CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON IS HERE!
With an extra weekend of XC season, the calendar has appeared a bit different than the usual routine of past years. We’ve already had an Oakland County meet, Wayne County as well. Portage typically marks the end of the regular season, a Pre-Nationals of sort for the state. From now on, you’ll find schedules heavy on league, county, and area championships. Then of course, regionals and state.
Just a reminder, ratings are generated via:
- The top 67% (rounding to the nearest whole number) performances of a runner
- Runners with three or less rated races have all races counted
- Those are then weighed on recency, meet size, and competitiveness of the meet
Those ratings are then compiled and scored as a hypothetical meet. Every runner that’s run a rated race from September 11th on is included.
Yes, athletic.net has simulations. These are different than athletic.net because:
- They account for course conditions and distance
- If you ran a shorter course, you’re likely to be overrated on there
- If you ran only hilly, rough courses, you’re likely to be underrated on there
- They take your best performance, I capture more of the resume
Mid-September Rankings
Late September Rankings
As always, these are for fun and a vehicle to drive interest in the best sport in the world. Enjoy!
Mid-Season Moves
The return of Ty Redman looms large in terms of impact. Adding one runner to a D4 squad will typically leave a mark. Adding a runner who’s capable of All-State, podium running will put a dent into the D4 scene.
XC can be easy to analyze with math, especially in the case of seeing where a team would stand with or without a runner. Without Ty’s 10th place effort in the Portage team race, add 94 points to Mesick’s score. The Bulldogs then move from a clear 4th place to finish into a battle for a top-10 bid.
It ain’t just Ty, as 5 of the other 8 Mesick kids hit their best rating of the season at Portage. Jacob Tanner mentioned Gunnar Hallett in his three stars and rightfully so, as the senior dropped a 17:21, a significant PR that’s over a whole minute faster than he ran last fall.
Individual Contenders
Building off his track campaign, Lincoln Laansma has solidified himself as the D4 favorite. Portage, as the case in all other divisions, was the great bellwether. Laansma let others to the work early, then dominated the race from the mile onward. His 5:06 2nd mile was 10+ sec. clear of everyone else. The gap laid there stayed similar toward the finish, with the victorious Lincoln winning by a 16 sec. margin.
Although Laansma is the favorite at this point, it’s not an insurmountable distance between him and the field. Anthony Rowe is probably the closest competitor. Rowe had the fastest close of anyone on Saturday, owns a 15:42 PR, and owns all the mid-distance records at Breckenridge.
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Region |
| 1 | 11 | Lincoln Laansma | Tri-Unity Christian | 205.3 | 31 |
| 2 | 12 | Anthony Rowe | Breckenridge | 203.1 | 30 |
| 3 | 10 | Abram Fettig | Saginaw Nouvel | 200.5 | 30 |
| 4 | 12 | Noah Schipper | Holland Calvary Christian | 200.0 | 31 |
| 5 | 12 | Christian Getz | Holland Calvary Christian | 200.0 | 31 |
| 6 | 12 | Brady Edwards | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart | 198.5 | 30 |
| 7 | 9 | Cooper Burt | Breckenridge | 197.4 | 30 |
| 8 | 12 | Kyle Redman | Mesick | 195.3 | 29 |
| 9 | 12 | Elias Baldwin | Decatur | 189.3 | 32 |
| 10 | 12 | Jacob Ferdubinski | Riverview Gabriel Richard | 188.5 | 36 |
| 11 | 12 | Gibson White | Holland Calvary Christian | 188.1 | 31 |
| 12 | 12 | Brody VanTuinen | Holland Calvary Christian | 186.7 | 31 |
| 13 | 11 | Reagan Downing | Holland Calvary Christian | 185.2 | 31 |
| 14 | 12 | Francis Austen | Portland St. Patrick | 183.7 | 31 |
| 15 | 11 | Peter Winn | Hillsdale Academy | 183.5 | 34 |
| 16 | 10 | Henry Rorick | Hillsdale Academy | 183.3 | 34 |
| 17 | 12 | Owen Ledebuhr | Holland Calvary Christian | 183.0 | 31 |
| 18 | 11 | Nolan Koscinski | Bear Lake | 182.4 | 29 |
| 19 | 12 | Daniel Chaney | Lake Leelanau St. Mary | 181.6 | 29 |
| 20 | 10 | Stephen Holm | Hillsdale Academy | 181.2 | 34 |
| 21 | 12 | Wesley Chaffee | Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart | 179.3 | 30 |
| 22 | 11 | Liam Knuth | Cardinal Mooney Catholic | 178.9 | 36 |
| 23 | 11 | Leo Weaver | Whitmore Lake | 178.0 | 33 |
| 24 | 12 | Timothy Gaebler | Hillsdale Academy | 177.7 | 34 |
| 25 | 12 | Dom Chiverton | Breckenridge | 176.8 | 30 |
| 26 | 10 | Gus Barr | Breckenridge | 176.7 | 30 |
| 27 | 11 | Lance Niedzielski | Mason County Eastern | 175.9 | 29 |
| 28 | 10 | Gavin Bowers | Austin Catholic | 173.7 | 36 |
| 29 | 11 | Nolan Stadel | Genesee Christian | 173.5 | 33 |
| 30 | 10 | Gabe Schultz | Genesee Christian | 173.3 | 33 |
| 31 | 12 | Alec Dodak | Manchester | 172.6 | 34 |
| 32 | 11 | Owen Jarosz | Frankfort | 171.8 | 29 |
| 33 | 10 | Fletcher Amos | Gobles | 171.4 | 31 |
| 34 | 11 | Cole Wesley | Petoskey St. Michael | 171.2 | 28 |
| 35 | 10 | James Sanders | Breckenridge | 170.9 | 30 |
| 36 | 9 | Linkon Utter | Holland Calvary Christian | 169.8 | 31 |
| 37 | 12 | Rush Marsden | Fulton | 169.4 | 30 |
| 38 | 10 | Ethan Harrand | Buckley | 169.0 | 29 |
| 39 | 9 | Samuel McIndoe | Novi Christian Academy | 169.0 | 33 |
| 40 | 9 | Benjamin Bolinder | Bridgman | 168.9 | 32 |
| 41 | 11 | Christopher Knudsen | Leland | 168.9 | 29 |
| 42 | 10 | Thomas Sigler | Martin | 168.2 | 31 |
| 43 | 11 | Joseph Coon | White Cloud | 168.0 | 31 |
| 44 | 11 | Carter Suttmann | Leland | 167.3 | 29 |
| 45 | 11 | Beckett Dennis | Grand Traverse Academy | 167.1 | 29 |
| 46 | 12 | Max Barron | Tekonsha | 166.3 | 32 |
| 47 | 11 | Wyatt Blohm | Vassar | 166.0 | 35 |
| 48 | 12 | Micah Arlow | Cardinal Mooney Catholic | 165.5 | 36 |
| 49 | 12 | Eric Junker | Whitmore Lake | 165.3 | 33 |
| 50 | 9 | Grady Hanes | Petoskey St. Michael | 164.8 | 28 |
Mid-Season Moves
There weren’t too many major moves from the D3 scene, the Portage results a little chalky. But Hart made it clear they’re a deep team to be reckoned with. The Pirates definitely started from a deficit, their top-two boys coming in 22nd and 25th in the team standings. Through their mid-section, they moved up through the field. Their 5th boy, Alex Schiller, was the best 5th in the field. Their 6th boy, Carson Ackley, was the best 5th in the field. Their 7th boy, Aiden Schaner, was the best 5th in the field. Does that sound repetitive? Yeah! There was a ton of displacin’, as Hart’s 5th-7th kids placed ahead of everyone else’s 5th, clear of >90% of the field’s 4th runner, and better than >80% of the field’s 3rd kid.
Individual Contenders
This will be as fun as ever. Tons of kids with either championship experiences or 2026 resumes that shout out their significance. Seemingly, eight kids have separated themselves as contenders:
Luke Herron – laying low, mega consistent this year, even on the tougher days such as Holly
Nole Lorenzen – owner of the fastest time in D3, Oakland County champion
Cooper Flick – Bluejay Gold division champion, which featured many of the best D3 teams
Logan Youngman – defending 3200m champion, winner at Jackson and Stockbridge
Will Hulin – Portage champion on a upward trajectory
Hunter Eaton – defending XC champion
Christian Craanen – 15:21 at Bluejay displays his fitness, 3x All-State on the track proves he can handle the stage
Caleb Blonde – has saved his best efforts for big races, under 15:40 at both Jackson and Portage
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Region |
| 1 | 12 | Luke Herron | Caro | 212.6 | 25 |
| 2 | 11 | Nole Lorenzen | Rochester Hills Lutheran NW | 211.7 | 26 |
| 3 | 12 | Cooper Flick | Hanover-Horton | 209.2 | 23 |
| 4 | 12 | Logan Youngman | Hillsdale | 208.3 | 23 |
| 5 | 12 | Hunter Eaton | Charlevoix | 206.3 | 19 |
| 6 | 11 | Will Hulin | Centreville | 205.8 | 23 |
| 7 | 11 | Christian Craanen | Monroe St. Mary CC | 205.1 | 27 |
| 8 | 12 | Caleb Blonde | Jonesville | 203.8 | 23 |
| 9 | 10 | Spencer McNitt | Maple City Glen Lake | 200.9 | 20 |
| 10 | 12 | Chad Tyson | Hanover-Horton | 200.7 | 23 |
| 11 | 11 | Owen Poppema | Bath | 200.3 | 24 |
| 12 | 10 | Mason Rogers | Red Arrow | 198.6 | 22 |
| 13 | 10 | Isaac Cox | Plymouth Christian Academy | 197.9 | 27 |
| 14 | 10 | Asher Putman | Reese | 197.6 | 25 |
| 15 | 12 | Jonas Ballard | Holland Black River | 197.0 | 22 |
| 16 | 11 | Eli VanPoortfliet | Benzie Central | 195.9 | 20 |
| 17 | 12 | Owen Windgaston | Clawson | 195.8 | 26 |
| 18 | 12 | Abraham Feeney | Maple City Glen Lake | 194.9 | 20 |
| 19 | 11 | Soren Crosthwaite | Jackson Lumen Christi | 194.8 | 23 |
| 20 | 12 | Evan MacLaren | Ithaca | 194.7 | 24 |
| 21 | 12 | Naveen Kulkarni | Ann Arbor Greenhills | 193.6 | 27 |
| 22 | 11 | Silas Ackley | Hart | 192.7 | 20 |
| 23 | 10 | Max Reed | Centreville | 192.5 | 23 |
| 24 | 12 | John Kowatch | Pewamo-Westphalia | 192.4 | 24 |
| 25 | 11 | Jackson Bowman | Saugatuck | 192.0 | 22 |
| 26 | 12 | William Gancer | Stockbridge | 191.7 | 26 |
| 27 | 12 | Everett Beach | Lansing Catholic | 191.6 | 26 |
| 28 | 12 | Cage Edingfield | Benzie Central | 191.2 | 20 |
| 29 | 10 | Wesley Mair | Montague | 191.0 | 21 |
| 30 | 9 | Nick Overweg | Centreville | 190.9 | 23 |
| 31 | 12 | Téo Krumm | Lansing Catholic | 190.9 | 26 |
| 32 | 12 | William Ready | Traverse City St. Francis | 190.7 | 19 |
| 33 | 12 | Ryder Hopkins | Charlevoix | 190.0 | 19 |
| 34 | 11 | Michael Weidmayer | Blissfield | 189.6 | 27 |
| 35 | 12 | Rocky Bolton | Jackson Lumen Christi | 189.6 | 23 |
| 36 | 11 | Edison Huizinga | Manistee | 189.4 | 20 |
| 37 | 11 | Timothy Wolff | Hart | 188.8 | 20 |
| 38 | 12 | Grant Rehkopf | Saugatuck | 188.3 | 22 |
| 39 | 11 | Tristan Hernandez | Kingsley | 188.3 | 20 |
| 40 | 11 | Nolan Kessler | Montague | 188.1 | 21 |
| 41 | 11 | Noah Sills | Blissfield | 188.0 | 27 |
| 42 | 12 | Collin Fucile | Jonesville | 187.9 | 23 |
| 43 | 11 | Wyatt Hassenzahl | Hanover-Horton | 187.5 | 23 |
| 44 | 12 | Isaac Dionne | Boyne City | 187.3 | 19 |
| 45 | 12 | Sawyer Monroe | Saugatuck | 187.2 | 22 |
| 46 | 12 | Avery Morrow | Jackson Lumen Christi | 187.0 | 23 |
| 47 | 12 | Owen Sytsema | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 186.7 | 21 |
| 48 | 9 | Coen Lorenzen | Rochester Hills Lutheran NW | 186.3 | 26 |
| 49 | 12 | Carson Ackley | Hart | 184.9 | 20 |
| 50 | 12 | James Tennes | Lansing Catholic | 184.6 | 26 |
Mid-Season Moves
The past two weeks have seen the Falcons move from outside the top-27 to the 20th spot. Divine Child has been active, racing at both Otsego and Wayne County. On the west side, DC held their own against a field comparable to MIS, placing 7th. Returning off that high, the Falcons claimed a D2 Wayne County title.
Upperclassmen have led the way to their rise, with luminaries such as Grant Goodwin, Landen Bermudez, Joseph Arriola, and Daniel Reifenberg all hitting PR’s at Otsego. First-year runner Jacob Salinas didn’t hit a PR there, but he’s been on a three meet streak of sub-18’s, clearly picking up wisdom at the 5k distance.
Individual Contenders
You don’t have to be any sort of XC analyst to realize that Bobby Jazwinski is the D2 favorite. Healthy this fall, he’s been on a rampage against all competition, running 14:23 on numerous occasions, winning at Pete Moss, Under the Lights, and Portage.
Curiosity strikes as to what might happen in the field behind Jazwinski. Covering the sport here in 2026, it seems that Michigan’s depth is at an all-time high. We’ll see this in the D1/D3 contenders, but also what it might take to get on the podium.
If you check the individual meet rating posts, you’ll notice I’ll include a graphic that includes the average rating of the 30th place MIS finisher over the past five years. For D2, that’s been an average rating of 195. In terms of time, MIS has been running a bit fast as of late (hardly any adverse days + changes in the grass on the infield), that 195 equating to 15:50-55. Thus far in 2026, 55 D2 kids have run 195 or faster on 186 occasions. Many D2 boys are capable of an All-State performance in early November.
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Region |
| 1 | 12 | Robert Jazwinski III | Whitehall | 230.3 | 10 |
| 2 | 11 | Lennox Naswell | Flint Powers Catholic | 213.1 | 15 |
| 3 | 12 | Cole McCraw | Pinckney | 208.9 | 16 |
| 4 | 11 | Micah Becker | East Grand Rapids | 208.1 | 12 |
| 5 | 12 | Ezekiel Baltierra | Alma | 207.6 | 15 |
| 6 | 12 | Mitchell Dunlap | Grand Rapids Catholic Central | 206.6 | 11 |
| 7 | 12 | Lukas Albright | Big Rapids | 204.5 | 10 |
| 8 | 12 | Broden Ladd | Holly | 204.2 | 17 |
| 9 | 12 | Caiden Caswell | Vicksburg | 203.8 | 13 |
| 10 | 10 | Logan Cristian | Parma Western | 203.5 | 14 |
| 11 | 11 | Ashton Fink | Grand Rapids Christian | 203.4 | 12 |
| 12 | 12 | Bryce Cahoon | Shepherd | 202.2 | 15 |
| 13 | 11 | Jack Hincks | Detroit Country Day | 201.6 | 16 |
| 14 | 12 | Mason Hill | Allendale | 201.0 | 11 |
| 15 | 10 | Grant Lampen | Holland Christian | 200.9 | 11 |
| 16 | 11 | Ethan Ferguson | Edwardsburg | 200.6 | 13 |
| 17 | 12 | Thomas Fisher | East Grand Rapids | 200.4 | 12 |
| 18 | 9 | Drew Franken | Holland Christian | 199.9 | 11 |
| 19 | 12 | Abraham McHugh | Marshall | 198.9 | 13 |
| 20 | 11 | James Scholten-Holcomb | Grand Rapids Christian | 198.7 | 12 |
| 21 | 12 | Lincoln Reed | Pinckney | 198.0 | 16 |
| 22 | 12 | Seth Betzold | Essexville-Garber | 197.8 | 15 |
| 23 | 11 | Duncan Palmer | Williamston | 197.7 | 14 |
| 24 | 11 | Cole Heikka | Holly | 197.5 | 17 |
| 25 | 12 | Bryce Falbe | Muskegon Oakridge | 197.2 | 10 |
| 26 | 12 | Nick Parker | Frankenmuth | 197.0 | 15 |
| 27 | 10 | Zander Stewart | Holland Christian | 196.6 | 11 |
| 28 | 12 | Hunter Smith | Vicksburg | 196.1 | 13 |
| 29 | 11 | David Kore | Three Rivers | 196.0 | 13 |
| 30 | 12 | Wyeth Angus | Chelsea | 195.6 | 16 |
| 31 | 11 | Christian Pavlige | Fruitport | 195.5 | 10 |
| 32 | 12 | Cole Coffman | Holland Christian | 195.1 | 11 |
| 33 | 12 | Cameron Crane | New Boston Huron | 194.8 | 18 |
| 34 | 12 | Jack Frentz | Petoskey | 194.7 | 10 |
| 35 | 11 | Grayson Michels | Forest Hills Eastern | 194.4 | 12 |
| 36 | 12 | Joshua Macri | Macomb Lutheran North | 194.2 | 17 |
| 37 | 12 | Seth Randall | St. Joseph | 194.1 | 13 |
| 38 | 11 | Liam Dewitt | Haslett | 194.1 | 14 |
| 39 | 12 | Ben Bouchey | Flint Powers Catholic | 193.9 | 15 |
| 40 | 12 | Reeve Oberman | Petoskey | 193.7 | 10 |
| 41 | 10 | Zach Diller | Holland Christian | 193.5 | 11 |
| 42 | 11 | Andrew Nunning | Pontiac Notre Dame Prep | 193.4 | 17 |
| 43 | 11 | Rex Pumford | Whitehall | 193.0 | 10 |
| 44 | 12 | Christopher Vogt | Paw Paw | 192.7 | 13 |
| 45 | 9 | Camden Clevenger | Goodrich | 192.6 | 15 |
| 46 | 11 | Aiden Lambers | Holland | 191.5 | 11 |
| 47 | 12 | Connor Pepin | Croswell-Lexington | 191.3 | 17 |
| 48 | 9 | Connor Charboneau | Saginaw Swan Valley | 191.1 | 15 |
| 49 | 10 | Parker Smith | Adrian | 190.6 | 18 |
| 50 | 10 | Leland Sowle | Parma Western | 190.0 | 14 |
Mid-Season Moves
The champ ain’t dead yet. Just a reminder for the young folks and newcomers – Northville won XC titles in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025. With their 3rd place finish at Portage, the Mustangs have made it clear they can ascend to the podium in November. Their race from Saturday played out in a similar manner to many of those championship performances. The Mustangs were 5th at the mile and at two, then moved up two spots from two miles on.
What gives hope is the progress of their youngsters. Braden Millar ran in the 15’s for the first time ever, Aristides Kyritses grabbed a PR, and Ashton Kashat is gradually finding his way back into the 16’s.
Individual Contenders
Speaking of that high floor from the D2 realm, D1 brings that at the forefront. Reaching back into history, once it was uncommon for a D1 winner to run sub-15. In 2023, both Seth Norder and Thomas Westphal broke 15:00, the first time ever that sub-15 didn’t emit a win in the final. 2025’s final saw four kids in the 14’s, a fifth that was tenths of a second back. Peering at the landscape here in 2026, there’s potential for even greater quantities of kids clearing the 900 second barrier.
Thus far this fall, seven boys have been sub-15, three of those races coming at Portage. All have been at legit courses that could portend to the same fate in a few weeks. Then there’s kids on the outside, five more boys that’ve run 15:10 or faster.
Portage displayed a bit of separation toward the top. A large early pack of 10+ boys hit the mile near 4:40. That number dwindled to an exact 10 at two. Then in the final 1.1, Caden Livermore and Kamari Ronfeldt opened up a significant gap as they dueled for the win. At the finish, Livermore succeeded in victory, setting the stage for a final month where the defending champion strategizes in his bid for a repeat.
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Region |
| 1 | 12 | Caden Livermore | Grandville | 221.9 | 1 |
| 2 | 12 | Kamari Ronfeldt | Ann Arbor Pioneer | 220.9 | 5 |
| 3 | 12 | Samuel Baker | Kalamazoo Central | 219.2 | 3 |
| 4 | 12 | Luka Hammond | Grand Haven | 219.2 | 1 |
| 5 | 12 | Jack MacGregor | Howell | 219.1 | 4 |
| 6 | 12 | Brandon Cloud | Northville | 216.4 | 7 |
| 7 | 12 | Matii Tarekegn | East Kentwood | 216.3 | 1 |
| 8 | 12 | Marshall Huhn | Lowell | 215.3 | 3 |
| 9 | 12 | Austin Mercado | Salem | 213.1 | 6 |
| 10 | 12 | Jacob Szalay | Saline | 213.0 | 5 |
| 11 | 10 | Archer VerHage | Grand Haven | 211.4 | 1 |
| 12 | 11 | Gavin Katic | Fenton | 211.2 | 2 |
| 13 | 12 | Liam Wierzba | Traverse City West | 210.8 | 2 |
| 14 | 11 | Rylen Richey | Grand Ledge | 209.1 | 4 |
| 15 | 12 | Coen Hill | Dexter | 208.0 | 4 |
| 16 | 11 | Cooper McNaughton | Clarkston | 207.9 | 8 |
| 17 | 11 | Xavier Solgot | L’Anse Creuse North | 207.4 | 9 |
| 18 | 10 | Josh Keillor-Beale | Brighton | 205.2 | 4 |
| 19 | 10 | Hudson Doll | Ann Arbor Skyline | 205.2 | 6 |
| 20 | 11 | Alexander Allen | Alpena | 205.0 | 2 |
| 21 | 11 | Johnathan Elsea | Mount Pleasant | 204.7 | 2 |
| 22 | 11 | Todd Tobin Jr | Highland-Milford | 204.5 | 8 |
| 23 | 12 | Caelan Marsh | Grand Ledge | 204.0 | 4 |
| 24 | 12 | Logan Gessford | Midland | 203.7 | 2 |
| 25 | 10 | Tanner Smith | Zeeland West | 203.5 | 3 |
| 26 | 10 | Tucker Asman | Brighton | 203.4 | 4 |
| 27 | 11 | Finn Frost-Grayson | Traverse City West | 203.0 | 2 |
| 28 | 12 | Josiah Derksen | Rockford | 202.8 | 1 |
| 29 | 10 | Grant Kulesza | Brighton | 202.7 | 4 |
| 30 | 12 | Ethan Burks | Jenison | 202.1 | 1 |
| 31 | 11 | Mourad Algahmi | Dearborn Fordson | 201.9 | 5 |
| 32 | 11 | Lucas Campbell | Rochester | 201.4 | 9 |
| 33 | 11 | Roman Stilwell | Ann Arbor Skyline | 201.3 | 6 |
| 34 | 12 | Justin Johnson | East Kentwood | 201.3 | 1 |
| 35 | 11 | Carter Cooke | Jenison | 201.3 | 1 |
| 36 | 11 | Caleb Conner | Jenison | 201.3 | 1 |
| 37 | 11 | Aidan Schwalbach | Rochester Hills Stoney Creek | 201.2 | 9 |
| 38 | 11 | Nikhil Ball | South Lyon East | 201.2 | 4 |
| 39 | 10 | Tommy McCormick | Grand Blanc | 201.1 | 2 |
| 40 | 11 | Kilian Boulware-Lopez | East Lansing | 201.1 | 4 |
| 41 | 11 | Chase Sherman | Jenison | 200.5 | 1 |
| 42 | 11 | Sean Thompson | Caledonia | 200.4 | 3 |
| 43 | 12 | Nick Martens | Dexter | 200.2 | 4 |
| 44 | 11 | Marcus Essling | Portage Central | 199.7 | 3 |
| 45 | 11 | Martin Gehrke | Ann Arbor Skyline | 199.6 | 6 |
| 46 | 11 | Luke Bultman | Rockford | 199.2 | 1 |
| 47 | 11 | Brady Glon | Detroit Catholic Central | 199.0 | 7 |
| 48 | 12 | Cody Bromley | Lowell | 199.0 | 3 |
| 49 | 10 | Lucas Naspinsky | White Lake Lakeland | 198.9 | 8 |
| 50 | 10 | Aiden Doggett | Highland-Milford | 198.9 | 8 |
| Rank | Team | Score |
| 1 | Marquette | 19 |
| 2 | Sault Ste. Marie | 80 |
| 3 | Houghton | 89 |
| 4 | Gladstone | 101 |
| 5 | Negaunee | 144 |
| 6 | Kingsford | 178 |
| 7 | Ishpeming Westwood | 180 |
| 8 | Menominee | 203 |
| 9 | Escanaba | 221 |
| Rank | Team | Score |
| 1 | Munising | 39 |
| 2 | Rudyard | 39 |
| 3 | Painesdale-Jeffers | 52 |
| 4 | Brimley | 109 |
| 5 | Ironwood | 131 |
| Rank | Team | Score |
| 1 | Rapid River | 83 |
| 2 | Forest Park | 91 |
| 3 | Cedarville | 93 |
| 4 | Rock Mid-Peninsula | 108 |
| 5 | St. Ignace | 110 |
| 6 | Stephenson | 132 |
| 7 | Engadine | 132 |
| 8 | Pickford | 152 |
| 9 | Superior Central | 181 |
| 10 | Carney-Nadeau | 228 |
Mid-Season Moves
Well, Cedarville surely made a jump here into the top-10, coming in right behind D3 contender Rapid River. The main reason for that was their performance in the first EUP Jamboree, where the Trojans were first amongst D3 squads. Can they contend for the crown? We’ll find out more from this weekend’s Rudyard Autumn Classic. Currently in the rankings separated by division, Cedarville ranks 3rd.
Individual Contenders
Three boys have separated themselves from the field in each respective division.
By over a minute, Lucas Ballard has run the fastest time of anyone in the UP. His 15:17 at Bluejay was wonderfully executed, as Ballard moved up six spots in the final mile, narrowly securing 2nd place in a loaded field.
Rudyard’s Eli Folkersma has undergone tremendous improvement over the past year. For the most part, his 2025 season consisted of 18 min.+ performances, save for a few forays into the 17:50s. This fall, he’s been sub-18 on every occasion over the past month, including a 17:21 PR in the first EUP Jamboree.
Cedarville’s Ethan Snyder combines the domination of Ballard (55 sec. clear of his nearest competition) with the progress of Folkersma (17:12 > 16:27 over the past year). That 16:27 was not a fluke, as Snyder’s been in the mid-16’s for his past three races.
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Division |
| 1 | 12 | Lucas Ballard | Marquette | 208.0 | 1 |
| 2 | 11 | Lake Skytta | Marquette | 171.4 | 1 |
| 3 | 11 | Brandon Van Karsen | Houghton | 167.6 | 1 |
| 4 | 11 | William Lindsay | Marquette | 167.0 | 1 |
| 5 | 12 | Vasu Esplin | Marquette | 167.0 | 1 |
| 6 | 12 | Chase Aldridge | Sault Ste. Marie | 166.5 | 1 |
| 7 | 11 | Garrett Crimmins | Marquette | 164.2 | 1 |
| 8 | 12 | Welly Fillmore | Marquette | 163.5 | 1 |
| 9 | 10 | Calvin Carlson | Ishpeming Westwood | 163.2 | 1 |
| 10 | 12 | Cavan Mulligan | Kingsford | 156.7 | 1 |
| 11 | 9 | Bradley Klann | Menominee | 156.0 | 1 |
| 12 | 9 | Anthony Messina | Marquette | 154.6 | 1 |
| 13 | 9 | Tyler Rule | Houghton | 153.7 | 1 |
| 14 | 10 | Drew Burtt | Sault Ste. Marie | 153.6 | 1 |
| 15 | 12 | Chuck Cameron | Gladstone | 146.2 | 1 |
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Division |
| 1 | 12 | Eli Folkersma | Rudyard | 173.2 | 2 |
| 2 | 12 | Blake Lakosky | Munising | 152.4 | 2 |
| 3 | 10 | Jack LaLone | Rudyard | 151.2 | 2 |
| 4 | 10 | Eduel Spencer | West Iron County | 150.5 | 2 |
| 5 | 11 | Branson Anderson | Painesdale-Jeffers | 150.1 | 2 |
| 6 | 9 | Evan Kelto | Munising | 149.5 | 2 |
| 7 | 12 | Darren Johnson | Brimley | 146.1 | 2 |
| 8 | 10 | Liam Kinnunen | Painesdale-Jeffers | 137.6 | 2 |
| 9 | 9 | Orin Shalom | Munising | 136.4 | 2 |
| 10 | 12 | Zaine Nichols | Rudyard | 134.5 | 2 |
| 11 | 12 | Noah Randell | Painesdale-Jeffers | 133.5 | 2 |
| 12 | 12 | Nolan Dolaskie | Munising | 132.0 | 2 |
| 13 | 12 | Oliver Dankert | Rudyard | 131.0 | 2 |
| 14 | 10 | Dylan Krause | Munising | 127.2 | 2 |
| 15 | 10 | Liam Hoolsema | Rudyard | 125.7 | 2 |
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating | Division |
| 1 | 12 | Ethan Snyder | Cedarville | 175.1 | 3 |
| 2 | 10 | Ashdeyn Gerow | Rock Mid-Peninsula | 162.5 | 3 |
| 3 | 12 | Jacob Mitchell | Pickford | 153.1 | 3 |
| 4 | 12 | Kemper Gearhart | Ishpeming | 152.5 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 | Wyatt Huhn | St. Ignace | 150.7 | 3 |
| 6 | 11 | Nate Stielstra | Engadine | 149.1 | 3 |
| 7 | 10 | Owen Truitt | Rapid River | 146.2 | 3 |
| 8 | 11 | Hayden Smith | Forest Park | 144.5 | 3 |
| 9 | 11 | Eddie Franckowiak | Engadine | 144.1 | 3 |
| 10 | 9 | Niko Reed | Dollar Bay | 138.9 | 3 |
| 11 | 9 | Liam Bohn | Cedarville | 138.1 | 3 |
| 12 | 10 | Eli Stiglitz | Rock Mid-Peninsula | 137.6 | 3 |
| 13 | 12 | Jon Denkins | Rapid River | 137.4 | 3 |
| 14 | 12 | Jae Poma | Rapid River | 134.8 | 3 |
| 15 | 9 | Jaxon Klyk | Superior Central | 133.1 | 3 |
Homeschool athletes, the “official” rankings might not include you, but I’ve got you covered! Even with your championship coming the weekend of regionals, I’ll still have projections for that day. And word on the street is I might even be there…
| Rank | Grade | Name | Team | O11 Rating |
| 1 | 11 | Abenezer Olson | Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports | 205.9 |
| 2 | 12 | Noah Rice | Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports | 199.0 |
| 3 | 12 | Evan Armstrong | Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports | 196.2 |
| 4 | 11 | Eli Miller | GRTC Peregrines | 191.1 |
| 5 | 11 | Andrew Egli | GRTC Peregrines | 186.1 |
| 6 | 10 | Colton Childress | Monroe Milers | 185.3 |
| 7 | 12 | Anthony Schmitz | GRTC Peregrines | 183.6 |
| 8 | 11 | Tyler Egli | GRTC Peregrines | 183.1 |
| 9 | 10 | Calvin Graham | GRTC Peregrines | 182.8 |
| 10 | 12 | Jacob Ziolkowski | GRTC Peregrines | 182.4 |
| 11 | 12 | Brennan Ackerman | GRTC Peregrines | 181.7 |
| 12 | 12 | Brian Artman | Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports | 180.8 |
| 13 | 11 | Timothy Adair | Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports | 179.2 |
| 14 | 11 | Daniel LaRoy | Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports | 176.8 |
| 15 | 10 | Dawson Kolehouse | West Michigan Homeschool | 173.9 |
