One of the things that struck me in the creation of this was how far Annika has come
I had always assumed she was great, unheralded, but always great
But she started out slow as a freshman, her first four meets all north of 23:00, and only began to transform her times late in that year
At the end, a glimpse was seen, a 20:00 at Benzie, a time that set the stage for the coming years
In her sophomore campaign, she continued to show flashes, with multiple efforts in the low-19’s
Late in her junior year, she began to put the stamp on all that potential and use it for lift herself to podiums
Past mid-September, Annika was almost automatically sub-18:30 and along that path, racked up numerous honors
All-State, Regional Champ, Kent County champion
She may be small in stature, but she exudes confidence, sticking her nose in every race in every which way
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
11
Annika Sandman
19:42.6
135.8
Portage EB
Portage West MS
20-Aug
11
Annika Sandman
21:52.5
129.5
Hesperia
Baker Woods
25-Aug
11
Annika Sandman
19:24.1
135.6
Pete Moss
Benzie Central HS
28-Aug
11
Annika Sandman
19:20.8
136.1
OK White 1
Gainey Fields
8-Sep
11
Annika Sandman
18:29.7
155.1
Bredeweg
Macatawa Bay MS
11-Sep
11
Annika Sandman
19:12.8
142.1
Ottawa Hills
Riverside Park
17-Sep
11
Annika Sandman
18:22.5
146.5
OK White 2
Riverside Park
22-Sep
11
Annika Sandman
18:18.9
145.7
Autumn Sunrise
Heritage Christian School
25-Sep
11
Annika Sandman
18:42.5
142.8
Allendale Falcon
Allendale HS
2-Oct
11
Annika Sandman
18:21.9
145.4
OK White 3
Brookside GC
6-Oct
11
Annika Sandman
19:05.1
149.0
Kent Ottawa
Gainey Fields
16-Oct
11
Annika Sandman
18:26.6
151.1
OK White 4
South Christian HS
20-Oct
11
Annika Sandman
18:14.5
149.2
1 Allendale
Allendale HS
30-Oct
11
Annika Sandman
18:21.7
149.8
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
11
Annika Sandman
18:20.5
150.8
MMOC
Shepherd HS
13-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
Annika Sandman
118.5
Pete Moss
Benzie Central HS
29-Aug
10
Annika Sandman
123.8
OK White (GF)
Gainey Fields
16-Sep
10
Annika Sandman
129.0
Ottawa Hills
Riverside Park
18-Sep
10
Annika Sandman
115.8
OK White 2
Lowell HS
23-Sep
10
Annika Sandman
103.9
Bob Perry
Lowell HS
26-Sep
10
Annika Sandman
131.4
Allendale Falcon
Allendale HS
3-Oct
10
Annika Sandman
133.7
Autumn Sunrise
Heritage Christian
10-Oct
10
Annika Sandman
128.2
OK White Championship
Byron Center West MS
14-Oct
10
Annika Sandman
133.2
Kent Ottawa
Gainey Fields
17-Oct
10
Annika Sandman
124.3
PR 2
Cedar Springs ES
24-Oct
10
Annika Sandman
128.0
D1 Reg 1
Buckley HS
31-Oct
10
Annika Sandman
120.5
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
9
Annika Sandman
57.7
Bredeweg
Macatawa Bay MS
9
Annika Sandman
73.9
Allendale Falcon
Allendale HS
9
Annika Sandman
92.3
Kent Ottawa
Gainey Fields
9
Annika Sandman
84.0
OK White
Riverside Park
9
Annika Sandman
113.8
1
Benzie Central
I don’t know how he does it, but Nicholas consistently and continually finds a way to outperform these rankings
Whether it’s Oakland County last year (projected 8th, finished 2nd), State Finals (projected 18th, finished 13th), or the Meet of Champions (should’ve drafted him), Nicholas is always bringing it
During the past two years, he’s reached sub-16, both instances at State Finals and his first venture into that realm during that year
This past spring, he took giant leaps in both the 1600m and 3200m, dropping from 4:40 to 4:25 and 9:47 to 9:19
All in all, a very lethal combination of improvement and late-season performances, that formula could lead to more great accomplishments in a few months
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 
1 thought on “50 Tickets to Brooklyn: #11”