Hey all! Finally, some Top Ten lists. I had to get these all out before the weekend, because although there were some meets on the 15th and 16th, this upcoming weekend is when the season truly kicks off for a great number of teams. Yes, I’m a master procrastinator, but if you know me, I’m unbothered and in my own world, working on my own timeline.
The Top Tens are just as they sound, the Top Ten teams from each division. This is scored like an XC meet, all 100+ teams from a division against one another. XC is so different than other sports in that a team’s strength varies with the size of the field they’re competing against. Thus, teams with a little more depth tend to be stronger on these statewide rankings.
I’m throwing all these into one post, with a little bit written about each team. Contained at the end are the State Finals Projections, which are in the same vein as the Top Tens, but a little different. These combine the top-3 teams from all the regional projections in order to form an idea of what *might* occur at MIS in early November.
One little caveat: I learned about a few teams in the past week of meets, who isn’t on a team, who was on a separate team than I had anticipated. Most of these should be pretty congruent with team rosters, there might be some errors. If there are any, the season soon starts in earnest, and these won’t matter.
This is gonna be a fun year.
Your defending champions are the Whitmore Lake Trojans. I’ve got bad news for you – the Red n’ White return their top-five runners from their dominant, back-to-back title squad. They seemingly have someone new step up each year or at the State Finals. To secure their first title, that was Elodie Weaver. The latest girl appears to be Malynda Lambros, who just dropped a personal best at Lamplighter on a tough, muggy night.
A few teams got much better over the track season. Kalamazoo Hackett put together a 4×8 team that was one of the best in D4, placing 3rd at the State Finals. A major reason for the Irish success was Emma Riker, who continued her progression from cross onto the track, hitting massive PBs and stepping onto the podium in the 1600m and 3200m. Grand Traverse Academy improved through sheer volume – five girls under 14-flat in the 3200m, with Amelia McKinney leading the charge. Lansing Christian had a standout spring from Adrienne Mitchell and a few others.
Some grabbed a spot here from a youthful infusion. Maple City Glen Lake has quickly been amping up the attitude and creating the culture. First evident in the boys program, now what could be a burgeoning girls team. Their middle school squad won the NWC and Zone 7 last year and could bring up to three 9th graders with significant impact. Concord adds two girls who were at 13-flat or slightly over. The Ubly Bearcats (finally got that nickname right!) are a bit older than the two mentioned above, though they’re still young in comparison to many. Their ’28 class featured four girls that were top-15 in Region 35. Kingston has a mix, the freshman Norah Kiley adding to the family tradition with her sister Lilah.
Typically the case with a school ripe with tradition, Hillsdale Academy overwhelms D4 competition with depth. The Colts return five girls with MIS experience, all hitting 22-flat or lower on the State Finals course. The girls project to have the best 6th and 7th runners in D4, which gives great security and the potential to move up.
Of course, experience is a necessity, and Gobles has much of it. The Tigers bring back Libby Smith, Madison Cooley, Ava DeYoung, and Lauren Shaffer from two teams that have placed in the top-10 each of the past two years.
Coming in at #1 are once again, the defending champions – Lansing Catholic. What a multi-faceted team. You’ve got senior girls such as Frances Melinn who’ve seen state success throughout their career. Josie Bishop, a breakout freshman. Grace Wonch, coming off an outstanding track campaign. They’re young, but have the wisdom of winning here.
Underclasswomen seemingly have a strong impact relative to their boy counterparts, Division 3 no stranger to that theory. We just received a taste of that at the Cougar 2 Mile, where Olivet’s Tiya Feldpausch and Lily Britton placed within the top-10 in a field of top teams from each division. Hart is reloading, freshman Emma Miller has already shown the ability to hit the 19’s. She joins a class of five sophomores that ran in the 21’s or faster last fall. Both Saugatuck and Grand Rapids Covenant Christian have a mix of experience that with the right piece, could vault them into podium discussion. Leah Elzinga slipped under 13 min. at the Chargers’ home invite. Ellyse Heyser won the SAC MS meet in 2024 and also displayed the ability to handle a 5k, racing in the mid-20’s at Portage’s PROM. Both girls can learn a bit from the many juniors and seniors on their respective teams.
Sometimes, I wish the D3 previews were a bit more interesting and had a wider variety of teams. Because Traverse City St. Francis, Jackson Lumen Christi, and Ithaca are always here. But you peek at State Finals results and these teams are always present. Only twice in the past five seasons has one of these three teams placed outside of the top-10 at MIS. Each squad returns at least four girls that competed at the ’24 Finals.
Someone needs to study what’s being done in terms of athletics at Pewamo-Westphalia. The Pirates have success in many sports, especially TF and XC. Alyssa Kramer has already had a little shoutout in the 50 Tickets, though the depth behind her drives P-W’s inclusion. They’re projected to have all seven varsity runners within the top-100 D3 spots and the times back that up – 11 of their top-12 return, all with personal bests that are sub-23.
One outfit that’s moved up a bit because of a strong spring has been the Blissfield Royals. It’s not just Hope Miller, who had her footprints all over the D3 finals, or Hailey Sills, who proved that she can rise to the occasion on regional day. The main driver comes from runners such as Kaleea Braun, Anna Hallett, and Natalie Benitez, all of whom used the oval to prove that they’re among the best distance athletes in Lenawee County.
The passing of the guard will be occurring at Goodrich, your defending champions. Kamryn Lauinger and Layla Jordan led the Martians through some great times, with regional victories, a great State finish in 2023, and last year’s championship. They’ve always got a strong middle school program, so expect the Genesee County crew to continue to be a D2 force. This year, expect Kayla Shellenbarger and Alivia Ottinger to lead their girls.
Comparative to other divisions, it looks as if the young runners of D2 will have the greatest impact. Immediately jumping off the page are the youngsters entering the Otsego squad. The quartet of Alayna Verhage, Adelyn Verhage, Taylee Fox, and Addelyn Sabatke all were sub-12 or on the cusp of it. Beyond those four, there are some depth pieces who could contribute down the line. Add in one of the better runners in the state and a few more experienced upperclasswomen and you’ve got a state contender.
Beyond the title favorites, you’ve got plenty of other teams impacted by potentially high quality youngsters. Grand Rapids South Christian adds three girls that were in the low-13’s or faster. Charly Braidwood of Spring Lake ran 2:29 in the 800m this spring. From Sturgis, Lulu Park battled with the Otsego girls through the Wolverine Conference season before winning the St. Joseph County and Zone 1 titles. Katie Niederquell, the Freeland incoming freshman, won the TVC Red and Overall meets. She’ll have a few upperclasswomen to learn from as she makes her transition to high school running.
On the opposite side of the spectrum are teams such as Grand Rapids Christian and Cadillac. The Eagles have been a fixture in D2 for years, winning the team title in 2023. Girls such as Lilah Poel, Ellie Scholma, and Lucy Waalkes played a role on that team. Annika TerBeek and Zoe Hoekstra were factors on 2024’s 4th place squad. The Vikings placed a bit further back, 14th, though they return all their girls that toed the line at MIS last year. That includes low sticks such as Ella McInerney and Brooklynn Brown, both of whom earned their first All-States ever in 2024’s race.
Holland Christian was once a team that relied on a multitude of 9th graders. Now the Maroons are headlined by a combination of sophomores, juniors, and a senior. What those three grades combine for is depth. The top-ten HC returners were all sub-21. All five of their scorers at State are coming back, those five were all sub-20 at MIS.
Coming in hot off the track are your East Grand Rapids girls. Adeline Armstrong, of course, will be a frontrunner in Region 12. But I foresee girls such as Anneliese Passchier (11:50 in the 3200m) and Mady Baar (5:25 for 1600m) making a significant impact in 2025.
Lookin’ to make it three in a row are your twice defending champions, the Romeo Bulldogs. These girls have graduated a few, such as Violet Hrabovsky and Olivia Purdy. They’ve also got rapid improvers and newcomers to their scorers. Ella Goodsell is looking to build off a track season where she scratched the surface of her talent. Reese Rosbolt hopes to prove she can get it done in varsity races. She already established that she was one of Macomb County’s best runners, earning 2024 All-County as Romeo’s 8th girl. Beyond the scorers, it’ll be intriguing to see who can impact the next generation of Romeo XC.
You just have to look at the 4×8 to see who heightened their profile on the track. The Wierks twins added to their distance portfolios, contributing to Holland West Ottawa’s second consecutive win in the event. And Collette then doubled down to win the 800m. Ann Arbor Pioneer is always a factor in that race and their triumvirate of All-Staters made up a majority of that relay. I’d also look for Lucy Peikert to help the Pioneers, as the freshman’s 5:03 in the 1600m ranked #6 amongst all Michigan’s 9th graders. Traverse City West was 7th in that highly competitive race and bring back three of those girls. Tessa Mascari has been spoken of, Bailey Wenzlick and Reese Smith both excelled in the mid-distance races over the course of the spring. Wenzlick lowered her 1600m best and Smith stepped on the D1 podium in the 800m.
Similar to the case in other divisions, newcomers will be an ingredient to success for many. At Lamplighter, Northville flexed its young muscle. Alexandra Scappaticci made a sparkling debut, winning the race in the final meters. But it’s not just freshmen, as sophomore Lucia Lachapelle skipped right past the 19’s, dropping more than a minute from her freshman best. Saline has a pair of sophomores in the 50 Tickets, then another 10th grader in Adelynn Turck who was sub-20 in six of her final seven races during her freshman campaign. Rockford’s sophomore Jillian Lewakowski gutted out a tough State Finals race, then got a payoff in the spring, busting out 2:19/5:10 as a freshman.
Of course, in our deepest division, experience is necessary and the Okemos Wolves have tons of it. Rachel Smith has accrued much wisdom in her high-level races in the past year. Gabriella Fugazzi, Elizabeth Schafer, Fiona Whitmyer, and October Harns have years and years of championship experience, each combining in one way or another for CAAC Blue, Greater Lansing, and Regional wins. Experience doesn’t just come from seniors, it can appear with juniors that have been thrust into the spotlight. Becca Van Lent was there as a freshman, so too Lucia Llanes. Improving rapidly at the tail end of her sophomore year was Isla Tharp, who turned that momentum into a 400m state qualifier. With room to grow, Ann Arbor Skyline is a darkhorse podium candidate.
And a team that’s always here – boys or girls, is Brighton. The Bulldogs develop and develop, and that hard-working team typically ends up with a multitude of runners who are pretty darn good. 2024’s version had nine (!) girls sub-20, eight of them return. The Orange n’ Black didn’t skip a beat during track, six returners lacing up their spikes to race under 5:30 in the 1600m.
State Finals Projections
As stated, these are the combinations of the projected top-three squads from each regional. These differ from the lists above, as we’re comparing against the projected qualifiers from each division instead of the entire division.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 