Teams
Alanson-Littlefield
Alba
Bellaire
Boyne Falls
Central Lake
Ellsworth
Fairview
Gaylord St. Mary
Indian River Inland Lakes
Johannesburg-Lewiston
Lincoln-Alcona
Mackinaw City
Onaway
Pellston
Petoskey St. Michael
Rogers City
Wolverine
Boys
Team Projections
Individual Projections
Ranked Teams
Johannesburg-Lewiston (12), Petoskey St. Michael (16)
Highest Rated Seniors
Carlos talent in this sport is undeniable. Top-10 in the State for each of his three years. Suffered a knee injury this winter, but is apparently back to his old form. Also, his family lived in Breckenridge a few years ago. Can you imagine how dominant that program would be?
Tyler has improved his regional finish in each of his four years (yes, 8th grade) at this level. In 2018, he narrowly missed out on a MIS trip by finishing 17th. This past season, he was able to nab a spot, sneaking in at 15th.
In his first race of the year, where most athletes are getting their feet wet and reacquainted, Hammond set a 1:00+ PR. He continued that precipitous time drop into the 17:30s, resulting in a 10th place regional finish.
Career Achievement
The St. Michael kids in this preview are largely here because of their tremendous improvement from 2018 to 2019. Part of the formula I use feels that if one improves from one season to the next, the work ethic will allow that to continue. Samuel dropped his PR from 19:11 to 17:19 and finished 31st in the State after finishing 29th at his regional in 2018.
Anyone Else?
With many Northern Michigan D4 schools, you’ll see them competing as 8th graders. Lars was one of those, and he competed admirably, finishing 18th at the 2018 Regionals. This past season, he was able to qualify (with room to spare) in 12th. He dropped his PR by 1:00 from his 8th grade year as well.
Marcatan had a coming out party at Portage. His 17:43 there was his second jaunt under 18:00. He followed that up with equally impressive performances at Regionals and State. All in all, about a 2:00 drop from his freshman year.
Incoming freshman had a few performances in the high-12, low-13 range. 3rd place in a competitive race at Central Lake Hot Dog.
Girls
Team Projections
Individual Projections
Ranked Teams
Johannesburg-Lewiston (3), Ellsworth (18), Gaylord St. Mary (25)
Highest Rated Seniors
Although her best time from each year has been nearly identical (20:37.8 to 20:37.4), her State finish deserves mention. 32nd at MIS when she had never been below 60th. Three-time qualifier from this region.
Morgan won this regional in 2017 and 2018, then finished 6th last season. She’s been All-State twice and has run into the 20’s each and every season.
Last year was actually Nina’s first year running XC. She finished it with an 11th place finish at this race (21:23, PR).
Career Achievement
Not often you’ll see a freshman in this spot, but Miriam’s 8th grade year requires recognition. A sub-20 race at Class D was her best time, but more importantly, she was conference champion, regional champion and 14th in the state.
Anyone Else?
Natalie had a solid freshman year at Chippewa Hills, learning leadership and consistency from their great program. She takes that further north to Johannesburg-Lewiston and will be a major boon to their team. She was a low-20 runner and finished 17th in a competitive Benzie regional.
I’m not sure who’s been coaching the Fairview MS squad, but they’ve developed some talent that will be players very soon here. Jessie finished last season in the 13:30’s with high finishes to match, 3rd at John Bruder and 4th at Hot Dog.
Maia began her career in 2018 as an 8th grader. She was a great help to Ellsworth, placing 7th at Regionals and 2nd at the NLC Championships. She continued that conference performance. But she improved her regional finish and time, getting down into the 20’s and top-3 at this region.
