Regional Previews: Division Two Girls

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.

Compared to Divisions 3 & 4, these are a bit more solid in terms of predicting which incoming freshmen are going where and all regions have a full assortment of teams.

Anyhow, here are your D2 Girls 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 10 – six teams in the top-24. With the addition of Clare, a tough region gets tougher (I wonder if they’d have had a better home in Region 15? Not getting into that this year!) Spring Lake won last year and the Lakers return their top-3 finishers. Ludington loses a bit, but bring in Michigan’s best freshman (I can affirmatively say that). The other 2024 qualifier, Cadillac, brings back everyone. There are quite a few teams that’d be safe in other regions that may be sitting at home in early November.

Region 12 – three top-10 teams, then a #15 team that would be a qualifying favorite in many other regions. Yep, you gotta feel bad for Forest Hills Eastern. The Hawks return four girls who were either sub-20 or right on the cusp. Sadly, that’s life in an area where a great number of D2 schools exist and other areas of the state with similar enrollments might not have the same running culture as Grand Rapids.

Region 15 – four top-20 teams. Many of the similar subjects that have made it tough over the years – traditionally strong programs such as Shepherd, Frankenmuth, and Freeland. Then you add in a defending champion in Goodrich taking the long trek up north.

Intriguing Battles

Region 10 – by mere fact of the many teams capable of qualifying. The projections have all six top-27 teams within range of a qualifier. Obviously, Spring Lake has the highest odds of advancing, followed by Cadillac. Ludington will have an edge through two runners, but looks to need a fifth. The other three project to be fairly equal through two, with Clare having the best depth. Can the Pioneers successfully pull off the move from D3?

Region 14 – four teams in the running for two spots. Ranked between 25^th-35^th are St. Johns, Haslett, Charlotte, and Parma Western. Of course, the Redwings have the best frontrunner of the bunch, and thus will only have to concern themselves with scoring four. Haslett and Charlotte are both depth-based teams, the Vikings projecting a little faster as of now. Parma Western could benefit from some youth, such as Madisyn Blair, undefeated in 8^th grade cross in ’24.

Region 15 – Frankenmuth vs. Shepherd. Shepherd, the hometown team, looking to use some Bluejay Magic on their familiar course. Frankenmuth, hoping to repeat the feat of last fall’s narrow qualifier. Each lose a runner from 2024’s top-five and the projection is even closer than last autumn’s result – 1 point.

Region 16 – five teams in contention for two spots. The projections show Pinckney, Bloomfield Hills Marian, Cranbrook-Kingswood, Lake Fenton, and Notre Dame Prep separated by 27 points with a huge logjam in the middle. There is much contrast as Pinckney and Lake Fenton have strength up front. Marian, Cranbrook-Kingswood, and Notre Dame Prep are depth-based.

Region 18 – Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard vs. Adrian for the win, New Boston Huron vs. Carleton Airport for the final qualifying spot. Carleton Airport replaces the standout Courtney Bovair and New Boston Huron instead will have the frontrunners. Last year, girls such as Brenna and Ella Baker were crucial to the Jets’ qualifying, they’ll need to close the gap towards Huron’s top-two to advance again. Both Adrian and Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard were youthful last year, 12 of their 14 varsity runners underclasswomen. Taking Sophy Skeels out of the mix, the gap between the two becomes quite a bit closer.

Region 10

Top 27 Teams

Top-10 Spring Lake
Top-10 Cadillac
#14 Clare
#22 Ludington
#23 Fremont
#24 Cedar Springs

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Spring Lake	68
2	Cadillac	83
3	Clare	98
4	Ludington	115
5	Cedar Springs	122
6	Fremont	122
7	Petoskey	168
8	Gaylord	213
9	Fruitport	221
10	Gladwin	282
11	Howard City Tri-County	284
12	Big Rapids	367
13	Whitehall	371
14	Ogemaw Heights	453

Top Athletes

Eliza Schwass – her 4:44.88 full mile at New Balance (roughly a 4:43.2 1600m) was the fastest mark in Michigan this spring. All divisions, all grades. Only fitting for our indoor 1600m champion.

Katie Berkshire – writeup yet to come!

Brooklynn Brown – told a little of her tale here

Annabelle Lowman – featured at the link

Ella McInerney – had been over 20:00 for the first 15 races of her career, then moved to the 19’s in mid-September. Made quick work of that time frame and began spitting mid-18’s during championship season, placing 16^th in D2.

Alexis Kotkowicz – Spring Lake senior had been just out of the All-State running her first two high school seasons. But turned it on late during her junior campaign, placing 28^th in D2.

Linnea Paige – 3x top-10 performer here, always finding a way to get into the low-19’s (or faster) by season’s end.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	9	Eliza Schwass	Ludington
2	12	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord
3	12	Brooklynn Brown	Cadillac
4	11	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington
5	11	Ella McInerney	Cadillac
6	12	Alexis Kotkowicz	Spring Lake
7	12	Linnea Paige	Fremont
8	10	Chloe Mazza	Cadillac
9	10	Kaleigh Clark	Spring Lake
10	9	Alison Villa-Bilton	Clare
11	11	Sophia Buzzelli	Clare
12	10	Addy Nesbitt	Cedar Springs
13	12	Ava Pawlick	Petoskey
14	9	Stella Irving	Fremont
15	11	Abby Noorman	Cedar Springs
16	9	Charly Braidwood	Spring Lake
17	10	Peyhton Beardsley	Fruitport
18	11	Cora Parker	Spring Lake
19	9	Hazel Cherney	Spring Lake
20	12	Meghan Guczwa	Spring Lake

Region 11

Top 27 Teams

Top-10 Holland Christian
#13 Coopersville
#16 Hudsonville Unity Christian

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Holland Christian	34
2	Coopersville	81
3	Hudsonville Unity Christian	88
4	Holland	134
5	Allendale	136
6	Hopkins	195
7	Sparta	203
8	Hamilton	218
9	Grand Rapids West Catholic	228
10	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	274
11	South Haven	318
12	Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills	333
13	Allegan	344
14	Comstock Park	428
15	Wyoming Lee	444

Top Athletes

Avery Engbers – featured earlier!

Mia May – also featured earlier!

Marie Gates – didn’t miss a beat after missing her sophomore year. Spent the majority of her late season in the 18’s and found a 14^th place finish in D2.

Johanna Mulder – coming off a track season that featured personal bests in the 800m and 1600m, both placing in the OK Black

Oakley Osterhart – the lead runner on a resurgent Bronco squad. Acquitted herself nicely to the high school scene, placing 3^rd in her inaugural year of the inaugural year of the River Cities Alliance.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	10	Avery Engbers	Holland Christian
2	11	Mia May	Sparta
3	12	Marie Gates	Hudsonville Unity Christian
4	11	Johanna Mulder	Holland
5	10	Oakley Osterhart	Coopersville
6	11	Ellery Lampen	Holland Christian
7	9	Lauren Meyer	Allendale
8	11	Eliana Stob	Holland Christian
9	12	Layla Geurink	Holland Christian
10	11	Olivia Hollebeek	Holland Christian
11	11	Mackenzie Huizenga	Holland Christian
12	10	Lexi Gibson	Holland
13	10	Addison Bixler	Coopersville
14	9	Breslyn Klein	Coopersville
15	9	Anna May	Sparta
16	10	Annika Stob	Holland Christian
17	12	Sadie Schout	Hudsonville Unity Christian
18	9	Tessa Nienhuis	Holland
19	11	Carly Bruxvoort	Hudsonville Unity Christian
20	12	Jayden VandenAkker	Allegan

Region 12

Top 27 Teams

Top-10 Grand Rapids Christian
Top-10 Grand Rapids South Christian
Top-10 East Grand Rapids
#15 Forest Hills Eastern

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Grand Rapids Christian	29
2	Grand Rapids South Christian	69
3	East Grand Rapids	75
4	Forest Hills Eastern	95
5	GR West Michigan Aviation	139
6	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	187
7	Ionia	205
8	Portland	236
9	Hastings	250
10	Wayland Union	257
11	Battle Creek Pennfield	268
12	Lake Odessa Lakewood	373
13	Grand River Preparatory	376

Top Athletes

Ellie Scholma – her 2^nd consecutive year in the 50 Tickets

Adeline Armstrong – already abundant in talent, added winning to resume this past October. Captured both the OK White and this region before placing 17^th in D2.

Caroline Randall – 2024 season was much condensed compared to her freshman version, but ended in a similar manner – on the podium at MIS.

Lilah Poel & Annika TerBeek – two Eagle seniors who’ve been through it all together – state titles, coaching changes, and both finding the 18’s at various points in their career.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	12	Ellie Scholma	Grand Rapids Christian
2	11	Adeline Armstrong	East Grand Rapids
3	11	Caroline Randall	Hastings
4	12	Lilah Poel	Grand Rapids Christian
5	12	Annika TerBeek	Grand Rapids Christian
6	11	Zoe Hoekstra	Grand Rapids Christian
7	11	Ahna Woltjer	GR West Michigan Aviation
8	12	Jillian Clason	Forest Hills Eastern
9	10	Tiffany DeMaagd	Grand Rapids South Christian
10	12	Chloe Rinzema	Grand Rapids South Christian
11	12	Rory Workman	East Grand Rapids
12	10	Lily Phillips	Forest Hills Eastern
13	11	Lucy Waalkes	Grand Rapids Christian
14	9	Isabelle Oostema	Grand Rapids South Christian
15	12	Madelyn Baar	East Grand Rapids
16	9	Lily VanEyk	Grand Rapids South Christian
17	11	Sofia Lewis	GR West Michigan Aviation
18	11	Ainsley Sullivan	Forest Hills Eastern
19	10	Vivienne Conflitti	Forest Hills Eastern
20	12	Lydia Huisman	Grand Rapids South Christian

Region 13

Top 27 Teams

Top-10 Otsego
Top-10 Sturgis
#11 St. Joseph

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Otsego	34
2	Sturgis	84
3	St. Joseph	98
4	Plainwell	158
5	Battle Creek Harper Creek	161
6	Richland Gull Lake	187
7	Stevensville Lakeshore	205
8	Paw Paw	211
9	Edwardsburg	226
10	Marshall	275
11	Vicksburg	313
12	Three Rivers	315
13	Coldwater	370
14	Niles	371
15	Dowagiac Union	375
16	Berrien Springs	410

Top Athletes

Emma Hoffman – you may have guessed it, but her writeup is pending!

Georgia Babock – welcome to Michigan cross country 😊

Lane Isom – fresh off wondrous sophomore year

Berkley Holtz – probably still basking in the glow of her team track title

Lulu Park – always tough to project incoming freshmen, but when you have one that was the St. Joseph County champion and Zone 1 (Bangor) winner, you’re confident they’ll be a factor for the next level

Alayna Verhage – 2024’s MS Wolverine Conference Champion steps into a setup ideal for her. Plenty of quick teammates and excellent senior to learn from.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	12	Emma Hoffman	Otsego
2	12	Georgia Babcock	Edwardsburg
3	11	Lane Isom	Richland Gull Lake
4	12	Berkley Holtz	Sturgis
5	9	Lulu Park	Sturgis
6	9	Alayna Verhage	Otsego
7	10	Audrey Kline	St. Joseph
8	11	Skylar Mejeur	Otsego
9	9	Addelyn Sabatke	Otsego
10	9	Adelyn Verhage	Otsego
11	9	Vittoria Perucchetti	St. Joseph
12	9	Taylee fox	Otsego
13	12	Sydney Bir	Sturgis
14	10	Mai Nguyen	Plainwell
15	12	Beatrice Perucchetti	St. Joseph
16	12	Julia Faber	Battle Creek Harper Creek
17	12	Rebekah Stachura	Otsego
18	12	Tessa Hatt	Sturgis
19	9	Lydia Dwyer	Stevensville Lakeshore
20	11	Hayden Lemieux	Paw Paw

Region 14

Top 27 Teams

#18 DeWitt
#25 St. Johns
#27 Haslett

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	DeWitt	77
2	St. Johns	101
3	Haslett	105
4	Charlotte	120
5	Parma Western	137
6	Williamston	150
7	Fowlerville	156
8	Alma	208
9	Eaton Rapids	245
10	Owosso	255
11	Corunna	269
12	Jackson Northwest	296
13	Lansing Eastern	404

Top Athletes

Ava Schafer – the reigning D2 champ, of course we’ve gotta wait on her ticket

Remie Ellis – really hit a new stride during track, especially at Greater Lansing. Ellis captured the 3200m title there, running a personal best to go along with her other personal best in the 1600m.

Madisyn Blair – mentioned earlier she was undefeated in the fall, didn’t mention how she raced to a 5:33 in the 1600m this spring.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Ava Schafer	St. Johns
2	10	Remie Ellis	Eaton Rapids
3	9	Madisyn Blair	Parma Western
4	12	Miriam Kloha	St. Johns
5	11	Sophia Schafer	Williamston
6	10	Aurora Doepker	DeWitt
7	12	Reese Supianoski	Williamston
8	12	Chloe Khon	Jackson Northwest
9	11	Colette Charchut	Haslett
10	12	Maria Beach	Fowlerville
11	12	Isabella Taber	DeWitt
12	10	Delilah White	Haslett
13	10	Abby Crandell	Owosso
14	9	Brooklyn Takagishi	DeWitt
15	11	Avery Silvas	Charlotte
16	12	Natalie Kramer	St. Johns
17	12	Anna Johnson	Alma
18	11	Helena Goodrich	Charlotte
19	9	Kendall Dorey	Charlotte
20	10	Bridget Fullerton	Parma Western

Region 15

Top 27 Teams

Top-10 Goodrich
Top-10 Freeland
#19 Shepherd
#20 Frankenmuth

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Goodrich	49
2	Freeland	56
3	Frankenmuth	73
4	Shepherd	74
5	Birch Run	161
6	Flint Powers Catholic	191
7	Saginaw Swan Valley	216
8	Imlay City	221
9	Flint Kearsley	242
10	Bay City Central	272
11	Essexville-Garber	293
12	North Branch	344

Top Athletes

Natalie Foltz – a return ticket, linked here

Clara Kaczor – another one with two-straight 50 Ticket mentions

Kayla Shellenbarger – Goodrich reloading with talent

Alivia Ottinger – quite an improvement from 9^th to 10^th grade, evident in many aspects. But most importantly, on the biggest day of the year, where Alivia dropped 70 seconds and 62 places to nab an All-State

Elise Barden – junior season saw almost a minute drop in her personal bests, even a sub-19 to place 3^rd in Saginaw County

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	12	Natalie Foltz	Frankenmuth
2	11	Clara Kaczor	Freeland
3	10	Kayla Shellenbarger	Goodrich
4	11	Alivia Ottinger	Goodrich
5	12	Elise Barden	Frankenmuth
6	11	Kylie Mausolf	Birch Run
7	10	Danica Redes	Shepherd
8	11	Claire Brown	Goodrich
9	12	Samantha Brown	Clio
10	11	Baylor Lauinger	Goodrich
11	10	Cailyn Baker	Shepherd
12	12	Jada Prescott	Freeland
13	11	Lucy Conzelmann	Frankenmuth
14	10	Gabriella Dallas	Freeland
15	9	Katie Niederquell	Freeland
16	10	Mila Villarreal	Flint Powers Catholic
17	10	Ellie Thering	Freeland
18	9	Meghan Moeggenborg	Shepherd
19	11	Isabel Reinke	Freeland
20	12	Emilee Young	Shepherd

Region 16

Top 27 Teams

#12 Linden

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Linden	43
2	Pinckney	115
3	Bloomfield Hills Marian	126
4	Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood	128
5	Lake Fenton	128
6	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	142
7	Dearborn Divine Child	170
8	Detroit Country Day	183
9	Oak Park	184
10	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	229
11	Madison Heights Lamphere	269
12	Fenton	317
13	Garden City	376

Top Athletes

Jaelyn Ray – was shown some love last week

Addison Josephson – a track season that featured a solid 16 sec. drop in the 3200m (and state qualifier) should portend well to this upcoming cross season

Melody Meckstroth – a constant sub-20 figure these past two years, finding her way into the top-5 here each time out

Elliana Hufton – standout on the track which can hopefully carry over to the fall. Regional champion in the 800m.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney
2	11	Addison Josephson	Linden
3	11	Melody Meckstroth	Linden
4	11	Elliana Hufton	Lake Fenton
5	11	Sidney Shepard	Linden
6	10	Janae Coleman	Oak Park
7	11	Hannah Haines	Madison Heights Lamphere
8	12	Annabelle Ellenbogen	Detroit Country Day
9	10	Eastynn Charder	Pinckney
10	11	Paige Willman	Lake Fenton
11	12	Anna Kujansuu	Dearborn Divine Child
12	11	Diya Goyal	Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
13	10	Ana Lovell	Lake Fenton
14	9	Emma Durling	Linden
15	11	Claire Dunn	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
16	11	Lucille Clark	Bloomfield Hills Marian
17	10	Leah Krzeszewski	Bloomfield Hills Marian
18	12	Elizabeth Salinas	Dearborn Divine Child
19	10	Molly Roberts	Linden
20	12	Catherine Kipila	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

Region 17

Top 27 Teams

#26 Macomb Lutheran North

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Macomb Lutheran North	43
2	St. Clair	49
3	Armada	73
4	Yale	84
5	Croswell-Lexington	168
6	Grosse Pointe North	178
7	Marysville	180
8	Warren Regina	203
9	Richmond	226
10	Detroit University Prep	282
11	Detroit East English	366
12	Detroit Southeastern Tech	376
13	Harper Woods	399

Top Athletes

Saige Cole – showed out in the mid-distances this past track season. State qualifier in the 400m, even extended her wings to the 1600m with a Blue Water title and 5:26 personal best.

Samantha Whitlam – took the leap as a sophomore, dropping over a minute from her previous best and placing 2^nd here.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	10	Saige Cole	Yale
2	11	Samantha Whitlam	Macomb Lutheran North
3	9	Claire Albrecht	Armada
4	12	Molly McNabb	St. Clair
5	10	Chloe Boright	Macomb Lutheran North
6	12	Aubrey Sargent	St. Clair
7	11	Lillian Bender	Yale
8	9	Josie Komarowski	St. Clair
9	9	Kamille Fitzpatrick	Armada
10	10	Lucy Gump	Macomb Lutheran North
11	11	Ella Thornton	St. Clair
12	11	Evelyn Buckley	Macomb Lutheran North
13	12	Abigail Denoyer	Armada
14	11	Avery Stallmann	Macomb Lutheran North
15	10	Hailey Morrison	Croswell-Lexington
16	10	Madelyn Barkley	Croswell-Lexington
17	9	Katelyn Schweihofer	Yale
18	11	Kenzie LeVey	Marysville
19	12	Pauline Chapman	Richmond
20	11	Gabriella Komarowski	St. Clair

Region 18

Top 27 Teams

#17 Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
#21 Adrian

Proj. Place	Team	Score
1	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	63
2	Adrian	67
3	New Boston Huron	122
4	Carleton Airport	126
5	Tecumseh	150
6	Chelsea	173
7	Dundee	200
8	Milan	201
9	Grosse Ile	207
10	Riverview	230
11	Trenton	242
12	Monroe Jefferson	264
13	Dearborn Henry Ford Academy	394

Top Athletes

Ayda Skeels – has followed in her sister’s footsteps, a fixture at the front here and in the SEC White, then picking up an All-State as an underclasswoman.   

Madison Petty – showed out early and often as a freshman, breaking 20:00 at Rambling Rock, 19:00 at Otsego, then hitting a 5^th place finish in the SEC White

Avery Turk – must have used that 300h toughness to grit out a 29^th place D2 finish last fall. Three straight seasons (track & cross) of state qualifiers for this Huron senior.

Falyn Doss – ended a successful track season with PRs in every distance race. Most notable was a 20 sec. drop in the 1600m, an event where she found her first individual track qualifier.

Bridget Fidkowski – yet another girl coming off a huge track season. Bridget’s included her 2^nd state trip in the 1600m, where a 5:18 personal best at regionals gave her the qualifier.

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Ayda Skeels	Adrian
2	10	Madison Petty	Adrian
3	12	Avery Turk	New Boston Huron
4	12	Falyn Doss	New Boston Huron
5	11	Bridget Fidkowski	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
6	11	Monica Lynn	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
7	12	Amerie Wilson	Milan
8	12	Evelyn Kuhn	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard
9	10	Karina Mihai-Grammes	Adrian
10	10	Claire Miller	Monroe Jefferson
11	10	Ella Baker	Carleton Airport
12	12	Samantha Bieber	Chelsea
13	10	Allison Ost	Dundee
14	11	Maya Whelan	Tecumseh
15	9	Aaliyah Simmons	Summit Academy North
16	10	Jamie Glatfelter	Trenton
17	12	Kaily McDaniel	Milan
18	10	Jaelynn Greene	Carleton Airport
19	11	Zora Ziolkowski	Chelsea
20	11	Ava Pfaffenbach	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard