted a state-best jump of 14.95 meter last week in the sectional meet.
After a runner-up finish last year as a junior, he's in prime position to cap off his impressive running career at Westminster with a title.
Brown is ready to hurl his way to a title
Preston Brown helped guide Hillsboro to a Class 4 runner-up finish in football by throwing for over 2,300 yards from the quarterback position.
The junior is looking for that cannon of an arm to throw something different this weekend.
Brown has the state's farthest throw with a javelin, hurling it 57.66 meters last week during the sectional meet.
He finished off the podium last year as a sophomore and is ready to bring home a title before his senior season.
Teams contending for hardware
The Cardinal Ritter girls team is gunning for a mind-boggling four-peat in Class 5 and the Lions have all the ingredients to achieve such a feat.
Led by coach Tiffany Spain, the Lions are deep and talented with the likes of Kyndall Spain, Brown headlining the squad. Blue Springs returns a host of talent that gave the Lions their only competition last year.
Ladue girls will have to contend with Lee and Parkway Central in Class 4, while their boys team will lean heavily on Gavin Via and Rylan Wilson to put them in position for a boys' title.
The last school to sweep both the boys and girls title was Trinity Catholic in 2019.
On the Illinois side, Mascoutah, Edwardsville and O'Fallon are primed for state hardware, if not state titles.
Mascoutah qualified athletes in 16 of the 18 events for this weekend's Class 2A state championship meet, while Edwardsville has nine events with multiple athletes ready to compete in the Class 3A meet.
Fellow Southwestern Conference rival O'Fallon also has nine events with athletes in them to compete in the Class 3A championship.
Edwardsville won a Class 3A team championship in 2017 and finished as runner-up in 2022.
Mascoutah claimed a Class 2A state championship in 2021, while O'Fallon is looking for its first team trophy in program history.
