Time to get cracking on these regional previews. As with the 50 Tickets, these are a bit condensed compared to past years. I found the writing was getting excessive, repetitive, and more work than the actual season. But still, regional projections are in order. I thought I’d highlight a few of the battles, tough regions, and outstanding individuals.
Division 4’s summer work will always be a bit off. For a solid segment of the schools, especially the private ones, there isn’t a feeder school. With that, some schools are underrated as I can’t discern who is going where. A few deserving schools might not be listed as they operated with a few runners last year, lost some to graduation, but don’t have five returners. D4 coaches are perhaps the best at creatively replenishing their roster, but I can’t predict those additions from my perspective.
Anyhow, here are your D4 Boys predictions. Similar to the 50 Tickets, these are based on last year’s XC season and track seasons, projected improvements, and a few bits of subjective shuffling.
Toughest Regions
Region 29 – absurdly deep, with eight teams in the pre-season top-33, six in the top-26. Frankfort, the projected 4th place team, would likely be a favorite to advance to Brooklyn in all 8 other regions. Heck, even Grand Traverse Academy, projected 7th here, would have a high chance of qualifying in over half of the other regions. This is a tough spot for regional site selection folks, as many of these D4 schools in the Traverse City area have many of the ingredients for XC success (coaches & culture obviously, but hills + dirt roads + affluence).
Region 36 – in the same boat as Region 29, this Metro Detroit region featuring six teams from the top-25. Royal Oak Shrine appears a solid step above the others. Gabriel Richard and Oakland Christian a few points above the rest, but it’s not as if Lutheran Westland, Frederick Douglass, and Cardinal Mooney aren’t within striking distance. All three of the latter teams would be favored to qualify in over half of the other regions.
Intriguing Battles
Region 30 – third qualifying spot. As of this moment, it appears that Saginaw Arts & Science, Beal City, and Michigan Lutheran Seminary are the squads in contention for the third spot. Last fall, the latter two earned trips down south, Arts & Science sat back in fifth. However, the Dragons return four of their five scorers.
Region 31 – third qualifying spot. Fowler, Gobles, Libertas Christian, and Hesperia are all separated in the state rankings by 7 spots. Their point total here has some differences, mainly because of Fowler’s projected depth – the Eagles seem to be able to put five in front of the listed others’ 4th or 5th runners.
Region 36 – third qualifying spot. As said above – Frederick Douglass, Cardinal Mooney, and Lutheran Westland would be in great position in many other regions, they’re gonna have to battle here. The challenge and heightened competition will make things fun. A team such as LW has already been taking steps to cut into the projected gap, with an athlete such as Seth Witte dropping toward 5-flat in the 1600m, a sign he’s gonna improve from his high-18 self.
Region 28
Top 27 Teams
#11 Petoskey St. Michael
#20 Ellsworth
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Petoskey St. Michael | 36 |
| 2 | Ellsworth | 47 |
| 3 | Mackinaw City | 86 |
| 4 | East Jordan | 110 |
| 5 | Hale | 111 |
| 6 | Forest Area | 126 |
Top Athletes
Cody Bradley – has always been a fixture here, three times in the top-10. Last year’s winner, he’s been All-State twice as well.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Cody Bradley | Petoskey St. Michael |
| 2 | 12 | Jack Sharar | Rogers City |
| 3 | 10 | Atticus Cadarette | Petoskey St. Michael |
| 4 | 12 | Cole Brege | Rogers City |
| 5 | 12 | Khadar Jama | Ellsworth |
| 6 | 12 | Cole Upper | Lincoln-Alcona |
| 7 | 12 | Sean Bernard | Hale |
| 8 | 10 | Zander Chellis | Ellsworth |
| 9 | 12 | Cole Abney | Ellsworth |
| 10 | 12 | Paxton Downing | Hale |
| 11 | 11 | Jayden Dunnebeck | East Jordan |
| 12 | 10 | Cole Wesley | Petoskey St. Michael |
| 13 | 12 | Braylon Currie | Mackinaw City |
| 14 | 12 | Darren Boyat | Lincoln-Alcona |
| 15 | 9 | Cooper Feagan | Petoskey St. Michael |
| 16 | 10 | Ezra Gearhart | Wolverine |
| 17 | 9 | Abraham Poel | East Jordan |
| 18 | 9 | Carl Nolan | Petoskey St. Michael |
| 19 | 12 | Ben Strittmatter | Mackinaw City |
| 20 | 11 | Brody Naeyaert | Forest Area |
Region 29
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Maple City Glen Lake
Top-10 Mason County Eastern
Top-10 Leland
#15 Frankfort
#22 Lake Leelanau St. Mary
#26 Grand Traverse Academy
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Maple City Glen Lake | 55 |
| 2 | Mason County Eastern | 73 |
| 3 | Leland | 93 |
| 4 | Frankfort | 112 |
| 5 | Mesick | 129 |
| 6 | Lake Leelanau St. Mary | 132 |
| 7 | Grand Traverse Academy | 143 |
| 8 | Buckley | 152 |
| 9 | Pentwater | 216 |
Top Athletes
Kyle Redman – 2023’s champion, he’s twice an All-Stater and coming off his first podium finish on the track
Ty Redman – shares many of the same accomplishments as his brother. Twice has medaled at MIS. Optimism abounds as he’s coming off a full track season that included a state qualifier in the 1600m.
Abraham Feeney – made tremendous gains from his freshman to sophomore years. Dropped 25+ seconds from his personal best, but more importantly, dropped 36 places in order finish 18th in all of D4.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 11 | Kyle Redman | Mesick |
| 2 | 11 | Ty Redman | Mesick |
| 3 | 11 | Abraham Feeney | Maple City Glen Lake |
| 4 | 10 | Lance Niedzielski | Mason County Eastern |
| 5 | 12 | Liam McCaw | Maple City Glen Lake |
| 6 | 10 | Owen Jarosz | Frankfort |
| 7 | 10 | Carter Suttmann | Leland |
| 8 | 10 | Beckett Dennis | Grand Traverse Academy |
| 9 | 11 | Milo Shoup | Mason County Eastern |
| 10 | 10 | Kaiden Lague | Mason County Eastern |
| 11 | 10 | Christopher Knudsen | Leland |
| 12 | 12 | Keith Crompton | Frankfort |
| 13 | 12 | Matthew Bentley | Buckley |
| 14 | 9 | Spencer Mcnitt | Maple City Glen Lake |
| 15 | 12 | Cody Couturier | Lake Leelanau St. Mary |
| 16 | 11 | Lincoln Bailey | Maple City Glen Lake |
| 17 | 9 | Christian Feeney | Maple City Glen Lake |
| 18 | 11 | Evan Keen | Leland |
| 19 | 10 | Campbell Fedderman | Leland |
| 20 | 12 | Oliver Mitchell | Lake Leelanau St. Mary |
Region 30
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
#24 Breckenridge
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart | 27 |
| 2 | Breckenridge | 55 |
| 3 | Beal City | 101 |
| 4 | Saginaw Arts & Science | 104 |
| 5 | Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary | 106 |
| 6 | St. Charles | 171 |
| 7 | Montabella | 182 |
| 8 | Vestaburg | 187 |
| 9 | Saginaw Nouvel | 219 |
Top Athletes
Wesley Chaffee – had a breakout season as a sophomore, consistently racing about a minute faster than his freshman version. The end result – a 26th place finish at D4 State.
Anthony Rowe – he’s 2 for 2 in finishing in the top-10 here.
Carter Clark – a familiar surname in Carson City circles, Clark’s finished in the top-5 here the past two seasons.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 11 | Wesley Chaffee | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart |
| 2 | 11 | Anthony Rowe | Breckenridge |
| 3 | 12 | Carter Clark | Carson City-Crystal |
| 4 | 12 | Jonah Pollatz | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart |
| 5 | 11 | Rush Marsden | Fulton |
| 6 | 11 | Amos Norder | Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary |
| 7 | 11 | Brady Edwards | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart |
| 8 | 9 | Oliver Burt | Breckenridge |
| 9 | 11 | Noah Dubridge | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart |
| 10 | 10 | Logan Funnell | Beal City |
| 11 | 12 | Amos Miller | Saginaw Arts & Science |
| 12 | 9 | Gabriel Busen | St. Charles |
| 13 | 11 | Trevor Dolloff | Ashley |
| 14 | 10 | Jonathan Egan | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart |
| 15 | 9 | Eli Baker | Coleman |
| 16 | 11 | Zayden Buskirk | Carson City-Crystal |
| 17 | 11 | Payton Crawfis | Carson City-Crystal |
| 18 | 11 | Logan Whitmer | Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary |
| 19 | 11 | Dominick Chiverton | Breckenridge |
| 20 | 11 | Jared Samyn | St. Charles |
Region 31
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Holland Calvary Christian
#14 Portland St. Patrick
#27 Fowler
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Holland Calvary Christian | 18 |
| 2 | Portland St. Patrick | 80 |
| 3 | Fowler | 112 |
| 4 | Gobles | 127 |
| 5 | Libertas Christian | 140 |
| 6 | Hesperia | 160 |
| 7 | Byron Center Zion Christian | 180 |
| 8 | St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic | 187 |
| 9 | Martin | 194 |
| 10 | Holton | 238 |
| 11 | Vermontville Maple Valley | 266 |
Top Athletes
Lincoln Laansma – an oncoming force toward the end of the past cross season. Through the midpoint of the season, had been averaging mid-17’s. Then come late fall, dropped into the 16’s, enough for an All-State finish. Owner of the 3rd fastest 3200m time in Michigan’s 2028 class.
Christian Getz – for two straight years, he’s saved his best times of that season for Region 31 or State. This past year’s version was a closer of 16:41, good for 29th in D4.
Noah Schipper – look for continued improvement from Schipper, as he’s one of 11 D4 returners to break 10:00 in the 3200m.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 10 | Lincoln Laansma | Tri-Unity Christian |
| 2 | 11 | Christian Getz | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 3 | 11 | Noah Schipper | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 4 | 12 | Timothy Chamberlain | Portland St. Patrick |
| 5 | 11 | Riley Weed | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 6 | 11 | Gibson White | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 7 | 11 | Caleb Adkins | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 8 | 11 | Brody VanTuinen | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 9 | 12 | Quentin Smith | Fowler |
| 10 | 11 | Francis Austen | Portland St. Patrick |
| 11 | 12 | Lukas Rennells | Muskegon Catholic Central |
| 12 | 9 | Eli Schout | Libertas Christian |
| 13 | 12 | Isaac FoxElster | Portland St. Patrick |
| 14 | 12 | Freddie BIERLING | Byron Center Zion Christian |
| 15 | 11 | Elijah Laninga | Holland Calvary Christian |
| 16 | 11 | Landon Miller | Fowler |
| 17 | 11 | Nate Ruhstorfer | Hesperia |
| 18 | 12 | David Sager | Gobles |
| 19 | 12 | Liam Kamp | Libertas Christian |
| 20 | 10 | Jack Feenstra | Byron Center Zion Christian |
Region 32
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Kalamazoo Hackett
Top-10 Three Oaks River Valley
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 38 |
| 2 | Three Oaks River Valley | 51 |
| 3 | New Buffalo | 90 |
| 4 | White Pigeon | 107 |
| 5 | Athens | 124 |
| 6 | Colon | 172 |
| 7 | Eau Claire | 174 |
| 8 | Heritage Christian Academy | 188 |
Top Athletes
Marek Butkiewicz – full writeup coming later!
Landon Rogers – based on his 3200m track season, due for a big payoff in cross. Dropped 20+ seconds from his 2024 best, his 9:28 ranking #5 in all of D4.
Sean Siems – underwent a massive transformation from his sophomore to junior season. Progressed from a mid-17 kid to one that was running 16:20’s at season’s close, hitting marks that were good enough for 14th in D4.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Marek Butkiewicz | Kalamazoo Hackett |
| 2 | 12 | Landon Rogers | Three Oaks River Valley |
| 3 | 12 | Sean Siems | Kalamazoo Hackett |
| 4 | 10 | Joseph Edwards | New Buffalo |
| 5 | 12 | Jesse Fielis | White Pigeon |
| 6 | 9 | Mason Rogers | Three Oaks River Valley |
| 7 | 11 | Kellen Siems | Kalamazoo Hackett |
| 8 | 12 | Charlie Gibson | Three Oaks River Valley |
| 9 | 12 | Ethan O’Connor | Athens |
| 10 | 11 | Elias Baldwin | Decatur |
| 11 | 11 | Max Barron | Tekonsha |
| 12 | 11 | Kyron Christner | Mendon |
| 13 | 11 | Jay Bronsink | Athens |
| 14 | 11 | August Johnson | New Buffalo |
| 15 | 10 | Nathaneal Karakula | Heritage Christian Academy |
| 16 | 9 | Henry Young | Kalamazoo Hackett |
| 17 | 11 | Colin Gallagher | Kalamazoo Hackett |
| 18 | 11 | Aiden Jackson | White Pigeon |
| 19 | 11 | Dilan Vargas | Eau Claire |
| 20 | 12 | Parker Volstorf | Three Oaks River Valley |
Region 33
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Whitmore Lake
#18 Dansville
#21 Webberville
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Whitmore Lake | 33 |
| 2 | Dansville | 84 |
| 3 | Webberville | 88 |
| 4 | Lansing Christian | 129 |
| 5 | Novi Christian Academy | 132 |
| 6 | Genesee Christian Academy | 148 |
| 7 | Byron | 157 |
| 8 | Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes | 164 |
| 9 | Morrice | 226 |
Top Athletes
Landen Livingston – has hit the same place here in Region 33 each of the past two years. But boy, his 2024 ending was worlds different than in previous years. Closed the Michigan season with consecutive 16:1x’s, the one at MIS resulting in a 10th place D4 finish.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Landen Livingston | Whitmore Lake |
| 2 | 10 | Nolan Collins | Whitmore Lake |
| 3 | 12 | Reuben Jiran | Novi Christian Academy |
| 4 | 10 | Nathan West | Webberville |
| 5 | 12 | Josiah Johncox | Byron |
| 6 | 12 | Ethan West | Webberville |
| 7 | 10 | Leo Weaver | Whitmore Lake |
| 8 | 10 | Anderson Karkau | Dansville |
| 9 | 12 | Gavin Howery | Webberville |
| 10 | 11 | Ayden Mayr | Dansville |
| 11 | 11 | Eric Junker | Whitmore Lake |
| 12 | 9 | Christopher Harper | Whitmore Lake |
| 13 | 10 | Jackson Onofre | Novi Christian Academy |
| 14 | 12 | Dan Birmingham | Whitmore Lake |
| 15 | 10 | Nolan Stadel | Genesee Christian Academy |
| 16 | 11 | Benjamin Fox | Whitmore Lake |
| 17 | 12 | Matias Greve | Lansing Christian |
| 18 | 11 | Brody Jeruzal | Ann Arbor Christian |
| 19 | 12 | Ian Ferguson | Genesee Christian Academy |
| 20 | 10 | Randolf Schneider | Dansville |
Region 34
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Hillsdale Academy
#16 Manchester
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Hillsdale Academy | 18 |
| 2 | Manchester | 69 |
| 3 | Concord | 117 |
| 4 | Jackson Preparatory | 133 |
| 5 | Hudson | 161 |
| 6 | Addison | 172 |
| 7 | Petersburg-Summerfield | 174 |
| 8 | Adrian Lenawee Christian | 188 |
| 9 | Hillsdale Will Carleton | 201 |
| 10 | Vandercook Lake | 226 |
Top Athletes
Grayson Rorick – writeup here!
Luke Molenkamp – really tuned into the mid-distance this past spring, slipping below 2-flat for the 800m, winning Region 35 and grabbing 10th at D4 State as well.
Grant Johnson – fresh off an outstanding summer track season, placing 5th in the 17-18 Decathlon at AAU Nationals.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Grayson Rorick | Hillsdale Academy |
| 2 | 12 | Luke Molenkamp | Hillsdale Academy |
| 3 | 12 | Grant Johnson | Manchester |
| 4 | 12 | James Rahe | Hillsdale Academy |
| 5 | 11 | Timothy Gaebler | Hillsdale Academy |
| 6 | 12 | Henry Lindley | Hillsdale Academy |
| 7 | 11 | Ryan Miller | Hillsdale Academy |
| 8 | 12 | Maddox Hutchinson | Concord |
| 9 | 12 | Paul Herendeen | Concord |
| 10 | 11 | Alec Dodak | Manchester |
| 11 | 9 | Braydn Patrick | Jackson Preparatory |
| 12 | 9 | Stephen Holm | Hillsdale Academy |
| 13 | 12 | Corey Dubnicki | Jackson Preparatory |
| 14 | 9 | Blake Aube | Hudson |
| 15 | 11 | Dylan McCallister | Reading |
| 16 | 12 | Dallas Swaenepoel | Vandercook Lake |
| 17 | 11 | Harper Doyle | Manchester |
| 18 | 11 | Keaton Smith | Concord |
| 19 | 11 | Colin Brown | Petersburg-Summerfield |
| 20 | 11 | Michael Navitskis | Manchester |
Region 35
Top 27 Teams
#12 Dryden
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Dryden | 42 |
| 2 | Unionville-Sebewaing | 76 |
| 3 | Marlette | 101 |
| 4 | Brown City | 121 |
| 5 | Mayville | 128 |
| 6 | Kingston | 137 |
| 7 | Deckerville | 145 |
| 8 | Memphis | 161 |
| 9 | Vassar | 175 |
Top Athletes
Brody Karg – writeup here!
Carson Burgess – two years strong of being one of D4’s best. Peaked at the right time as a sophomore, his 3rd ever sub-17 at the time earning him the last spot on the D4 podium. Doubled down on that in 2024, moving up 11 spots to finish 19th.
Weston Guza & Lucas Volmering – as middle schoolers, each spent significant time in the 11’s last year. Both finished in the top-5 at Thumb Area and top-3 at Zone 4.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Brody Karg | Harbor Beach |
| 2 | 12 | Carson Burgess | Brown City |
| 3 | 9 | Weston Guza | Ubly |
| 4 | 9 | Lucas Volmering | Ubly |
| 5 | 10 | Levi Fitchett | Dryden |
| 6 | 12 | Logan Romain | Dryden |
| 7 | 12 | Michael Walsh | Ubly |
| 8 | 11 | Owen Wruble | Harbor Beach |
| 9 | 12 | Nino Perna | Marlette |
| 10 | 11 | Brennan Robinson | Kingston |
| 11 | 12 | Evan Gobie | Deckerville |
| 12 | 11 | Thijs Van Rijn | Kingston |
| 13 | 10 | Jaycen Roberts | Dryden |
| 14 | 10 | Wyatt Blohm | Vassar |
| 15 | 10 | Brendan Aeder | Unionville-Sebewaing |
| 16 | 12 | Jacob Campbell | New Life Christian Academy |
| 17 | 12 | Nick Abromaitis | Dryden |
| 18 | 11 | Kai Fisher | Memphis |
| 19 | 10 | Lukas Brown | Unionville-Sebewaing |
| 20 | 10 | Zachary Crumby | Unionville-Sebewaing |
Region 36
Top 27 Teams
Top-10 Royal Oak Shrine
#13 Auburn Hills Oakland Christian
#17 Riverview Gabriel Richard
#19 Lutheran Westland
#23 Cardinal Mooney Catholic
#25 Detroit Frederick Douglass
| Proj. Place | Team | Score |
| 1 | Royal Oak Shrine | 39 |
| 2 | Riverview Gabriel Richard | 92 |
| 3 | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian | 93 |
| 4 | Lutheran Westland | 112 |
| 5 | Detroit Frederick Douglass | 112 |
| 6 | Cardinal Mooney Catholic | 113 |
| 7 | Allen Park Cabrini | 167 |
| 8 | Southfield Christian | 178 |
| 9 | New Haven Merritt Academy | 257 |
| 10 | Detroit Davis Aerospace | 258 |
Top Athletes
Abenezer Cerone – writeup here!
Jacob Ferdubinski – as a freshman, had evolved into a 3200m beast. That strength bled into a cross season where he was runner-up in both the CHSL Cardinal and here (to Cerone), then nabbed 15th at the D4 finals.
Joel Johnson – coming off an extremely successful track campaign where he grabbed All-States in the 800m & 1600m.
Vern Clyne – 23 times he toed the line prior to State, all 23 were 17:00 and above. His 16:59.3 at MIS broke that streak, then helped spur a track season where he earned his first ever individual qualifier.
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Abenezer Cerone | Royal Oak Shrine |
| 2 | 11 | Jacob Ferdubinski | Riverview Gabriel Richard |
| 3 | 12 | Joel Johnson | Detroit Frederick Douglass |
| 4 | 11 | Vern Clyne | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian |
| 5 | 12 | Rich Fanti | Riverview Gabriel Richard |
| 6 | 12 | Max Brannan | Lutheran Westland |
| 7 | 12 | Michael Bowker | Royal Oak Shrine |
| 8 | 12 | Andrew Lopez | Royal Oak Shrine |
| 9 | 11 | Silas Carroll | Ivywood Classical Academy |
| 10 | 10 | Liam Knuth | Cardinal Mooney Catholic |
| 11 | 12 | Caesar Soma | Royal Oak Shrine |
| 12 | 12 | Jeremiah Thurman | Detroit Frederick Douglass |
| 13 | 12 | Carter Russelburg | Allen Park Cabrini |
| 14 | 10 | Will Bernacki | Royal Oak Shrine |
| 15 | 11 | Aaron Lenn | Cardinal Mooney Catholic |
| 16 | 10 | Barron Denham | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian |
| 17 | 12 | Dominic Barretto | Riverview Gabriel Richard |
| 18 | 11 | Finn Kneer | New Haven Merritt Academy |
| 19 | 12 | Joseph Stevens | Southfield Christian |
| 20 | 11 | Uzziel Thomassen | Auburn Hills Oakland Christian |
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