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: Beckett Crooks
School: Ann Arbor Pioneer
Grade: 12th
Personal Records
5k (XC) – 15:26
1600m – 4:18
3200m – 9:00
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:30.6 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 204.5 | MITCA | 9-Nov | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:26.9 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 205.0 | Division 1 State | 2-Nov | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:51.1 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 197.6 | Region 5 | 26-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:56.4 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 200.9 | SEC Championship | 17-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:37.7 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 202.1 | Gabriel Richard | 12-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:35.4 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 206.2 | Portage | 5-Oct | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 16:27.5 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 197.8 | SEC Red 2 | 24-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 15:41.8 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 204.1 | Jackson | 21-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 16:13.0 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 204.7 | SEC 1 | 10-Sep | 2024 |
| 11 | Beckett Crooks | 16:11.2 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 207.3 | Early Bird Open | 29-Aug | 2024 |
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 15:55.9 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 194.4 | MITCA | 11-Nov | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 16:04.4 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 192.9 | Division 1 State | 4-Nov | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 16:03.1 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 190.3 | Region 5 | 28-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 16:23.7 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 195.8 | SEC Championship | 19-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 16:54.0 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 186.3 | Gabriel Richard | 14-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 16:11.9 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 193.0 | Portage | 7-Oct | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 15:58.7 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 188.4 | SEC Red 2 | 27-Sep | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 16:13.2 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 192.6 | Jackson | 23-Sep | 2023 |
| 10 | Beckett Crooks | 17:16.9 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 183.7 | Mustang | 29-Aug | 2023 |
| Grade | Name | Time | Team | Rating | Meet | Date | Year |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 17:04.9 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 171.0 | MITCA | 12-Nov | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 16:53.2 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 170.6 | Region 5 | 29-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 17:03.5 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 169.5 | SEC Championship | 20-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 17:23.2 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 163.3 | Gabriel Richard | 15-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 17:38.3 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 163.2 | Portage | 8-Oct | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 17:51.9 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 161.7 | SEC Red 2 | 28-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 17:23.8 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 167.7 | Jackson | 24-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 18:05.7 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 155.8 | SEC 1 | 14-Sep | 2022 |
| 9 | Beckett Crooks | 18:51.1 | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 161.3 | Milford | 1-Sep | 2022 |
Accolades
XC
8th Place – 2024 Division 1 State
2024 Region 5 Champion
2nd Place – 2024 SEC Red Championship
Track
2025 Division 1 State 3200m Champion
4th Place – 2025 Division 1 State 4×8
2025 SEC Red & Region 5 3200m Champion
His Championship Season
Should really be labeled as his championship seasonS, because the final few weeks of the fall and spring were both doozies. Beckett had made this list last summer, his inclusion mainly based on the tremendous potential he showed on the track as a sophomore, hitting 9:26 in the 3200m, a top-10 mark across his class. In his sophomore year of cross, he had broken 16:00, but placed north of 50th in the 2023 State Finals.
Entering October, he’d already raced well into the 15’s. Then for the final month of the season, he was there every single meet. The standout one was at State, a 15:26 that earned Crooks an 8th place finish in D1.
That 9:26 from the prior spring plus the top-10 MIS finish definitely signaled someone who could make waves at the 2025 Track Finals. Did they signal the 9:11 that he sped to at Shepherd, a 15 sec. personal best? Maybe. Did they signal the kid that hung in there for seven laps of the D1 3200m, matching every move before unleashing a 63 sec. final lap, winning the state title?
Who knows. We can’t predict what he’ll do next and that makes this year all the more intriguing.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 