Girls Team

Place	Team	Score	1st Girl	2nd Girl	3rd Girl	4th Girl	5th Girl	6th Girl	7th Girl
1	Hart	115	2	3	9	41	60	107	127
2	Traverse City St. Francis	173	13	15	20	56	69	80	81
3	Lansing Catholic	180	7	11	14	48	100	151	157
4	Kent City	182	8	32	38	51	53	66	94
5	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	216	12	27	46	49	82	121	135
6	Jackson Lumen Christi	220	5	10	36	55	114	122	138
7	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	246	6	34	43	70	93	97	99
8	St. Louis	249	17	19	33	71	109	116	134
9	Ithaca	273	1	24	42	77	129	155	165
10	Pewamo-Westphalia	278	16	45	68	73	76	83	88
11	Caro	328
12	Benzie Central	351
13	Grandville Calvin Christian	377
14	Harbor Springs	395
15	Reese	417
16	Sandusky	420
17	Manton	429
18	Bridgman	479
19	Onsted	481
20	Clinton	496
22	Monroe St. Mary CC	502
21	Elk Rapids	502
23	Leslie	528
24	University Liggett	532
25	Buchanan	557
26	Schoolcraft	610
27	Clawson	650
28	Madison Heights Bishop Foley	807

Can Hart make it five straight State Titles?  With fifth runner Lauren VanderLaan in their corner, very likely.  As 2020 closed, a few teams looked like they had an outside shot at breaking Hart’s streak, and their hopes pinned on a subpar performance from Lauren.  But she went out, ran 21:02, and finished a good 20+ spots better than her pre-race expectation.  Hart’s unreal streak continued and we’re having this same conversation this year.  Although the Ackleys have moved on (from the girls squad), the Pirates are still led by another side of the family, the Enns and bolstered by freshmen Jessica Jazwinski and Lexie Beth Nienhuis.

The question then becomes: who’s second?

Jackson Lumen Christi would be in here, mainly behind the efforts of transfer Sydney Fazekas.  We knew about Faith Smith and Madison Osterberg, but Fazekas’s transfer from Hanover-Horton solidified their depth.  Sadly, Sydney is out with a stress fracture, thus dashing Lumen Christi’s hopes.  They are well-set for future runs with glory here.

Traverse City St. Francis has been remarkably consistent all year, even in the meets without Grace Slocum and Sophia Rhein.  I’m particularly happy for Sophia, as she missed nearly her entire sophomore year.  She’s back and has a great shot at finishing All-State.  Rylee Duffing has been reliable, usually finishing 4^th or 5^th on the team, while Mary Masserant and Ava Pomaranski have a bit higher variance.  If those two can bring it Saturday, they’re the clear favorite to finish second.

Lansing Catholic is as strong as any through four.  Hannah Pricco has finished 16^th in two consecutive State Meets.  This spring, we saw CC Jones respond to Coach Simpson’s training and that has carried over into cross.  The key lies with Hailey Prokop, when adjusting for ratings, she’s improved nearly a minute from her September form. 

Championship Season has been kind to Kent City.  At Portage, they lost to Lumen Christi and finished ahead of Lansing Catholic and St. Francis.  At Saturday’s Region 21 race, they defeated Calvin Christian and Covenant Christian.  Kent Ottawa was their best performance, knocking off Lowell and West Michigan Aviation, both top-25 teams in higher divisions.

Girls Individual

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Lani Bloom	Ithaca	167.9
2	12	Rylee Tolson	Stockbridge	158.7
3	10	Alyson Enns	Hart	157.0
4	12	Allison Chmielewski	Roscommon	153.3
5	9	Jessica Jazwinski	Hart	148.4
6	10	Mylie Kelly	Benzie Central	147.5
7	10	Madison Osterberg	Jackson Lumen Christi	146.5
8	9	Eliza Bush	Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory	145.7
9	12	Meghan Beute	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	144.4
10	11	Hannah Pricco	Lansing Catholic	144.2
11	9	Lila Volkers	Kent City	143.0
12	12	Audrianna Enns	Hart	141.2
13	12	Faith Smith	Jackson Lumen Christi	138.6
14	10	Miranda McNeil	Morley-Stanwood	135.5
15	11	CC Jones	Lansing Catholic	133.7
16	12	Gianna Hoving	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	132.0
17	11	Sophia Rhein	Traverse City St. Francis	131.5
18	10	Tessa Roe	Lansing Catholic	131.3
19	10	Kendra Koster	Lawton	128.4
20	9	Betsy Skendzel	Traverse City St. Francis	127.3
21	9	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia	127.3
22	11	Ava Maginity	Boyne City	125.7
23	12	Libby Munderloh	St. Louis	124.1
24	9	Kerith Short	University Liggett	123.0
25	12	Mikenna Borie	St. Louis	122.4
26	9	Grace Slocum	Traverse City St. Francis	122.4
27	9	Makenzie Kreger	Sandusky	122.2
28	12	Leanne Krombeen	Grandville Calvin Christian	121.0
29	12	Maye Burns	Harbor Springs	120.2
30	12	Rachael Sierakowski	Ithaca	119.7
31	10	Ava Viegelahn	Grass Lake	119.5
32	12	Elise Johnson	Benzie Central	119.0
33	12	Ava Genovese	Coloma	118.9
34	12	Claire Thomson	Clawson	118.8
35	12	Marian Avila	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	118.7
36	10	Kinsie Jacques	Pinconning	118.6
37	9	Erin Lubahn	Leslie	118.1
38	12	Molly Harding	Manton	117.0
39	11	Kara Terakedis	Onsted	116.9
40	9	Emmry Ross	Onsted	116.7
41	12	Alyeska Linsley	Kent City	115.4
42	10	Jaiden Dickman	St. Louis	115.3
43	9	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm	115.1
44	10	Amber Koole	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	114.8
45	12	Brooklyn Rochow	Stockbridge	114.0
46	11	Allie Koch	Manchester	113.8
47	9	Jaidyn Smith	Leslie	112.9
48	9	Layla Lopez	Jackson Lumen Christi	112.8
49	12	Gabriella Wingard	North Muskegon	112.5
50	10	Sophia Reynolds	Hanover-Horton	112.5

Lani Bloom is the favorite here.  What a career, what a ride it’s been.  Three All-State honors, three track titles (one indoor, two outdoor).  Adversity from tough races at MIS, joy from sophomore breakthroughs and overcoming said adversity.  She’s taken this season the right way too, not going to the well every single race, and this sets her up for success this weekend.  She has the strength (sub-17 on the track), she has the speed, she has the experience.

Rylee Tolson hasn’t lost once this entire fall.  She has the mettle of a champion, evidenced by two instances: her comeback from injury during track and her crawl to the finish a year ago.  She didn’t have to finish that race, but she did.  That speaks volumes.  She’s been a frontrunner this entire year, setting a quick early pace and daring others to hang on.  I can all but guarantee these two will duel until the other falls off.

I said this over the summer and I’ll say it again: we will see Allie Chmielewski on the starting line of the Olympic Trials in 2028 or 2032.  It might be the marathon, it might be the 10k, who knows.  She’s oozing in talent and doesn’t come from a traditional D3 power.  Imagine when she gets to MSU, a program that develops talent, and has girls to train with.  I’ve been a major fan of her season, she hasn’t redlined it in too many races, that extra bit of energy should help her in the final 1000m.

Beyond the seniors, I’m interested to see who sets themselves up for titles in 2022:

Alyson Enns has fallen off a bit in the past month, but when she’s on, she’s really freakin’ on.  17:53 at Shepherd has been her best, but 18:18 at Portage is significant here in that she defeated many of the D3 girls she’ll be competing against. 

Mylie Kelly just set a Benzie school record of 18:08.  Her string of races at Cadillac, Bluejay, and Portage show she can bring it when pushed, likely into the low-18’s.

Madison Osterberg finished second behind Enns at Portage, scorching the rest of the field in the final mile.  She has better speed than anyone sans Bloom and also the confidence to let the rest of the field go, knowing she’ll reel them back in. 

Eliza Bush has been the lone wolf over at Ypsi Arbor Prep.  She hasn’t faced the D3-centric competition that most in the field have gone against, but she has run in the mid-18’s on fair courses.

Jessica Jazwinski has actually supplanted Enns in the past month as Hart’s #1.  She’s been through the ringer of races and has been steady each time out.

Boys Team

Place	Team	Score	1st Boy	2nd Boy	3rd Boy	4th Boy	5th Boy	6th Boy	7th Boy
1	Hart	158	11	13	32	49	53	70	105
2	St. Louis	160	14	17	19	45	65	71	77
3	Lansing Catholic	166	5	10	36	40	75	120	132
4	Grandville Calvin Christian	176	3	15	16	30	112	177	186
5	Traverse City St. Francis	184	28	29	33	37	57	66	78
6	Ithaca	277	9	12	51	96	109	125	161
7	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	306	42	50	52	80	82	85	106
8	Stockbridge	307	24	27	39	98	119	138	180
9	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	312	21	44	63	87	97	102	130
10	Charlevoix	350	4	23	74	121	128	133	142
11	Caro	355
12	Bronson	362
13	Pewamo-Westphalia	369
14	Harbor Springs	371
15	Benzie Central	372
16	Saugatuck	397
17	Hanover-Horton	405
18	Madison Heights Bishop Foley	408
19	Manton	425
20	Erie Mason	427
21	Saranac	433
22	Coloma	448
23	Hudson	466
24	Bath	493
25	Sanford-Meridian	569
26	Constantine	655
27	University Liggett	678
28	Memphis	855

Hart hasn’t been the most flashy team all year.  But you don’t need to be flashy to win titles, you need to be reliable.  At any major meet, you’ll find that their average rating hovers between 170-175.  Noah Bosley, Wyatt Dean, and Clayton Ackley have been low sticks up front.  Max Stitt has been surprisingly reliable considering his freshman status.  If he can have Max Nienhuis and Seth Ackley follow his lead, the Pirates have a shot.

St. Louis is again doing that thing where they peak at the right time.  The March brothers in particular have been running their best in the last month.  Although Shepherd’s course has been running a bit quick this year, they both ran below 16:30 at the Scottie Classic, efforts that suggest they’re the among the best 2^nd and 3^rd runners in the state.  Can they push back another team’s 1^st or 2^nd?

Lansing Catholic has been bolstered by the addition of Josh Otten.  First a soccer player, then a 4:27 miler, now an XC star.  He didn’t even need a break-in period, placing 2^nd behind D2 standout Mike Hegarty at Michigan Catholic.  The Cougars will rely on Stephen Fair as their 5^th runner, he’s been in the low-18’s/high-17’s for the past seven races.  That time slot will likely have a mass of runners – a few seconds could make a huge difference. 

Grandville Calvin Christian’s Squires face the extreme example (we’ll see this in future writeups) of four runners and needing a good day from their fifth.  For Trevor Dornbos, he’s had more good days lately than not.  He’s in the same boat as Lansing Catholic’s Fair, where his best performance could move them to a contender.  Nathan Jenkins is battling an injury, but listed in the entries, so he’s included in here.

Traverse City St. Francis might take home the title of the most polarizing team of all-time.  Their Portage performance will win them the state title.  Their Bluejay performance could knock the Glads out of the Top 10. 

Boys Individual

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Hunter Jones	Benzie Central	216.8
2	12	Noah Morrow	Manton	203.8
3	12	Tyler Guggemos	Kalkaska	194.1
4	11	Nathan Jenkins	Grandville Calvin Christian	192.9
5	12	Sam Peterson	Charlevoix	192.3
6	12	Josh Otten	Lansing Catholic	192.0
7	11	Rogan Melling	Hanover-Horton	191.0
8	10	Collin Farmer	Pewamo-Westphalia	191.0
9	11	Cal Benjamin	Harbor Springs	188.1
10	11	Parks Allen	Ithaca	187.2
11	12	David Pruder	Lansing Catholic	186.9
12	10	Samuel Martini	Kent City	186.8
13	11	Clayton Ackley	Hart	186.6
14	12	Jacob Walker	Brooklyn Columbia Central	186.2
15	12	Espen Lehnst	Ithaca	186.2
16	12	Noah Bosley	Hart	183.4
17	11	Rhett Reif	Quincy	182.9
18	12	Carson Brunk	Potterville	182.3
19	10	Ben March	St. Louis	182.2
20	12	Dan Kehoe	Grandville Calvin Christian	180.7
21	12	Logan Manion	Grandville Calvin Christian	180.6
22	12	Aaron Bowerman	St. Louis	180.4
23	12	Chase Hobson	Montrose	180.4
24	12	Adam Martinson	Saugatuck	179.6
25	10	Jaden Barnes	Bloomingdale	179.2
26	11	Andrew Hardy	Stanton Central Montcalm	177.3
27	12	Nate March	St. Louis	176.9
28	11	Connor Stefanovsky	Caro	176.4
29	10	Simon VanderVlucht	Monroe St. Mary CC	176.3
30	10	Sunishthh Singh	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	175.0
31	10	Boden Genovese	Coloma	174.8
32	12	Dominic Schwein	Charlevoix	174.6
33	11	Micah Bolton	Stockbridge	174.5
34	10	Alex Czeiszperger	Hudson	173.9
35	10	Matthew Pattullo	Caro	173.6
36	12	Dalton Satkowiak	Stockbridge	173.0
37	9	Josh Slocum	Traverse City St. Francis	173.0
38	12	Thomas Richards	Traverse City St. Francis	172.9
39	11	Ben Wertz	Grandville Calvin Christian	172.7
40	11	Levi Maier	Chesaning	172.4
41	12	Liam Harlan	Bath	172.4
42	11	Wyatt Dean	Hart	172.3
43	11	Josh Kerr	Traverse City St. Francis	171.9
44	11	Jackson Ansel	Erie Mason	171.9
45	11	Ashton Wells	Bronson	171.3
46	12	Gabe Nelson	Clinton	171.3
47	12	Cameron Haraburda	Lansing Catholic	170.8
48	11	Caiden Kippnick	Manchester	170.7
49	10	Tucker Krumm	Traverse City St. Francis	170.6
50	12	Lance Smar	Harbor Springs	170.3

2019 was the Hunter Jones show.  2020 was the Hunter Jones show.  This year is the Hunter Jones show.  Next year will be the Hunter Jones show.  Hunter is the clear favorite and it should be a fun, lonely 14 or 15 minutes for Hunter.  He took a few lumps early from Hough and Baracco, but a hit to the ego is always good, you can’t win every race and expect to get better.  I have confidence those early losses and the lessons learned will serve him well in the post-season races. 

Noah Morrow made #TheLeap during track season.  A 9:33 at Shepherd’s Bluejay Elite led to a 4:20 in the 1600m, which then led to a 3^rd place in the D3 3200m.  He’s continued that progression into cross, where he’s notable for legitimately not having a bad race.  As far as my numbers go, his worst race was one in which he broke 16:00. 

Tyler Guggemos, Cal Benjamin, and Sam Peterson have battling it out in Northern Michigan all year.  Sam had the edge early in the year, Tyler has had the upper hand lately, and Cal has seemingly finished second in this triumvirate each time they’ve faced one another. 

Rogan has upheld the Melling tradition (but did he complete the infamous workout?) in leading the Hanover-Horton squad and being King of the Irish Hills.  Rogan hasn’t just stayed in the area, when the Comets traveled to Portage and Bluejay, he was able to defeat many potential All-Staters (Martini, Pruder, etc.).

TUCK COMIN’

Just as Mel Tucker came into the State of Michigan like a wrecking ball, these runners and teams are coming to MIS on a roll:

The Bridgman Bees are back at their old stomping grounds after a year’s absence.  Contact tracing decimated any hope of returning in 2020, and their dear departed Karsyn Stewart was left to race alone.  But they’re back and fresh off a regional victory.  The Fast sisters, Clara and Summer have run their best to close the year and seniors Jane Kaspar and Arie Hackett have been great leaders.

Gianna Hoving’s times of late might not represent major growth, but it’s there.  19:40 on an always tough Possum Hollow course (and a victory over potential D2 All-Staters Zdankiewicz and Koss) paved the way to a 3^rd place finish in the loaded Region 27. 

This might not be the glory days when Yami was winning everything in sight, but Caro is still the best team in the Thumb (Yale won Thumb Area but to me they’re more Port Huron than Thumb).  Nearly everyone on the Tigers ran their best race at Thumb Area, particularly Tristan Lovett, and Tyler Miller doubled that up with an excellent regional race.  Expect them to challenge for a Top 10 spot.

Rhett Reif chilled in the low-17’s for much of the year, save for a 16:38 at Otsego Bulldog.  He’s begun to turn it up a notch in these past few weeks with a 16:25 at Little Guys and a 2^nd place finish in Region 23, that silver medal coming in front of potential top-30 runners Jacob Walker and Alex Czeiszperger.