Author: mixcspeedratings

The List

• You know, I talk all the time about the effect of certain coaches, but I haven’t said much about Coach Collette’s effect on the West Michigan Aviation squad last year
• Although it didn’t end in a state meet berth, there was a noticeable improvement in many of their runners, Emma being a prime example
• She flashed some potential and attained some results as a freshman, winning the Alliance League, breaking 20:00, qualifying for State
• 2021 was a season where she cashed in on that potential, withdrawing a 10^th(!) place finish at MIS
• The Aviators took off /glided/reached Mach 4 (you pick the bad pun) in October, Emma was at the forefront of their ascent (I can’t help myself)
• A 19:15 at Portage was a personal best, that was followed by another best at the Alliance Conference meet, and another one at State
• Not satisfied with just one championship season peak, she doubled back on that come track, running personal bests in the 1600m at Regionals and State, narrowly missing an All-State selection

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Emma DeVries	20:06.4	123.9	Alliance League 1	Calvary Laketown	1-Sep
10	Emma DeVries	19:26.2	125.3	Sparta	Fruitridge Hayrides	18-Sep
10	Emma DeVries	20:39.5	142.2	Alliance League 3	Johnson Park	6-Oct
10	Emma Devries	19:15.1	139.0	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
10	Emma DeVries	19:36.8	138.4	Kent Ottawa	Gainey Fields	16-Oct
10	Emma DeVries	19:08.1	127.3	Alliance Conference	Fruitport Calvary Christian	19-Oct
10	Emma DeVries	19:56.9	138.4	14 SFRC	St. Francis Retreat Center	29-Oct
10	Emma DeVries	18:55.9	138.0	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Emma DeVries	83.3	Ravenna Bulldog	Ravenna HS	8-Sep
9	Emma DeVries	106.2	Harriers for Hope	Peacock Tree Farm	19-Sep
9	Emma DeVries	115.2	Alliance 1	Johnson Park	23-Sep
9	Emma DeVries	114.8	Allendale Falcon	Allendale HS	3-Oct
9	Emma DeVries	120.9	Autumn Sunrise	Heritage Christian	10-Oct
9	Emma DeVries	123.1	PR 26	South Christian Sports Park	23-Oct
9	Emma DeVries	124.1	D2 Reg 13	Otsego HS	31-Oct
9	Emma DeVries	117.0	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov

• Clayton is just one in a line of Ackleys and Enns that have found success in our sport
  • His parents both ran for Cornerstone, his sisters Alayna (15^th at the D2 10k), Lynae, Savannah, and Adelyn (broke 16:00/34:00 this past season) are all running in college, his cousins, the Enns have millions of All-States to their name, I could keep going
• It would be easy to let the pressure of others success inhibit one’s love for running, be a burden on the start line, but Clayton has gone the opposite direction, and appears primed to make even more a name for himself in the coming year
• As a Hart teammate, he has been able to contribute to the Pirates immense accomplishments in the past three years, a top-5 team in each of those years
• He always seems to bring his best performance for that stage, whether that be an 8 sec. PB this past year or stepping up as their 2^nd runner as a freshman
• He brought that same energy to Kent City in early June as well, nailing a 10+ sec. PB to finish 4^th in the 3200m

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Clayton Ackley	16:54.7	184.1	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	28-Aug
11	Clayton Ackley	17:00.1	182.0	Leanne Wolf Geers	Mason County Fairgrounds	9-Sep
11	Clayton Ackley	16:59.8	184.7	WMD 1	Walkerville	14-Sep
11	Clayton Ackley	16:42.0	194.0	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
11	Clayton Ackley	16:38.0	183.3	WMC 2	Montague HS	21-Sep
11	Clayton Ackley	16:46.7	186.4	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	25-Sep
11	Clayton Ackley	16:34.5	187.5	Bluejay	Shepherd HS	2-Oct
11	Clayton Ackley	16:40.7	189.1	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
11	Clayton Ackley	18:44.6	183.1	WMC Champ	Shelby HS	12-Oct
11	Clayton Ackley	16:52.4	175.9	Hart & Sole	Colonial GC	16-Oct
11	Clayton Ackley	16:41.7	179.8	Mel Hall	Spring Lake HS	23-Oct
11	Clayton Ackley	16:27.2	177.3	20 Benzie	Benzie Central HS	30-Oct
11	Clayton Ackley	16:19.3	188.2	D3 State	MIS	6-Nov
11	Clayton Ackley	16:39.5	185.8	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Clayton Ackley	181.5	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	29-Aug
10	Clayton Ackley	168.7	Wolf Geers	Mason County Fairgrounds	10-Sep
10	Clayton Ackley	169.3	Ludington	West Shore CC	19-Sep
10	Clayton Ackley	168.1	WMC Oakridge	Oakridge HS	22-Sep
10	Clayton Ackley	173.5	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	26-Sep
10	Clayton Ackley	181.9	Allendale Falcon	Allendale HS	3-Oct
10	Clayton Ackley	162.7	WMC Conference	University Park GC	13-Oct
10	Clayton Ackley	171.1	PR 40	Manistee HS	23-Oct
10	Clayton Ackley	168.3	D3 Reg 20	Buckley HS	31-Oct
10	Clayton Ackley	177.6	D3 State	MIS	7-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Clayton Ackley	171.2	Pete Moss	Benzie Central
9	Clayton Ackley	157.8	Spartan	Forest Akers
9	Clayton Ackley	150.2	Allendale Falcon	Allendale HS
9	Clayton Ackley	164.8	Portage	Portage West MS
9	Clayton Ackley	180.2	Mel Hall	Spring Lake HS
9	Clayton Ackley	176.3	20	Benzie Central
9	Clayton Ackley	179.9	D3 State	MIS

50 Tickets

• Aiden began to turn heads as a middle school sensation, winning the Lenawee County meet as a 7^th and 8^th grader
• He’s continued to bring it at the high school level, helping bring the Maples back to the forefront of Division 2, where they’ve finished in the top-15 each of his three seasons
• And that feat has been repeated on the track, where their 4×8 team has finished in the past two seasons
• Individually, he began to pick up the pace toward the tail end of his sophomore cross campaign
• He ran a personal best of 15:59 at the Meet of Champions and nabbed an All-State berth as well
• His 2021 season didn’t end with an All-State accolade, but he still broke 16:30 twice
• This past track season shows he’s added some strength to his repertoire, that 9:38 in the 3200m gives hope that he can progress further into the 15’s and step on the MIS podium again

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Aiden Smith	16:55.3	202.2	Lenawee County Preview	Tecumseh HS	21-Aug
11	Aiden Smith	17:55.8	177.4	Bert Cebulski	Heritage Park (Adrian)	26-Aug
11	Aiden Smith	16:17.4	200.2	A2 Early Bird	Huron Meadows	2-Sep
11	Aiden Smith	16:44.5	191.5	SEC 1	Hudson Mills (South)	14-Sep
11	Aiden Smith	16:19.4	195.5	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	25-Sep
11	Aiden Smith	17:05.3	196.6	SEC White 2	Bennett Park	28-Sep
11	Aiden Smith	16:16.1	193.3	Otsego Bulldog	Otsego HS	2-Oct
11	Aiden Smith	16:49.9	185.4	Lenawee County	Gerber Hill Park	16-Oct
11	Aiden Smith	17:56.4	179.9	18 Lake Erie	Lake Erie	30-Oct
11	Aiden Smith	16:30.4	187.2	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov
11	Aiden Smith	16:19.6	192.5	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Aiden Smith	173.7	Adrian/Chelsea/Tecumseh Tri	Heritage Park (Adrian)	26-Aug
10	Aiden Smith	170.7	Adrian/Dexter/Tecumseh Tri	Heritage Park (Adrian)	4-Sep
10	Aiden Smith	166.3	Adrian/Hudson/Skyline/Tecumseh	Heritage Park (Adrian)	12-Sep
10	Aiden Smith	188.5	Jackson	Sharp Park	19-Sep
10	Aiden Smith	175.4	Adrian/Pinckney/Tecumseh	Heritage Park	26-Sep
10	Aiden Smith	180.8	Adrian/Bedford	Indian Creek Park	3-Oct
10	Aiden Smith	187.6	PR 35	Heritage Park (Adrian)	24-Oct
10	Aiden Smith	191.2	D2 Reg 18	Lake Erie	31-Oct
10	Aiden Smith	191.8	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Aiden Smith	193.4	Lenawee Preview	Tecumseh HS
9	Aiden Smith	191.2	Bert Cebulski	Heritage Park (Adrian)
9	Aiden Smith	187.8	A2 Early Bird	Huron Meadows
9	Aiden Smith	186.9	Huron	Willow
9	Aiden Smith	178.7	Jackson	Sharp Park
9	Aiden Smith	188.9	Hudson Booster	Hudson HS
9	Aiden Smith	191.8	Lenawee County	Gerber Hill Park
9	Aiden Smith	175.7	SEC	Hudson Mills (North)
9	Aiden Smith	183.6	18	Lake Erie
9	Aiden Smith	187.2	D2 State	MIS

• The Pride of Mendon, Presley was another middle school wonder, having gone undefeated as an 8^th grader, setting herself up for a great freshman campaign and career
• And boy, she lived up to that billing
• Victories were had at Otsego Bulldog, St. Joseph County, and Region 32
• High placings were there at Portage, Class D, and D4 State
• And best of which, she was able to lead the Hornets to their first appearance in Brooklyn since 2015
• Having been to a few of those races, I was impressed with how Presley sticks her nose in there, even if it meant going out a little hard and fading
• That ability to hit paces while fatigued will come, and we saw evidence of that in track with her 5:14/11:22 double at State

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Presley Allen	19:08.6	151.8	Bridgman	Lake Township Park	25-Aug
9	Presley Allen	19:10.7	123.8	SW10 1	Centreville HS	22-Sep
9	Presley Allen	19:01.2	142.6	Jackson	Sharp Park	25-Sep
9	Presley Allen	18:44.4	144.9	Otsego Bulldog	Otsego HS	2-Oct
9	Presley Allen	18:37.6	151.5	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
9	Presley Allen	19:04.6	133.8	Sturgis Kiwanis	Sturgis MS	16-Oct
9	Presley Allen	18:43.7	132.1	SW 10 3	Bloomingdale HS	20-Oct
9	Presley Allen	19:00.3	132.2	Class D	Shepherd HS	23-Oct
9	Presley Allen	19:02.1	132.6	32 Portage	Portage West MS	29-Oct
9	Presley Allen	19:27.2	122.6	D4 State	MIS	6-Nov
9	Presley Allen	18:54.9	139.4	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

50 Tickets

• Lila came into the high school scene projected to be a top freshman and she’s lived up to those expectations
• At the middle school level, she won multiple races, got into the 12’s in cross country, and broke 6:00 in 8^th grade
• On the track, she’s continued that progress into track, improving from 5:43 to 5:16 and displaying some 800m speed along the way
• Last fall, she eased into the season with a few introductory races, then just started shattering barriers one after another: sub-20 at Central Montcalm, sub-19 at Shepherd
• And along the way, became the #1 girl on a Kent City squad that got better as the year went along, all the way to a 2^nd place finish at MIS
• Lila just knows success, as she’s a prominent part of a basketball team that finished as state runners-up as well

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Lila Volkers	19:35.1	136.0	CM Hornet	Central Montcalm HS	11-Sep
9	Lila Volkers	19:29.9	124.0	Sparta	Fruitridge Hayrides	18-Sep
9	Lila Volkers	18:57.0	140.0	Bluejay	Shepherd HS	2-Oct
9	Lila Volkers	18:59.6	144.1	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
9	Lila Volkers	19:10.9	147.0	Kent Ottawa	Gainey Fields	16-Oct
9	Lila Volkers	18:47.7	135.4	21 Allendale	Allendale HS	30-Oct
9	Lila Volkers	18:54.6	133.8	D3 State	MIS	6-Nov
9	Lila Volkers	19:07.1	135.3	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

• Grand Rapids Christian sure just turns them out, huh? Last year, you had Tinsae and Zwart, Reuben is coming into his own, and you’ve got more in the pipeline as well
• Reuben is just one of those that has stuck around and made progress throughout every year, now that progress has turned into reliability and occasionally, greatness
• As a freshman and sophomore, he showed glimpses of speed, breaking 18:00 in both campaigns, but never establishing a consistency
• But from October 2^nd 2021 on, all his performances were sub-17:00, coinciding with the Eagles run towards a top-5 finish at MIS.
  • Even on a regional day where most of the state trudged through swamps, he still ran 16:48 to finish 7^th at Allendale
• But back to that improvement, his best time as a sophomore was 17:32, his best as a junior, 16:32
  • Which plays out in the ratings too, in championship season, his average drop was more than a minute per race
• Similar jumps abounded during track as well, 2:16 to 1:59 and 4:45 to 4:21
  • As a late bloomer, can that be 1:55 and 4:15 next year? I’m betting on it

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Reuben Wiering	17:18.5	176.2	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	28-Aug
11	Reuben Wiering	17:31.2	171.6	OK White 1	Gainey Fields	8-Sep
11	Reuben Wiering	17:18.4	178.2	Ottawa Hills	Riverside Park	17-Sep
11	Reuben Wiering	16:39.7	182.4	OK White 2	Riverside Park	22-Sep
11	Reuben Wiering	17:02.2	181.3	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	25-Sep
11	Reuben Wiering	16:46.6	183.1	Otsego Bulldog	Otsego HS	2-Oct
11	Reuben Wiering	16:32.5	182.8	OK White 3	Brookside GC	6-Oct
11	Reuben Wiering	16:46.3	187.2	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
11	Reuben Wiering	16:45.8	181.1	OK White 4	South Christian HS	20-Oct
11	Reuben Wiering	16:48.5	181.2	11 Allendale	Allendale HS	30-Oct
11	Reuben Wiering	16:40.0	184.0	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov
11	Reuben Wiering	16:47.2	183.3	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Reuben Wiering	155.5	FHE GRC Dual	Gainey Fields	22-Aug
10	Reuben Wiering	152.8	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	29-Aug
10	Reuben Wiering	147.6	OK White (GF)	Gainey Fields	16-Sep
10	Reuben Wiering	149.8	OK White 2	Lowell HS	23-Sep
10	Reuben Wiering	163.1	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	26-Sep
10	Reuben Wiering	168.5	Bulldog Elite	Otsego HS	3-Oct
10	Reuben Wiering	165.5	OK White Championship	Byron Center West MS	14-Oct
10	Reuben Wiering	167.3	Kent Ottawa	Gainey Fields	17-Oct
10	Reuben Wiering	159.1	PR 26	South Christian Sports Park	23-Oct
10	Reuben Wiering	160.5	D2 Reg 13	Otsego HS	31-Oct
10	Reuben Wiering	156.8	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Reuben Wiering	149.3	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS
9	Reuben Wiering	114.1	Christian School	South Christian Athletic Complex
9	Reuben Wiering	137.5	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields
9	Reuben Wiering	153.3	Otsego Bulldog	Otsego HS
9	Reuben Wiering	159.4	Portage	Portage West MS
9	Reuben Wiering	152.1	OK Gold	Thornapple Kellogg HS
9	Reuben Wiering	162.2	Allendale PROM	Allendale HS