Ready to read, read, and read some more? The Top-10 Teams are here.
As with everything in this summer preview, those are compiled through a combination of last year’s ratings, projected improvements, the past track season, and a very tiny bit of my own opinions. Very little of the numbers and rankings are subjective and I certainly don’t “hate” any team. Don’t let your sour teammates or parents let you believe that to be the case. The only thing I hate is AI, as all this writing comes from myself personally, all inspired by the love I have for the sport and the outstanding individuals here in Michigan.
The rankings are simply a hypothetical meet between all XC teams of a division. Thus, you may see a difference from the regional projections. Which is how XC plays out – meet size can be either a boon or a detriment.
Checking in at 87,520 words, the equivalent of a 350 page book (I think a scientific book with all the graphs and repeated intros), 2026’s Summer Preview is DONE. I need a nap. Or the season to start. All this mental stress will help me for my upcoming 50k, right?
Teams That Are Defending Their Crown
Whitmore Lake
Make that 3x defending champs. Many Trojans have come to MIS, raced their hearts out, then lifted a championship trophy after. A few have moved on – Elodie Weaver, Sofia Robertson, Carina Burchi, Natalie Meadows, amongst others. A few remain – Kaylie Livingston, Malynda Lambros, and Caroline Darrah. No matter what occurs on the course this year, the Trojan legacy has been set.
Lansing Catholic
Truly dominant was the 2025 Lansing Catholic season. Not just dominant against their D3 brethren, against the whole darn schedule. The Cougars varsity squad competed in 12 5k’s, a good chunk of those against D3 and Lansing-area folk, but of course Portage, Averill, Michigan Catholic, Region 26, and the State Finals are in there. With one exception at the hands of D1’s 15th place Okemos squad, Lansing Catholic came away with a victory, typically by a large margin. Sadly, Frances Melinn moves on, but the entire rest of the squad remains.
Holland Christian
Sure showed up on the big day this past November. Three girls ran a personal best – Mackenzie Huizenga, Annika Stob, and Eliana Stob. Eliana paired that personal best with an unexpected All-State, placing 17th when she was projected to finish 31st. For the Maroon team, the pre-race projections gave them an 18% chance of winning. They made their move in the second mile, overtaking Otsego, then evading any chance of a comeback. Six girls return from that title squad, led Avery Engbers, strengthened by tremendous depth. It’ll be a tough road to defend, but a tough task for anyone to knock off these girls.
Ann Arbor Pioneer
Pioneer is always a tough team to project. I don’t say that to make excuses, it’s just a matter of fact with the Ann Arbor Middle Schools, which generally aren’t on athletic.net. And if meets are listed, they’re wholly within the city of Ann Arbor, not against the world of Michigan XC, so it’s tough to even compute.
Take what was already projected to be an elite team and add Kiera Von Blon and Laura Forsyth, not to mention Lizzie Wernimont, and what was thought to be a top team quickly became the state’s #1. The Pioneers cruised through Michigan’s major meets – Spartan, Jackson, and Portage, then held on for dear life as a patient Romeo squad gave them everything they could handle.
Hana Boggess moves onto Butler, the rest of these champions remain. And maybe they’ll add an unknown piece!
Teams That Moved Divisions
Maple City Glen Lake
Yep, you get the same section as the boys. It’s just impressive to move into a faster division, be on the lower end of enrollment, yet have every reason to be super competitive.
That competitiveness comes from multiple avenues. You’ve got upperclasswomen such as Carmella Julian and Alayna Ottenbacher. Julian was a D4 All-Stater last year and Ottenbacher was in the top-20 for all of the NWC and Regional competition. But she’s not the only Ottenbacher on the roster, as Avyrie Ottenbacher comes up from the middle school level, where she was a consistent 12-13 min. figure. Sandwiched between the two are solid depth pieces, a constant with the Drowns and their great culture.
Teams With Wily Ol’ Veterans
Gobles
Three girls – Libby Smith, Lauren Shaffer, and Ava DeYoung have been a hallmark of the Tiger program for years. These three have presided over a great period in Gobles history, qualifying for the D4 State Finals each of the past three seasons, winning two regionals in the process. When running at the state level, they’ve been competitive, putting together three top-10 finishes.
Kalamazoo Hackett
Although the Irish are replacing much (Kate Van Es, Bethany Carpenter, and Emma Riker among the dearly departed), they still have a trio of upperclasswomen to rely upon. Commencing her career as a junior, Kiera Piper hasn’t been racing XC for long, but a senior is a senior. Brie Siems has been around for awhile, with much accumulated triathlon endurance paired with three straight years in the mid-20’s. And Delaney McBride just ran a personal best in her final regular season race of the 2025 season.
Buckley
The roster may be small – but it’s senior dominant. And in an uncertain world, having been there matters. Mikayla Kulawiak has been there, completing three HS seasons, running in the 20’s for the first time ever in this latest one. So too has Tsune DuCheney, introduced to the world of running last fall, starting in the 23’s and ending hundreds of seconds faster. And for good measure, Kaylee Swanson has toed the MIS line three years in a row, breaking 22 there for the first time ever in 2025.
Pewamo-Westphalia
Coming on at #4 on Michtrack’s Legacy Ratings (2000-on) is P-W. It follows that, if you’re on the Pirate team for a considerable amount of time, you’re likely to find important stages. Then celebrate with your team after you completed your race. 12th graders such as Alyssa Kramer, Jenna Keilen, Charlotte Simon, and Delaney Smith have certainly taken part in consequential races. These girls have combined for three straight Region 24 titles, winners even if the venue and course change. They’ve been runner-ups the past two years, and were freshmen on a Pirate ship that finished a lowly 4th. They know what it takes to endure a long season and have something at the end.
Grand Rapids Christian
The ’25 Eagles were senior-laden, with Annika TerBeek, Ellie Scholma, and Lilah Poel playing a major role in the team success. They had contributions from juniors as well, Zoe Hoekstra and Lucy Waalkes. As that band of leadership moves on, the littler Eagles will look to Hoekstra and Waalkes for guidance. And they’ll see two girls that’ve been through three years of GRC XC. Waalkes saw herself break into the 18’s for the first time ever at the tail end of last season. Hoekstra has moved from a girl who stayed above 20:00 in her 9th grade year to one that was 36th in D2 as a junior (and ran 11:10 in the 3200m – more is coming!). Two excellent stories to pass along and continue the tradition.
Goodrich
When I think about experience, I think about girls such as Alivia Ottinger, who’s been everywhere. 3x at MIS, RunningLane, FootLocker, NXR, MITCA, New Balance Outdoor, Nike Indoor, Nike Outdoor. Need I go on? Kayla Shellenbarger has been places too, featuring prominently in the freshman races at New Balance Outdoor. Others haven’t necessarily traveled out of state, but have accrued wisdom through the various travels of their career, with both Baylor Lauinger and Claire Brown being part of three Martian D2 Finals squads.
Ann Arbor Skyline
The Eagles could easily be filed under the folks that are benefitting from a major track improvement. That track improvement was just another notch in the portfolio of these girls that’ve seen so much. Becca Van Lent, Irie Scrase, Isla Tharp, Lucia Llanes, and Lila Edison have each taken part in cross over the past 2-3 seasons, each of them part of at least two Skyline state squads. Indoor, you’ve seen Llanes capture an 800m title. Two weeks later, her teammates traveled east for an All-American 4×8 in Boston. They joined together in Rockford for an equally impressive feat, a D1 State title. Every season, everywhere.
Holland West Ottawa
Talk about a band of teammates that’ve been everywhere. I perform some of my spring work announcing at Romeo’s Barnyard Invite. West Ottawa always brings girls there. Panthers taking the trek to the eastern suburbs were Alyssa Danek, Collette Wierks, Ella Wierks, Mary Dolbow, Lyla Dowling. Driving hours to race for a few minutes takes investment, and investment typically comes from time spent in a program. Dowling has been around for three years, Danek as well. The Wierks entered XC after an eye-popping 9th grade spring on the track. Dolbow only has two years at the high school level, but five altogether, as she spent full falls on the grass in the MS scene.
Rockford
Another traditionally strong program that’s junior and senior heavy. The projected scorers for the Rams include two seniors and three juniors. As with many already written, these girls have participated in some of Michigan’s grandest environments. One, the forever grueling OK Red, where there are no meets off. A regional in a strong running region. And the State Finals, where the Rams have placed in the top-20 for each of the past three seasons. Daisy Cox, Jillian Lewakowski, Morgan Sanders, Keagan Mulka, and Rae Defrang have been through it all.
Portage Central
Portage Central doesn’t just kick off the season for many, host every regional in the world, or bring in thousands of XC fans each early October, they’ve got a program where kids stick around and become quick. Both Avery Scott and Gracie Carlisle have been mentioned in the past on this site, getting writeups either this summer or last. Three other upperclasswomen occupy what could be their scoring squad – Claire Mouw, Julia Welc, and Olivia Storteboom. For two consecutive years, both Welc and Mouw have run in the 19’s by November’s finale. Storteboom was there in ’23 and ’24, stayed north of 20:00 last year, but is coming off what may be the best track season of her career, dropping 800m and 1600m PR’s.
Teams Prominently Featuring Twins
Otsego
This is meant as no disrespect to the Addelyn Sabbatke, Taylee Fox, and Skylar Mejeur’s of the world. They’re deserving of mention, as are many others on the teams listed in these top-10’s. But without Alayna Verhage and Adelyn Verhage, Otsego wouldn’t be quite what they can be this year, a state title contender. Both girls entered the high school scene as runners thought to have a chance at making an impact, which they both lived up to. Both ran in the 18-19’s for a great majority of their races, placing in the top-10 in both the Wolverine Conference and Region 13. Alayna ended up stepping on the podium at State, with Adelyn placing 59th. Pretty cool for two girls going through this life together.
Teams That Are Deeeeeeep
Hillsdale Academy
The Colts were had depth last year and graduate only a few of those girls. I’m here to report that it’s very likely that positive attribute will happen again. A total of 9 Hillsdale Academy girls were sub-22 at some point in 2025. The “slowest” of which were Lorelei Stemme and Moira Beier, both of whom ran 21:38 to close their seasons, and given a year of growth, should be displacing many D4 girls this fall.
Grand Traverse Academy
Not only do the Mustangs have quality numbers, they also have experienced depth. I count four seniors amongst their potential scorers and a few other 12th graders that could act as displacers. These girls come in levels, up front you’ve got Amelia McKinney and Madison Smith. McKinney has earned D4 medals the past two years and Smith dropped considerable time as a junior. Then extending further back are seven other returners that were sub-23 or faster in 2025.
Traverse City St. Francis
They’re comin’ backkkkk. The Glads were team champions here in 2022, runner-up in 2023. A 4th place finish came in 2024, 8th in 2025. This could be a return to the ’24 level and perhaps even better. Buoyed by some incoming freshmen, I see numbers and quality ones at that. A whole varsity lineup, seven girls, return that were sub-22 or faster in 2025. Added into the recipe are a tsp. of two incoming freshmen that were sub-13, bringing together what may be a trophy-hoisting finished product.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
A distinct MIXC memory is heading to the ’22 Regionals at Allendale, seeing droves upon droves of passionate Covenant Christian fans roving around the course, flags waving, cheering on their squad. You’d normally see that at a college national meet, not at a D3 regional. But it speaks volumes of the depth of the Charger culture. Which today, if athletic.net doesn’t lie, has upwards of 30 girls on the roster.
Last autumn’s roster had a significant quantity. Quality as well, with 10 girls racing to sub-22’s. Two move on, leaving varsity spots to a deserving seven.
Hart
The 2025 Pirates won Region 20. They had the 5th best top runner in the field. They had the best 2nd runner, best 3rd runner, best 4th runner, best 5th runner, and best 7th runner. The State Finals were a little less dramatic, but still prove the point, as Hart’s 6th place team had only one All-Stater, Natalie Rosema. It’s not that Rosema isn’t a strong runner, she is, it’s just that Hart gains an advantage in a larger field where their pack can do their thing. With five returners in the mid-20’s or faster, that’s some speedy and expedient work.
Northville
The blend of having a socioeconomic area made for XC success, feeder schools pouring talent onto the team, great coaching = a wonderful culture. A wonderful culture keeps the numbers high, and with the numbers high, there’s plenty of talent to choose from. This past fall, the Mustangs had 10 girls in the 19’s or faster. This is positive in another way, as it allows for girls to grow without the pressure of the varsity races early on. Brynn Somers and Ella Corby did just that, evolving into low-19 girls by season’s end, learning the lessons that’ll allow them to pounce on the 2026 season.
Teams Local to MIXC
Royal Oak Shrine
We (Hansons Running Shop) just hosted a team day for Royal Oak Shrine. We do this for a ton of larger schools, but no one as small as Shrine. Though in terms of D4 roster size, Shrine always punches above their weight. Year after year, the Knights tend to have one of the larger rosters in D4 and thus, always have a slight advantage in runners to draw from. I guess that’s partially a reason how a team can draw in a Ella Lamb, primarily an 800m girl who slightly stepped into the longer distances this spring. Her 5:17 from the Barnyard should portend well to this upcoming cross season.
Teams Bolstered By Youth
Fowler
Since I’ve been around, Fowler has been a deep track school. They’ve got hurdlers, vaulters, sprinters, and relays upon relays. The occasional distance runner has rolled through, now it appears the Eagles are spreading their wings deeper into the distance realm. As many as four freshman could see an impact, both near the front and applying depth. Clara Thelen looks to be the standout of the bunch, running in the mid-12’s at the end of October and leading her Fowler MS team to a win in the Zone 5 Small School section.
Lake City
The Trojans may feel the most impact from the addition of just a few. Last October, Lake City placed 7th in Region 20, 71 points back of 3rd place. Hypothetically throwing runners into a race doesn’t completely work, as it changes decisions of runners in the race. But it can be somewhat of a mathematical tool, and given that Aubrey Doan and Isadora Shaw ran the Benzie PROM race, we can get an idea of how Lake City would’ve fared with those outstanding (then) 8th graders. With Shaw’s 18:15 and Doan’s 19:35, the Trojan’s would’ve scored ~100 less points, occupying a position near the runner-up spot. A great number of LC girls remain and they’ve got fire coming in.
St. Joseph
Take a peek at St. Joseph Upton’s 2025 results and you’ll see why anticipation is high for this iteration of the Bears. Upton torched their Lakeland Conference Jamboree with a perfect score, dominated the Berrien County Meet by a 30+ pt. margin, and finished runner-up against much larger schools in Zone 1. Three prominent 8th graders could move up, all sub-13 a year ago.
Grand Rapids South Christian
2025’s season preview said this about the Sailors, “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.”
Partially right! High-quality youngsters did have an impact on the South Christian fortune. The Sailors finished 4th, right where they were projected in the summer. But there FOUR impactful freshmen girls. Now, your guess is as good as mine as to which three I was referring to, all we know now is that Lily VanEyk, Noelle Hulst, Annalise Wiltjer, and Isabelle Oostema delivered as promised, and then some. All four were sub-20 at some point and give South Christian a solid base from which to work with over the next few seasons.
Cedar Springs
I’m not a huge fan of placing a ton of pressure on a 9th grader, but Halle Vallere can absolutely make an impact on the Redhawk fortunes. She was undefeated in RCA action, winning all four jamborees with consistent mid-12 marks. On the track, she featured mainly in the 400m/800m, hitting top-35 marks in each.
East Grand Rapids
Charlotte Schellhammer and her East Grand Rapids MS crew sure wrecked fools last year. They won all of their WMMSC Jamborees, won Zone 6’s Large School division, and placed 4th out of a massive 45-team Portage field. Many of those girls will be making the transition to the high school level this fall, including Charlotte, who ran in the low-12’s on a few occasions.
DeWitt
DeWitt Middle School had numbers in 2025, multitudes of new girls introduced to the sport. They had elite youngsters such as Clara Cook (winner of everything, racing into the low-11’s) and Isla Tramontana (who evolved and grew into joining Cook in the 11’s). And they won – dominating fields in their league, at Jr. Greater Lansing, and in Zone 5. The two above, plus Andria Clippard should only add to the burgeoning tradition taking place north of Lansing.
Novi
Katelynn Egli has been a low-stick for Novi over the past two years, but she can’t do it on her own. She’s presided over some state-worthy teams, however, bringing her Wildcats along to D1 State the past two seasons. From 2024 to 2025, Novi made an 8 place jump in the standings (24th to 16th), partially thanks to three freshmen – Ella German, Jessica Philip, and Sora Saito. Each of the three progressed throughout the season, racing their fastest at the final few meets. Philip and Saito were on the edge of 20 min., while German made a dramatic slide into the low-19’s. The same trend could be beneficial for Novi in 2026.
Jenison
Already receiving a bit of attention in the regional preview was Harper Henderson, impactful enough to keep the Wildcats as a top-ten team. Henderson only had one loss in last fall’s 8th grade season. She won Zone 7 and was undefeated in WMMSC action, running in the 11’s for a good chunk of the six weeks of racin’. The XC endurance came along to spring too, where Henderson ranked within the top-5 in Michigan for every middle school distance event.
Traverse City Central
It’s now sophomores, last fall’s freshmen, bringing up the level of Trojan running. Both Cecelia Jacobson and Gretchen Oyer took different paths last year, but both arrived in a way that gives thought to how they could perform as sophomores. Jacobson kicked off her season with a late-summer 19:46 at Party in the Park. She stayed in the 19’s until late into October, then ripped a 18:52 at Region 2, which then was sliced even further at State. Oyer stayed north of 20:00 all fall, but then turned in a spring where she was able to hit 5:30 in the 1600m, a definite sign that further growth can occur this upcoming fall.
Teams Looking For A Comeback Season
Ithaca
The Yellowjackets had a rough close to the 2025 season. Placing 9th and 5th the two years prior, Ithaca was continuing the tradition left from the previous generation of Yellowjacket athletes. Even in last year’s season, the girls had bouts of success – winners at their home invite and the first TVC jamboree, a 3rd place in their division at Spartan. But for whatever reason (we don’t judge or criticize), only 4 girls were able to complete their regional race.
No matter, however. It’s a new year and we learn the lessons from the past. The Yellowjacket roster has been replenished (11 strong if athletic.net can be trusted!), replete with the necessary speed to compete in 2026.
Teams Where I Haven’t Mentioned Other Important Runners
Hudsonville
The 50 Tickets and Regional Previews have heavily featured these Eagles. Three girls were listed in the 50 Tickets – Cassie Karasinski, Grace Snyder, and Chloe Purwin. In the Regional Previews, Lexie Snyder got a little writeup. That’s 4 of 5 potential scorers and over half the varsity lineup, but I should give mention to other Hudsonville girls that can contribute, as there are many who could be solid depth pieces.
You’ve got Ashley Wayne, Michaela Pries, Sidney Eaton, and Addison Dodd. Pries and Wayne just came off a spring season where they continually flashed speed, Pries shooting down to a 5:34 in the 1600m and Wayne maintaining her 5:30/12-flatish fitness. Dodd ran personal bests in everything from the 800m to 3200m. Eaton didn’t line up on the track, but showed 19 min. potential on a few occasions during her freshman year.
The speed and depth is present to outperform this ranking.
Teams Coming Off A Big Track Season
Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
I really hate to give all the attention to one athlete, but I don’t believe I’ve given enough of a shoutout to Taylor Wills. Talk about a track transformation. For the past two cross seasons, Wills has been running on the high side of 23:00, only breaking into lower times in the final four races of 2025. Based on that, who could’ve predicted what went down a few months back? Taylor had tremendous breakthroughs in everything from the 800m to the 3200m. For each event:
800m – 2:41 > 2:26
1600m – 6:03 > 5:19
3200m – 14:11 > 12:26
Accolades especially came over four laps, where Wills won Region 37, the MSAC, and the Mid-Michigan MoC. Then to cap it off, placed 5th in Division 4. There’s gonna be a serious XC PR drop coming soon.
Concord
The Yellowjackets have been a team on the rise over the past year. They began last fall’s mid-season rankings in the 15th spot, then moved into the top-10 before placing 8th at D4 State. Iny my unreleased late April rankings (taking into account XC, projected improvements, incoming freshman, but not adding track), they were ranked 9th. But here they’re 8th, so some progress must’ve been made.
Four girls stood out in terms of making progress:
Audrey Pyle 20:01 XC > 2:22/5:39
Haley Stimer 20:17 XC > 2:32/5:48/12:57
Audrey Rinehart 20:29 XC > 2:48/12:58
Mya Barrett 22:21 XC > 6:23
Blissfield
The state qualifying standards were abnormally hard, the math not mathing, but these Royals stepped up. A few graduating seniors made up half of their distance state squad, Hailey Sills and Hope Miller. Two Royals that’ll feature this fall were also part of the team that traveled to Kent City – Kaleea Braun and Anna Hallett. Both were part of the 4×8 outfit that won in Lenawee County, Region 26, LCAA, and placed 9th in D3.
Hallett in particular excelled in the distance events, running 5:29/12:01 after her late-season XC improvement. Braun concentrated on the 800m, running 2:30’s by season’s end. Another piece that was undoubtedly influenced by the faster girls was Mollie Yeager, who moved from a fall PR of 21:16. to running 2:45/5:45/12:41 this spring.
Benzie Central
I loved the turnaround these Huskie girls made. You just have to look at the Benzie history, with the thousands of conference and regional titles, even a few state championships mixed within. They’re a team that typically finishes the cross season strong. This past year wasn’t the case, as BC limped into the finish, placing 3rd in Region 20 and then 16th in D3. But bad stretches never last in running if you’re open to solutions.
In the quest of fast solutions, state relay medals were found, a 5th place in the 4×8 and 7th place in the 4×4.
Progress was made by:
Avery Kelly 19:06 XC >2:28/5:23
Maggie McLellan 19:55 XC > 2:37/5:40/12:22
Lilly Whaley 21:18 XC > 2:42/5:50/13:18
Kaitlyn Kaple 21:38 XC > 2:35
Also, it appears that added to these girls is Addison Hughes, not accounted for in the rankings as she didn’t run cross, but someone who ran 2:32 for the 800m.
Linden
Linden just always *feels* like a track school. The reason for that being is when I started to pay greater attention to the spring, Linden was popping out elite sprinters. From these past several months, I can tell you that their prowess on the oval extends beyond a single lap.
In late May, the Eagles brought four individuals to Hamilton for the D2 Finals – Addison Josephson, Melody Meckstroth, Emma Durling, and Courtney Floeter. Each of these girls qualified in their individual event, but also put together resumes all season that featured PRs in 2 or 3 distance events. Long story short, their progress was no fluke.
Altogether, Linden brings back:
800m – 4 sub-2:30 girls
1600m – 5 sub-5:40 girls
3200m – 4 sub-13:00 girls
Considerable progress was made by:
Addison Josephson – 18:17 XC > 2:24/5:20/11:23
Melody Meckstroth 19:43 XC > 5:32/11:47
Courtney Floeter – 19:28 XC > 2:19/5:17
Sidney Shepard 20:48 XC > 2:27/5:30
Emma Durling – 21:13 XC > 2:29/5:20
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 