2022 Team Rankings – County Week

Portage, Oakland County, and Wayne County have come and past. I didn’t think it possible, but we learned a ton more about the D2 boys race and there was a decent amount of movement caused by the other lower division races. Given that it’s one weekend in an almost two month long season, one race has a minor affect on these. Coupled with a great county/league/regional, that’s where we’ll know if the performances stick.

Handling 12,000+ athletes, some rules are needed. I wish I had the time, brainpower, and omniscience to know every specific scenario, but I don’t. Here’s how I go about creating these:

• 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.
  • This protects against a team like Lumen Christi’s girls, their 3^rd girl out for Portage, from moving down
• 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 Lower Peninsula meets linked here have been taken into account, all Upper Peninsula meets posted to athletic.net are included (even the ones this week!)
• These are for FUN, even if you disagree with these, don’t tear anyone down in the process
  • If you do, I will make you work the Free Press Expo on the hardest concrete floor in existence

Looking forward to another weekend of great performances and learning about our outstanding teams!

Frankfort Boys: At the most, these ratings have covered three of Frankfort’s races, as a result, the data is a bit thin. Throw out the data though, these Panthers had a day! Six of their top seven raced to a personal best, generating a 5^th place finish for this Lake Michigan crew.

Rochester Hills Lutheran NW Girls: As any team has (the Michigan XC cold season is in top form), the Crusaders have found a bit of adversity in this mid-season. What’s impressive is the way they’ve responded. At Portage, their entire outfit finished in a PB or SB (Rita Luhring, almost 5 minutes better than her 2021 best), those efforts bringing forth a 2^nd place D4 finish. And their secret weapon is still lurking…

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	The Potter’s House	31	52	0
2	Petoskey St. Michael	28	184	0
3	Harbor Springs	28	255	0
4	Hillsdale Academy	34	279	0
5	Johannesburg-Lewiston	28	309	0
6	Adrian Lenawee Christian	34	321	0
7	Mason County Eastern	29	346	0
8	Three Oaks River Valley	31	370	-1
9	Whitmore Lake	33	375	1
10	Frankfort	29	414	-7
11	Concord	32	542	1
12	Ubly	35	573	1
13	Kalamazoo Hackett	32	592	1
14	Carson City-Crystal	33	619	1
15	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	36	629	1
16	Brown City	35	644	0
17	Royal Oak Shrine	36	667	2
18	Battle Creek St. Philip	32	687	-1
19	Mayville	35	698	1
20	Muskegon Catholic Central	31	731	0
21	Novi Christian Academy	33	743	-2
22	Dryden	35	767	1
23	Breckenridge	30	775	-1
24	Morenci	34	777	2
25	East Jackson	34	791	0

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	Johannesburg-Lewiston	28	146	0
2	Whitmore Lake	33	171	0
3	Hillsdale Academy	34	193	-1
4	Harbor Springs	28	201	1
5	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	36	369	-1
6	Unionville-Sebewaing	35	392	1
7	Kingston	35	422	0
8	Ubly	35	450	-1
9	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	36	497	1
10	Buckley	29	544	-2
11	Libertas Christian	31	556	1
12	Grand Traverse Academy	29	567	-4
13	Royal Oak Shrine	36	573	0
14	Leland	29	580	0
15	Breckenridge	30	581	0
16	Kalamazoo Hackett	32	583	-4
17	The Potter’s House	31	591	0
18	St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic	31	626	0
19	Farwell	30	634	0
20	Beal City	30	647	9
21	Pittsford	34	671	0
22	Lake Leelanau St. Mary	29	712	0
23	Allen Park Cabrini	36	748	-1
24	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	33	759	1
25	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	30	771	0

Hanover-Horton Boys: In a D3 race at Portage West that featured 4 of the top-10 boys teams, H-H firmly established themselves as a candidate for the #2 spot. Austin Brown, in particular, has been peaking at the right time, racing back-to-back 16:21s the past two weeks. Up front, Rogan Melling has been finding his usual late season form, and I love the steadiness of their youth on the back end.

Monroe St. Mary CC Girls: I have to drop wayyyy down to the #13 spot to find much change, much uprising. The Kestrels (one of the better nicknames out there) took their squad to Portage, running against much competition they’re not used to seeing. And they may have learned a bit about themselves in the process, finishing ahead of much of the D3 competition they might see in a few weeks. Freshman Bella LaFountain is a candidate for the All-State accolades, but don’t discount the major point drivers. Girls such as Samantha LaFountain, Maureen Smith, Leona Knudsen, and Claire Lisker are all competing at their highest levels this fall.

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	Hart	20	144	0
2	Hanover-Horton	23	266	-1
3	Traverse City St. Francis	19	277	1
4	Saranac	21	333	0
5	Reed City	20	404	0
6	Pewamo-Westphalia	24	429	0
7	St. Louis	25	477	0
8	Benzie Central	20	530	0
9	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	21	572	-1
10	Ithaca	24	582	1
11	Stanton Central Montcalm	21	598	0
12	Elk Rapids	19	671	-1
13	Clare	19	687	1
14	Leslie	23	736	-1
15	Saugatuck	22	760	1
16	Caro	25	779	-1
17	Jonesville	23	781	-9
18	Erie Mason	27	811	-1
19	Bath	24	816	3
20	Dansville	26	857	2
21	Monroe St. Mary CC	27	864	0
22	Sanford-Meridian	25	876	2
23	Buchanan	22	901	-1
24	Hudson	23	906	-7
25	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	21	919	2

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	Traverse City St. Francis	19	203	0
2	Pewamo-Westphalia	24	216	0
3	Jackson Lumen Christi	23	227	0
4	Hart	20	252	0
5	Elk Rapids	19	313	0
6	Lansing Catholic	24	345	0
7	Caro	25	346	0
8	Leslie	23	396	0
9	Benzie Central	20	421	0
10	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	21	460	0
11	Onsted	23	463	0
12	Kalamazoo Christian	22	522	0
13	Monroe St. Mary CC	27	587	-2
14	Stanton Central Montcalm	21	629	-2
15	Charlevoix	19	635	2
16	Kent City	21	654	2
17	Ithaca	24	688	0
18	Blissfield	27	695	-5
19	Remus Chippewa Hills	20	754	-3
20	Schoolcraft	22	805	2
21	Clinton	27	819	1
22	Grand Rapids West Catholic	21	829	-5
23	Laingsburg	24	843	-2
24	Sandusky	25	844	5
25	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	21	853	1

Pinckney Boys: Two races into his season, Ben Richards has had an immediate impact on the Pirates’ fortunes. At the initial SEC Jamboree, Pinckney finished behind Chelsea and Adrian. September 28^th, the second Jamboree, Ben’s presence lifted his team above Adrian. His second time to the starting line this year, a 35 second+ season best at Portage, he aided his team in lifting up a trophy.

Williamston Girls: Williamston was pegged a top-10 team to begin the year and they haven’t reached that level… yet. One can easily extrapolate and peek at the rankings from week to week, oh yeah, they’re getting there. The past three jamborees/invites, they’ve won. Five of their top seven had their highest rating of the season at CAAC Red 2. Greater Lansing is on the docket this weekend, a quick look at the teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if these Hornets are top-3 amongst all competition.

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	East Grand Rapids	12	195	0
2	Chelsea	18	198	0
3	Pinckney	16	229	-2
4	Forest Hills Eastern	12	248	1
5	Adrian	18	264	1
6	Grand Rapids Christian	11	328	0
7	Otsego	13	375	0
8	Dearborn Divine Child	18	432	0
9	St. Johns	14	548	0
10	Freeland	15	604	0
11	Petoskey	10	657	-4
12	St. Clair	17	669	-1
13	Sparta	10	692	2
14	Allendale	11	700	0
15	Holland Christian	11	729	3
16	Wayland Union	12	801	0
17	Battle Creek Harper Creek	12	831	-18
18	Linden	16	834	0
19	Fremont	10	835	-3
20	Hamilton	11	851	-3
21	Clio	15	856	1
22	Spring Lake	11	858	5
23	Yale	17	860	2
24	Frankenmuth	15	913	5
25	New Boston Huron	18	932	-1

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	East Grand Rapids	12	115	0
2	Otsego	13	133	0
3	Grand Rapids Christian	11	164	0
4	Spring Lake	11	313	-2
5	Zeeland East	11	344	1
6	St. Joseph	13	351	-1
7	Forest Hills Eastern	12	355	2
8	Goodrich	16	422	0
9	Alma	15	519	0
10	St. Johns	14	534	0
11	Williamston	14	570	-6
12	Grand Rapids South Christian	12	591	-1
13	GR West Michigan Aviation	12	591	-2
14	DeWitt	14	594	3
15	Frankenmuth	15	597	3
16	Monroe Jefferson	18	598	0
17	Hudsonville Unity Christian	11	618	3
18	Petoskey	10	706	-1
19	Owosso	14	713	1
20	Shepherd	15	720	0
21	Tecumseh	18	723	-4
22	Freeland	15	784	1
23	Adrian	18	793	-1
24	Chelsea	18	796	1
25	Sparta	10	800	-1

Saline Boys: Well, the Hornets were the shocker of the D1 Boys race at Portage. Jason Whitton was mentioned in the writeup, emitting a huge PB on Saturday. Sam Jackson and Truman Johnson did their thing up front, but the real points were saved by their 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th boys. Andrew McNally, Elijah Routson, and Shane Pitcher all set PB’s and had their best (or very close) rating of the season. With those three stepping up, the Hornets captured 2^nd place, confirming they’re the favorite for the SEC Red, Region 5, and possibly a podium spot at State.

Oxford Girls: In order to stave off tough, deep teams such as Walled Lake Northern or Stoney Creek, the Wildcats needed a few girls to raise their performances. Coming in right near that 21:00 was a whole gaggle of them: Addison Lester, Aubrey Mery, Natalie Bales, and Jamie Patterson. The first three had never run at Possum Hollow on the varsity stage and Jamie grabbed a second consecutive top-50 finish. If those four can work together down the stretch, Oxford will be in a great spot.

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	Northville	6	184	0
2	Grand Haven	1	344	0
3	Traverse City Central	2	347	-1
4	Brighton	4	371	1
5	Plymouth	6	389	0
6	Portage Central	3	409	0
7	Clarkston	8	459	-2
8	Romeo	9	502	0
9	Ann Arbor Skyline	4	511	2
10	Saline	5	529	-2
11	Forest Hills Central	3	539	0
12	Detroit Catholic Central	7	548	2
13	Troy	8	570	0
14	Ann Arbor Pioneer	5	612	-2
15	Port Huron Northern	9	644	1
16	Zeeland West	1	686	1
17	White Lake Lakeland	7	731	0
18	Kalamazoo Central	3	745	-8
19	Jenison	1	795	-2
20	Oxford	8	816	1
21	Utica	8	827	1
22	Walled Lake Northern	7	830	4
23	Salem	6	833	1
24	Rockford	1	898	1
25	Caledonia	3	914	1

Rank	Team	Region	Score	Change
1	Ann Arbor Pioneer	5	166	0
2	Holland West Ottawa	1	185	0
3	Brighton	4	302	0
4	Saline	5	351	-1
5	Romeo	9	401	1
6	Okemos	2	437	0
7	Ann Arbor Skyline	4	483	0
8	Oxford	8	539	-2
9	Northville	6	542	1
10	Walled Lake Northern	7	542	1
11	Traverse City West	2	552	-2
12	Jenison	1	581	-2
13	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	9	625	1
14	Macomb Dakota	9	628	3
15	Traverse City Central	2	647	0
16	Grand Haven	1	681	-2
17	H.H. Dow	2	688	0
18	Dexter	4	729	2
19	Rockford	1	735	-6
20	Forest Hills Central	3	794	-2
21	Rochester	8	808	1
22	Troy	8	821	-1
23	Canton	6	823	2
24	Forest Hills Northern	3	852	-4
25	Lowell	3	853	6

Engadine Boys: Having the slightest bit of time, I was able to go back and find Upper Peninsula results that I had missed. These Engadine boys have staked their claim to the EUP Conference title (it doesn’t appear there’s another jamboree). Their firepower is up front, with a range of ages. Senior Conrad Speiles and freshman Duane Krenek have both placed in the top-10 at both EUP meetings.

Hancock Girls: It don’t matter where it’s at in the race, if you’re tied and your 6^th is ahead of their 6^th, you win. Hancock’s Thea Tocquin was ahead of Calumet’s contributor, and the Bulldogs grabbed 2^nd place at last week’s Westwood Invite (that featured four of the UP’s top ten crews).

Place	Team	Score	Division
1	Marquette	42	1
2	Houghton	76	1
3	Munising	140	3
4	Hancock	183	2
5	Negaunee	185	1
6	Sault Ste. Marie	195	1
7	Escanaba	224	1
8	Calumet	228	1
9	Stephenson	296	3
10	Eben Jct. Superior Central	327	3

Rank	Team	Score	Division
1	Marquette	24	1
2	Sault Ste. Marie	123	1
3	Houghton	141	1
4	Painesdale-Jeffers	149	2
5	Negaunee	153	1
6	Gladstone	195	1
7	Escanaba	244	1
8	Ironwood	272	2
9	Engadine	308	3
10	Stephenson	324	3