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: Jackson Lam
School: Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
Grade: 12th
Personal Records
5k (XC) – 15:20
800m – 1:55
1600m – 4:13
3200m – 9:17
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:20.4 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 207.9 | MITCA | 9-Nov | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:31.4 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 203.5 | Division 1 State | 2-Nov | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:27.4 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 209.2 | Region 3 | 25-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:46.6 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 200.8 | SMAC Championship | 19-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:33.9 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 206.7 | Portage | 5-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:38.8 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 201.4 | Otsego Bulldog | 28-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:34.7 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 206.4 | Jackson | 21-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:41.2 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 206.3 | Ottawa Hills | 13-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 15:47.0 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 205.3 | Under the Lights v2 | 23-Aug | 2024 |
| 11 | Jackson Lam | 16:10.6 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 204.5 | PC Early Bird | 16-Aug | 2024 |
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 15:57.4 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 193.9 | MITCA | 11-Nov | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 17:04.5 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 172.8 | Division 1 State | 4-Nov | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 16:15.7 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 192.8 | Region 3 | 27-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 16:11.9 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 188.0 | SMAC Championship | 21-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 16:20.9 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 190.0 | Portage | 7-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 16:44.6 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 182.1 | Jackson | 23-Sep | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 16:20.3 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 190.2 | Ottawa Hills | 15-Sep | 2023 |
| 10 | Jackson Lam | 17:33.7 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 172.1 | Under the Lights v2 | 25-Aug | 2023 |
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 16:46.8 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 178.4 | Region 3 | 28-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 16:45.8 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 182.1 | SMAC Championship | 22-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:28.9 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 166.4 | Portage | 8-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:51.7 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 165.8 | SMAC East 2 | 4-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:00.3 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 175.6 | Jackson | 24-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:37.7 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 166.8 | Ottawa Hills | 16-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:51.6 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 167.1 | Bredeweg | 10-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:53.0 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 169.0 | Laingsburg Early Burg | 26-Aug | 2022 |
| 9 | Jackson Lam | 17:40.8 | Kalamazoo Loy Norrix | 172.1 | Portage Early Bird | 19-Aug | 2022 |
Accolades
XC
12th Place – 2024 Division 1 State
2024 Region 3 Champion
3rd Place – 2024 SMAC Championship
Track
3rd Place – 2025 Division 1 State 1600m
2025 Region 3 1600m Champion
2nd Place – 2025 SMAC Championship 1600m & 3200m
7th Place – 2025 MITS 1600m
You Know I Dig His Improvement
The seeds of that improvement were sown during the ’24 track season. Although Lam was on a solid trajectory to that point, those spring months solidified his status as one to watch over the final years of his high school career. Four laps is where he’s found the most success on the track, that year slipping under 4:20 and grabbing his first state qualifier in the event.
The foundation was then laid for a cross season that greatly trumped anything he’d thrown down thus far. Jackson debuted the season with his fastest opener ever, a 16:10, more than a minute quicker than he’d ever began a season. Jackson and Portage, always D1 State previews, both were top-10 finishes (he’d averaged 50th place between the two as a sophomore). His first championship win at Region 3. Then the magnum opus, moving up 186 places at MIS, placing 12th in all of D1.
Times and places, Jackson covered it all in 2024.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 
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