Portage, our great bellwether for the season’s progress, has come and passed. There were many affirmations and a few surprises. You’ll see a bit more movement in these rankings this week, as more recent meets are weighed more, early season meets mean less and less.
If you’ve followed these over the past few years, you may know the gist of these, but let’s break it down once again:
The individual ratings take into account all the meets listed here. There are a few meets missing that I’ll link to, but pretty much any meet with a significant number of athletes will have been calculated. An individual’s rating takes their best 75% of rated races (rounding up, so 4 of 5, 5 of 6, etc.), weighs them with more recent races having a higher weight, then spits out a final rating. The team rankings score those individuals as if they were in a meet against their entire division.
As a result of taking into the entire season into account, the rankings will be more conservative and less reactionary than most. Putting together a great performance once will bring about a tiny bit of movement, doing so repeatedly will elicit much greater change.
There are a few changes from previous years:
- No more ratings of weekday, conference meets
- Why? One, often these aren’t raced all out and end up underrating a runner. Two, to lessen my workload. I’d rather concentrate on these rankings and use the weekend invites that are more likely to be raced hard to determine the rankings.
- Using the top 75% of races instead of 67%
- Why? If I’m gonna use fewer overall races from a runner’s resume, I have to make up for it in some way.
- No more individual rankings posted to social media
- Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
- More writeups focused on the top teams and individuals, rather than just handpicking one each week
- I’ve found that when it comes toward state time, I know all the numbers and what a kid might run, but have a tough time pointing toward a narrative. Hopefully writing a little recap and what to look forward to will help in that regard. I started with three for the first rankings, then five this week, and so on.
- Posting these one division at a time
- If you’ve noticed, I always go Division 4 first, trending towards Division 1. This is done intentionally! Traditional media always focuses on the larger schools. By focusing on the smaller divisions first, they get the love that they might not normally receive.
Unfortunately, the injury rule is in place, where if I don’t have a rating from the past month, that runner is taken out. If you’re willing to share (and I can understand why not – someone’s medical situation doesn’t have to be the public’s business) that your athlete or you yourself are healthy/injured, feel free. There are some exceptions based on situations that make sense. Hopefully these don’t rub salt in the wound of someone who’s already hurting.
Now I need to be serious for a minute. These are for fun. If you don’t like these fun rankings, you don’t need to participate, you don’t need to call me names, talk trash to your fellow competitors, or send rude emails. We good here? Enjoy.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK RANKINGS
WEEK FOUR RANKINGS
WEEK THREE RANKINGS
Whitmore Lake
Week Three: “Winners of the Small School division at John Bruder, winners of the entire Birch Run Early Invite. Went up against stacked D4 competition in USA, Kingston and came away victorious, held their own against D1 competition at Lamplighter. Emergence of Sofia Robertson has been a major help.”
Week Four: “Putting four girls in the top six, the Trojans cruised to a victory over #4 Hillsdale Academy and #5 Breckenridge.“
Championship Week: Over the past few weeks, the Trojans have won the first MIAC Jamboree, won at Stockbridge, and finished 3rd at Jackson. Each of the latter two, they’ve finished ahead of a bevy of D3/D4 rivals.
Carina Burchi is beginning to find herself, helping keep the Trojans afloat while they go through a tough stretch. Third at Portage, but a season’s worth of work weighs heavy in the rankings.
Johannesburg-Lewiston
Week Three: “Full squad hasn’t competed together yet. Half were at Under the Lights, half at Red Devil. Getting Harlie Fox, a middle school sprinter, to run a 21:00 opener keeps them in contention with Whitmore Lake.”
Week Four: “No notable action from these girls, but we’ll get plenty of info these next three weeks with Jackson, Bluejay, and Portage on the docket“
Championship Week: Just individuals competing for the Cardinals these past few weeks, some solid performances contained within. Harlie Fox blasted a 25+ second personal best at Jackson and Madalyn Agren/Yolanda Gascho were their solid selves at Shepherd.
Danielle Agren unequivocally had her best effort of the year, helping the Cardinals win at Portage.
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Week Four: “The Warriors emerged victorious in the Silver Division at Sparta, winning their race by 2 points over a field full of Division 3 teams. Personal bests from their top four girls, including a massive leap from freshman Leah Sneller.“
Championship Week: The Warriors are in quite the competition for the Alliance League. In the past two weeks, they’ve suffered a single point defeat to West Michigan Aviation and then won by that single point. Those close competitions likely paid off at Allendale Falcon, where WMC placed four girls in the top-8 en route to a Small School victory.
The emergence of Kaylie Riksen is the kicker for these Warriors. They may have the best fifth runner in D4, an excellent sign that they’re ready to compete in early November.
Hillsdale Academy
Week Three: “Iris Millies has been a key early season contributor, continuing her 23:00 streak, but only faster. Then you have those usual suspects, the Brownlees and the last of the Roberts (yes I know this is incorrect, but it was written and I own my mistakes). Saturday, the Colts are going against Whitmore Lake, which I think will be a good depiction of their fitness.”
Week Four: “Held off a rising Breckenridge team by placing four girls ahead of the Huskies’ third girl. Grace Brownlee locked it down as their fifth girl, running nearly a minute personal best on a tougher course.“
Championship Week: Ella Walton is beginning to return to the form that’s placed her in the top-50 at MIS these past two years. A 20:48 at Jackson was her best late September time on that Sharp Park course.
Abby Brownlee was huge earlier in the week, the tiebreak on a Colt victory in the 2nd SCAA Jamboree. Then the payoff came at Portage, where she hit 21:05 for a personal best.
Gobles
Championship Week: In smaller meets, the Tiger girls can have a huge impact up front. For example, at the 2nd SAC Jamboree, they placed 3 in the top-4, enough to cruise to a 13 point win over Saugatuck and D3-ranked Fennville.
The question has always been: how can they perform in a large field? Well, when Madison Cooley drops a minute from Otsego, reaching into the 20’s for the first time ever, that question is answered. The Tigers rode Cooley’s outstanding performance to a 4th place finish in Portage.
Saugatuck
Championship Week: Have some of the best depth in the division, upperclasswomen such as Anna McQueary, Alayah Nieuwsma, and Leilani Schoonmaker who will surely drive a difference in larger fields.
Were missing Anna McQueary this past weekend, but Leilani Schoonmaker helped make up for her absence. Her 21:37 was a Portage PR and assisted the Trailblazers to a 9th place finish, pretty good for missing an essential piece.
Breckenridge
Week Four: “Third place in a tough, tough Division 5 at Holly. Have one of the deeper teams in Division Four, which can be an asset in the larger meets to come. With the progress of Tori Most and Nataly Vine, expect the Huskies to put five in before most other D4 rivals.“
Championship Week: Turned a wonderful Bluejay performance and brought it into a dominant day at the first MSAC Jamboree, placing all seven varsity girls in the top-13.
Cleaned house in the MSAC before taking the drive to Portage and grabbing a 7th place finish. The Huskies were missing their 5th girl but welcomed the return of Avery Westall to the 21’s.
Harbor Springs
Championship Week: Bluejay was the Rams’ first major meet of the year and they showed out big time, winning the Jays Division over a host of D3/D4 schools.
Kept it close to home, competing in their home invite. We’ll get a better glimpse of their fitness after today, where they host the LMC Championship.
Kingston
While much of the D4 competition headed out west, the Cardinals were beating up on D1 schools at Heritage. Their 3rd place finish was ahead of two of them, plus a D3 team.
Buckley
Watch out for the Bears. Seriously though, even though their ranking here has stayed the same, their point totals in my hypothetical meet have lessened. Over 400 three weeks ago, 349 last week to 338 this week. As later season meets get weighed more and Mikayla Kulawiak keeps dropping PRs, expect the Bears to move up.
| Place | Team | Region | Score | Champ Wk | Week 4 | Week 3 | Summer |
| 1 | Whitmore Lake | 33 | 121 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 | 126 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 | 143 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | Hillsdale Academy | 34 | 253 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | Gobles | 31 | 291 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 7 |
| 6 | Saugatuck | 31 | 317 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 12 |
| 7 | Breckenridge | 30 | 327 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 13 |
| 8 | Harbor Springs | 28 | 330 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 3 |
| 9 | Kingston | 35 | 335 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| 10 | Buckley | 29 | 338 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| 11 | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian | 36 | 440 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 8 |
| 12 | Grand Traverse Academy | 29 | 465 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 18 |
| 13 | Mason County Eastern | 29 | 505 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 10 |
| 14 | Concord | 32 | 542 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 14 |
| 15 | Pittsford | 34 | 562 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 17 |
| 16 | Unionville-Sebewaing | 35 | 580 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 20 |
| 17 | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart | 30 | 599 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 11 |
| 18 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 32 | 614 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 15 |
| 19 | Novi Christian Academy | 33 | 678 | 18 | 22 | NR | NR |
| 20 | Royal Oak Shrine | 36 | 687 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 16 |
| 21 | Allen Park Cabrini | 36 | 697 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 26 |
| 22 | St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic | 31 | 745 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 19 |
| 23 | Fowler | 33 | 749 | 22 | 21 | 24 | NR |
| 24 | Leland | 29 | 784 | 30 | 28 | 26 | NR |
| 25 | Ubly | 35 | 793 | 23 | 27 | 27 | 23 |
| 26 | Beal City | 30 | 811 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 25 |
| 27 | Petoskey St. Michael | 28 | 827 | 27 | 29 | 28 | NR |
Hillsdale Academy
Week Three: “Two invites, two wins. Perhaps most telling was their opener across town, where the Colts comfortably beat top D3 teams in Hanover-Horton and Jonesville. As with their girls, the boys should face another stiff test at Holly – going against the likes of Breckenridge, Lutheran Westland, Whitmore Lake, amongst others. Guess I’ll have to get to Holly early.”
Week Four: “First place in Holly’s Division Five race, by way of putting all seven in the top-18. Hard to believe given his lengthy career on big stages, but a personal best for Grayson Rorick.”
Championship Week: An excellent race plan at Jackson led to a victory over top-ranked D3 schools such as Hanover-Horton, Lumen Christi, and Jonesville. The Colts’ 4th through 7th packed up early, picking off competitor after competitor, leading to Lindley and Rahe placing 32nd and 33rd.
Freshman Ryan Miller inserting himself into the Colt Top-5 makes a deep team even deeper. HA put six boys under 18:00 at Portage on their path to a nearly 30 point win.
Johannesburg-Lewiston
Week Three: “Given their top 3 boys, it was always gonna be about what came from their 4th and 5th runners. I know it was a fast track at East Jordan, but having Layman under 18:00 and Fulton in the mid-18’s combined with Coach Marcum’s careful training gives the Cardinals much potential.”
Week Four: “Just like their girls, off this week, with a ton of prime opportunities to peer at their fitness in the coming weeks.”
Championship Week: Brought Malaki Gascho and Blake Fox to Jackson, where each ran in the 16’s. Will hopefully have their full squad at Portage so we can get a proper assessment of their place.
Full squad was locked in and the Cardinals were in championship form. Blake Fox’s 16:20 was a 35+ second Portage best.
Saugatuck
Championship Week: Coming along nicely, then shocking the D4 world at Allendale Falcon. The Trailblazers placed all of their scorers under 18:00, which will take you many places in the smaller divisions.
Sawyer Monroe returned to the form he displayed earlier in the year at Holly. His 17:06 was a significant personal best and if he keeps it up, gives Saugatuck two certifiable frontrunners.
Holland Calvary Christian
Week Three: “Of their top nine runners at South Christian, eight were freshmen. When looking at the results as a whole, their 9th place in the Starlight division might not seem impressive, but please pay attention to the field – it was primarily D1/D2 teams.”
Week Four: “In the Silver race at Sparta, eked out a single point victory over a rising WMC squad. Gave a shoutout to Gibson White in the Sparta post, but let’s call out both Caleb Adkins and Eli Laninga here, as both were crucial to their trophy, finishing ahead of the Warriors’ fifth runner and hitting PB’s along the way.”
Championship Week: Just as the Harbor Springs girls did, took the win in the Jays Division (D3/D4 schools) at Bluejay. Caleb Adkins stepped up again, running his 3rd consecutive personal best.
Riley Weed ascended back into the #1 spot for the Crusaders. The young squad proved again that no stage is too large, placing 6th amongst D4’s best outfits at Portage.
Three Oaks River Valley
The Berrien County Championship may not have gone the Mustangs way, but Portage sure did. More than half of their athletes ran a season/personal best and by my numbers, pretty much everyone ran significantly better. All in all, a 4th place finish.
Mason County Eastern
Week Four: “Winners of the Small School division at Benzie and leaders in the WMD as of now – and that was before getting Alex Tyndall back.”
Championship Week: Fairly dominant performance at the 2nd WMD Jamboree, where the Cardinals placed six guys in the top-8.
Laying low, doing their thing on tougher courses these past few weeks. In a field composed of mainly D3 teams, finished 2nd at Cecil Burch.
Kalamazoo Hackett
Week Four: “Second place in the initial SAC Jamboree, a higher conference finish than any that the Irish had in 2022.”
Championship Week: Coming in off a week full of winning, both at the 2nd SAC Jamboree and at Otsego Bulldog. I’ve been told to not pay attention to the times from the jamboree, but I can’t help to notice that all the Irish scorers ran a personal best.
As Sean Siems has improved, so have the Irish’s fortunes. 17:36 at Portage marked three consecutive sub-18’s and aided in their 5th place spot.
Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
Championship Week: Just as their girls, locked in a battle with WMA for Alliance League supremacy. The Warriors have lost each of the jamborees, but have considerably cut the gap in scoring.
Dramatic rise of Owen Sytsema has coincided with the Warriors moving into the top-10. In a mere six weeks, he’s gone from an opener north of 20:00 to the 17’s.
Royal Oak Shrine
Championship Week: Only one meet in the past two weeks, leaving a great opportunity to get some solid training block in before the big meets begin. In that CHSL Jamboree, the Knights placed first, helped by Cerone in first, but also placing four boys in the top-11.
D4 schools tend to be concentrated in rural areas, of great distance to major cities. The opposite is true, where Oakland County is made up of D1 schools. So when you have the Oakland County Meet, a top D4 team such as Shrine might finish 19th of 36. But when filtered for just D4, the Knights were first.
Maple City Glen Lake
Quick work for the Drown’s to get the Lakers into the top-10. The improvement has been evident in the NWC, where they moved from 3rd at the first jamboree to 2nd in the most recent one.
| Rank | Team | Region | Score | Champ Wk | Week 4 | Week 3 | Summer |
| 1 | Hillsdale Academy | 34 | 173 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 | 247 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 3 | Saugatuck | 31 | 278 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 5 |
| 4 | Holland Calvary Christian | 31 | 309 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Three Oaks River Valley | 32 | 333 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 |
| 6 | Mason County Eastern | 29 | 347 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 32 | 397 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 8 | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 | 408 | 7 | 11 | 15 | 12 |
| 9 | Royal Oak Shrine | 36 | 428 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 37 |
| 10 | Maple City Glen Lake | 29 | 504 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| 11 | Harbor Springs | 28 | 518 | 10 | 28 | 25 | 4 |
| 12 | White Cloud | 30 | 585 | 17 | 16 | NR | 15 |
| 13 | Lutheran Westland | 36 | 589 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 22 |
| 14 | Breckenridge | 30 | 592 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 18 |
| 15 | Marine City Cardinal Mooney | 36 | 598 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 25 |
| 16 | Harbor Beach | 35 | 600 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 31 |
| 17 | East Jackson | 34 | 604 | 18 | 14 | 13 | 23 |
| 18 | Tri-Unity Christian | 31 | 645 | 16 | 19 | 21 | NR |
| 19 | Frankfort | 29 | 659 | 20 | 15 | 12 | 14 |
| 20 | Petoskey St. Michael | 28 | 659 | 19 | 20 | NR | 7 |
| 21 | Muskegon Catholic Central | 31 | 706 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 17 |
| 22 | Whitmore Lake | 33 | 745 | 23 | 22 | 19 | 9 |
| 23 | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian | 36 | 756 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 27 |
| 24 | Battle Creek St. Philip | 32 | 821 | 24 | 24 | 22 | 20 |
| 25 | Adrian Lenawee Christian | 34 | 838 | 25 | NR | NR | 13 |
| 26 | Pentwater | 29 | 848 | 26 | 23 | 20 | 16 |
| 27 | Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary | 30 | 870 | 28 | 26 | 23 | 49 |
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Kaylie Livingston
Week Three: “Introduction to HS cross country has been a resounding success. Three races, three wins, three efforts in the low-18’s.”
Week Four: “Continued her streak of sub-19’s onto a tougher track at Springfield Oaks. Kaylie once again dominated from start to finish, leading her Trojans to victory and hitting the second fastest time of the day.”
Championship Week: Gained valuable experience racing some of Division 3’s best at Jackson and Stockbridge. Both were low-18 efforts and I was impressed by her ability to battle back at Jackson.
Looking back to Jackson, I recall a blistering first mile, the pack coming through in 5:30. Well, Kaylie was a part of another burner on Saturday, 5:27 at the mile. This time she summoned the strength to take that to victory, her 17:48 being her 2nd sub-18 of the year.
Aiden Harrand
Week Three: “Personal best at Benzie was two years in the making. Her 17:52 knocked 16 seconds off her previous record. Effort at Bear Country was likely a bit more controlled (and probably underrates her here), yet still another victory. I think we’ll get a matchup vs. Kaylie at Portage, only a month away.”
Week Four: “Three days after the Bear Country Invite, Aiden showed what she can truly pop on her home course, her 17:40 contributing to her little team’s win in the first NWC Jamboree.”
Championship Week: An aggressive start led to her best time on the Shepherd course, her 17:46 ending up 24 seconds faster than her performance at MITCA last year.
The rare defeat at the D4 level, but still 55 seconds quicker than last year. She’ll be back for the rematch, it’ll be as close to must see TV as we’ll get on a XC course.
Grace VanderKooi
Week Four: “Her 18:28 at Sparta made it three consecutive years in the 18’s. She’s won four of her five races this year, including the first Alliance League Jamboree.”
Championship Week: Took that 18:28 at Sparta and decided to one up herself, lowering her best to 18:25 this Saturday at Allendale. Winner of the first three Alliance League jamborees as well.
18:24 at Portage was yet another personal best and matched her best finish ever at Portage – the 3rd place that she achieved as a freshman.
Ava Teed
Week Four: “Nearly matched her effort at last year’s Huron Invitational. And when I say matched, I mean within a second. The only real difference is that, instead of finishing 2nd in the D2-D4 race, she was first.”
Championship Week: Continues to lower her personal best, dropping 15 seconds from her 18:58. That 18:43 at Lake Erie was against a ton of D2-D4 girls and by a major margin as well – 75+ seconds.
Two consecutive 3rd place finishes at the Wayne County Meet, covered the course nearly 20 seconds faster this time around.
Allie Nowak
Week Three: “Set the J-L school record with an 18:26 at Red Devil. For comparison’s sake, her opener as a sophomore was 20:32. By the end of her sophomore year, Allie had finished 3rd in Division 4.”
Week Four: “Feelin’ like a broken record here with the J-L folks, but some fast courses coming soon for these girls. Jackson, Shepherd, and Portage all being great opportunities for Allie to lower her personal best.”
Championship Week: Hasn’t raced in a few weeks, which has allowed for others to pass her by here. But with Portage on the horizon, there’s a great opportunity to move back up.
Second straight top-5 finish at Portage led to another Joburg victory.
Izzy Brooks
Championship Week: Even if a course runs fast as Stockbridge often does, you can still use other methods to compare. In her three years competing there, Izzy has moved up from 11th to 7th to 6th. And in time, gone from 19:52 to 19:18 to 18:44.
Second straight win at Hudson Booster is the perfect lead in to the Lenawee County Championship, an event she captured as a freshman.
Libby Smith
Championship Week: Frontrunner for the Tigers has been on quite a winning streak, with six straight victories. Among those, wins in the SAC and also major invites such as Otsego Bulldog.
Winning streak came to an end, but not before Libby registered her third-fastest time of the year.
Carina Burchi
Coming into her own lately, running her best two races of the year at Stockbridge and Portage.
Eliza Keith
Championship Week: After a subpar race at Spartan, bounced back big time with a personal best at the first MIAC Jamboree. Then proved again that she can race in a big field, running 19:31 on a hotter afternoon at Shepherd.
Oakland Christian took the weekend off, a necessary break before championship season. Earlier in the week, Eliza placed 3rd in the 2nd MIAC Jamboree, an incredibly tough conference.
Jane Manthei
Nearly halved her place at State from 2021 to 2022, can she do it again? 19:11 at Shepherd backed up with a 7th place finish at Portage, I like her chances.
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | Region |
| 1 | 9 | Kaylie Livingston | Whitmore Lake | 33 |
| 2 | 12 | Aiden Harrand | Buckley | 29 |
| 3 | 11 | Grace VanderKooi | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 |
| 4 | 12 | Ava Teed | Allen Park Cabrini | 36 |
| 5 | 11 | Allie Nowak | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 6 | 11 | Izzy Brooks | Adrian Lenawee Christian | 34 |
| 7 | 9 | Libby Smith | Gobles | 31 |
| 8 | 10 | Carina Burchi | Whitmore Lake | 33 |
| 9 | 11 | Eliza Keith | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian | 36 |
| 10 | 11 | Jane Manthei | Petoskey St. Michael | 28 |
| 11 | 11 | Ella Knudsen | Leland | 29 |
| 12 | 12 | Miriam Murrell | Gaylord St. Mary | 28 |
| 13 | 12 | Brooke Smith | Pittsford | 34 |
| 14 | 9 | Stefi Reskevics | Harbor Springs | 28 |
| 15 | 10 | Yolanda Gascho | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 16 | 12 | Madalyn Agren | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 17 | 10 | Sofia Robertson | Whitmore Lake | 33 |
| 18 | 10 | Taylor Wiegand | Livingston Christian | 33 |
| 19 | 9 | Ava DeYoung | Gobles | 31 |
| 20 | 11 | Juniper Rodham | Harbor Springs | 28 |
| 21 | 12 | Natalie Meadows | Whitmore Lake | 33 |
| 22 | 9 | Veyda Conley | Martin | 31 |
| 23 | 12 | Allison Glendening | St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic | 31 |
| 24 | 9 | Harlie Fox | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 25 | 9 | Haley Stimer | Concord | 32 |
| 26 | 12 | Isabella Yeoman | Genesee | 33 |
| 27 | 10 | Ruth Brownlee | Hillsdale Academy | 34 |
| 28 | 9 | Leah Sneller | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 |
| 29 | 11 | Presley Allen | Mendon | 32 |
| 30 | 10 | Ally Schmitz | Breckenridge | 30 |
| 31 | 9 | Lyvia Curtis | Saugatuck | 31 |
| 32 | 9 | Lauren Shaffer | Gobles | 31 |
| 33 | 11 | Abigail Davis | Vestaburg | 30 |
| 34 | 12 | Eleanor Kingshott | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 |
| 35 | 9 | Anna Sheppard | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart | 30 |
| 36 | 9 | Kamryn Sixberry | Saugatuck | 31 |
| 37 | 11 | Ella Walton | Hillsdale Academy | 34 |
| 38 | 10 | Lilah Kiley | Kingston | 35 |
| 39 | 11 | Ava Mallar | Pittsford | 34 |
| 40 | 9 | Addy Zeller | Bear Lake-Onekama | 29 |
| 41 | 12 | Grace Folkema | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 |
| 42 | 12 | Jacqueline Morton | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart | 30 |
| 43 | 12 | Leah Zarrilli | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian | 36 |
| 44 | 10 | Eleanor Cole | Lutheran Westland | 36 |
| 45 | 12 | Alberta Reinbold | Unionville-Sebewaing | 35 |
| 46 | 9 | Gabriella Siems | Kalamazoo Hackett | 32 |
| 47 | 9 | Kaylie Riksen | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 |
| 48 | 9 | Nolee Leppert | Beal City | 30 |
| 49 | 10 | Cieara Barrett | Concord | 32 |
| 50 | 11 | Stephanie Hernandez | Addison | 34 |
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Owen Patton
Week Three: ”The summer training and its added endurance have been paying off. Two wins, one in the small school division at John Bruder and the other in an opener at Chippewa Hills. But I’ve marveled at the consistency, through the tough or easy efforts, he’s run the equivalent of sub-16 each time out.”
Week Four: “After a series of quicker courses to begin the year, showed he can do the necessary work on the grittier ones. Evart rated as one of the slower courses on the year, but that didn’t dissuade Owen from cruising to a 20+ second win.”
Championship Week: Battling sickness and trudging through tougher courses led to a breakthrough on Saturday. A 15:36 in the Elite section at Bluejay, a 15 second personal best and showing that his early season fitness was real.
Captured his 2nd straight MSAC win on Wednesday
Thomas Holm
Championship Week: Had a huge breakthrough at Jackson, his 16:15 knocking a huge chunk off his previous best. For comparison’s sake, his 2022 effort at Jackson was 16:51.
Consistent high-level performances in major meets, certainly helped by his patient racing style. Moved up from 7th at the mile to 2nd at the 2-mile before crossing the line 4 seconds ahead of any other competitor.
Tyler Lenn
Week Three: “Win in the D2-D4 division at the Muskrat Classic was his first of the year. His 16:27 at Eastwood was 6 seconds faster than his junior effort, on a much slower course mind you.”
Week Four: “Cardinal Mooney had the weekend off, but raced during the week at the first CHSL CD Jamboree. Tyler lost to Abe Cerone by three seconds, which isn’t a negative at all when you see how Cerone fared at Holly.”
Championship Week: Has laid low these past few weeks, just competing in the CHSL Jamborees, placing 2nd in each.
Found a comfortable win at Marysville, a 10+ second win in the rain.
Abenezer Cerone
Week Four: “Three consecutive wins for this young sophomore. Mentioned above, he was victorious in an early CHSL matchup against Tyler Lenn. Then four days later, dominated the D4 Holly field with a 5-flat first mile and a lead that only grew from there. With more even pacing and an easier course, expect that 16:28 to fall soon.”
Championship Week: Along with his Knight boys, AC Ice has been well-rested these past few weeks. And for good reason – a big one is on the calendar, the Oakland County Championships, where this D4 kid has a wonderful chance to show he can hang with the big stars.
Held his own against those big stars, placing 16th at the County Meet, earning him a vaunted All-County selection.
Mason Sinke
Championship Week: As Abe captured the first WMD Jamboree, Mason brought home the second. If a.net doesn’t lie, that’s his first victory of his career.
16:13 at Portage was good for second place, a full minute faster than his time from 2022.
Abe VanDuinen
Week Three: ”Pound for pound, the competition for the boys WMD title is as good a conference battle you’ll find. The Redmans, Mason Sinke, and Abe are all likely to finish in the top-15 at Division 4 State. Abe was victorious on Wednesday, then ripped a sub-16 on Saturday.”
Week Four: “His 17:04 at Ludington was a win over a field containing a number of higher division runners and 75 seconds faster than his junior effort.”
Championship Week: The course over at Rycenga Park ran a bit slow, rare for this time of year. So don’t pay too much attention to the time, instead concentrate on another win, Abe’s fourth of the year.
First time competing at Portage and he hung in there with the heightened competition. 4th place and 16:21 in the D4 race.
Malaki Gascho
Championship Week: The 3-hour trip down 127 was made worth it, his 16:23 at Sharp Park affirming that ol ‘Ki is in championship shape, ready to step on that MIS podium yet again.
After missing much of the 2022 season, made his triumphant return to the rolling hills of the Kalamazoo area. Forty second improvement in those two years, with both being top-10 finishes.
Marek Butkiewicz
Moving his way through the SAC (3rd in the first jamboree, winner of the 2nd) as he establishes himself in the low-mid 16’s.
Kyle Redman
Championship Week: Following a rougher race at Cadillac, young Kyle more than made up for it at Shepherd. Using that #BlueJayBoost, he blasted a 16:27, his second-best mark of the year.
Showing he’s tough too, first of all D4 competition to come across the line at Pine River’s hilly and sandy course.
Matthias Morse
In the 23 races prior to Sparta, Matthias had been above 17:00 on every single occasion. Since then, three sub-17’s, including a 16:15 on their regional course at Allendale.
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | Region |
| 1 | 12 | Owen Patton | Vestaburg | 30 |
| 2 | 12 | Thomas Holm | Hillsdale Academy | 34 |
| 3 | 12 | Tyler Lenn | Marine City Cardinal Mooney | 36 |
| 4 | 10 | Abenezer Cerone | Royal Oak Shrine | 36 |
| 5 | 11 | Mason Sinke | Bear Lake-Onekama | 29 |
| 6 | 12 | Abe VanDuinen | Pentwater | 29 |
| 7 | 12 | Malaki Gascho | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 8 | 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | Kalamazoo Hackett | 32 |
| 9 | 9 | Kyle Redman | Mesick | 29 |
| 10 | 11 | Matthias Morse | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 31 |
| 11 | 12 | Michael Allen | East Jackson | 34 |
| 12 | 12 | Sawyer Stoneman | Breckenridge | 30 |
| 13 | 11 | Jeremiah Witt | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 14 | 11 | Colebrook Sutherland | Maple City Glen Lake | 29 |
| 15 | 12 | Blake Fox | Johannesburg-Lewiston | 28 |
| 16 | 10 | Grayson Rorick | Hillsdale Academy | 34 |
| 17 | 11 | Alex Tyndall | Mason County Eastern | 29 |
| 18 | 12 | Gavin Sehy | Kalamazoo Hackett | 32 |
| 19 | 9 | Ty Redman | Mesick | 29 |
| 20 | 10 | Landon Rogers | Three Oaks River Valley | 32 |
| 21 | 11 | Reece Poole | Hillsdale Academy | 34 |
| 22 | 10 | Brody Karg | Harbor Beach | 35 |
| 23 | 11 | Tyler Laansma | Tri-Unity Christian | 31 |
| 24 | 10 | Lynus Cadarette | Petoskey St. Michael | 28 |
| 25 | 10 | Sammy Gamboa | Saugatuck | 31 |
| 26 | 12 | Kaden Forward | Bear Lake-Onekama | 29 |
| 27 | 12 | Javin Mericle | East Jackson | 34 |
| 28 | 9 | Riley Weed | Holland Calvary Christian | 31 |
| 29 | 10 | Landen Livingston | Whitmore Lake | 33 |
| 30 | 9 | Sawyer Monroe | Saugatuck | 31 |
| 31 | 12 | Aiden Fitchett | Dryden | 35 |
| 32 | 9 | Anthony Rowe | Breckenridge | 30 |
| 33 | 11 | Coleson Cruzan | White Cloud | 30 |
| 34 | 10 | Cody Bradley | Petoskey St. Michael | 28 |
| 35 | 12 | Austin York | Three Oaks River Valley | 32 |
| 36 | 10 | Emmanuel Mehari | Plymouth Christian Academy | 36 |
| 37 | 10 | Carson Burgess | Brown City | 35 |
| 38 | 10 | Rich Fanti | Riverview Gabriel Richard | 36 |
| 39 | 9 | Noah Schipper | Holland Calvary Christian | 31 |
| 40 | 12 | Isaac Zammit | Marine City Cardinal Mooney | 36 |
| 41 | 12 | Myles Tilma | Byron Center Zion Christian | 31 |
| 42 | 9 | Gibson White | Holland Calvary Christian | 31 |
| 43 | 12 | Luke Sprague | Battle Creek St. Philip | 32 |
| 44 | 10 | Carter Clark | Carson City-Crystal | 30 |
| 45 | 10 | Charlie Gibson | Three Oaks River Valley | 32 |
| 46 | 12 | Mitchel Daniels | Pentwater | 29 |
| 47 | 12 | Connor Rouse | Genesee | 33 |
| 48 | 11 | Carroll Robotham | Frankfort | 29 |
| 49 | 9 | Sebastian Dunaway | Frankfort | 29 |
| 50 | 8 | Lincoln Laansma | Tri-Unity Christian | 31 |
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 
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