2026 MSHSAA State Championship
The 2026 MSHSAA State Championship was held on May 8-9, 2026. Classes 1-3 competed on Friday and Classes 4-6 played on Saturday.
Questions and Format
Questions for Districts and State were once again provided by NAQT in the 22 tossup-bonus format. All questions were worth 10 points each with no powers or negs.
To produce the question sets for conferences and the state series, IS-239A, IS-241A, and IS-246 were unavailable for use during the regular season in Missouri.
Districts
Eight district tournaments in each of the six classes were held on April 18. District championship game matchups are available on the MSHSAA website.
Quarterfinals
Quarterfinal matches on April 28 consisted of best two-of-three matchups between the winners of two adjacent districts. The winner of each quarterfinal advanced to the remaining rounds of the state championship.
Class 1
- Walnut Grove def. Bell City (2-1)
- Weaubleau def. Bevier (2-0)
- Northwestern (Mendon) def. Southwest (Livingston County) (2-0)
- North Andrew def. Jefferson (Conception Junction) (2-1)
Class 2
- Clopton def. Bismarck (2-0)
- Thomas Jefferson Independent def. Hartville (2-0)
- Salisbury def. Osceola (2-0)
- Marceline def. King City (2-0)
Class 3
- Portageville def. Jefferson (Festus) (2-1)
- Skyline def. Spokane (2-0)
- Clark County def. Columbia Independent (2-1)
- Butler def. East Buchanan (2-1)
Class 4
- Bayless def. Central (Park Hills) (2-0)
- New Heights Christian def. Fair Grove (2-0)
- Hallsville def. Southern Boone (2-0)
- Oak Grove def. Lafayette (St. Joseph) (2-0)
Class 5
- Westminster Christian def. Webster Groves (2-1)
- Washington def. Kirksville (2-0)
- Springfield Central def. Nevada (2-0)
- St. Pius X (Kansas City) def. Excelsior Springs (2-0)
Class 6
- Parkway West def. Oakville (2-0)
- Webb City def. Kickapoo (2-0)
- Fort Zumwalt West def. Lee's Summit West (2-0)
- St. Joseph Central def. Park Hill South (2-0)
State Finals
The Class 1-3 state finals on May 8 and the Class 4-6 state finals on May 9 were held at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The state finals consisted of a preliminary round robin, with the top two teams advancing to the championship game and the bottom two teams advancing to the consolation game.
Class 1
Round 1
North Andrew 270, Walnut Grove 50
Weaubleau 300, Northwestern (Mendon) 220
Round 2
Weaubleau 470, Walnut Grove 30
Northwestern (Mendon) 320, North Andrew 170
Round 3
Northwestern (Mendon) 320, Walnut Grove 60
Weaubleau 320, North Andrew 160
Preliminary Round Standings
1. Weaubleau 3-0, 1090 pts.
2. Northwestern (Mendon) 2-1, 860 pts.
3. North Andrew 1-2, 600 pts.
4. Walnut Grove 0-3, 140 pts.
Consolation
(3) North Andrew 290, (4) Walnut Grove 50
Championship Game
(1) Weaubleau 271, (2) Northwestern (Mendon) 270 (decided by first correct overtime tossup)
Class 2
Round 1
Marceline 420, Clopton 190
Thomas Jefferson Independent 490, Salisbury 100
Round 2
Thomas Jefferson Independent 380, Clopton 180
Marceline 510, Salisbury 120
Round 3
Clopton 250, Salisbury 160
Thomas Jefferson Independent 330, Marceline 310
Preliminary Round Standings
1. Thomas Jefferson Independent 3-0, 1200 pts.
2. Marceline 2-1, 1240 pts.
3. Clopton 1-2, 620 pts.
4. Salisbury 0-3, 380 pts.
Entering the final preliminary round, Thomas Jefferson Independent and Marceline were 2-0 and Clopton and Salisbury were 0-2. Because MSHSAA insists on having one championship game and a third place game, the format used for the state championship resulted in the third round having no direct statistical impact on placement in the tournament even before it was played.
Consolation
(3) Clopton 230, (4) Salisbury 140
Championship Game
(1) Thomas Jefferson Independent 370, (2) Marceline 290
Class 3
Round 1
Butler 310, Portageville 200
Clark County 410, Skyline 260
Round 2
Skyline 390, Portageville 160
Clark County 430, Butler 230
Round 3
Clark County 350, Portageville 170
Skyline 350, Butler 150
Preliminary Round Standings
1. Clark County 3-0, 1190 pts.
2. Skyline 2-1, 1000 pts.
3. Butler 1-2, 690 pts.
4. Portageville 0-3, 530 pts.
Consolation
(4) Portageville 230, (3) Butler 210
Championship Game
(2) Skyline 390, (1) Clark County 220
Class 4
Round 1
Bayless 430, Oak Grove 140
Hallsville 340, New Heights Christian 260
Round 2
New Heights Christian 290, Bayless 280
Hallsville 310, Oak Grove 240
Round 3
Bayless 460, Hallsville 200
New Heights Christian 340, Oak Grove 310
Preliminary Round Standings
1. Bayless 2-1, 1170 pts.
2. New Heights Christian 2-1, 890 pts.
3. Hallsville 2-1, 850 pts.
4. Oak Grove 0-3, 690 pts.
Consolation
(4) Oak Grove 280, (3) Hallsville 180
Championship Game
(1) Bayless 350, (2) New Heights Christian 310
Class 5
Round 1
Westminster Christian 350, St. Pius X 220
Washington 350, Springfield Central 290
Round 2
Westminster Christian 320, Washington 270
Springfield Central 370, St. Pius X 230
Round 3
Springfield Central 400, Westminster Christian 240
Washington 470, St. Pius X 240
Preliminary Round Standings
1. Washington 2-1, 1090 pts.
2. Springfield Central 2-1, 1060 pts.
3. Westminster Christian 2-1, 910 pts.
4. St. Pius X 0-3, 690 pts.
Consolation
(4) St. Pius X 290, (3) Westminster Christian 230
Championship Game
(2) Springfield Central 290, (1) Washington 230
Class 6
Round 1
Parkway West 490, St. Joseph Central 280
Fort Zumwalt West 500, Webb City 150
Round 2
Parkway West 690, Webb City 100
Fort Zumwalt West 470, St. Joseph Central 330
Round 3
Parkway West 500, Fort Zumwalt West 340
St. Joseph Central 450, Webb City 210
Preliminary Round Standings
1. Parkway West 3-0, 1680 pts.
2. Fort Zumwalt West 2-1, 1310 pts.
3. St. Joseph Central 1-2, 1060 pts.
4. Webb City 0-3, 460 pts.
Like Class 2 the day before, entering the final preliminary round, Parkway West and Fort Zumwalt West were 2-0 and St. Joseph Central and Webb City were 0-2. Because MSHSAA insists on having one championship game and a third place game, the format used for the state championship resulted in the third round having no direct statistical impact on placement in the tournament even before it was played.
Consolation
(3) St. Joseph Central 510, (4) Webb City 100
Championship Game
(1) Parkway West 380, (2) Fort Zumwalt West 340
All-State Teams
The top five individuals in each class by total points who played all three preliminary rounds were recognized with All-State honors. Totals are out of 66 tossups read.
Class 1
1. Bryce Hayes, Northwestern (Mendon), 36 tossups
2. Daniel Nance, Weaubleau, 29 tossups
3. Troy Madison, North Andrew, 20 tossups
4. Molly West, Weaubleau, 7 tossups
5. Isaac Coats, North Andrew, 5 tossups
Class 2
1 (tie). Finn O'Brien, Clopton, 17 tossups
1 (tie). Cash Barnes, Marceline, 17 tossups
3. Nathan Cole, Thomas Jefferson Independent, 15 tossups
4. Chance Fischer, Salisbury, 12 tossups
5 (tie). Grayson Bruffett, Thomas Jefferson Independent, 10 tossups
5 (tie). Jackson Featherlin, Marceline, 10 tossups
Class 3
1. Liam McIntire, Clark County, 32 tossups
2. Flint Barker, Skyline, 24 tossups
3. Easton Woolace, Butler, 21 tossups
4. Dustin Nolen, Portageville, 16 tossups
5 (tie). Vivian Reardon, Clark County, 4 tossups
5 (tie). Lain Alameda Blanco, Skyline, 4 tossups
5 (tie). Brody Davis, Clark County, 4 tossups
Class 4
1 (tie). Nolan Carstens, Bayless, 18 tossups
1 (tie). Michael Peters, New Heights Christian, 18 tossups
3. Thomas Herbold, Hallsville, 16 tossups
4. Elmedin Karamovic, Bayless, 10 tossups
5 (tie). Jacob Darnell, Bayless, 9 tossups
5 (tie). Chase Nelson, Oak Grove, 9 tossups
5 (tie). Chase Rinehart, Oak Grove, 9 tossups
Class 5
1. Nathan Polk, Westminster Christian, 25 tossups
2. Jack Herr, Springfield Central, 20 tossups
3. Nathan Oreskovic, Washington, 16 tossups
4. Peter Bush, Washington, 12 tossups
5. Andrew Ross, St. Pius X, 11 tossups
Class 6
1. Soham Ray, Parkway West, 25 tossups
2. Ryka Adi, Fort Zumwalt West, 15 tossups
3. Tanisi Adi, Fort Zumwalt West, 14 tossups
4. Edison Kimmel, St. Joseph Central, 13 tossups
5. Asav Gupta, St. Joseph Central, 12 tossups
Notes
- St. Joseph Central set a record with eleven consecutive final four finishes, breaking a tie with Thomas Jefferson Independent.
- Thomas Jefferson Independent's state title was the school's first since 2017 and eleventh overall, breaking a tie with Ladue for second most all-time, behind Richland's 15.
- Parkway West's 690 points in Round 2 set a single-game record in the 22 tossup/bonus format at MSHSAA State, making them the sixth school to break Cuba's original record of 640 points that stood for the first 16 years of the 30 year history of the state championship. Through 2026, Ladue is the only school to have scored more points in any game at MSHSAA State.
- The Class 1 championship game was the first state title to be decided by one correct overtime tossup, after overtime was reduced from three correct tossups to one in the 2019-2020 season. The previous closest margin in a championship match was Hallsville's three tossups to Savannah's one in the 2014 Class 3 final, while all other overtime periods in championship games were swept 3-0.
- Skyline and Bayless successfully defended their state titles, becoming only the second and third schools to do so in the six class era. Weaubleau also became the second school to win a title in a different class than the one they had won the previous year, and the first such repeat champion to have changed classes due to shifts in enrollment.
- In Classes 4 and 5, the winless #4 seed defeated the 2-1 #3 seed in the third place game, resulting in the first two instances of a 1-3 team ranking higher than a 2-2 team that played a common schedule.
- Parkway West vs. Fort Zumwalt West was the first ever state championship match between two schools that are not the original (or only) high school in their school districts. Rock Bridge is the only other such school to have reached a state championship match through 2026.
- Skyline and Weaubleau repeated their feat of two Hickory County schools winning state titles in the same year, and St. Louis County produced two state champions for the sixth time, making this the first year that multiple counties accomplished this. Bayless' win over New Heights Christian denied Jasper County the opportunity to become the third county, and Joplin the second city (after Ladue), to do so.
- St. Joseph Lafayette won its first and only district championship in its final year as a high school, before converting to a middle school as part of a district reorganization.
Similar outcomes
- The three-way ties and subsequent final round results in Classes 4 and 5 happened in nearly identical fashion:
- The eventual #2 seed lost in round 1 and the #1 seed lost in round 2.
- The eventual runner-up defeated the eventual champion in their preliminary matchup. The championship game reversed the result of the earlier match, but resulted in the champion having a better record.
- One team started 2-0, including a win over the eventual runner-up, before losing the third round to the eventual champion and ending up with the fewest points in the three way tie at 2-1. As noted above, this team also lost the third place game and thus finished fourth behind a team that had one fewer win.
- All four schools in Class 4 earned the same placement they had the previous time they reached the final four tournament in Columbia.
- For the second consecutive year in Class 3, #2 seed Skyline won the championship game over the winner of a Columbia Independent/Clark County quarterfinal that went undefeated in the preliminary rounds, and winless #4 seed Portageville won the third place game.
External References
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