2025’s Best Jump Crews: Early April

Track is back, baby.

The Best Crews have been a thing around here for the past few years. They take their cues from USTFCCCA’s event squads and the World Athletics scoring system, combining the two ideas in order to compare Michigan’s teams against events in their common areas.

The goal of this is to help recognize the athletes and coaches that create cultures, history, and traditions in their respective event areas. Think about it like this: Minnesota always has great hockey, basketball hoops are nailed to Indiana barns, Texas churns out football talent, every Iowa boy has cauliflower ear. Where in Michigan does hurdling reign supreme? Is there a town where kids learn to shot put before they can tie their shoes?

2023’s explanation goes through much of it, but two things have changed for this year.

• the Boys 200m points have been re-mathed and edited, as previous versions sold short athletes such as Jeremy Dixon and Jake Machiniak when it came to season end rankings.
• instead of using a team’s top-four athletes to generate their total for an event, I’m using their top-three. Belleville’s hurdlers are the main reason for this, there’s no way they shouldn’t have been the top D1 squad last year. I feel this will better portray a team’s top athletes.

Here are the figures that show the points for each mark:

BOYS TABLES

GIRLS TABLES

In the past, I’ve struggled grasping exactly what I want to write about for each event or division. Thankfully, these early qualifiers make it easy! If you’ve qualified in the timeframe before your event area has been posted or in between those posts, you’ll get a little sentence or three.

These contain results uploaded to athletic.net by Sunday (4/6) morning.

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
12	Greta Caprathe	5′ 8″	High Jump	517	Rockford
12	Greta Caprathe	17′ 6″	Long Jump	418	Rockford
12	Ashley Williams	16′ 5″	Long Jump	373	Rockford
11	Elise Watkins	5′ 0″	High Jump	363	Rockford
12	Layla Visser	5′ 0″	High Jump	363	Rockford
11	Elise Watkins	15′ 7″	Long Jump	338	Rockford
12	Kierra Clum	4′ 10″	High Jump	324	Rockford
10	Lucy Mason	4′ 10″	High Jump	324	Rockford
9	Mj Obenauf	15′ 1.75″	Long Jump	320	Rockford

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Rockford	1242	1130	2372
2	East Kentwood	324	1078	1403
3	Zeeland East	725	406	1132
4	Ann Arbor Pioneer	725	345	1071
5	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	–	999	999
6	Grand Haven	649	342	990
7	Mason	440	378	818
8	Clarkston	401	350	752
9	Holt	–	736	736
10	Macomb Dakota	725	–	725
11	Woodhaven Brownstown	401	323	725
12	Brighton	363	339	702
13	Livonia Churchill	324	373	697
14	Byron Center	–	683	683
14	Northville	–	683	683
16	Lake Orion	324	352	676
17	Hudsonville	324	349	673
18	Grosse Pointe South	–	659	659
19	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	649	–	649
20	Troy	324	321	645
21	Grosse Pointe North	324	317	642
22	Zeeland West	–	639	639
23	Dearborn Edsel Ford	–	441	441
24	Harrison Twp. L’Anse Creuse	401	–	401
25	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer	–	399	399

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
10	Zay McGinnis	21′ 11.5″	Long Jump	421	Mount Pleasant
10	Zay McGinnis	21′ 8″	Long Jump	408	Mount Pleasant
12	Jackson Griffin	6′ 0″	High Jump	377	Mount Pleasant
12	Sam Henrie	5′ 10″	High Jump	349	Mount Pleasant

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Mount Pleasant	726	829	1556
2	East Kentwood	349	1198	1547
3	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	698	768	1466
4	Canton	726	537	1263
5	Hudsonville	419	781	1201
6	Harrison Twp. L’Anse Creuse	811	355	1166
7	Grand Haven	405	746	1151
8	Zeeland West	377	771	1148
9	Holland West Ottawa	783	345	1127
10	Rockford	726	345	1071
11	Jenison	726	343	1069
12	Belleville	349	465	814
13	Woodhaven Brownstown	434	375	808
14	Portage Central	391	384	775
15	Northville	377	387	764
16	Walled Lake Western	405	349	754
17	Bay City Western	754	–	754
17	Forest Hills Northern	754	–	754
17	Lapeer	754	–	754
20	Traverse City Central	–	746	746
21	Ann Arbor Huron	–	744	744
22	Dexter	726	–	726
23	Grand Rapids Northview	–	721	721
24	Jackson	349	355	704
25	Troy	–	449	449

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
9	Morgan Willick	5′ 0″	High Jump	363	Grand Rapids West Catholic
12	Aislynn Sweedyk	4′ 10″	High Jump	324	Grand Rapids West Catholic
12	Alexis Szymanski	15′ 0″	Long Jump	314	Grand Rapids West Catholic
9	Mackenzie Clancy	4′ 8″	High Jump	286	Grand Rapids West Catholic
12	Mia Henne	4′ 8″	High Jump	286	Grand Rapids West Catholic

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Grand Rapids West Catholic	973	314	1287
2	Holland Christian	363	791	1154
3	Detroit Country Day	687	370	1057
4	Gladwin	706	336	1042
5	Hudsonville Unity Christian	649	312	961
6	Coldwater	572	332	904
7	Allendale	572	317	889
8	Hastings	440	406	846
9	Dearborn Divine Child	324	432	757
10	Ferndale	–	748	748
11	Charlotte	725	–	725
12	Stevensville Lakeshore	286	430	716
13	Shepherd	324	366	690
14	Eaton Rapids	324	357	682
15	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	324	353	677
16	Wayland Union	324	336	661
17	East Grand Rapids	324	315	639
18	Williamston	286	352	638
19	Battle Creek Pennfield	286	335	621
20	Forest Hills Eastern	286	323	608
21	Benton Harbor	–	430	430
22	Battle Creek Harper Creek	401	–	401
22	Edwardsburg	401	–	401
22	Yale	401	–	401
25	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	–	388	388

Early Qualifiers

Joey DeCasas, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

21’4″ – Long Jump

A senior that began in the sport just one year ago. He’s been a quick learner in the long jump, placing 2nd in Oakland County and 3rd in Division 2 last year.

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
12	Joe Strabbing	6′ 4″	High Jump	434	Holland Christian
11	Jayden Rees	6′ 0″	High Jump	377	Holland Christian
12	Josh Bruxvoort	20′ 5.25″	Long Jump	356	Holland Christian
11	Isaac DeMaster	5′ 10″	High Jump	349	Holland Christian
11	Isaiah Myaard	20′ 1″	Long Jump	341	Holland Christian

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Holland Christian	1160	697	1857
2	Wayland Union	1075	348	1423
3	Whitehall	952	327	1279
4	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	740	331	1072
5	Wyoming Godwin Heights	698	346	1043
6	Battle Creek Harper Creek	–	966	966
7	Stevensville Lakeshore	419	406	825
8	Clarenceville	405	378	784
9	Dearborn Divine Child	377	398	775
10	Adrian	–	755	755
11	Grand Rapids West Catholic	754	–	754
12	Howard City Tri-County	740	–	740
13	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	–	738	738
14	Belding	–	730	730
15	Niles	–	721	721
16	Dundee	391	323	715
17	Coldwater	–	710	710
18	Sturgis	377	327	704
19	Shepherd	698	–	698
20	North Branch	670	–	670
21	St. Joseph	–	668	668
22	Jackson Northwest	–	661	661
23	Benton Harbor	349	309	658
24	Saginaw Swan Valley	335	313	648
25	Marshall	–	624	624

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
12	Mckenzie Derusha	5′ 0″	High Jump	363	Saginaw Valley Lutheran
11	Ava Kelsey	15′ 9″	Long Jump	345	Saginaw Valley Lutheran
10	Hannah Burhop	4′ 10″	High Jump	324	Saginaw Valley Lutheran
9	Lindsey Cmeyla	14′ 9″	Long Jump	303	Saginaw Valley Lutheran

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	687	649	1336
2	Ithaca	533	688	1221
3	The Potter’s House	725	411	1137
4	Remus Chippewa Hills	896	–	896
5	Ida	495	317	812
6	Olivet	363	310	673
7	Schoolcraft	363	296	659
8	Harrison	324	330	655
9	LeRoy Pine River	649	–	649
10	Ravenna	324	319	643
11	Lansing Catholic	324	307	631
12	Stanton Central Montcalm	286	336	622
13	Manton	610	–	610
14	Coloma	305	303	608
15	Grass Lake	286	314	600
16	Napoleon	286	312	598
17	Centreville	572	–	572
18	Ann Arbor Greenhills	533	–	533
18	Blissfield	533	–	533
18	Chesaning	533	–	533
18	Hanover-Horton	533	–	533
18	Quincy	533	–	533
23	Newaygo	–	370	370
24	Hart	363	–	363
24	Jonesville	363	–	363

Early Qualifiers

Noah Rufenacht, Quincy

6′ 3″ – High Jump

On five separate occasions before 2024’s Regional meet, Noah had leapt over 6 feet, Division 3’s additional qualifying standard. In a tough region where 5 high jumpers qualified, Noah was 6th place, only getting to 5′ 10″. Eleven months later, he’s made it, without having to sweat regional day. Pressure off and judging by his indoor marks, I bet there’s more to come.

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
9	Rae’Kwon Smith	5′ 8″	High Jump	321	Parchment
12	Cameron Warner	5′ 8″	High Jump	321	Parchment
12	Shawn Butler	19′ 6″	Long Jump	316	Parchment
12	Jaden Taylor	19′ 2″	Long Jump	302	Parchment

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Parchment	642	618	1260
2	Ithaca	906	297	1203
3	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	726	384	1110
4	Chesaning	726	323	1050
5	Jackson Lumen Christi	962	–	962
6	Clinton	613	330	944
7	Jonesville	321	621	942
8	Quincy	419	327	746
9	Reed City	349	394	743
10	Hillsdale	726	–	726
10	LeRoy Pine River	726	–	726
12	Stanton Central Montcalm	391	310	701
13	Leslie	349	341	690
14	Carrollton	670	–	670
14	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	670	–	670
16	Grass Lake	642	–	642
16	The Potter’s House	642	–	642
18	Burton-Bendle	–	619	619
19	Grandville Calvin Christian	613	–	613
20	Blissfield	585	–	585
21	Onsted	434	–	434
22	Lansing Catholic	405	–	405
23	Holland Black River	377	–	377
24	Grayling	349	–	349
25	Hanover-Horton	349	–	349
25	Ida	349	–	349
25	Montrose	349	–	349
25	Olivet	349	–	349
25	Watervliet	349	–	349

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
12	Eva Bauer	15′ 8″	Long Jump	342	New Buffalo
12	Jane Funk	4′ 10″	High Jump	324	New Buffalo
10	Lydia Denham	4′ 5″	High Jump	228	New Buffalo

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	New Buffalo	552	342	894
2	Petersburg-Summerfield	572	–	572
2	Morrice	572	–	572
4	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	247	298	546
5	Coleman	363	–	363
5	Decatur	363	–	363
7	Breckenridge	–	349	349
8	Royal Oak Shrine	–	326	326
9	Byron	324	–	324
9	St. Charles	324	–	324
11	Vestaburg	–	316	316
12	Grand Traverse Academy	–	297	297
13	International Academy of Flint	–	290	290
14	Portland St. Patrick	–	282	282
15	Beal City	247	–	247
15	Kalamazoo Hackett	247	–	247
17	Harbor Beach	228	–	228
17	Mt Clemens	228	–	228

Grade	Name	Mark	Event	Points	Team
12	Jamarron Taylor	5′ 10″	High Jump	349	Muskegon Heights
9	Kaevouhn Sims	5′ 10″	High Jump	349	Muskegon Heights
12	Jamarron Taylor	19′ 0.5″	Long Jump	297	Muskegon Heights

Rank	Team	High Jump	Long Jump	Total
1	Muskegon Heights	698	297	995
2	Kalamazoo Hackett	613	274	887
3	New Buffalo	405	288	693
4	Holland Calvary Christian	321	335	656
5	White Cloud	434	–	434
6	Petersburg-Summerfield	377	–	377
7	International Academy of Flint	349	–	349
8	Breckenridge	321	–	321
8	Brown City	321	–	321
8	Holton	321	–	321
8	Whitmore Lake	321	–	321
12	Montabella	–	313	313
13	Southfield Christian	–	302	302
14	Britton Deerfield	293	–	293
14	Lutheran Westland	293	–	293
16	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	–	286	286
17	Bridgman	–	284	284
18	Morrice	–	277	277
19	Coleman	–	271	271
20	Saginaw Arts and Sciences	–	267	267