Meet the Liberty, Liberty North and Kearney track & field teams
LIBERTY, Mo. — It is again high school track and field season, and Liberty High School, Liberty North High School, and Kearney High School have athletes and teams making runs for the state championship at Jefferson City at the end of May.
Boy’s Teams
Liberty North has a state power ranking of #2 overall behind Rock Bridge of Columbia. State champion javelin thrower senior Matt Morrison returns with a 204-2 PR and is ranked #1. The Tennessee commit is ranked #5 in the U.S. Senior Calen Presser, with a 183-9, is #3 in Class 5, and #25 in the U.S. in the javelin. Senior Javon Smith, an Army football commit, enters the season ranked #3, 170-4. Junior Sage Wilde is #5 in the 3200m, with a 9:22.97. Senior Xavier Horn, 22.12 in the 200m, is ranked #6. Junior Colin Madison’s 40.78 in the 300IH is #6. In the high jump, Senior Jayden Strawn comes in at #8, at 6-3.5.
Liberty is at #9 in the power ranking in class 5. Senior Anthony Wenson, the Air Force football commit, is ranked #7 in the 100m with a 10.88 time from 2022. Dominic Revels, a junior, is #8 in the 100m with a clocking of 10.90. The sprint relays look good again for Liberty, who had a state champion 4×200 last season.
Defending state champions in Class 4, Kearney will have a shot to repeat in 2023. They are ranked #1 in the pre-season. Sophomore Theo Grace enters the season ranked #3 in Class 4 and #2 in the U.S. among sophomores in the javelin at 174-0.5. University of Nebraska track commit, senior Luke Noland, looks to defend his 110HH title. His PR of 14.30 is ranked #1. He is ranked #1 in the long jump, at 23-1.75, #4 200m at 22.13, and #8 300IH at 41.62. Senior high jumper Zachary Proctor is #2 at 6-7.5. All the members of the #7 ranked 4 x 200m relay return. Senior Zach Grace, a UCM football commit, enters the season ranked #2 in the discus at 168-6 and #3 in the shot put at 52-1.
Girl’s Teams
Last year’s state third-place finisher Kearney entered the 2023 season ranked #1 in Class 4, followed closely by Parkway Central and Helias Catholic. Senior Jadyn Barnes, state champion in the 800m, enters the season ranked #1, with a 2:17. She is also ranked #6 in the 400m, at 59.29. Senior Ava Lawless, an Illinois State commit, is #2 in the hurdles at 14.83, #2 in the long jump at 18-3.76, and #1 in the triple jump at 37-11.5. Keaney had points last year in the 4×200, 4×400, and 4×800. Another strong showing in the relays, and they may be on top of the podium in Jeff City.
Two athletes that are used to being at the top of the podium are Liberty’s Rachel Homoly and Morgan Cannon. Homoly, an Arkansas commit and the state champion and record holder in the pole vault at 14-0, is ranked #4 in the U.S. She looks to move up the national rankings by the end of the season. Morgan Cannon, the javelin state champion, is ranked #1 again with a 148-3. She is ranked #11 among U.S. high schoolers. She is committed to attending the University of Missouri.
Kennedy Herrig of Liberty North enters the season ranked #6 in the 300IH, with a time of 45.04. But don’t be surprised to see additional Eagles step up and make the trip to state.
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