2024 Rankings: UP, Homeschool, & Others – Championship Season

Week 3

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4

These rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/28). If a runner has had a rated race since September 1st, they’re included (sadly, I have to account for injured athletes). These are for fun and done for free. Enjoy!

Recap

Seeming like it’s all Marquette that I write about, but when you finish 4^th at Griak and win Bluejay, it’s all deserved. Vibes and numbers-based, I think they’re the 2^nd best team in Michigan right now. In any normal, non-Northville year, the best.

A new arrival to the top-10 is Ironwood, winners in the Baraga Invite. The Red Devils were able to place three seniors under 19. Leading the way has been Zach Smith, hitting the 17’s on each of his last two efforts, hoping to improve on his 9^th place D2 finish from 2023.

Looking Forward

Painesdale-Jeffers hoping to secure a Copper Mountain title. The Jets overwhelmed their foes at Ewen-Trout Creek, all varsity runners in the top-11, the kinda form that wins Division 2 titles.

Eastern UP battles between Rudyard and Engadine. Engadine claimed the first one at EUP #1, adjusting to the 4600m distance (due to logging – UP problems), 35-49 over Rudyard. You’ve got another EUP duel and the Rudyard Autumn Classic quick on the horizon.

All the Full Teams

Rank	Team	Score	Division	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Marquette	20	UP 1	198.8	1
2	Sault Ste. Marie	59	UP 1	178.1	2
3	Houghton	139	UP 1	152.2	3
4	Painesdale-Jeffers	152	UP 2	148.4	4
5	Gladstone	171	UP 1	140.0	5
6	Munising	229	UP 2	139.2	6
7	Rudyard	260	UP 2	127.9	7
8	Engadine	316	UP 3	117.7	8
9	Dollar Bay	355	UP 3	109.9	9
10	Ironwood	357	UP 2	112.3	12
11	Ishpeming Westwood	367	UP 1	110.1	10
12	Stephenson	367	UP 3	108.7	11
13	Menominee	393	UP 1	104.1	14
14	Gwinn	397	UP 2	95.1	13
15	Negaunee	407	UP 1	102.7	15
16	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	412	UP 2	101.4	16
17	Calumet	444	UP 1	66.7	17
18	Escanaba	460	UP 1	90.9	18
19	Manistique	488	UP 2	87.2	19
20	Eben Jct. Superior Central	533	UP 3	81.0	20
21	Newberry	580	UP 3	67.5	21
22	Hancock	593	UP 2	64.3	22
23	Kingsford	601	UP 1	52.1	23
24	Rock Mid-Peninsula	629	UP 3	49.2	NR
25	Powers North Central	635	UP 1	-15.8	24
26	Forest Area	677	UP 3	48.2	NR
27	Carney-Nadeau	757	UP 3	-41.5	25

Recap

Interesting week. At El Harger, Houghton rollllled over Marquette, 26-78. Four in the top seven, pure numbers up front on the way to a substantial victory. Then at Shepherd, the Sentinels’ 3^rd-5^th girls ran a solid two minutes faster, helping the team place 22^nd of 33 in the elite division. Perhaps they tempo’ed at Munising? Anyhow, both performances were indicative of teams capable of winning Division 1.

The largest move came from Chassell, their girls shifting from 14^th to 10^th. As the weather has turned, so too has Sylvia Aho, racing to two consecutive 21-min. efforts, a good 1-2 minute improvement from her freshman era.

Looking Forward

The big one seems to be the Houghton Invite, which will contain Houghton, Hancock, and Negaunee. Hancock and Negaunee seem to be running similarly, Hancock coming ahead at Mid-Peninsula Conference, Negaunee at Tracy Strom. The Bulldogs are appearing to be a shoe-in for the D2 crown, Negaunee is an underdog for a top-3 spot in D1, but still in contention.

All the Full Teams

Rank	Team	Score	Division	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Marquette	56	UP 1	95.0	2
2	Houghton	66	UP 1	95.4	1
3	Hancock	153	UP 2	64.9	3
4	Sault Ste. Marie	176	UP 1	58.3	4
5	Ewen-Trout Creek	219	UP 3	45.5	5
6	Negaunee	239	UP 1	44.4	6
7	Gladstone	289	UP 1	26.5	9
8	Newberry	327	UP 3	34.6	8
9	Munising	327	UP 2	21.4	7
10	Chassell	331	UP 3	19.8	14
11	Calumet	335	UP 1	19.7	10
12	Kingsford	355	UP 1	16.1	18
13	Pickford	355	UP 3	23.0	12
14	Baraga	360	UP 2	12.9	11
15	Escanaba	387	UP 1	8.7	15
16	Brimley	398	UP 3	2.5	13
17	Ironwood	399	UP 2	8.8	17
18	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	401	UP 2	6.1	16
19	Stephenson	453	UP 3		20
20	St. Ignace	502	UP 3		21
21	Ishpeming Westwood	505	UP 1		19
22	Powers North Central	556	UP 1		24
23	Manistique	566	UP 2		22
24	Rudyard	577	UP 2		23
25	Rapid River	586	UP 3		25
26	West Iron County	613	UP 2		26
27	Holy Name	706	UP 3		NR
28	Eben Jct. Superior Central	722	UP 3		27

Individual Rankings

Recap

Armelagos to Argeropoulos, I’ve gotta give a shout to my fellow Greek, Peter Argeropoulos. His 16:01 at Shepherd was by far the best performance of his life. Coming into Saturday’s race at Bluejay, his previous best was 16:33. Huge performance to lead his Marquette brethren to victory.

Perhaps the biggest mover was Painesdale-Jeffers’ Landon Larson. He’s recaptured his freshman and sophomore form, the kinda form that finished 2^nd in 2022 and won in 2023. Running much of the season in the 18’s, he unleashed a 17:11 to win at Ewen-Trout Creek.

Looking Forward

Finally. FINALLY. Luck has had it that when Gabe Litzner traveled downstate, he’s competed in sections without much elite competition. That changes Saturday in the D1 race at Portage.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Gabe Litzner	Sault Ste. Marie	212.2
2	12	Seppi Camilli	Marquette	210.3
3	11	Rorik Holmquist	Marquette	197.9
4	12	James Barch	Marquette	195.8
5	11	Peter Argeropoulos	Marquette	195.5
6	12	Evan Balko	Marquette	194.6
7	12	Chase Thomsen	Marquette	193.0
8	11	Shea Armstrong	Sault Ste. Marie	192.4
9	12	Danny Goss	Munising	189.8
10	12	Kalvin Kytta	Chassell	189.7
11	10	Lucas Ballard	Marquette	183.2
12	12	Birk Seagren	Houghton	180.6
13	11	Landon Larson	Painesdale-Jeffers	170.6
14	11	Cameron Anderson	Painesdale-Jeffers	168.6
15	12	Evan Huyck	Sault Ste. Marie	165.5
16	12	Trevor Nolan	Munising	164.3
17	12	Eli Hills	Sault Ste. Marie	164.1
18	11	Steven Kirschner	Rudyard	163.2
19	11	Benjamin Hemmer	Houghton	162.0
20	12	Zach Smith	Ironwood	161.7
21	11	Daniel Bowerman	Sault Ste. Marie	156.3
22	12	Dakota Taylor	Engadine	153.9
23	11	Canon Kuntze	Stephenson	153.9
24	11	Adam Brandt	Sault Ste. Marie	153.1
25	10	Andrew Junttila	Calumet	151.2
26	9	Brandon Van Karsen	Houghton	149.9
27	10	Chase Aldridge	Sault Ste. Marie	149.4
28	11	Max Beauchamp	Gladstone	147.2
29	12	Brayden Bourion	Menominee	147.0
30	12	Weston Knauf	Powers North Central	144.4

Recap

Took awhile, but now Talya Schreiber is contained within the rankings. Her early meets were either too small or mud runs. The waiting was worth it, she’s surely continued her winning form from 2023. In Upper Peninsula action, she’s won 11 consecutive races. Her main competition has been right in the area, Samantha Taylor finishing 12 sec. back at the first EUP Jamboree.

Looking Forward

Pickford’s goin’ to Portage as well. The Panthers are placed in D3, a great spot that Schreiber won’t be overwhelmed and can compete near the front. Currently, I’d have her around 15^th-20^th in D3. But take in the caveat that she GREATLY outperformed the ratings at MITCA last year.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Talya Schreiber	Pickford	132.2
2	11	Samantha Taylor	Newberry	131.7
3	11	Tessa Rautiola	Houghton	122.4
4	10	Abby Taylor	Newberry	111.6
5	12	Alisha Mabie	Escanaba	108.9
6	11	Ella Fure	Marquette	105.8
7	12	Roman Trevino Peterlin	Houghton	104.5
8	8	Molly McNamara	Engadine	102.7
9	12	Aubrey Smith	Ironwood	101.9
10	9	Sela Niska	Houghton	101.1
11	12	Monet Argeropoulos	Marquette	97.9
12	9	Evelyn Grant	Marquette	95.7
13	12	Lily Ross	Houghton	91.7
14	12	Ella Keranen	Hancock	89.2
15	12	Chloe Miller	Marquette	88.0
16	12	Maija Maki-Warne	Marquette	87.8
17	12	Marlee Plaxco	Negaunee	87.3
18	10	Winley Brandt	Menominee	87.0
19	12	Alyssa Shirkey	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	85.0
20	9	Isabelle McCord	Sault Ste. Marie	84.1
21	9	Maria Murvich	Kingsford	83.8
22	10	Regan Sporte	Sault Ste. Marie	81.6
23	9	Alena Pietila	Hancock	78.8
24	11	Faith Cappaert	Stephenson	78.1
25	10	Eryn Veverka	Marquette	77.8
26	12	Rayna Towles	Hancock	74.5
27	11	Stephanie Jones	Sault Ste. Marie	73.2
28	9	Bree Besonen	Ewen-Trout Creek	72.7
29	11	Maya Carlson	Manistique	71.3
30	10	Sylvia Aho	Chassell	70.4

Homeschool & Other Teams

Homeschool, clubs, and teams not allowed to compete in MHSAA events. Perhaps that’s a little strong on wording, but I’m not sure why schools such as Kensington Woods, Christ the King, and Washtenaw Christian don’t compete at the MHSAA level. They’re clearly schools, they’ve been at it for awhile, and it’s not as if other charter-type or private schools can’t compete. Not stirring up controversy here, just curious on the reasoning!

Boys

Rank	Team	Score	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	GRTC Peregrines	36	181.0	1
2	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	51	177.1	2
3	Capital Homeschool	74	172.8	3
4	North Trails	118	158.0	4
5	MACH	155	145.2	5
6	Central Michigan Homeschool Athletics	180	135.5	7
7	Butternut Homeschool	209	123.4	6
8	Christ the King	235	116.5	8
9	West Michigan Homeschool	250	104.8	9
10	Washtenaw Christian	304	62.6	11
11	Kensington Woods	317	60.6	12
12	Monroe Milers	321	54.8	10

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Luke Long	West Michigan Homeschool	208.8
2	12	Ezekiel Grimmet	Capital Homeschool	192.8
3	12	Trent Taratuta	North Trails	190.5
4	11	Caleb Willard	GRTC Peregrines	186.3
5	12	Keith Siek	Berrien County Youth Track	185.7
6	9	Abenezer Olson	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	183.6
7	11	Brendan O’Donohue	GRTC Peregrines	181.9
8	12	Kaelan Miller	GRTC Peregrines	181.8
9	10	Anthony Schmitz	GRTC Peregrines	181.5
10	11	Vince Garritano	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	181.2
11	9	Leo Garritano	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	175.0
12	9	Eli Miller	GRTC Peregrines	173.6
13	12	Trevor Basch	Capital Homeschool	173.1
14	10	Brian Artman	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	172.9
15	10	Evan Armstrong	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	172.7
16	12	Jack Ryan	Capital Homeschool	172.3
17	11	Ian Potts	MACH	171.2
18	11	Benaiah Roby	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	169.0
19	9	Jackson Willard	GRTC Peregrines	166.4
20	12	David Artman	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	166.2
21	10	Jacob Ziolkowski	GRTC Peregrines	166.1
22	9	Garrett Potts	MACH	165.8
23	11	Isaac McAlvey	Capital Homeschool	163.0
24	12	Edward Fountain	Capital Homeschool	162.9
25	11	Carter Grimmet	Capital Homeschool	162.2
26	10	Peter Kamp	Capital Homeschool	162.2
27	12	Axel Krantz	North Trails	158.3
28	12	Sebastian Hornibrook	North Trails	153.7
29	10	Thor Krantz	North Trails	153.2
30	9	Etienne Ruble	Central Michigan Homeschool Athletics	150.6

Girls

Rank	Team	Score	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	GRTC Peregrines	21	128.4	1
2	Capital Homeschool	78	68.3	4
3	MACH	84	62.0	3
4	Christ the King	120	33.8	5
5	North Trails	147		6
6	Monroe Milers	152	2.6	7
7	West Michigan Homeschool	178		NR
8	Interlochen Arts Academy	194		NR
9	Detroit International Academy	270		NR

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	10	Stephanie DiPiazza	GRTC Peregrines	165.9
2	12	Sinead Noonan	GRTC Peregrines	145.2
3	9	Alannah Wessel	MACH	129.7
4	12	Maya Willard	GRTC Peregrines	118.6
5	9	Kate O’Donohue	GRTC Peregrines	114.8
6	10	Faith Wessel	MACH	106.0
7	12	Olivia Gust	North Trails	104.5
8	11	Samantha Hundt	Capital Homeschool	97.7
9	12	Melia Cullen	GRTC Peregrines	97.3
10	11	Evie Hakes	GRTC Peregrines	92.6
11	11	Dorothy Wagenmaker	GRTC Peregrines	92.0
12	9	Ingrid Thomas	Washtenaw Christian	88.8
13	11	Esther Hornibrook	North Trails	84.7
14	9	Micaela Cabello	Christ the King	84.5
15	10	Kimberly Siek	Berrien County Youth Track	83.3
16	10	Eleri Raleigh	Capital Homeschool	71.8
17	10	Taylor Basch	Capital Homeschool	70.7
18	12	Rebekah Gram	Monroe Milers	61.7
19	10	Rosie Stelwagen	West Michigan Homeschool	58.3
20	11	Hana Nishi	Interlochen Arts Academy	56.5
21	11	Maizy Minnaar	Capital Homeschool	55.1
22	12	Amber Watta	MACH	50.9
23	10	Alexis Graham	Christ the King	50.6
24	10	Juliana Prewett	Central Michigan Homeschool Athletics	48.7
25	9	Matti Vanderwey	Capital Homeschool	46.1
26	10	Lauren Carothers	Christ the King	39.3
27	12	Kennedy Childress	Monroe Milers	34.2
28	11	Lucy Spencer	Capital Homeschool	32.4
29	12	Ava Patterson	Capital Homeschool	31.6
30	12	Livia Kuecken	Blue Water Christian Academy	25.4