2022 Team Rankings – Championship Season

Team Rankings have returned as well! Still a bit delayed because of last week’s timeline, but here nonetheless in anticipation of our first major round of championship meets.

The rating rules that drive the individual rankings are still in place:

• The HOBBS KESSLER RULE is still in place, where I eliminate the lower third of a runner’s ratings. The reason for this is the assumption that an athlete will have races that they don’t go to the well, for many, these are jamborees or early season invites
  • For a runner that has 10 rated races, I eliminate 3; 7 rated races, I eliminate 2, so on and so forth
• The INJURY RULE is also in place, where if an athlete doesn’t have any rated races in a month, that runner is taken out of the rankings (both team and individual)
  • I’m more conservative on this than most, I realize that ACTs, sickness, family commitments, soccer kickball* are all present
  • Of course, if their coach, their parent, or that athlete wants to let me know that they’re injured or returning, I will make an exception. But only those relations, I’ve been burned too often by outsiders.
• These rankings are cumulative, with more recent meets given greater weight
  • As they contain the entire season, they will tend to underrate runners that have been on fire recently, but also protect those who had a subpar performance in the last few meets
• All meets linked here have been taken into account
• These are for FUN, even if you disagree with these, don’t tear anyone down in the process
  • If you do, I will force you to run 1000’s of hills at Kensington

As with the individuals, I’ll write a tiny bit about each team laying claim to the #1 spot.

The Potter’s House: It’s possible to have a great first four, as the Pumas definitely do, but still not have enough to potentially win a title. Finding that fifth is a struggle for many across all divisions, but with tiny enrollments, an almost guaranteed trouble spot for many D4 teams. On many other squads, Noah Finton might be their best runner, here he’s taken on the role of a great insurance policy, manning the spot where the most points are won or lost. He’s done that while improving on the job, stepping up from a kid who largely ran on the north side of 19:00 to a man knocking on the door of a sub-17.

Johannesburg-Lewiston: Yolanda Gascho had an outstanding middle school career, winning the Ski Valley, placing 12^th at Portage. But middle school awards are just that, and you can throw them out the window… until you break 20:00 in your first high school 5k. Yolanda and Allie Nowak will assuredly be at the front of the D4 field and coming in as their third girl is Madalyn Agren, the hard-working junior who deserves all the success she’s about to attain. She has already exceeded her personal best set at last year’s State Finals.

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	The Potter’s House	56	31	0
2	Petoskey St. Michael	188	28	-1
3	Harbor Springs	248	28	-1
4	Hillsdale Academy	303	34	-2
5	Johannesburg-Lewiston	315	28	3
6	Adrian Lenawee Christian	321	34	1
7	Mason County Eastern	340	29	0
8	Whitmore Lake	379	33	0
9	Three Oaks River Valley	436	31	0
10	Concord	577	32	0
11	Ubly	594	35	-8
12	Kalamazoo Hackett	611	32	-1
13	Carson City-Crystal	613	33	-2
14	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	623	36	0
15	Royal Oak Shrine	654	36	3
16	Brown City	659	35	-5
17	Frankfort	664	29	6
18	Mayville	684	35	-5
19	Battle Creek St. Philip	724	32	2
20	Muskegon Catholic Central	726	31	-13
21	Dryden	758	35	-5
22	Morenci	798	34	0
23	Novi Christian Academy	803	33	3
24	Breckenridge	811	30	0
25	East Jackson	817	34	0

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	Johannesburg-Lewiston	148	28	-2
2	Whitmore Lake	163	33	1
3	Harbor Springs	178	28	-6
4	Hillsdale Academy	182	34	2
5	Unionville-Sebewaing	346	35	1
6	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	421	36	1
7	Kingston	447	35	0
8	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	448	36	2
9	Ubly	487	35	-5
10	Libertas Christian	498	31	-1
11	Beal City	520	30	3
12	Buckley	528	29	0
13	Royal Oak Shrine	536	36	3
14	Leland	544	29	-3
15	Breckenridge	550	30	0
16	Grand Traverse Academy	575	29	-3
17	The Potter’s House	588	31	-1
18	St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic	600	31	-4
19	Farwell	618	30	6
20	Kalamazoo Hackett	620	32	-1
21	Pittsford	636	34	1
22	Lake Leelanau St. Mary	641	29	-3
23	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	675	33	0
24	Allen Park Cabrini	715	36	-3
25	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	735	30	9

Hart: I absolutely love when smaller teams enter giant meets and compete against bigger schools. A great measuring stick and an show of confidence. At Shepherd, Clayton Ackley was up for the challenge, his 15:41 placed in the top ten and was his first jaunt under 16:00. Wyatt Dean continued his steady high-level efforts, always a good bet to run in the mid-16’s. And looking big picture, freshman Jack Slotman is improving by the week, don’t be shocked if he’s in the low-17’s by regional time.

Traverse City St. Francis: If healthy, the Gladiators are prohibitively the D3 favorite at this point in the season. If not healthy, they still may be the favorite.With Betsy Skendzel running a lifetime best as she did at Bluejay or Grace Slocum breaking 20:00 for the first time this season at Cadillac, the St. Francis girls are blessed with two of the better 2^nd/3^rd runners in the state.

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	Hart	148	20	0
2	Traverse City St. Francis	243	19	-1
3	Hanover-Horton	281	23	-1
4	Saranac	318	21	2
5	Reed City	406	20	-1
6	Pewamo-Westphalia	419	24	1
7	St. Louis	453	25	0
8	Benzie Central	508	20	-1
9	Ithaca	538	24	1
10	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	574	21	-1
11	Stanton Central Montcalm	588	21	-1
12	Clare	630	19	-1
13	Elk Rapids	633	19	3
14	Saugatuck	719	22	-3
15	Leslie	729	23	1
16	Bath	737	24	1
17	Caro	740	25	-14
18	Dansville	819	26	2
19	Erie Mason	836	27	-11
20	Sanford-Meridian	847	25	-4
21	Monroe St. Mary CC	875	27	-4
22	White Cloud	893	20	-14
23	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	912	21	2
24	Buchanan	919	22	-15
25	Manchester	919	27	-12

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	Traverse City St. Francis	190	19	0
2	Pewamo-Westphalia	207	24	0
3	Jackson Lumen Christi	218	23	0
4	Hart	249	20	0
5	Elk Rapids	302	19	0
6	Lansing Catholic	327	24	-2
7	Caro	330	25	1
8	Leslie	393	23	1
9	Benzie Central	432	20	-2
10	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	446	21	1
11	Onsted	497	23	-1
12	Kalamazoo Christian	503	22	2
13	Charlevoix	586	19	-2
14	Kent City	623	21	-3
15	Monroe St. Mary CC	644	27	2
16	Stanton Central Montcalm	646	21	0
17	Ithaca	702	24	3
18	Schoolcraft	783	22	0
19	Sandusky	816	25	0
20	Clinton	830	27	-6
21	Grass Lake	830	27	0
22	Remus Chippewa Hills	856	20	-5
23	Blissfield	861	27	-6
24	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	894	21	-1
25	Laingsburg	901	24	2

East Grand Rapids: Sometimes in the early season, it’s okay to get your butt kicked. On a mid-September Friday at Spartan, that may have been how the EGR boys felt. Entering the race as a team capable of placing first amongst D2 boys, they placed 2^nd, almost 100 points behind Chelsea. Redemption was on the mind at Otsego and redemption was more than accomplished. Praise can be placed upon Davis Christy, who came in ahead of Chelsea’s 4^th and FHE’s 5^th, a single place being a crucial point in a closely-knit D2 field.

East Grand Rapids: As mentioned in Drew’s writeup, the Pioneers have thrown out a litany of lineups this year. Their top five came in fractured at Bath, Spartan, and Otsego. Cougar Falcon is a race we can point to that shows what EGR is capable of once their lineup is complete. At Gainey Fields, the Pioneers placed 2^nd behind the continually ascending Otsego teams, but their strength may lie in larger fields. Camryn Bodine shows up on the track as someone to fear on that second lap of an 800m, she may loom large as a displacer that’s performing better and better each week, evidenced by her first sub-20 of the season a few weeks back.

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	East Grand Rapids	216	18	-2
2	Chelsea	218	12	0
3	Forest Hills Eastern	219	12	2
4	Adrian	249	18	0
5	Pinckney	278	16	0
6	Grand Rapids Christian	360	11	0
7	Otsego	380	13	0
8	Dearborn Divine Child	494	18	0
9	St. Johns	518	14	0
10	Freeland	572	15	-1
11	Sparta	644	10	-1
12	Holland Christian	670	11	-1
13	St. Clair	679	17	-1
14	Allendale	691	11	-4
15	Petoskey	700	10	5
16	Wayland Union	769	12	0
17	Spring Lake	828	11	-12
18	Linden	831	16	-5
19	Frankenmuth	854	15	2
20	Clio	864	15	0
22	Fremont	889	10	-4
21	Yale	889	17	6
23	Hamilton	892	11	-4
24	Marshall	903	12	5
25	Grand Rapids South Christian	924	12	4

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	East Grand Rapids	103	12	0
2	Otsego	140	13	-1
3	Grand Rapids Christian	191	11	1
4	Zeeland East	309	11	-1
5	Forest Hills Eastern	313	12	1
6	Spring Lake	332	11	-1
7	St. Joseph	366	13	1
8	Goodrich	460	16	0
9	Alma	496	15	0
10	St. Johns	513	14	-5
11	DeWitt	525	14	-3
12	Frankenmuth	565	15	2
13	Grand Rapids South Christian	597	12	1
14	Hudsonville Unity Christian	616	11	-8
15	GR West Michigan Aviation	626	12	4
16	Monroe Jefferson	646	18	-7
17	Williamston	657	14	-13
18	Owosso	667	14	-1
19	Petoskey	680	10	1
20	Shepherd	710	15	7
21	Freeland	741	15	4
22	Ludington	754	10	-4
23	Chelsea	760	18	7
24	Adrian	772	18	-4
25	Tecumseh	776	18	4

Northville: The past few weeks, the Mustangs have taken a break from the invitational grind, at least in terms of competing in the state of Michigan. Their last major appearance here was a win, another boring win over the best the state (and even Ohio) has to offer. The key to their victories has been the quality depth and rising stars. Watch out for Ben Hartigan, the freshman who finished sub-17 for the first time ever and also Brandon Latta, who’s been bringing it in the 16:40’s in any major race.

Ann Arbor Pioneer: Welcome back, Rachel Forsyth. Rachel won the JV race at the 2^nd SEC Red Jamboree then competed down in Ohio, coming across the line in 18:11. While her and Emily Cooper are mixing it up at the front, Rachel’s presence gives Pioneer one of the better 5^th girls in the State, whether that be Quincy Behm or Sylvia Sanok Dufallo.

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	Northville	182	6	0
2	Grand Haven	317	1	0
3	Brighton	354	4	-2
4	Traverse City Central	370	2	-10
5	Plymouth	383	6	2
6	Portage Central	417	3	2
7	Ann Arbor Skyline	478	4	-4
8	Romeo	485	9	2
9	Clarkston	509	8	2
10	Detroit Catholic Central	547	7	2
11	Forest Hills Central	562	3	2
12	Saline	564	5	2
13	Troy	589	8	-3
14	Port Huron Northern	595	9	2
15	Zeeland West	687	1	2
16	Ann Arbor Pioneer	703	5	-6
17	White Lake Lakeland	743	7	-6
18	Walled Lake Northern	765	7	3
19	Oxford	773	8	-6
20	Utica	810	8	1
21	Jenison	817	1	4
22	Salem	833	6	-5
23	Rockford	836	1	2
24	Caledonia	876	3	0
25	Dexter	902	4	-1

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Change
1	Ann Arbor Pioneer	163	5	-1
2	Holland West Ottawa	183	1	1
3	Brighton	360	4	0
4	Romeo	381	9	0
5	Saline	396	5	0
6	Okemos	429	2	0
7	Ann Arbor Skyline	496	4	-1
8	Northville	516	6	-1
9	Walled Lake Northern	525	7	2
10	Oxford	548	8	0
11	Macomb Dakota	588	9	-2
12	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	596	9	0
13	Traverse City West	620	2	2
14	Jenison	629	1	0
15	Traverse City Central	678	2	-9
16	Dexter	704	4	1
17	H.H. Dow	712	2	-1
18	Grand Haven	751	1	-2
19	Lowell	752	3	-12
20	Rochester	778	8	-7
21	Canton	793	6	4
22	Forest Hills Central	799	3	6
23	Troy	825	8	-3
24	Utica	826	8	3
25	Rockford	827	1	-7

Marquette: After a 14^th place finish in the Spartan Elite race, the Redmen bounced back with a complete domination of the El Hargar Invite, scoring 19 points, enough for a head to head win against the entire field. A key figure of consistency has been Chase Thomsen, reliably running ratings of 175+. Early on, that indicated he was capable of running in the low-17’s, he proved that possible last week when he wrecked his previous personal best with a 17:12. They’ll be at Portage on Saturday, hoping to apply the lessons they learned from Forest Akers.

Marquette: A great combination of youngsters up front running near the front of the UP pack and senior leadership towards the back, improving with each race. Courtney Larson is one of those seniors. She hasn’t quite reached the form that she attained in 2021 (where she placed 15^th in D1), though she raced to one of her better efforts at Munising’s El Hargar Invite, coming in as Marquette’s 4^th girl.

Rank	Team	Score	Division
1	Marquette	28	1
2	Sault Ste. Marie	112	1
3	Houghton	128	1
4	Painesdale-Jeffers	138	2
5	Negaunee	140	1
6	Gladstone	174	1
7	Escanaba	219	1
8	Stephenson	281	3
9	Dollar Bay	292	3
10	Kingsford	293	1

Rank	Team	Score	Division
1	Marquette	41	1
2	Houghton	71	1
3	Munising	149	3
4	Negaunee	152	1
5	Sault Ste. Marie	162	1
6	Hancock	167	2
7	Escanaba	193	1
8	Calumet	237	1
9	Stephenson	277	3
10	Gladstone	284	1