2026 full of promise for area cross-country teams
· Yahoo Sports
For the past few years, Southwest Missouri has been a hotbed for cross-country talent, with 2026 promising to live up to the high bar set by local teams, particularly in Class 2.
Leading the list are last year’s second- and third-place boys teams in Class 2, the Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School Cavaliers, who finished 3 points shy of a state title, and the McAuley Warriors, who finished third.
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Both teams return the bulk of their top six finishers, so it appears to be another great season ahead for cross-country in the Joplin area.
TJ boys
Thomas Jefferson returns all of its top six finishers from last year’s state runner-up squad. They are led by Will Twiss, who finished seventh overall as a sophomore last year.
Jack Twiss, a senior this season, also returns after finishing 24th at the state meet last year. Joining the Twiss brothers again this year is senior Spencer Long, who finished 27th at last season’s Class 2 championship meet.
Also returning for the Cavaliers is senior Liam Cook (34th), sophomore Gavin Sharp (78th) and junior Hyrum Sheppard (148th).
Thomas Jefferson will have a familiar look so far as its athletes running the course goes, but will do so with a new head coach, former assistant coach Austin Bunn. (See related story).
Mc
Auley boys
The McAuley boys also return a wealth of talent but lost Trae Veer, who finished less than a second behind Will Twiss at the state meet, coming in eighth.
Senior Will Mollnow and junior Gavin Anderson are the likely candidates to lead the Warriors this season after finishing 33rd and 35th, respectively, at the state meet last year.
Joining them will be senior Thomas Perrin (55th), junior Luke Mollnow (88th), and juniors Rowen (96th) and Ryker Veer (120th).
Mc
Auley girls
On the girls side, McAuley finished sixth at state last year in Class 1, and Thomas Jefferson was seventh.
Last season, McAuley was led by Riley Sears, who finished 45th at the state meet, and Olivia Parrigon, who was 48th. Both runners will be seniors for the Warriors his year.
They will be joined by Elizabeth Bohachick, who finished 79th last season as a sophomore.
TJ girls
Vivian Sharp led Thomas Jefferson last season with an 18th-place finish at state and returns for her senior year. Kirra Moser, also a senior this year, wasn’t far behind Sharp with a 22nd-place finish.
Abigail Riley finished 128th as a junior last year for the Cavaliers.
Class 5
In Class 5, two of the top female runners in the area graduated last spring, but there is still plenty of talent competing in 2026.
Gone are Class 5 champion Ava Doll of Joplin and fifth-place finisher Brooke Hedger of Webb City.
Webb City finished second in Class 5 girls and, despite losing Hedger to graduation, will return several key athletes. Looking to step up in Class 5 is senior Araceli Perez, who was 18th last year at the state meet, seniors Emma McKinzie and Olivia Klotz, who were 55th and 56th last year, and teammate Tatym Buster (90th), who will be a sophomore this year. They will be joined by senior Alexis Shuster, who was 124th.
Another state qualifier who will be returning this year is Carthage’s Zei’lah Cifuentes, who finished 76th.
In Class 5 boys, junior James Dalrymple, of Webb City, will look to improve on a 38th-place finish last year. Teammate Aaron Dawson, also a junior, is another returning state qualifier for the Cardinals. He finished 96th last year.
Other state qualifiers from 2025 include New Heights’ Valerie Jackson, who finished 83rd in Class 3 as a freshman last year.