Forest Park (Missouri) and Liberty Bell (Colorado) take center stage

By Doug Binder, Dyestat editor

The showdown between Taylor Werner and Hannah Long is on in Missouri on Saturday at the eighth Forest Park Cross Country Festival.

Last year, the freshman Werner of Ste. Genevieve upset Long and set the course record by running 16:59 for one of the fastest 5K times ever by a Missouri girl.

At the end of the season, at Foot Locker Nationals, Long finished six seconds ahead of Werner as the Show Me State girls finished 10th and 13th.

"When those two hook up and lock horns, it's quite a treat," said co-meet director Matt Helbig of Big River Running Company. "They've been trading blows for the last year and are close for those wins and losses. Hannah lost to Taylor last year, which was a huge upset. We knew (Taylor) was good because we saw her in the Festival of Miles as an eighth grader, but (I) had no idea she would be that tough."

Long, of Eureka, won the Forest Park Festival as a freshman in 2011 in 18:00. The next year she ran it in 17:07 and still lost to Werner by eight seconds.

"Hannah's reputation in the state (of Missouri) was that she was unbeatable," Helbig said. "For a little 75-pounder to give her everything she could handle and more, we had people lined up 10 deep (along the course) going nuts."

So if the girls race is the marquee event out of 13 races scheduled, what about the boys?

Just as in the girls race, the top two boys from 2012 are back.

Noah Kauppila of Marquette (Chesterfield) is the defending champion at 15:18 and was eight seconds off the course record last year. Patrick Perrier of O'Fallon (Illinois) was second in 15:24.

O'Fallon is US#16 as a team and the favorite to win this weekend at Forest Park.

Wildcards individually include Spencer Haik of Glendale, a 4:12 miler who could make things interesting if he's close at the end, and Stephen Mugeche of Blue Springs, who ran 15:34 for fifth at Forest Park last year.

"Those guys aren't afraid of Noah," Helbig said. "They definitely respect him but Perrier, I think, is just as good."

It could take a course record (15:10.1 by Zach Herriot in 2011) to win the race.

"The weather looks better and the course is rock solid because we haven't had much rain," Helbig said.

Liberty Bell Invitational: UPDATE: Given the catastrophic nature of flooding in Colorado and the widespread school closures, the Liberty Bell Invitational may be drastically changed or canceled. We'll update what we know as we learn more.

Two-time champion and course record holder Jordyn Colter is back for her third try and could become the first girl to win three in a row since Megan Kaltenbach (2000-02) of Smoky Hill.

One of the most historic cross country events in Colorado, Liberty Bell frequently sees fast times even though Littleton is at 5,300 feet elevation.

The meet also features US#9 Fort Collins and US#14 Monarch in the girls team competition.

Ricky Faure, a senior from Rock Springs, Wyo., is also seeking his third straight title, which would be a first in the meet's 35-year history. He ran 15:30.7 to win the boys Division 1 race last year.