A summer tradition returns.
Hard to fathom that I’ve been penning these Summer Previews for now, 7 years. Just as in the past, I’ll have the 50 best returners, then as time rolls on, the Regional Previews and Top Ten Teams.
Differing from the past is the format. Individual posts for each region and ticket are a TON OF WORK. Instead, I’ll be knocking off the 50 Tickets with sets of 10 and Regional Previews by their division and gender. Hopefully with these methods, I’ll be finishing on time and actually spending effort detailing what could be some great regional battles.
Anyhow, starting with the girls (they run first this year), your 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These celebrate our top-50 returners – based on the 2024 XC season, 2025 track season, projected improvement, and a tiny bit of my own opinions.
Enjoy!
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
(Also, first time ever that I’ve included Upper Peninsula folks in these! I know they’re not running at MIS, but they’re still representatives of Michigan)
Name: Marek Butkiewicz
School: Kalamazoo Hackett
Grade: 12th
Personal Records
5k (XC) – 15:09
800m – 1:57
1600m – 4:14
3200m – 9:05
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:09.7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 209.1 | Division 4 State | 2-Nov | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:46.1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 203.0 | Region 32 | 25-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:22.9 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 205.7 | Christian Comet | 19-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:11.8 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 210.7 | Gabriel Richard | 12-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:47.1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 195.6 | SAC Championship | 10-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:24.1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 210.0 | Portage | 5-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:27.3 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 205.2 | Otsego Bulldog | 28-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:37.7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 202.8 | SAC 2 | 25-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:00.7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 202.1 | SAC 1 | 11-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:55.6 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 200.8 | Centreville | 7-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 15:45.2 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 207.6 | Shamrock | 3-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:23.7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 211.1 | Kalamazoo | 28-Aug | 2024 |
| 11 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:00.7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 210.4 | Michigan Catholic | 24-Aug | 2024 |
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:12.2 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 187.9 | Division 4 State | 4-Nov | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:34.3 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 186.6 | Region 32 | 27-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:24.4 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 185.9 | Christian Comet | 21-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:59.4 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 184.5 | SAC Championship | 12-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:25.9 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 188.4 | Portage | 7-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:29.1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 184.0 | Otsego Bulldog | 30-Sep | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 16:52.2 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 185.3 | Centreville | 9-Sep | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:13.0 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 185.0 | Kalamazoo | 30-Aug | 2023 |
| 10 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:02.5 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 188.5 | Michigan Catholic | 26-Aug | 2023 |
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:42.2 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 162.6 | D4 State | 5-Nov | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:34.1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 162.6 | Region 32 | 28-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:30.1 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 164.7 | Christian Comet | 22-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:55.2 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 158.9 | SAC Championship | 13-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:51.8 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 158.7 | Portage | 8-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:55.7 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 162.8 | SAC 2 | 28-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:51.9 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 161.0 | SAC 1 | 14-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 17:55.3 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 167.2 | Centreville | 10-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Marek Butkiewicz | 18:28.3 | Kalamazoo Hackett | 162.6 | Michigan Catholic | 27-Aug | 2022 |
Accolades
XC
2025 Division 4 State Champion
6th Place – 2024 Division 4 State
2024 & 2025 Region 32 Champion
2025 SAC Champion
Track
2024 & 2025 Division 4 State 3200m Champion
2024 & 2025 Division 4 State 4×8 Champion
2025 Division 4 State 1600m Champion
7x All-State
4th Place – 2025 MITS 1600m & 3200m
His Championship Season
What do I even pick? Winning ways from track, his first state title on the grass, or his sophomore breakout spring. Victories are the theme of any championship writing about Marek.
His ability began to flash in the spring of ’23, the then freshman surprising many pundits with a 9:41 3200m in early May, a mark that laid the foundation for a 3rd place finish in D4’s 3200m. Opportunities laid ahead for big performances in meets that mattered.
A sophomore fall validated his freshman performances, winning Region 32, freefalling toward the low-16’s, and placing 6th in D4 cross. Always an endurance-based athlete, Marek found new ability in the mid-distances, contributing to the dominant Hackett 4×8 squad, eventually gaining a speed that vaulted him from merely good to D4 elite. The true coming out party came at 2024’s track State Finals, where Butkiewicz kicked off a winning Irish 4×8, dropped 3 sec. from his 1600m to place 2nd, and dropped 8 sec. from his 3200m to win it all. A win that was a precursor to the many victories we saw this past season.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 