Springfield Catholic Wins Class 2 Cross Country Title
The Springfield Catholic boys team claimed the Class 2 state cross country championship, its first title since 2015.
Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Track & Field
Springfield Catholic boys won the Class 2 state cross country championship, scoring 69 points and finishing 56 points ahead of second-place St. Louis' Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience. The win is the program's first Class 2 state title since 2015.
Why it matters
The victory returns a Missouri high school program to the top of the state's Class 2 boys cross country rankings after a decade-long gap. The margin of victory shows a team scoring advantage built on multiple top-25 finishers rather than a single standout runner.
Springfield Catholic's 69 points beat the second-place team by 56, and Kyle Hathcock finished fourth overall in 16:14. Wyatt Klaiber of El Dorado Springs won the individual title in 15:15, with Spokane's Luke Faulkner second in 15:54.
The players
Springfield Catholic
A Springfield, Missouri Catholic high school whose boys cross country program won the Class 2 state title.
Kyle Hathcock
The Springfield Catholic runner who finished fourth overall and was the team's top finisher at the state meet.
Wyatt Klaiber
The El Dorado Springs runner who won the Class 2 individual state cross country championship.
The details
Springfield Catholic's scoring group was formed by Hathcock, Marcus Johnson (18th), John Paul Haik-Frick (22nd), Andrew Jones (23rd) and Gavin Pyck (42nd). Haik-Frick and Jones both improved their times from the Gans Creek Classic to the state race.
Timeline
Late September 2026: The team previewed the Gans Creek course in Columbia.
Friday, November 6, 2026: Springfield Catholic won the Class 2 state title.
Season Trajectory
The title is Springfield Catholic's first Class 2 boys state cross country championship since 2015, ending a gap of roughly a decade. The team's depth, with four of its top five scorers finishing in the top 45, shaped a 56-point margin over the second-place team.
The result sets a benchmark for Class 2 boys cross country in Missouri, with several Springfield Catholic runners returning from a team that placed four in the top 45. Fans following state rankings can track whether the program holds its position heading into the next season.
The takeaway
Depth across the top five scoring spots, rather than one dominant runner, was the decisive factor in this Class 2 state title. Track the individual times of key runners across meets to gauge a team's championship trajectory.
Further reading
For more high school competition, see Track & Field coverage across Missouri.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Springfield News-Leader.
