Division 2 State: Individual Ratings

Adjustment: +17

Projections vs. Reality

The pre-race projections thought 25-26 of the All-Staters would come in as expected, instead there were six underdogs.

Unexpected All-State

Annabelle Lowman, Ludington

Projected: 54^th, 13.4% chance of All-State

The Ludington girls have slowly been making themselves known at the elite levels. For Annabelle, it was a precipitous drop at the end of the year, transitioning from a 20-21 min. girl towards the low-18’s at both State and MITCA.

Nora O’Leary, Petoskey

Projected: 38^th, 33.4% chance of All-State

A patient first mile put her in position to gain a spot on the podium. Despite running essentially the same split (5:56, 5:59), Nora moved up from 42^nd to 17^th and held that position until the finishing stretch, where she moved into 16^th.

Samantha Brown, Clio

Projected: 35^th, 32% chance of All-State

Dramatic year-to-year improvement from this sophomore. As a freshman, she hung around the 20’s/high-19’s. Come her sophomore season, she was able to break her way into the 18’s, including a 18:37 closer here at MIS.

Layla Jordan, Goodrich

Projected: 33^rd, 19.6% chance of All-State

The mid-distance star is beginning to show flashes of distance discipline. Sub-19 in five of her final six races, including an 18:12 at MITCA.

Natalie Foltz, Frankenmuth

Projected: 34^th, 24.4% chance of All-State

It appears that the All-State tradition will continue over in Frankenmuth. The sophomore dropped 12 spots from her freshman year, hitting the 18’s for the third time on the year.

Caroline Randall, Hastings

Projected: 36^th, 33.8% chance of All-State

Your I-8 conference champion showed she’s a championship-level racer, earning 4^th in Region 12, winning the Barry County meet, then placing 29^th here.

All-State History

Emily Tomes

Take a gander at the Fifty Tickets done over the summer and you’ll notice a trend. The 7^th, 10^th, 11^th, 14^th, 15^th, 18^th, and 19^th spots were all taken by Division Two girls. Now I know my summer work isn’t the end all be all, but it’s all defined by previous track and cross seasons. And based on the 2022-2023 season, any one of those girls (and more!) could’ve won and we wouldn’t have batted an eyelash.

What was Emily’s case and argument? First, a reputation as a fierce racer. She came into view late in her freshman year, summoning a massive personal best in the heat of the D2 finals, breaking 19:00 for the first time ever. After a few years of growth, she returned to that stage, finding a fifth-place finish after a ferocious kick. Another one could come from track, where she displayed an increased amount of strength and endurance. She had lowered her personal best in the 1600m to well under 5:00, a 4:56 at the State Finals in fact. Earlier in the spring, a 10:44 at the Bluejay Elite 3200m gave her the 2^nd fastest returning mark in Division Two.

Her 2023 season started inauspiciously, with a 20:41 at Michigan Catholic. But if you know that course and Emily’s typical trajectory, in hindsight, you know that wasn’t a major cause for concern. Come mid-September, it was evident that her base level of fitness was much improved over previous years. In the major invites of the mid-season, Tomes was able to run into the mid-18’s on every occasion, a substantial improvement from the 19:00+ efforts of her junior year. Come championship time, it was only natural that she’d summon yet another level.

Just as predicted in the summer, the D2 girls race started with many candidates in the quest for glory. At the mile, 11 girls split between 5:36-5:39. At two, that front pack had whittled down to five, Tomes in the back, hanging in there and ready to pounce on any move. Coming onto the track, it was three: Elena Figueroa (setting up for a monster track season), Gail Vaikutis (4^th in the mud at RunningLane), and Tomes. Closer to three, the latter two had separated, and it came down to the finishing speed of Tomes and Vaikutis. The two will be teammates in the coming years at Michigan, but in this race here they were competing against one another, with Tomes prevailing in the final meters.

Movin’ Up

DeWitt’s Mia Williams was the queen of moving up through the race, passing 61 girls from the mile to the finish and 26 girls from 2 miles on, the tops from each split.

She didn’t, however, set the mark for runners passed down the home stretch, as that went to Grand Rapids South Christian’s Riley VanderLaan, who moved up 9 spots in the final 173m.

By far the quickest kick of the field was the winner, Emily Tomes, who split a 29-flat for the final tenth of a mile, hitting 4:10 pace.

Perfectly Paced

Mentioned earlier, Petoskey’s Nora O’Leary. Her 18:28 was the equivalent of 5:56 pace, which she maintained throughout the entire race. 5:56.5 at the mile, 11:55.6 at two (5:59), 17:54.3 through three (5:59). In doing so, she moved up 25 spots from one to two, held that position into three, then moved up one down the finishing stretch.

Other girls who were able to run close to even splits were:

Isabella Taber and Sydney Ferguson, both from DeWitt
Monroe Jefferson’s Jenna Pilachowski
Marshall’s Camille DeCola

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating
12	Emily Tomes	17:31.4	GR Catholic Central	163.9
12	Gail Vaikutis	17:33.6	St. Joseph	163.1
11	Elena Figueroa	17:46.6	St. Joseph	158.8
9	Ava Schafer	17:53.8	St. Johns	156.4
12	Natalie VanOtteren	17:58.2	Grand Rapids Christian	154.9
12	Drew Muller	18:06.0	East Grand Rapids	152.3
11	Emma Drnek	18:07.7	Zeeland East	151.8
12	Mary Richmond	18:13.1	Frankenmuth	150.0
12	Logan Brazee	18:16.0	Otsego	149.0
11	Kamryn Lauinger	18:21.2	Goodrich	147.3
12	Megan Germain	18:23.7	Otsego	146.4
11	Sadey Seyferth	18:24.8	East Grand Rapids	146.1
11	Sophy Skeels	18:25.5	Adrian	145.8
9	Annabelle Lowman	18:26.2	Ludington	145.6
11	Ezgi Kurt	18:27.3	Alma	145.2
12	Nora O’Leary	18:28.7	Petoskey	144.8
10	Emma Hoffman	18:31.3	Otsego	143.9
12	Meghan Ford	18:32.6	Mason	143.5
12	Kyla Meyers	18:34.7	Spring Lake	142.8
10	Lilah Poel	18:36.1	Grand Rapids Christian	142.3
9	Clara Kaczor	18:36.6	Freeland	142.1
10	Samantha Brown	18:37.1	Clio	142.0
11	Summer Brower	18:37.8	Ludington	141.7
12	Jenna Pilachowski	18:38.0	Monroe Jefferson	141.7
12	Camille DeCola	18:43.1	Marshall	140.0
12	Addison Washler	18:43.9	Forest Hills Eastern	139.7
11	Layla Jordan	18:44.7	Goodrich	139.4
10	Natalie Foltz	18:45.3	Frankenmuth	139.2
9	Caroline Randall	18:45.8	Hastings	139.1
10	Ellie Scholma	18:46.9	Grand Rapids Christian	138.7
12	Payton Holtz	18:49.1	Grand Rapids Christian	138.0
12	Abby Young	18:49.7	St. Johns	137.8
9	Baylor Lauinger	18:57.6	Goodrich	135.1
10	Meredith Cook	18:58.3	Zeeland East	134.9
12	Anastee Davis	19:01.6	Adrian	133.8
11	Natalia DeMea	19:02.8	Chelsea	133.4
9	Lucy Conzelmann	19:04.5	Frankenmuth	132.8
9	Olivia Hollebeek	19:05.0	Holland Christian	132.7
12	Tatum Dykstra	19:08.5	Fruitport	131.5
9	Ayda Skeels	19:08.9	Adrian	131.4
9	Eliana Stob	19:11.4	Holland Christian	130.5
12	Morgan Newton	19:12.8	Croswell-Lexington	130.1
11	Joy Evans	19:13.8	Alma	129.7
10	Alexis Kotkowicz	19:16.5	Spring Lake	128.8
12	Emma DeVries	19:17.1	GR West Mich. Aviation	128.6
11	Eva Thompson	19:17.5	Croswell-Lexington	128.5
12	Allison Kuzma	19:17.7	Zeeland East	128.4
10	Emma Crandell	19:18.7	Owosso	128.1
12	Bea Reeser	19:21.0	Spring Lake	127.3
9	Adeline Armstrong	19:22.0	East Grand Rapids	127.0
11	Avery Byrne	19:22.8	Goodrich	126.7
9	Ellery Lampen	19:23.4	Holland Christian	126.5
12	Ellia Agar	19:23.5	GR South Christian	126.5
9	Lane Isom	19:23.7	Richland Gull Lake	126.4
11	Lexie Ruffing	19:24.4	Spring Lake	126.2
12	Sparrow Centeno	19:25.2	Southgate Anderson	125.9
9	Mia May	19:25.7	Sparta	125.8
10	Linnea Paige	19:26.3	Fremont	125.6
11	Ava Crews	19:27.0	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	125.3
11	Nicole Schafer	19:27.2	Williamston	125.3
9	Jaelyn Ray	19:27.5	Pinckney	125.2
10	Falyn Doss	19:27.5	New Boston Huron	125.2
9	Claire Brown	19:28.1	Goodrich	125.0
11	Madison Morris	19:28.2	Tecumseh	124.9
12	Naomi Nelson	19:29.9	Grand Rapids Christian	124.4
10	Ava Pawlick	19:30.8	Petoskey	124.1
11	Nadia Grierson	19:33.2	Ludington	123.3
11	Karie Keefer	19:33.5	Freeland	123.2
9	Skylar Mejeur	19:33.9	Otsego	123.0
11	Kayla Williams	19:34.7	DeWitt	122.8
11	Courtney Bovair	19:35.2	Carleton Airport	122.6
11	Taylor Mitchell	19:35.3	Otsego	122.6
10	Katie Berkshire	19:35.7	Gaylord	122.4
12	Adia Sikkema	19:36.7	Grand Rapids Christian	122.1
10	Chloe Khon	19:37.6	Jackson Northwest	121.8
10	Miriam Kloha	19:39.9	St. Johns	121.0
12	Libby Summerland	19:40.6	Owosso	120.8
11	Chloe Josephson	19:42.5	Linden	120.2
9	Melody Meckstroth	19:43.1	Linden	120.0
9	Kylie Mausolf	19:44.3	Birch Run	119.6
11	Maria Nunning	19:45.4	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	119.2
9	Lucy Waalkes	19:46.0	Grand Rapids Christian	119.0
11	Mea D’Agostino	19:46.1	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	119.0
9	Alivia Ottinger	19:47.0	Goodrich	118.7
12	Ava Baltierra	19:47.7	Armada	118.4
11	Kathryn Kurtinaitis	19:49.2	Dearborn Divine Child	117.9
10	Taryn DiLaura	19:49.6	Zeeland East	117.8
12	Claire Marosi	19:51.3	GR Catholic Central	117.2
11	Madison Johnson	19:51.5	Paw Paw	117.2
12	Maddie Bosch	19:51.9	Hudsonville Unity Christian	117.0
10	Jillian Clason	19:54.3	Forest Hills Eastern	116.2
12	Clara Fletcher	19:56.2	St. Johns	115.6
9	Sydney Timmons	19:56.6	Otsego	115.5
11	Elizabeth Ambroggio	19:56.7	Warren Regina	115.4
9	Diya Goyal	19:57.3	Cranbrook Kingswood	115.2
11	Mia Williams	19:57.8	DeWitt	115.1
12	Kirsten Koss	19:58.9	Dearborn Divine Child	114.7
9	Sophia Schafer	19:59.1	Williamston	114.6
11	Ayla Holben	19:59.3	DeWitt	114.6
9	Molly Gaudard	19:59.3	Flint Kearsley	114.6
9	Grace Mahaffy	20:00.3	Goodrich	114.2
10	Berkley Holtz	20:01.0	Sturgis	114.0
12	Emma Steele	20:01.7	Vicksburg	113.8
12	Jaeden Harshberger	20:02.4	Hopkins	113.5
12	Jennifer Hernandez-Medina	20:03.0	Three Rivers	113.3
11	Autumn Thompson	20:04.2	DeWitt	112.9
11	Grace Murphy	20:05.4	Flint Powers Catholic	112.5
11	Preslee Perkins	20:06.4	Stevensville Lakeshore	112.2
10	Jada Prescott	20:06.6	Freeland	112.1
11	Kayla Slade	20:06.6	Dearborn Divine Child	112.1
12	Ava Boggs	20:07.8	Flint Kearsley	111.7
11	Desiree Duque-Rico	20:07.9	GR West Mich. Aviation	111.7
12	Katherine Riemersma	20:08.0	Spring Lake	111.7
12	Riley Peer	20:09.1	Monroe Jefferson	111.3
9	Ainsley Sullivan	20:10.3	Forest Hills Eastern	110.9
10	Isabella Taber	20:11.6	DeWitt	110.5
10	Sydney Ferguson	20:11.8	DeWitt	110.4
11	Nell Stover	20:12.6	Detroit Country Day	110.1
12	Jade Murdoch	20:13.0	St. Joseph	110.0
11	Julionna West	20:14.2	Owosso	109.6
10	Josie Longcore	20:14.6	Plainwell	109.5
10	Brooklynn Brown	20:16.8	Cadillac	108.7
10	Reese Supianoski	20:17.2	Williamston	108.6
9	Hayden Lemieux	20:19.4	Paw Paw	107.9
11	Hayven Thiel	20:19.9	Corunna	107.7
10	Christina Theis	20:20.7	Ludington	107.4
10	Avery Turk	20:21.2	New Boston Huron	107.3
12	Daniela Hinojos	20:22.3	Riverview	106.9
11	Josie Jenkinson	20:22.4	Owosso	106.9
11	Brooklyn Khon	20:23.0	Armada	106.7
10	Samantha Bieber	20:24.8	Chelsea	106.1
9	Addison Josephson	20:25.1	Linden	106.0
10	Madelyn Baar	20:25.3	East Grand Rapids	105.9
12	Avery Hecksel	20:25.6	East Grand Rapids	105.8
10	Elise Barden	20:25.9	Frankenmuth	105.7
12	Molly O’Brien	20:29.0	Bloomfield Hills Marian	104.7
11	Autumn Brower	20:29.2	Ludington	104.6
12	Remington Arney	20:30.1	Newaygo	104.3
12	Brooklyn Springvloed	20:31.3	GR South Christian	103.9
9	Samantha Whitlam	20:33.2	Macomb Lutheran North	103.3
11	Cami Kraai	20:34.9	Whitehall	102.7
12	Kennedy Roskopp	20:35.5	Warren Regina	102.5
12	Cecilia Ruchti	20:35.8	St. Joseph	102.4
12	Dora Henry	20:36.0	Haslett	102.3
11	Claire Heller	20:36.2	Detroit Country Day	102.3
11	Lillian Rutallie	20:36.6	Marysville	102.1
10	Alyssa Korte	20:38.0	Grosse Ile	101.7
12	CamBrie Corey	20:38.6	Petoskey	101.5
12	Paige Kloha	20:39.2	Freeland	101.3
10	Megan Kuzma	20:39.5	Zeeland East	101.2
11	Landrey Kuhn	20:40.8	Freeland	100.7
12	Gabby Fernandez	20:41.0	Warren Regina	100.7
10	Meghan Guczwa	20:42.9	Spring Lake	100.0
10	Tessa Hatt	20:43.2	Sturgis	99.9
9	Sidney Shepard	20:44.3	Linden	99.6
11	Natalie Lentine	20:44.5	Warren Regina	99.5
9	Zora Ziolkowski	20:46.7	Chelsea	98.8
11	Mary Larocca	20:48.4	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	98.2
11	Natalie Summerland	20:48.7	Owosso	98.1
11	Brynn Hurley	20:49.1	Croswell-Lexington	98.0
11	Lauren Thompson	20:52.2	Chelsea	96.9
11	Bethany Zimmerman	20:52.3	Spring Lake	96.9
12	Merceydez Patton	20:53.3	Muskegon Oakridge	96.6
9	Ella McInerney	20:53.9	Cadillac	96.4
10	Beatrice Perucchetti	20:54.5	St. Joseph	96.2
10	CC Kuras	20:57.5	Zeeland East	95.2
9	Isabel Reinke	20:58.1	Freeland	95.0
10	Gabby Cleveland	21:00.7	Frankenmuth	94.1
11	Rachel Berkenpas	21:02.0	GR South Christian	93.7
12	Analise Chelotti	21:02.6	DeWitt	93.5
9	Ahna Woltjer	21:03.3	GR West Mich. Aviation	93.2
9	Hannah Haines	21:03.8	Madison Heights Lamphere	93.1
9	Gabriella Komarowski	21:04.6	St. Clair	92.8
12	Mackenzie Keillor	21:05.2	Ludington	92.6
10	Sydney Bir	21:05.3	Sturgis	92.6
12	Kennedi Wood	21:10.3	Sparta	90.9
10	Anna Kujansuu	21:11.1	Dearborn Divine Child	90.6
12	Riley VanderLaan	21:11.6	GR South Christian	90.5
10	Grace Kooyer	21:11.7	GR South Christian	90.4
12	Skotti Ball-Duley	21:12.8	Owosso	90.1
11	Kate Paluszewski	21:12.9	Dearborn Divine Child	90.0
9	Allison Brandt	21:14.3	Ludington	89.6
11	Kim Miller	21:15.2	Monroe Jefferson	89.3
11	Charlie Drew	21:16.4	Niles	88.9
12	Reagan Brooks	21:16.7	Linden	88.8
9	Lydia Johnson	21:18.0	St. Joseph	88.3
12	Eliza Nelson	21:18.9	Croswell-Lexington	88.0
9	Ella Thornton	21:20.9	St. Clair	87.4
10	Rebekah Stachura	21:21.6	Otsego	87.1
11	Madalynn Karsies	21:22.1	Pinckney	87.0
10	Molly McNabb	21:22.6	St. Clair	86.8
9	Claire Dunn	21:23.5	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	86.5
11	Abby Robinson	21:26.2	Gladwin	85.6
10	Rory Workman	21:29.2	East Grand Rapids	84.6
11	Jillian Wygonik	21:31.3	Dearborn Divine Child	83.9
11	Lorelei Mahon	21:31.4	Warren Regina	83.9
12	Seren Angus	21:31.6	Chelsea	83.8
9	Sofia Lewis	21:31.8	GR West Mich. Aviation	83.7
12	Marisa Mazza	21:32.4	Cadillac	83.5
10	Lili Zondervan	21:32.6	GR South Christian	83.5
11	Quincy Stiffler	21:33.2	East Grand Rapids	83.3
12	Ava Fahrenkopf	21:34.3	Linden	82.9
10	Chloe Rinzema	21:35.6	GR South Christian	82.5
12	Sylvia Thomas	21:38.5	St. Johns	81.5
9	Flora Ramos	21:39.9	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	81.0
12	Brianna Albers	21:40.3	Richmond	80.9
11	Allie Komarowski	21:40.9	St. Clair	80.7
10	Cessaly Fichtner	21:41.0	Freeland	80.7
10	Elizabeth Salinas	21:41.5	Dearborn Divine Child	80.5
10	Aubrey Sargent	21:42.0	St. Clair	80.3
10	Nora Buys	21:46.2	GR West Mich. Aviation	78.9
12	Lily Sackrider	21:47.0	St. Johns	78.7
11	Lydia Finn	21:52.3	St. Johns	76.9
12	Allisyn Pagel	21:53.1	Adrian	76.6
10	Pauline Chapman	21:58.9	Richmond	74.7
12	Sydney Hoffman	22:09.3	Petoskey	71.2
11	Mia Schroeder	22:10.4	Monroe Jefferson	70.9
9	Addie Main	22:10.5	Cadillac	70.8
11	Addison Mikel	22:16.0	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	69.0
11	Clare Conzelmann	22:17.0	Frankenmuth	68.7
12	Kaitlyn Miller	22:17.1	Frankenmuth	68.6
12	Alyssa Masserant	22:17.8	Monroe Jefferson	68.4
10	Sofie Dzik	22:18.7	GR West Mich. Aviation	68.1
12	Clara Fredenberg	22:18.7	Chelsea	68.1
10	Catherine Kipila	22:22.1	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	67.0
10	Kenzie Eicher	22:24.1	Sturgis	66.3
12	Abagayle Barkley	22:27.1	Croswell-Lexington	65.3
12	Lauren Cole	22:27.3	Petoskey	65.2
9	Riley Schweitzer	22:30.3	Linden	64.2
9	Eleanor Park	22:32.0	Sturgis	63.7
9	Greta Meisel	22:34.5	Petoskey	62.8
12	Addison Bellows	22:35.2	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	62.6
11	Clair Bacon	22:48.9	St. Clair	58.0
12	Marah Putnam	22:52.6	Chelsea	56.8
12	Hadley Hilt	22:58.1	Cadillac	55.0
10	Piper Tracy	22:58.4	Cadillac	54.9
9	Zoe Barnes	22:59.2	Cadillac	54.6
9	Jaylynn Maduri	23:06.8	Croswell-Lexington	52.1
11	Eden Brewer	23:09.4	St. Clair	51.2
10	Madeline Pacola	23:11.8	Petoskey	50.4
11	Kat Wilson	23:25.9	Zeeland East	45.7
10	Nancy Gordon	23:27.6	Adrian	45.1
9	Carlee Bakewell	23:30.8	Adrian	44.1
12	Paityn Modert	23:32.0	Sturgis	43.7
11	Carly Old	23:50.1	Croswell-Lexington	37.6
9	Madelyn Yezback	24:00.2	Warren Regina	34.3
11	Sofia Switalski	24:03.1	Warren Regina	33.3
11	Kylie Brooks	24:09.4	Sturgis	31.2
10	Teagyn Blevins	24:55.3	Adrian	15.9

Adjustment: +18

Projections vs. Reality

D2’s boys had perhaps the highest number of breakthroughs and underdogs thus far, with 7 of the 30 All-State athletes getting in there when unexpected.

Unexpected All-State

Caleb Palmreuter, Gladwin

Projected: 32^nd, 49.3% chance of All-State

What a difference a year makes. Spent the majority of his junior year above 16:30, was a consistent low-16/high-15 kid as a senior.

Nolan Nixon, Cadillac

Projected: 52^nd, 11.4% chance of All-State

Toughness prevailed. Due to injury, Nolan missed much of the summer. He slowly worked his way through the year, beginning in the 17’s and working his way down to a 15:45 here.

Isaac Staib, St. Johns

Projected 37^th, 24.4% chance of All-State

When he’s been on, he’s really been on. Sub-16 on a few occasions throughout the year, such as a 15:50 at Bluejay and a 15:46 here. A sleeper to do some big things in the 800m this spring.

Ezekiel Baltierra, Alma

Projected 33^rd, 37.2% chance of All-State

The lone freshman boy in the top-30. His final three races were all of the sub-16 variety, getting progressively faster from Region 15 to here to MITCA.

Andrew Yax, Clio

Projected: 49^th, 6.9% chance of All-State

Picked the absolute right time to submit his first sub-16 ever. A 15:47 here was a 15 second personal best and over a minute faster than his performance the previous year.

Henry Cox, Plainwell

Projected: 43^rd, 9.7% chance of All-State

Capped off an incredible senior year that included wins at Delton-Kellogg, Bangor, and Region 13. Henry ventured under the 16:00 mark on three occasions as well.

Moises Salazar, Adrian

Projected: 34^th, 33% chance of All-State

Second consecutive All-State for this young sophomore, who was sub-16 in his final three races.

All-State History

TJ Hansen

Again, take a gander at the 50 Tickets and another theme will come forth. The high-quality, returning depth entering the season for these Division Two boys. They took up six spots in the top-ten, often unheard of as D1 takes up almost half of the state’s runners. You had a defending champ in Connell Alford, low-9 3200m runners in Solomon Kwartowitz, Nate Carmody, and Paul Moore, a mid-15 returner in Evan Loughridge, and your defending 3200m champ in TJ Hansen.

TJ entered high school with all the potential, a pressure that often proves too much for some. He’s handled it admirably, progressing with patience each step of the way. As a freshman, he accumulated many honors, such as the Saginaw County Championship and a Region 15 title, then in the closing stage, acquitting himself to MIS with a 12^th place finish. A few months later during track, he was able to set the Michigan freshman record in the 2-mile, a 9:28 (the 3200m record held by Ben Hill, a 9:20) at New Balance Nationals.

The advancement continued in future seasons. I could recite stats and places all day, but I think the story of the end of his sophomore year speaks great volumes. Following the accident, faced with many reasons not to run, many fallback options if a race was going sideways, TJ persevered through the pain to secure another regional championship and a move up to 5^th at D2’s State Finals. I have no doubt the confidence gained from pushing through tremendous pain has aided him in the coming seasons.

What has occurred in those coming seasons? A 3200m championship in the spring. His 9:11 wasn’t the fastest time of the season, but consider the conditions, blazing heat in early June. He came into that race with the third-fastest time in the field, but outlasted the rest of the field, a testament to his ability to block out any negativity during a race. Here, a State Championship. You know me, I like my charts, and here’s one of the top-30 finishers and their times over the final 1.1 miles:

If there’s anything that shows his dominance over the final stages of the race, the above is it, TJ’s split on the botton left. Over 10 seconds clear of any elite competitor on the finishing road to a State Title.

His impactful finishing ability was again on display this past weekend at NXN. The patient young man came through 1k in 79^th, 2k in 39^th, and by the time 4k came around, he was in 10^th, a spot he held until the finish. With only one underclassman ahead of him, TJ will have the opportunity in coming years to further etch his name into Michigan running lore.

Movin’ Up

A dramatic jump was executed by Parma Western’s young Edison Lopeman. The sophomore moved from 137^th at the mile to 51^st at the line, advancing 86 whole places.

Similarly dramatic was Allendale’s Mason Hill, who was 108^th at two and 65^th at the finish line.

The Parma Western distance crew must be tough and fierce in the finishing stretch, because they had the best closer in the field. Titan Parker moved up 10 places in the final tenth of a mile, laying down a 25.1 split, the equivalent of sub-4 pace. Put that boy in an 800m this spring!

Perfectly Paced

The most even of even splits were delivered by the experienced Connell Alford. The result here in early November may not have been what he wanted. But he’s still running, competing this upcoming weekend at FootLocker. My guess is that ability to lock in and handle a tough pace may have something to do with his 2^nd consecutive trip to San Diego. Anyhow, his 15:11 at MIS equated to 4:53 pace. His splits were right there on the mark: 4:52.5, 4:53.3, and 4:52.7.

Joining him in that metronome category were:

His Bulldog teammate, Jackson Dell
Allendale’s Ronnie Silveira
Two All-Staters across each gender that stayed steady, Marshall’s Jack Bidwell
Another Parma Western kid, Cooper Singleton

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating
11	TJ Hansen	14:52.8	Freeland	216.4
12	Solomon Kwartowitz	15:03.3	Cranbrook Kingswood	212.9
12	Connell Alford	15:11.2	Chelsea	210.3
11	Jack Bidwell	15:13.0	Marshall	209.7
12	Paul Moore	15:13.5	Pinckney	209.5
11	Henry Dixon	15:16.0	Forest Hills Eastern	208.7
12	Alex Thole	15:20.6	East Grand Rapids	207.1
12	Logan Ruffner	15:23.7	Riverview	206.1
11	Colin Murray	15:27.7	Dearborn Divine Child	204.8
12	Evan Loughridge	15:28.5	Pinckney	204.5
12	Braylon Petty	15:29.9	Adrian	204.0
12	Noah Lambers	15:31.8	Holland	203.4
12	Sean Pettis	15:34.9	Fremont	202.4
10	Ronnie Silveira	15:35.5	Allendale	202.2
12	Nolan Pinion	15:38.3	Lake Fenton	201.2
12	Ethan Sandula	15:41.6	Pinckney	200.1
11	Simon Triezenberg	15:42.2	Grand Rapids Christian	199.9
12	Caleb Palmreuter	15:43.4	Gladwin	199.5
12	Ryan Brinker	15:43.8	East Grand Rapids	199.4
12	Nolan Nixon	15:45.1	Cadillac	199.0
12	Elliott Sirianni	15:45.6	Clio	198.8
10	Owen Metzger	15:45.7	Sparta	198.8
12	Isaac Staib	15:46.2	St. Johns	198.6
9	Ezekiel Baltierra	15:46.5	Alma	198.5
12	Andrew Yax	15:47.8	Clio	198.1
12	Gregory Janesak	15:52.7	Sparta	196.4
11	Henry Cox	15:52.7	Plainwell	196.4
10	Moises Salazar	15:52.9	Adrian	196.4
12	Liam Hinman	15:53.0	Forest Hills Eastern	196.3
12	Brendan Hoving	15:54.3	Forest Hills Eastern	195.9
10	Jonah Workman	15:56.3	East Grand Rapids	195.2
11	Alex Doneth	15:57.6	Mason	194.8
12	Shay White	15:58.0	St. Joseph	194.7
12	Dylan Clark	15:58.9	Grand Rapids Christian	194.4
10	Vincent Pattison	16:00.4	Goodrich	193.9
11	Nolan Inglis	16:01.6	DeWitt	193.5
12	Nate Carmody	16:03.7	Haslett	192.8
12	Cooper Jacobsen	16:05.3	Forest Hills Eastern	192.2
11	Landen Wise	16:07.4	Frankenmuth	191.5
11	Dylan Lydic	16:07.6	Haslett	191.5
11	Seth Mead	16:08.1	Gladwin	191.3
10	Thomas Larson	16:09.9	Alma	190.7
11	Elijah Christensen	16:10.9	Gladwin	190.4
11	Kilian Whalen	16:11.5	Allendale	190.2
12	Giovanni Pardo-Keegan	16:14.1	Yale	189.3
11	Abatu Dykstra	16:14.4	Hamilton	189.2
12	Shane Izzard	16:15.2	Petoskey	188.9
12	Acer Campbell	16:15.3	Yale	188.9
11	Reece Davis	16:17.1	Marshall	188.3
11	Parker Tiethof	16:17.7	Allendale	188.1
10	Edison Lopeman	16:18.3	Parma Western	187.9
11	Sullivan Zietlow	16:18.9	Three Rivers	187.7
11	Dominic Lowrie	16:19.4	BC Harper Creek	187.5
12	Isaac Veen	16:20.1	Plainwell	187.3
12	David Murphy	16:20.8	Flint Powers Catholic	187.1
11	Will Engbers	16:21.9	Holland Christian	186.7
12	Brewer Snay	16:21.9	Macomb Lutheran North	186.7
12	William O’Dell	16:22.1	BC Harper Creek	186.6
10	Donovan Ryan	16:23.6	Plainwell	186.1
10	Bryce Gross	16:24.0	Flint Powers Catholic	186.0
12	Matthew Canales	16:24.4	Adrian	185.9
12	Tommy Farley	16:25.3	Petoskey	185.6
10	Kenny Sheffer	16:25.3	Otsego	185.6
12	Jacob Montgomery	16:25.9	Ionia	185.4
9	Mason Hill	16:26.4	Allendale	185.2
12	Jonathan Koetje	16:27.2	Grand Rapids Christian	184.9
11	Cougar Clark	16:27.2	Frankenmuth	184.9
11	Ben Gross	16:27.4	Allendale	184.9
10	Ben Verellen	16:29.3	Gladwin	184.2
11	Stewart Waters	16:29.7	Whitehall	184.1
12	Joe Waalkes	16:30.0	Grand Rapids Christian	184.0
12	Aiden Krueger	16:30.4	Niles	183.9
12	Ali Kudmani	16:30.7	Alma	183.8
11	Jack Lillywhite	16:31.0	Flint Kearsley	183.7
12	Cooper Singleton	16:31.4	Parma Western	183.5
11	Jeb Hillary	16:31.6	GR Catholic Central	183.5
12	Matthew Schreiner	16:32.3	Otsego	183.2
9	Cole McCraw	16:32.9	Pinckney	183.0
10	Jack Edison	16:33.4	East Grand Rapids	182.9
11	Caleb Wesseldyk	16:34.4	Otsego	182.5
11	Nolan Longuski	16:34.9	Shepherd	182.4
11	Tyler Endres	16:35.3	Forest Hills Eastern	182.2
9	Abraham McHugh	16:35.5	Marshall	182.2
10	Aden Ashworth	16:36.1	Allendale	182.0
12	Luke Glasgow	16:36.8	Spring Lake	181.7
10	Brett Magnus	16:37.2	Frankenmuth	181.6
12	Blake Ferguson	16:37.8	Yale	181.4
9	Bryce Cahoon	16:38.3	Shepherd	181.2
11	Carter Sherman	16:38.5	Fremont	181.2
10	Elijah Baltierra	16:39.2	Alma	180.9
10	Luke Dulecki	16:39.5	New Boston Huron	180.8
11	Dylan Pallett	16:39.7	Wayland Union	180.8
11	Aidan Goodwin	16:40.6	Otsego	180.5
12	Dane Bailey	16:41.3	Edwardsburg	180.2
10	Murphy Wagner	16:41.5	Saginaw Swan Valley	180.2
10	Anthony Plana	16:41.9	Frankenmuth	180.0
12	Connor Griffith	16:42.1	Marshall	180.0
12	Chase Nyack	16:42.4	Adrian	179.9
12	Dylan Distelrath	16:42.9	St. Clair	179.7
12	Brennan McKone	16:43.5	DeWitt	179.5
12	Tate Miller	16:43.6	Forest Hills Eastern	179.5
10	Caleb Carignan	16:45.6	Flint Powers Catholic	178.8
11	Logan VanHouten	16:45.7	Otsego	178.8
9	Lucas Aardema	16:45.7	East Grand Rapids	178.8
12	Parker Hays	16:46.2	Pinckney	178.6
11	Owen Saylor	16:46.9	Dowagiac Union	178.4
12	Luke Ueland	16:48.2	Forest Hills Eastern	177.9
12	Jackson Nyack	16:48.4	Adrian	177.9
11	Hayden Gould	16:50.4	Big Rapids	177.2
11	Simon Erfourth	16:51.3	Owosso	176.9
12	Peter Kuperus	16:51.6	Grand Rapids Christian	176.8
12	Keiran Murphy	16:51.9	Flint Powers Catholic	176.7
11	Andrew Commeret	16:52.0	Comstock Park	176.7
11	Jacob Hopkins	16:52.5	Detroit Country Day	176.5
11	Aidan Brinks	16:53.3	Holland Christian	176.2
11	Zach Newman	16:54.3	Pinckney	175.9
11	Noah Jarvis	16:54.7	Berrien Springs	175.8
11	Holten Mulherin	16:54.9	Otsego	175.7
11	Justin Bradford	16:55.6	Sparta	175.5
11	Bodie Heiss	16:56.0	Alma	175.3
12	Brady Odenbach	16:58.3	Petoskey	174.6
12	Ian Richthammer	16:58.5	GR Catholic Central	174.5
12	Hayden Holmes	16:58.5	Riverview	174.5
11	Will Whitmore	16:59.5	Holland Christian	174.2
12	John Whitman	17:00.0	Gladwin	174.0
12	Jackson Dell	17:01.8	Chelsea	173.4
9	Ryan Good	17:03.7	Parma Western	172.8
12	Jack Lindwall	17:04.4	Petoskey	172.5
12	Abdul Ghennewa	17:05.6	New Boston Huron	172.1
10	Thad VanderLaan	17:06.0	GR South Christian	172.0
10	Hunter Parsons	17:06.0	Whitehall	172.0
10	Micah Small	17:07.4	Grand Rapids Christian	171.5
12	Kenny Evans	17:07.5	Corunna	171.5
12	Joshua Simpson	17:08.3	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	171.2
12	Matthew Schrauben	17:08.5	St. Johns	171.2
12	Peter Huey	17:08.9	Flint Powers Catholic	171.0
12	Ian Martin	17:09.1	Linden	171.0
11	Kaiden Gore	17:10.4	Marshall	170.5
10	Zahar Rush	17:13.4	Petoskey	169.5
12	Sunishthh Singh	17:14.5	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	169.2
12	Xander Maliska	17:15.0	St. Johns	169.0
9	Silas Skeels	17:15.3	Adrian	168.9
11	Isaak Brook	17:15.5	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	168.8
10	Trent Hansen	17:15.8	Plainwell	168.7
10	Linus Helzerman	17:18.0	Chelsea	168.0
12	Arnot Heller	17:18.1	Detroit Country Day	168.0
11	Tamer Zahr	17:18.6	Dearborn Divine Child	167.8
10	Reagan Ward	17:18.6	St. Johns	167.8
10	Landon Gerritsma	17:19.5	Holland Christian	167.5
11	Keegan Hoekstra	17:19.8	Grand Rapids Christian	167.4
10	Joseph Horn	17:19.9	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	167.4
12	Jamison Snay	17:20.8	Macomb Lutheran North	167.1
9	Ethan Kreger	17:21.5	St. Clair	166.8
12	Luke Bounerba	17:22.8	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	166.4
11	Kyle Osborne	17:23.0	Pinckney	166.3
11	Wyatt Murtos	17:24.6	Yale	165.8
9	Nicklas Parker	17:25.7	Frankenmuth	165.4
12	Liam Troutner	17:25.8	Plainwell	165.4
11	Bobby Donley	17:26.9	Corunna	165.0
12	Dylan Schumann	17:27.0	St. Clair	165.0
9	Kevin Terpstra	17:27.6	Alma	164.8
11	Brayden Rynsburger	17:29.0	Holland Christian	164.3
11	Billy Pipkorn	17:30.1	Plainwell	164.0
12	Eric Shan	17:30.2	Cranbrook Kingswood	163.9
12	Cullen Black	17:30.2	St. Johns	163.9
11	Vincent Pollock	17:30.4	Fruitport	163.9
11	Ethan VandenHaute	17:31.2	Cranbrook Kingswood	163.6
10	Luca Lebron	17:31.8	Alma	163.4
11	Jerry Westrick	17:33.4	St. Clair	162.9
10	Alex Culver	17:34.2	Howard City Tri-County	162.6
11	Parker Fettig	17:34.7	Petoskey	162.4
12	Anthony Goatley	17:35.2	Madison Heights Lamphere	162.3
10	Brayden Prieskorn	17:38.2	St. Clair	161.3
10	Beckett Boos	17:39.7	Chelsea	160.8
10	Marek Borgstahl	17:40.6	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	160.5
11	Isaac Meyers	17:40.8	Sparta	160.4
12	Davis Christy	17:41.5	East Grand Rapids	160.2
10	Sam Hillary	17:41.6	East Grand Rapids	160.1
11	Teddy Rutkofske	17:41.7	Yale	160.1
11	William Melton	17:42.4	Parma Western	159.9
12	Luke Nawrocki	17:42.6	Armada	159.8
10	Jagger Clark	17:43.6	Frankenmuth	159.5
12	Jacob Howes	17:44.1	Three Rivers	159.3
11	Isaak Rubley	17:45.8	Dundee	158.7
9	Mason Raborn	17:46.2	DeWitt	158.6
12	Alex Robertson	17:46.7	Marine City	158.4
11	Nathan Steen	17:47.6	Holland Christian	158.1
11	Braylen Eaton	17:47.7	Charlotte	158.1
11	Ian Goodrich	17:48.1	DeWitt	158.0
12	Dylan Odenbach	17:49.6	Petoskey	157.5
10	Gavin Markucki	17:50.2	Richland Gull Lake	157.3
10	Spencer Phillpotts	17:51.3	Flint Powers Catholic	156.9
12	Liam Reynolds	17:52.8	Allendale	156.4
12	Israel Garcia	17:53.6	Riverview	156.1
11	Skye Smith	17:54.0	Vicksburg	156.0
11	Korbyn Thornton	17:54.2	St. Clair	155.9
12	Isaac Perez	17:55.1	Three Rivers	155.6
11	Titan Parker	17:55.8	Parma Western	155.4
9	Carter Fenner	17:56.1	Adrian	155.3
11	Nicholas Nakic	17:56.9	Dearborn Divine Child	155.0
9	Cole Coffman	17:57.7	Holland Christian	154.8
10	Matthew Wright	17:57.8	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	154.7
10	Xavier Roman	17:59.2	Macomb Lutheran North	154.3
9	Myles Robinson	18:00.1	Gladwin	154.0
10	Jonah Zietlow	18:00.4	Three Rivers	153.9
9	Will Chelotti	18:02.0	DeWitt	153.3
9	Caiden Caswell	18:03.5	Vicksburg	152.8
11	Jonah Deems	18:06.7	Sparta	151.8
11	Maximiliano Juarez	18:07.6	Dearborn Divine Child	151.5
11	Owen Crowder Smith	18:08.3	Cranbrook Kingswood	151.2
10	Nolan Korolden	18:09.4	Yale	150.9
11	Rhett Bunker	18:09.5	Sparta	150.8
10	Reece Howes	18:09.8	Three Rivers	150.7
11	Pete Lutz	18:10.6	Madison Heights Lamphere	150.5
11	Brant Maley	18:13.3	Chelsea	149.6
10	Alex Martin	18:14.4	Chelsea	149.2
10	Ross Wallace	18:15.0	Harper Woods	149.0
10	Jack Estelle	18:16.0	Hopkins	148.7
12	Ashton Argo	18:17.6	DeWitt	148.1
10	Braylon Lenneman	18:17.8	DeWitt	148.1
10	Isaac Fullerton	18:17.8	Parma Western	148.1
9	Jonathan Rapoza	18:18.4	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	147.9
12	Micah Morehouse	18:18.5	Marshall	147.8
12	Jackson Lillrose	18:19.0	Marshall	147.7
10	Jackson Ellis	18:19.1	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	147.6
9	Grant Goodwin	18:20.0	Dearborn Divine Child	147.3
10	Thomas Beiter	18:20.9	Flint Powers Catholic	147.0
9	Gunnar Djerf	18:23.1	Otsego	146.3
10	Bela Matyus	18:23.7	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	146.1
12	Bretton Fischer	18:23.9	Cranbrook Kingswood	146.0
12	David Martin	18:24.4	Parma Western	145.9
11	Kale Kovach	18:31.4	Yale	143.5
12	Jayden Robertson	18:41.3	Marine City	140.2
10	Trey Hall	18:45.3	Three Rivers	138.9
10	Jack Sherer	18:46.4	Plainwell	138.5
11	Jack Fox	18:53.4	Grosse Ile	136.2
9	Wyeth Angus	18:54.0	Chelsea	136.0
11	Ethan Lewis	18:54.4	Dearborn Divine Child	135.9
10	Bryce Johnson	18:56.7	Gladwin	135.1
12	Robert Modrzejewski	19:00.8	Dearborn Divine Child	133.7
10	Oliver Alef	19:01.8	Macomb Lutheran North	133.4
12	Krish Kalmadi	19:04.7	Cranbrook Kingswood	132.4
12	Tyler Buckland	19:05.2	Armada	132.3
10	Cole Pergram	19:15.5	Frankenmuth	128.8
9	Peter (Tsz Ching) Mei	19:16.2	Cranbrook Kingswood	128.6
12	Ryan Delarosa	19:16.9	Macomb Lutheran North	128.4
12	Robert Yoder	19:18.1	Three Rivers	128.0
10	Carson Wood	19:19.3	Sparta	127.6
10	Colin Boullard	19:25.3	St. Clair	125.6
12	Cervantes Woodworth	19:32.8	St. Johns	123.1
11	Grayson Sutherland	20:03.9	Macomb Lutheran North	112.7
9	Evan Billings	20:06.6	St. Johns	111.8