The Regional Previews: Division 1, Region 1

Last Year

SUMMER PREVIEW

MID-SEASON

REGIONAL PROJECTIONS

THE RESULT

Girls

1. Holland West Ottawa (State Champions)
2. Jenison (11^th)
3. Grand Haven (10^th)

Boys

1. Grand Haven (11^th)
2. Jenison (13^th)
3. Zeeland West (19^th)

Top 27 Teams

Previous years had top-25 teams, but there’s 27 (and sometimes more) team qualifiers and what does it hurt to add another two?

Girls

Holland West Ottawa (5^th), Grand Haven (9^th), Rockford (12^th), Jenison (18^th)

Boys

Grand Haven (4^th), Jenison (16^th), Zeeland West (21^st)

(If your team isn’t listed in the images above or the scores below, you probably don’t have five returners, at least on ol’ athletic.net. I’m sure many of these teams will fill out their rosters by late October)

Projected Scores

Place	Girls Team	Score
1	Holland West Ottawa	39
2	Grand Haven	62
3	Rockford	70
4	Jenison	109
5	Hudsonville	146
6	Zeeland West	177
7	Grandville	211
8	Cedar Springs	230
9	Muskegon Mona Shores	231
10	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer	281
11	Grand Rapids Northview	285
12	Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills	378
13	Grand Rapids Union	390
14	Muskegon	463

Place	Boys Team	Score
1	Grand Haven	43
2	Jenison	71
3	Zeeland West	84
4	Rockford	134
5	Cedar Springs	150
6	Hudsonville	156
7	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer	160
8	Holland West Ottawa	206
9	Grandville	214
10	Muskegon Mona Shores	239
11	Grand Rapids Northview	306
12	Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills	371
13	Grand Rapids Union	386
14	Wyoming	439
15	Muskegon	490

Top Runners

I’m making a slight change for the Division 1 folks. Previous regional writeups had the top finishers, even if they were mentioned in the Top 10’s or 50 Tickets. Because so many Division 1 kids make up the top 50 returners (which makes sense, since D1 covers about 60% of the state), I’ll write about a few returners beyond those 50. This will hopefully extend a bit more coverage towards more deserving athletes. Some of the 50 have been covered, others will get their own post. Check the Summer Preview page or keep checking back until Friday morning for those.

Ava Porras, Holland West Ottawa

Successful conclusion to the cross season spilled over into track, where from the 800m to the 3200m, she ranked in the top-5 amongst all freshmen.

Jordyn Klaasen, Zeeland West

A quiet, unheralded All-Stater these past two years. Two-time OK Green Conference champion as well.

Trinity VanderWoude, Rockford

Portage’s Early Bird is tomorrow and Trinity is a great reminder that your opener doesn’t make or break your season. You couldn’t have predicted her four consecutive sub-19’s and All-State finish from the 21:16 she ran at Portage West MS.

Natalie Lewis, Rockford

Primarily an 800m runner as a freshman, was able to move up to the 1600m as a sophomore without much issue. By season’s end, she had run 5:18, which likely helped give strength toward a 2:21 800m.

Maddie Vande Bunte, Jenison

Maggie, Lily, Claudia, and Maya have all left and gone their various directions, now Maddie is holding the torch for the next generation of Wildcats. Her junior year featured the breakthroughs we knew were possible, barreling into the 19’s and ripping a 5:19 during track.

Carter Livermore, Grandville

Like Trinity, you wouldn’t know much from his first race – a 20:33. You may recognize Carter from his final four. All under 16:30, including top-10 places in the OK RED and in this region.

Jaxon Allen, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer

Following in the footsteps of Klay Grant as the latest Rocket to blast toward the 15’s. His 15:59 at the GMAA Championship earned him a 3^rd place finish, his third consecutive top-10 there.

Mason Lucas, Jenison

Grew from a kid running mid-17’s to one knocking on the door of a sub-16. Thanks to a few late season breakthroughs, he’s right there, his 16:17 at the OK Red was a standout performance as was his 16:09 close at MITCA.

Nate Fahey, Rockford

Has really established himself as a miler these past two springs. He reached a season’s best of 4:30 as a sophomore, then this May finished 7^th in the ultra-competitive OK Red.