Portage, our great bellwether for the season’s progress, has come and passed. There were many affirmations and a few surprises. You’ll see a bit more movement in these rankings this week, as more recent meets are weighed more, early season meets mean less and less.
If you’ve followed these over the past few years, you may know the gist of these, but let’s break it down once again:
The individual ratings take into account all the meets listed here. There are a few meets missing that I’ll link to, but pretty much any meet with a significant number of athletes will have been calculated. An individual’s rating takes their best 75% of rated races (rounding up, so 4 of 5, 5 of 6, etc.), weighs them with more recent races having a higher weight, then spits out a final rating. The team rankings score those individuals as if they were in a meet against their entire division.
As a result of taking into the entire season into account, the rankings will be more conservative and less reactionary than most. Putting together a great performance once will bring about a tiny bit of movement, doing so repeatedly will elicit much greater change.
There are a few changes from previous years:
No more ratings of weekday, conference meets
Why? One, often these aren’t raced all out and end up underrating a runner. Two, to lessen my workload. I’d rather concentrate on these rankings and use the weekend invites that are more likely to be raced hard to determine the rankings.
Using the top 75% of races instead of 67%
Why? If I’m gonna use fewer overall races from a runner’s resume, I have to make up for it in some way.
No more individual rankings posted to social media
Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
More writeups focused on the top teams and individuals, rather than just handpicking one each week
I’ve found that when it comes toward state time, I know all the numbers and what a kid might run, but have a tough time pointing toward a narrative. Hopefully writing a little recap and what to look forward to will help in that regard. I started with three for the first rankings, then five this week, and so on.
But sadly not D1 this week. But as my own boss, I’m giving myself leeway as I’ve already written thousands of pages of material this year.
Posting these one division at a time
If you’ve noticed, I always go Division 4 first, trending towards Division 1. This is done intentionally! Traditional media always focuses on the larger schools. By focusing on the smaller divisions first, they get the love that they might not normally receive.
Unfortunately, the injury rule is in place, where if I don’t have a rating from the past month, that runner is taken out. If you’re willing to share (and I can understand why not – someone’s medical situation doesn’t have to be the public’s business) that your athlete or you yourself are healthy/injured, feel free. There are some exceptions based on situations that make sense. Hopefully these don’t rub salt in the wound of someone who’s already hurting.
Now I need to be serious for a minute. These are for fun. If you don’t like these fun rankings, you don’t need to participate, you don’t need to call me names, talk trash to your fellow competitors, or send rude emails. We good here? Enjoy.
Portage, our great bellwether for the season’s progress, has come and passed. There were many affirmations and a few surprises. You’ll see a bit more movement in these rankings this week, as more recent meets are weighed more, early season meets mean less and less.
If you’ve followed these over the past few years, you may know the gist of these, but let’s break it down once again:
The individual ratings take into account all the meets listed here. There are a few meets missing that I’ll link to, but pretty much any meet with a significant number of athletes will have been calculated. An individual’s rating takes their best 75% of rated races (rounding up, so 4 of 5, 5 of 6, etc.), weighs them with more recent races having a higher weight, then spits out a final rating. The team rankings score those individuals as if they were in a meet against their entire division.
As a result of taking into the entire season into account, the rankings will be more conservative and less reactionary than most. Putting together a great performance once will bring about a tiny bit of movement, doing so repeatedly will elicit much greater change.
There are a few changes from previous years:
No more ratings of weekday, conference meets
Why? One, often these aren’t raced all out and end up underrating a runner. Two, to lessen my workload. I’d rather concentrate on these rankings and use the weekend invites that are more likely to be raced hard to determine the rankings.
Using the top 75% of races instead of 67%
Why? If I’m gonna use fewer overall races from a runner’s resume, I have to make up for it in some way.
No more individual rankings posted to social media
Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
More writeups focused on the top teams and individuals, rather than just handpicking one each week
I’ve found that when it comes toward state time, I know all the numbers and what a kid might run, but have a tough time pointing toward a narrative. Hopefully writing a little recap and what to look forward to will help in that regard. I started with three for the first rankings, then five this week, and so on.
Posting these one division at a time
If you’ve noticed, I always go Division 4 first, trending towards Division 1. This is done intentionally! Traditional media always focuses on the larger schools. By focusing on the smaller divisions first, they get the love that they might not normally receive.
Unfortunately, the injury rule is in place, where if I don’t have a rating from the past month, that runner is taken out. If you’re willing to share (and I can understand why not – someone’s medical situation doesn’t have to be the public’s business) that your athlete or you yourself are healthy/injured, feel free. There are some exceptions based on situations that make sense. Hopefully these don’t rub salt in the wound of someone who’s already hurting.
Now I need to be serious for a minute. These are for fun. If you don’t like these fun rankings, you don’t need to participate, you don’t need to call me names, talk trash to your fellow competitors, or send rude emails. We good here? Enjoy.
Week Three: Conquered a strong field at Benzie then turned around and routed a very competitive OK White. Showing much strength early with frontrunners and depth, could very well put all five girls on the podium.
Week Four: More of the same at Ottawa Hills from the Eagle girls. All scoring girls placed in the top-11, with Adia Sikkema and Lucy Waalkes pulling up in the top-20.
Championship Week: Otsego Bulldog is often the first D2 showcase of the season, this year being no different, with 6 of the top 15 ranked teams in appearance. Just as every other meet, the Eagles up front, making up half of the first 8 finishers. Senior Payton Holtz is peaking at the right time to close her career, hitting sub-19 in her past two invites.
Despite missing one of their top girls, won fairly convincingly at Portage. Naomi Nelson’s return to the 18’s didn’t hurt either.
Otsego
Week Three: Sadly, we won’t see the Bulldogs at a major Michigan invitational until Jackson, but when you have the opportunity to run at the legendary Detweiller Park, you take it. Their season is setting up very similarly to last year, a strong top four plus a solid fifth. Though it appears their 5th spot might be improved from 2022.
Week Four: Placed 7th of 61 in the Richard Spring Invite down in Peoria. Now I don’t know much about Illinois XC at the moment, but that field had some legendary and recognizable names – York, Neuqua Valley, Palatine, Downer’s Grove, etc. Illinois Speed Ratings uses a similar methodology, but a different scale. Without getting too deep into it, converting to my scale, Detweiller rates out to about a +69 (+75 for boys) for its 2.97-to-3-mile course (highly debatable distance!) To make a short story long, the Bulldogs ran better than they have this season, even missing Taylor Mitchell.
Championship Week: In her final Bulldog Invite, senior Megan Germain ran her fastest time at Otsego’s signature home meet. Her 18:29 was good for a 6th place finish, fast enough for three consecutive top-10’s, and clutch enough to grant her Bulldogs a 2nd place finish.
Wrapped up Wolverine Conference dual/tri meet action with another 7-0 record.
Goodrich
Week Four: Changed things up on us! The past few years, the Martians have been at Holly, this year they headed further west to East Lansing. And evidenced by their 3rd place finish in the Elite Division, an excellent decision. These girls get it done through their pack, going seven deep, displacing fools left and right.
Championship Week: The Martians marked Shepherd as their territory in prep for Regionals. A 23-point win in a D2-centric field, even with Kamy Lauinger having a rough go of it.
Kamy Lauinger more than made up for Bluejay, coming across the Greater Flint line in first. Her 18:18 was a massive PB and helped the Martians win the Overall title at Cummings Center.
East Grand Rapids
Week Four: After missing Under the Lights, Drew Muller has returned, to EGR’s benefit. Her 3rd spot at Ottawa Hills meant the Pioneers really had to only score four. Combine that with personal bests from Adeline Armstrong and Sadey Seyferth and you have this traditional power rising through the ranks.
Championship Week: Great through three and finding contributors further back. Rory Workman (I swear there are thousands of Waalkes, Workmans, Kuzmas, and VanderKoois up this way) has dropped more than a minute from her Under the Lights debut.
Faced some adversity mid-race, but the performances of their sophomores in the final miles led to a top-10 finish at Portage.
Zeeland East
Week Three: An easy victory in the OK Green was sandwiched between a 2nd place in their division at Under the Lights and a 5th at Bredeweg. Emma Drnek has come into her own this year, giving the Chix a formidable 1-2 combo.
Championship Week: Another OK Green victory to go with a bronze at Otsego Bulldog. Taryn DiLaura has been a key figure on their varsity outfit, breaking 20:00 in two of her past three races, nearly a minute quicker than her freshman form.
CC Kuras masterfully moved up over the course of the Portage hills, going from over 100th at the mile to 68th at the finish as the Chix placed 6th.
St. Joseph
Week Four: The rare case of having two low sticks and needing to score three. Among those three, you could have reliable seniors such as Jade Murdoch or Ceci Ruchti. Or perhaps freshmen that are coming along nicely such as Lydia Johnson or Lily Cummings. Like many West Coast teams, the Bears traveled to Ottawa Hills on Friday, coming away from Session 2 placing 4th of 18.
Championship Week: Make it 4 straight and 13 of the past 14. The Bears have truly established a Berrien County dynasty.
Won the tiebreak over ZE. Sophomore Beatrice Peruchetti didn’t run her fastest race ever, but delivered a performance right in line with many in her initial cross season, in the mid-21’s.
St. Johns
Championship Week: The Redwing top three can hang with anybody. For instance, in the first two CAAC Red Jamborees – Fletcher, Schafer, and Young combined for 17 points. That’s in two meets, folks. SJ has won each of those jamborees.
Skipped the weekend invites, but once again put together a dominating CAAC Red effort. Their 5th and 6th girls (Lily Sackrider and Sylvia Thomas) came in before any other team’s 4th runner as the Redwings rolled.
Holland Christian
Out of any team in the D2 Portage field, the Maroons exemplified the patient racing style best. 285 points at the mile, 253 through two, then 219 at the finish, grabbing the 4th spot. Experience executing a plan in big spots gives this team major sleeper vibes come late October.
Spring Lake
Championship Week: Bea Reeser has been ON IT all year. First, opening with her best debut ever, then parlaying that into a personal best she’s been waiting to snatch since her sophomore year. Twice 6th in the OK Blue Jamborees, contributing to Laker victories each time.
The Lakers brought it to a whole new level at Portage. Personal bests up front + season bests from their depth = a 3rd place finish amongst D2’s best.
Frankenmuth
Tuesday, the quick runnin’ Shepherd course was home to personal bests from Lucy Conzelmann and Kaitlyn Miller as the ‘Muth captured the TVC Red title.
Place
Team
Region
Score
Champ Wk
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Grand Rapids Christian
11
66
1
1
1
2
2
Otsego
13
198
2
2
2
1
3
Goodrich
15
282
3
4
4
3
4
East Grand Rapids
12
320
4
3
8
6
5
Zeeland East
11
386
5
7
3
5
6
St. Joseph
13
419
6
5
6
4
7
St. Johns
14
436
7
8
7
7
8
Holland Christian
11
439
11
12
28
10
9
Spring Lake
11
452
8
9
9
11
10
Frankenmuth
15
494
9
6
5
8
11
DeWitt
14
536
13
10
10
14
12
Ludington
10
583
10
15
12
13
13
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg
12
617
14
13
13
27
14
Hudsonville Unity Christian
11
638
15
14
14
17
15
Linden
16
651
20
26
24
20
16
Owosso
14
671
21
19
18
26
17
Freeland
15
674
12
11
11
12
18
Petoskey
10
724
23
18
15
18
19
Dearborn Divine Child
16
725
18
22
20
19
20
Forest Hills Eastern
12
753
24
24
22
25
21
Warren Regina
17
758
16
20
19
34
22
Croswell-Lexington
17
772
19
17
17
29
23
Alma
15
782
17
16
16
15
24
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
16
897
25
23
25
44
25
Grand Rapids South Christian
12
906
29
29
29
22
26
Chelsea
18
909
26
25
23
21
27
GR West Michigan Aviation
12
948
32
32
38
16
Forest Hills Eastern
Week Three: That’s two years in a row that the Hawks have put the state on notice with an Under the Lights masterpiece. All five scorers were sub-17 on that humid, late August night. With three of those capable of low-16’s or better, much pressure will be placed on other teams to close that gap.
Week Four: Missing Brendan Hoving and Liam Hinman at Sparta, the Hawks still emerged victorious, eking out a 6-point victory over the home team. Youngster Steven Zawacki stepped up in a major way – he’s dropped more than a minute since Under the Lights.
Championship Week: Lost in the TJ Hansen spectacle was the fact that FHE stole the show in the elite race. The field contained tons of top teams from all divisions, yet the Hawks still prevailed. Nearly putting four under 16-flat will tend to lead to those victories.
Another show of their deep team where anyone can pop an amazing race. Lately, Luke Ueland has shown a few of those. Two straight sub-17’s, the latest one a 16:48 at Portage that was a minute faster than his junior effort.
Allendale
Week Four: There were a few doubters last week with the Falcons’ #4 ranking. I think their effort at Spartan proved a few wrong. Three in the top-15, half the points of any other school in the White Division.
Championship Week: Even if Grand Haven had Seth Norder competing, the Allendale Falcons would’ve still won their home invite. If that ain’t a show of how impressive they’ve been of late, I don’t know what is.
Sandwiched between that outstanding Allendale Falcon race and a 3rd place at Portage was another OK Blue conference win.
East Grand Rapids
Week Three: Still missing a piece, but those who have competed have had success. That could come in the form of an Alex Thole, who pulled a massive upset at Under the Lights or a Jack Edison, who navigated his way into the 16’s for the first time ever at the OK White Jamboree.
Week Four: That piece has arrived. Ryan Brinker, with only one race under his belt in ’23 has already raced faster than he had to this point in the ’22 season.
Championship Week: It wasn’t just FHE taking it to those D1 boys, the Pioneers were right there with them. Jonah Workman was a workhorse, reaching wayyyy into the 15’s to sneak into the top-10.
As Davis Christy continues to come back into the form he displayed late last year, continue to expect EGR to be in the hunt for a podium spot. His 16:43 was a 20 sec. season best and 12 seconds faster than his Portage race from 2022.
Grand Rapids Christian
Week Three: Saw FHE throw down the gauntlet on a Friday night, then woke up Saturday and decided to match it. Winners of Pete Moss by 88 points, then put seven guys in the top-16 at a star-filled OK White Jamboree.
Week Four: Probably underrated here because of their cruise through Christian Schools and the fact that we’re comparing against the entire state. In actual competition, the Eagles are undefeated, finding another clear victory this past weekend at Ottawa Hills.
Championship Week: It’s not as strong as in past years, but you can’t help who you run against, you can only aim to win. Which the Eagles did at Otsego, completing the sweep from their boys and girls squads. Senior Dylan Clark with the big breakthrough, knocking 15 seconds off his previous best.
Won another OK White Jamboree, making it 3 for 3 on the season.
Pinckney
Portage victory couldn’t have happened without the efforts of their 4th-6th guys. Zach Newman, Parker Hays, and Kyle Osborne each ran significantly better than they had all season. All personal bests, all sub-17, all valuable contributors on the path to another Portage win.
Alma
Championship Week: Ali Kudmani’s return coincides with the Panthers’ 3 meet victory streak – in conference, at Bluejay against many teams they could see at State, and this week at Birch Run.
After taking the weekend off (but still meeting for their traditional long run!), the Panthers returned to action Tuesday, where they won the TVC Red title. Of their 11 athletes, 7 ran a personal best on the Shepherd course.
Adrian
Championship Week: Carter Fenner and Matthew Canales have been steady as they come, both trending towards the 16’s as the Maples have held their own in the SEC White and picked up a victory at Jackson.
The Nyack brothers brought their senior experience to Portage, filling in the 4th and 5th spots as the Maples snuck into the top-5.
Otsego
Championship Week: The Bulldogs were missing a few of their top boys at home, perhaps Jackson was a better show of their capabilities. On those rolling Ella Sharp hills, the Dawgs packed up between 16:39 and 17:02, placing right in the middle of a field complete with D1 teams.
Thanks to the presence of 16th-ranked Plainwell, the boys side of the Wolverine Conference is a bit tougher than the ladies. At the tail end of conference competition, one of the older rivalries in Michigan HS sports took place, the Bulldog Boys prevailing by a 5 point margin over Plainwell.
Marshall
Week Four: Even missing Kaiden Gore (their five guy) at Holly, the Redhawks triumphed in the D3 race. With five divisions there, you get a mix of D2 and D3 teams in the 3rd Division, but even if Marshall was in the 2nd Division this past weekend, odds are that they’d win. When you have four boys capable of going sub-17, many possibilities are on the table.
Championship Week: These past two years, Connor Griffith has been a kid hellbent on dropping time. From 10th to 11th grade, he stormed from the 18’s to the very low-17’s. Now he’s knocking on the door of the 15’s, hitting 16:05’s at both Stockbridge and Barney Roy.
Gotta appreciate schools that represent their area. Would’ve been easy to travel to Portage for all the hoopla, instead the Redhawks hosted the Calhoun County meet. Taking the first four spots, their boys captured the victory for an excellent kick off to their championship season.
Petoskey
Have been steadily dialing it in, moving down in the ranks these past few weeks. That descent has only been accelerated with the addition of Tommy Farley in the last two weekends.
Rank
Team
Region
Score
Champ Wk
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Forest Hills Eastern
12
187
1
1
1
3
2
Allendale
11
230
3
3
4
4
3
East Grand Rapids
12
264
4
2
3
1
4
Grand Rapids Christian
11
268
2
4
2
2
5
Pinckney
16
388
11
23
29
6
6
Alma
15
427
5
7
5
10
7
Adrian
18
455
6
6
7
5
8
Otsego
13
471
8
9
8
13
9
Marshall
12
489
7
5
6
15
10
Petoskey
10
514
12
16
15
9
11
Holland Christian
11
531
9
8
21
8
12
Sparta
10
577
10
10
10
17
13
Gladwin
10
616
14
12
9
12
14
Frankenmuth
15
626
13
15
13
21
15
Spring Lake
11
642
20
18
18
18
16
Plainwell
13
648
15
11
12
37
17
Yale
17
664
17
13
11
19
18
Flint Powers Catholic
15
696
18
22
20
25
19
Fremont
10
698
19
21
NR
14
20
Hamilton
11
713
16
19
19
16
21
St. Clair
17
735
24
14
14
31
22
Clio
15
788
21
24
17
28
23
Chelsea
18
841
23
20
23
7
24
Parma Western
14
846
22
27
25
27
25
St. Johns
14
921
26
30
28
34
26
Shepherd
15
935
27
28
26
33
27
Flint Kearsley
15
943
28
29
30
45
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Gail Vaikutis
Week Three: Her 18-flat at Lakeview was a massive personal best and over 80 seconds faster than her 2022 performance. In track, she was able to display great speed and now we’re witness to her strength.
Week Four: Gail’s just out here stacking personal best after personal best. Similar conditions, similar courses, 22 second improvement from week to week. Gail now owns the fastest time AND best rating in Division 2.
Championship Week: A senior going out with wins all over the place. In conference, in county, and in her college decision, recently committing to Michigan.
The pack of four at the mile turned into a pack of three by two miles, and by the finish, Gail was the only one left standing.
Natalie VanOtteren
Week Four: Sub-18 at Ottawa Hills was the 3rd of her career and 40+ seconds faster than her ’22 effort on the banks of the Grand River.
Championship Week: Four straight wins for this Eagle senior. One of those was a 17:35 personal best at Cougar Falcon, another a 17:43 effort at the Otsego D2 Showcase.
Three years of competing at Portage. Three top-10 finishes, two sub-18’s, and a 16 second improvement from 2022 to 2023.
Elena Figueroa
Week Three: Right alongside Vaikutis at both their home invite and the PC Early Bird. Missed out on a great time at Lakeview, I hope for non-injury reasons. Regardless, her early season best is already an improvement from her sophomore year.
Week Four: Her first race in over three weeks, Elena hopped right back on the wagon with a 17:44 at Riverside. A minute faster than her 2022 effort there and a 35 second personal best.
Championship Week: A slight, ever so slight personal best at Cougar Falcon is still a personal best. 17:44.0 to 17:43.9 counts for me. Elena and Gail have gone 1-2 in both of the SMAC West meets along with Berrien County – all Bear victories.
Portage just another example of how even the fastest of the fast can improve. Her 18:41 last fall was among the best efforts of her sophomore year. Her 17:43 on Saturday is what we’ve come to expect. Funny how those expectations change over time.
Ava Schafer
Week Three: Adjusting very well to the high school scene. After taking her lumps with a second-place finish at Under the Lights, she’s ripped off two consecutive victories. All mid-18 efforts from this young freshman. The Redwings have some light racing in their future, so we’ll see how much she’s improved come late September at Shepherd.
Week Four: The Redwings took the weekend off racing and well, that looks to be to Ava’s benefit. Girl just blasted a 17:48 to capture the first CAAC Red Jamboree.
Championship Week: Stuck her nose right in there at Bluejay, heading out with the lead girls, coming through the mile in 5:34. Ava faded a bit, but got a good look of what she’ll need to do when similar runners race her in a month. Comparing against only D2 girls in that Elite section, Ava did place 1st of all 46, so she’s performing admirably against her competition.
Freshman just quietly winning another CAAC Red Jamboree. Excellent opportunity for some high-level racing this weekend over at Greater Lansing.
Katie Berkshire
Championship Week: Has been a barrier-busting season for Berkshire. She first slipped under 19:00 at the Mud Run of all places, then has ripped off three consecutive low-18 efforts at Cadillac, Shepherd, and Mancelona.
Impressed by her ability to recover. Three low-18 efforts in a seven day stretch. Bluejay, Mancelona, and then Portage.
Drew Muller
Week Four: Just announced her commitment to Virginia, a great institution for its education, history, and distance running (the Hoos are currently ranked #11). I’m sure Drew will contribute there as she does here, consecutive mid-18 efforts to begin her senior year.
Championship Week: I believe her trip to Shepherd was the first of her career, and that initial run through produced her best mark of the year, an 18:16.
Unfortunately had to drop out of the race this past weekend, but I’m sure this proud champ will be back for the upcoming championships.
Emma Hoffman
Championship Week: Think of all the success, all the accomplishments over Otsego’s past ~15 years. Three titles, a runner-up, plenty of state appearances. And atop of them all, time-wise, was Emma’s 18:03 from this past weekend.
Portage pace may have been a little quick early, as she fell back from 9th to 14th. But this sophomore has shown she can learn from midseason races and apply to bigger races down the stretch. This isn’t the last we’ll see of her.
Mary Richmond
Championship Week: Four years of races at Bluejay – all in the low-18’s, all in the top-15. The Frankenmuth senior has taken on a lighter load than in years past and should be ready to roll for the coming month.
The Mary Richmond senior year tour continued this week with the culmination of a historic TVC-8/Red career. By my count, four overall championships for this Tampa-bound senior.
Emma Drnek
Just when you thought she couldn’t go any lower – she does. 18:12 at Otsego Bulldog, another personal best in a season full of them. Back to the expectations mentioned earlier for Elena. If you had told me she’d run 18:29 at Portage, I’d have said that was an outstanding season. Scary that it was only her 3rd best time of the season.
Meghan Ford
Couldn’t be happier to mention this girl here. It’s been quite a four-year journey for Meghan, three All-States, a Greater Lansing title, plenty of finishes in the 17’s and 18’s. A great career.
Rank
Grade
Name
Team
Region
1
12
Gail Vaikutis
St. Joseph
13
2
12
Natalie VanOtteren
Grand Rapids Christian
11
3
11
Elena Figueroa
St. Joseph
13
4
9
Ava Schafer
St. Johns
14
5
10
Katie Berkshire
Gaylord
10
6
12
Drew Muller
East Grand Rapids
12
7
10
Emma Hoffman
Otsego
13
8
12
Mary Richmond
Frankenmuth
15
9
11
Emma Drnek
Zeeland East
11
10
12
Meghan Ford
Mason
14
11
12
Emily Tomes
Grand Rapids Catholic Central
11
12
10
Ellie Scholma
Grand Rapids Christian
11
13
12
Logan Brazee
Otsego
13
14
10
Lilah Poel
Grand Rapids Christian
11
15
11
Sadey Seyferth
East Grand Rapids
12
16
11
Summer Brower
Ludington
10
17
12
Naomi Nelson
Grand Rapids Christian
11
18
11
Sophy Skeels
Adrian
18
19
11
Kamryn Lauinger
Goodrich
15
20
12
Jenna Pilachowski
Monroe Jefferson
18
21
12
Payton Holtz
Grand Rapids Christian
11
22
11
Natalia DeMea
Chelsea
18
23
9
Clara Kaczor
Freeland
15
24
12
Allison Kuzma
Zeeland East
11
25
12
Megan Germain
Otsego
13
26
12
Emma DeVries
GR West Michigan Aviation
12
27
11
Ezgi Kurt
Alma
15
28
11
Ava Crews
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg
12
29
12
Addison Washler
Forest Hills Eastern
12
30
10
Natalie Foltz
Frankenmuth
15
31
11
Eva Thompson
Croswell-Lexington
17
32
9
Olivia Hollebeek
Holland Christian
11
33
11
Layla Jordan
Goodrich
15
34
12
Anastee Davis
Adrian
18
35
9
Caroline Randall
Hastings
12
36
12
Abby Young
St. Johns
14
37
12
Camille DeCola
Marshall
12
38
10
Samantha Brown
Clio
15
39
9
Jaelyn Ray
Pinckney
16
40
9
Eliana Stob
Holland Christian
11
41
12
Tatum Dykstra
Fruitport
11
42
12
Kyla Meyers
Spring Lake
11
43
10
Linnea Paige
Fremont
10
44
9
Johanna Mulder
Holland
11
45
12
Nora O’Leary
Petoskey
10
46
12
Clara Fletcher
St. Johns
14
47
9
Ayda Skeels
Adrian
18
48
10
Brooklynn Brown
Cadillac
10
49
12
Ellia Agar
Grand Rapids South Christian
12
50
11
Mea D’Agostino
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
16
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Connell Alford
Week Four: Week Three: Cross country is definitely his thing. Facing some fierce competition at Lamplighter, Connell laid down the hammer early en route to a large margin of victory.
Week Four: Unfortunately, couldn’t pull off the win at Spartan, but he did finish first amongst all Michigan competition. His 15:09 nearly matched the 15:06 from last year, and when you’re in the ballpark of your state-winning self, you know you’re in a good place.
Competed in his first SEC White Jamboree of the year, grabbing his third conference win in these past three years. A solid block of training setting up for the future showdowns in the coming months.
Moved up to the D1 race at Portage to test his fitness against the most populated division in Michigan (and some Ohio teams). Came away with a 3rd place finish, his third top-10 placing there.
TJ Hansen
Week Three: Just continuing and building from his track accomplishments. 15:39 at Under the Lights was a personal best, 15:13 at John Bruder was a massive personal best. It’s a shame Freeland is on the smaller side of D2 schools, we sadly avoid a matchup with Evan Loughridge at Holly.
Week Four: Of the 93 boys that ran at both John Bruder and Holly, only 22 ran faster at Holly. TJ was 0.5 seconds slower, showing his 15:14 through the sharp turns and hills at Springfield Oaks can be sub-15 on the right course on the right day.
An absolutely masterful performance at Bluejay, negative splitting to a 14:46. Let’s just put it this way – in early September, Shepherd hosted the Jeff Drenth Memorial COLLEGE meet. TJ’s 14:46 would have won that.
Quickly bounced back from Portage (and even Bluejay the week prior) to capture his third consecutive TVC-8/Red title in as many years as he’s been competing.
Evan Loughridge
Week Three: “Opener at Possum Hollow was a 20+ second win over a ton of talented D1 runners. He’ll be facing some potential D2 All-Staters this weekend at Holly.”
Week Four: 15 seconds at a mile, 30+ at two, and 36 at the finish, Evan’s 15:35 win at Holly was allll on his lonesome. For many that would be a mental grind, but it’s more of the same for this tough-minded kid. His performance on Saturday was over 25 seconds faster than what he raced to in 2022 and given how his October played out last year, big goals are there for the taking.
After working on their toughness at Bennett Park, the Pirates head toward Portage, the site of Evan’s junior breakout race. All indicators show he’s ready to shock us again.
While others left D2 for greener pastures, Evan stuck around with his Pirate teammates. The result is something that can never be taken away. A win for himself and a win for Pinckney, besting his long-standing personal record.
Solomon Kwartowitz
Week Four: Hung in there pretty well for his first real huge effort of the season. A 15:32 in Spartan Elite earned Kwartowitz a 7th place (5th amongst Michiganders) and a massive personal best.
Each year, Cranbrook takes the trip down to Indiana to run in the Culver Academies Invitational. Solomon’s 15:38 there was 40 seconds faster than where he was in 2022, coming back from injury. He placed a second behind Kyle Grove, who just ran a 15:17 at Lavern Gibson. My guess based on limited evidence is that Solomon is ready to head toward the very low-15’s.
Just as his training partner Ethan Pruzinsky, strategically broke away from the pack early at Possum Hollow. His competitors couldn’t make up the distance on the double hill and he had enough momentum on the lengthy downhill to secure a County title.
Alex Thole
Week Four: State Champions, national qualifiers, insane freshmen, talented underclassmen… Alex has won against them all and we’re only in mid-September. Three races, three wins, all considerably better than his 2022 best.
Over the past two years, Alex has surely benefitted from the BluejayBoost. First at the MITCA race, the home of his initial sub-16, the one that paved the way for the enormous success this year. Then again on Saturday, just a show of his progress, 30 seconds quicker than that breakthrough.
Busy week for Alex, nabbing his 2nd OK White win to go along with a 2nd place Portage finish.
Sean Pettis
Nestled in between his past two WMC Lakes wins was a 15:24 at Cougar Falcon, first amongst a bevy of potential All-Staters.
Busy week for Sean as well, winning his 3rd WMC Lakes jamboree, following it up with a 3rd place Portage placing.
Nate Carmody
The Haslett senior has laid low these past few weeks, nabbing his second consecutive win at DeWitt, which was his fourth sub-16 in a row.
Greater Lansing will be as competitive as ever and Nate should be right in the mix. As in past weeks, he’s been laying low on the major invites, just quietly throwing down a 25+ second win at the Country Mill Classic.
Jack Bidwell
Has won all but two of his races this year. Included in those wins have been two I-8 jamborees and a Calhoun County championship.
Braylon Petty
Hard to believe a school as close as Adrian hadn’t traveled to Jackson in three years. But Braylon showed that he remembered how to attack those long, gradual downhills, rolling to a 15:50 victory.
Back-to-back top-10’s at Portage for Braylon, his 15:49 also 5 seconds faster than his 2022 effort.
Noah Lambers
A look at how far Noah has come: between his Portage Invite as a sophomore and as a senior, he improved by over 150 seconds (18:14 to 15:36).
Portage, our great bellwether for the season’s progress, has come and passed. There were many affirmations and a few surprises. You’ll see a bit more movement in these rankings this week, as more recent meets are weighed more, early season meets mean less and less.
If you’ve followed these over the past few years, you may know the gist of these, but let’s break it down once again:
The individual ratings take into account all the meets listed here. There are a few meets missing that I’ll link to, but pretty much any meet with a significant number of athletes will have been calculated. An individual’s rating takes their best 75% of rated races (rounding up, so 4 of 5, 5 of 6, etc.), weighs them with more recent races having a higher weight, then spits out a final rating. The team rankings score those individuals as if they were in a meet against their entire division.
As a result of taking into the entire season into account, the rankings will be more conservative and less reactionary than most. Putting together a great performance once will bring about a tiny bit of movement, doing so repeatedly will elicit much greater change.
There are a few changes from previous years:
No more ratings of weekday, conference meets
Why? One, often these aren’t raced all out and end up underrating a runner. Two, to lessen my workload. I’d rather concentrate on these rankings and use the weekend invites that are more likely to be raced hard to determine the rankings.
Using the top 75% of races instead of 67%
Why? If I’m gonna use fewer overall races from a runner’s resume, I have to make up for it in some way.
No more individual rankings posted to social media
Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
More writeups focused on the top teams and individuals, rather than just handpicking one each week
I’ve found that when it comes toward state time, I know all the numbers and what a kid might run, but have a tough time pointing toward a narrative. Hopefully writing a little recap and what to look forward to will help in that regard. I started with three for the first rankings, then five this week, and so on.
Posting these one division at a time
If you’ve noticed, I always go Division 4 first, trending towards Division 1. This is done intentionally! Traditional media always focuses on the larger schools. By focusing on the smaller divisions first, they get the love that they might not normally receive.
Unfortunately, the injury rule is in place, where if I don’t have a rating from the past month, that runner is taken out. If you’re willing to share (and I can understand why not – someone’s medical situation doesn’t have to be the public’s business) that your athlete or you yourself are healthy/injured, feel free. There are some exceptions based on situations that make sense. Hopefully these don’t rub salt in the wound of someone who’s already hurting.
Now I need to be serious for a minute. These are for fun. If you don’t like these fun rankings, you don’t need to participate, you don’t need to call me names, talk trash to your fellow competitors, or send rude emails. We good here? Enjoy.
Week Three: “Two invites into the season and the Titans have won them both. After a bit of a struggle at Michigan Catholic, Lumen Christi acquitted themselves well to the quick Lakeview course. Many in their top seven ran personal bests or close. Their girls will get a prime opportunity to prove their fitness again, running in the Elite race at Spartan.”
Week Four: Hopped into the Elite race at Spartan and held their own against the State’s best. Scoring only Michigan teams, the Titans placed 7th out of 14. Where some of their girls have good days or bad days, a consistent spot has been Thia Tello, holding it down in the 21’s regardless of the course.
Championship Week: When did I miss that Lumen Christi joined the CHSL?!? Anyhow, the Titans won their first CHSL Jamboree in late September, that victory sandwiched between two others – at Jackson and at DeWitt.
Osterberg and Schroeder might get all the awards, but it’s the pack that makes these Titans tick. They had their best combined performance at Portage, with the Fazekas girls and Layla Lopez each finishing in the top 30 as LC picked up another victory.
Traverse City St. Francis
Week Three: “It’s all about their pack. Both at Bear Country and Red Devil (both wins), the Glads were able to put five runners ahead of any other team’s 4th runner (and more often, a rival team’s 2nd or 3rd girl).”
Week Four: “Came down to Grand Rapids on Friday to race at Ottawa Hills. Betsy Skendzel is beginning to come into the form that she displayed toward the end of ’22, hitting the mid-18’s. And the #GladPack worked their magic in the middle, doing their job to land TCSF the best spot amongst D3 teams.”
Championship Week: The GladPack did their thing again at both Cadillac and Bluejay. Two Saturdays ago, they moved up a division and held their own, placing 2nd of 12 in a field full of D1/D2 teams. Then a week later at Bluejay, their 2nd-4th girls occupied spots between 15th and 19th, opening up enough of a gap to clinch a 20 pt. victory.
Mary Masserant keeps leveling up and doing so, unlocks greater potential for TCSF. Two of her last three races in the 19’s to go along with a 6th place finish in the LMC, which the Gladiators just captured.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
Week Four: “Charging forward have been freshmen such as Shelby Kuiper, Lydia Minderhoud, and Anna DeVries. Each have run the best of their young careers at invites in recent weeks.”
Championship Week: Those superb freshmen were joined Saturday by a senior. Lindsay Minderhoud came in as the Chargers’ 4th girl, helping lead GRCC to a 4th place finish. Despite being in 12th grade, this is her second year of competing, and in this second year, she’s dropped 40+ seconds from 2022.
Amber Koole has been mega consistent at the front. Her portfolio in 2023 consists of many low-19 efforts with the occasional blast into the 18’s. Through her leadership, the Chargers placed 4th at Portage.
Pewamo-Westphalia
Championship Week: The name of the game for the Pirates is consistency. Whether that’s Whitney Werner up front, Melanie Werner/Abbie Schneider/Alyssa Kramer in the middle or, anyone else on their persistent squad, consistency abounds. P-W rode that reliability to a 5th place finish in the Gold division at Bluejay along with a win at their home invite.
The Pirate freshmen don’t just consist of boys. Alyssa Kramer has been mentioned here too and now we must mention Jenna Keilen. She’s come from the 22’s to begin the year to a 20:50 this past weekend, helping the Pirates slide into 3rd over on the west side.
Elk Rapids
Week Three: “The Elks are taking a bit of a break until returning back for action next Tuesday at Kalkaska. One girl that’s stood out early has been Ella Peck, who has dropped nearly a minute from her junior best.”
Week Four: “Week off for the Elks, who traveled over to Kalkaska tonight and down to Cadillac on Saturday.”
Championship Week: After taking a bit of time off, the Elks returned to action at Cadillac, Kalkaska, and Bluejay. The mini break benefitted a girl such as Eva Pray, who has ventured into the 20’s in two consecutive races and was the 3rd girl in a win at Cadillac over a ton of D3 schools.
Traveled up north of Little Traverse Bay to claim second in the LMC, placing six girls in the top-18 on a rainy, hilly Boyne Highlands track.
Stanton Central Montcalm
Championship Week: There’s the excellence of Kyah Hoffman up front, the rising freshman Andrea Rolston. But don’t forget the two other frontrunners – Ashley Choponis and Grace Coston. By my numbers and their times, each of the two had their best race of the season/career.
All this talk about their top-3, their rising freshmen, well you gotta have someone else. Braelyn Bunting has been in the 22’s throughout the entire year. Shepherd, Portage, Spartan, always in those 22’s. Her 106th place this past weekend comfortably clinched a 5th place for the Hornets.
Caro
Championship Week: Senior Paige Herron is coming into her own on the cross course. While the Tigers finished 2nd at Wagener Park, she matched her 5th place finish from last year while dropping 22 seconds from her mark here in 2022.
The Tigers took the weekend off as they prep for a tough stretch. GTC, Thumb Area, then a regional title on the line.
Lansing Catholic
With Greater Lansing week on the horizon, the Cougars took the weekend off. Beforehand, they captured yet another CAAC White Jamboree, adding to their lengthy winning streak.
Hart
Week Four: “The Pirate girls continued their winning ways in the first WMC Rivers Jamboree then placed 6th amongst the west side’s best in the first session at Ottawa Hills. A bright spot early has been the consistent running of freshman Natalie Rosema, crossing the line in the low-21’s for each major race.”
Championship Week: On a quick track at Shepherd, five of the top six Pirates achieved a season’s best. One of those was the rapidly rising Harriet Kidder, who’s dropped 2.5 minutes from her opener in early September.
Having been down one of their better girls for the majority of the season, some Pirates have needed to step up. One of those has been Lexie Beth Nienhuis, whose 20:16 was a Portage PR and a season best.
Leslie
Haley Creisher and Erin Lubahn have been steadying forces at the front, each running in the 20’s at Jackson, Stockbridge, and Portage.
Place
Team
Region
Score
Champ Wk
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
151
1
1
1
1
2
Traverse City St. Francis
19
171
2
2
2
3
3
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
266
5
5
6
13
4
Pewamo-Westphalia
24
273
7
7
7
7
5
Elk Rapids
19
294
4
3
3
2
6
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
295
6
6
8
12
7
Caro
25
340
8
8
5
5
8
Lansing Catholic
26
350
9
9
9
9
9
Hart
20
436
3
4
4
4
10
Leslie
26
460
10
10
11
6
11
Hanover-Horton
23
468
12
12
10
25
12
Remus Chippewa Hills
20
481
16
15
15
23
13
Ithaca
25
501
11
11
12
10
14
Monroe St. Mary CC
27
528
15
13
16
11
15
Clinton
27
545
14
16
13
18
16
Kent City
21
578
13
14
14
16
17
Fennville
21
615
17
19
20
26
18
Buchanan
22
677
18
18
17
27
19
Grass Lake
27
714
19
17
18
19
20
Onsted
23
736
22
21
25
21
21
Grandville Calvin Christian
21
796
23
22
41
51
22
Ann Arbor Greenhills
27
806
21
20
22
22
23
Blissfield
27
817
25
27
27
15
24
McBain
20
838
24
25
23
34
25
St. Louis
25
856
28
28
24
31
26
Clare
19
859
20
24
21
8
27
Benzie Central
20
889
39
23
19
14
Traverse City St. Francis
Week Three: Came into the season as one of the top teams in Division 3, only bolstered by the addition of the Swagers. Leo’s debut went down in the TCSF record books, his 15:54 at Buckley was a school record.
Week Four: “Traveled down to Ottawa Hills for the late session, placing fifth in a field comprised primarily of D1/D2 teams. Bolstered by the addition of Josh Slocum, running his first 5k of the season in 17:00.”
Championship Week: Since writing this, Slocum has upped his game even further, dropping mid-16 performances at Cadillac and Shepherd. And so has Robby Myler, who’s foray into the 16’s at Bluejay was his third sub-17 of the year.
Could have ran their 6th through 10th boys at yesterday’s LMC Championship and would’ve still came away with the title. That’s how much depth these Glads have.
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
Week Three: The greatness of the Chargers might not be evident early, but watch as they get towards large fields. Grant Koole and Tyler Kooienga have appeared to lock down the 4th and 5th spots. And in D3, when your 4th/5th guys are hovering near or under 18:00, you’ll be ahead of many teams.
Week Four: “Ottawa Hills constitutes a larger field and the Chargers hung right in there with all the D1/D2 teams in the second session. In fact, they were the only lower division team to compete in the boys evening race, placing 9th.”
Championship Week: Graeson Decker must’ve watched all these other freshmen drop astounding times and wondered if he can do so himself. After opening with mid-17 efforts at Under the Lights and Saranac, he’s rapidly dropped into the low-16’s.
Frontrunnin’ Levi Kamps has stepped it up a notch these past two weeks, running in the low-16’s at both Bluejay and Portage. His Chargers followed suit, coming in 3rd amongst the 35 teams in their Division 3 race.
Pewamo-Westphalia
Championship Week: After the season’s done, perhaps I can look into various stats and answer various questions, one of them being, “who had the best freshman class?” In D3 at least, the answer’s gotta be P-W, who now has four(!) 9th grade boys below 18-flat.
In that Portage field, the efforts of upperclassmen Sam Muirhead and Allan George loomed large, each finishing in the low 40’s, low enough to sneak under GRCC into 2nd place.
Hanover-Horton
Week Four: “Winners of the White Division at Spartan, doing so by placing five in the top-40. Freshman Cooper Flick has run a personal best in four of his five races to begin his 9th grade year and he was the crucial fifth runner for the Comets.”
Championship Week: The Backward Hat Crew put up fights against the best D3 fields at invites these past two weeks. At Jackson, the Comets beat out top squads such as Jonesville and Lumen Christi. At Bluejay, over Reed City, Central Montcalm, P-W, and Covenant Christian.
Coming off a huge weekend invite into a dual against top-15 Jonesvilles must’ve been tough, yet the Comets still prevailed, winning 26-29 last night.
Reed City
Week Three: Addition of Isaac Clementshaw has taken the Yotes from a team happy to make State to one that can step on the podium. He’s been in the low-18’s in each of his four races.
Week Four: ”Utter domination in the Big School race at Evart. Top-2, 4 of the top-5, 7 of the top-14. Anthony Kiaunis showed off his strength, gritting his way through the sand and hills, his 17:16 knocking nearly 20 sec. off his performance from ’22.”
Championship Week: Two Tuesdays, two weeks aparts, the Yotes knocked out CSAA victories over their conference competition from down south.
Stayed away from Portage, instead traversed the treacherous Pine River course. Placing all five scorers in the top-10, the ‘Yotes cruised to a nearly 60 pt. victory.
The Potter’s House
Had a few guys come out to play on Saturday – most notably Jackson Rodriguez and Edward Mugisha. Add a Caleb Swiney into their Portage lineup and you have a team that’d move up closer to 5th thru 7th.
Stanton Central Montcalm
Championship Week: Standout runner Graham Coston is throwing down some of his best stuff to finish out his career. His 16:24 at Shepherd was a 10 second personal best and a great way to cap off four years of running on that course. He’s come a long way from his Bluejay Invite in 2020, where he ran a 19:14.
Sophomore Sylus Wilson has been unmovable from the low-17’s, running there early and often as the Hornets rack up top finishes.
Hart
Championship Week: Of the 15 boys that have recorded a time for the Pirates, over half are freshmen. And of those freshmen, five have been sub-20. This ain’t a rebuilding year, this is a RELOADING YEAR. The Tatros have left an indelible legacy and leave the program in good hands for whomever takes the reigns.
Even as the youth movement takes hold, key seniors play a role. For example, Tyler Vanderzanden, who’s consistently in the 17:40’s, coming in as the Pirates’ 3rd-4th man.
Clare
Adding to Brad White and Nic Porter has been senior Andrew Klaus. Klaus has taken the sub-17 he ran at MITCA last November and ran with it, lowering his personal best down to 16:32.
Jackson Lumen Christi
Championship Week: Lumen Christi’s move from a team barely in the top-27 during the summer to a top-10 squad mid-season is largely due to two kids – Gibson Shore and Avery Morrow. Gibson has only continued the trajectory he showed during last October, now a steady figure in the 17’s. Avery has stepped in as a freshman, commonly right behind Gibson. And perhaps he’ll go on the late season run as Gibson did too?
Morrow and Bolton displayed a maturity to their racing on Saturday, moving up through every split, keeping the Titans right in that 9th spot.
Rank
Team
Region
Score
Champ Wk
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Traverse City St. Francis
19
165
1
1
1
2
2
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
317
2
2
2
6
3
Pewamo-Westphalia
24
318
3
6
9
3
4
Hanover-Horton
23
332
4
5
4
11
5
Reed City
20
359
5
3
3
9
6
The Potter’s House
21
390
10
4
5
1
7
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
424
6
7
6
19
8
Hart
20
455
7
10
8
7
9
Clare
19
465
9
9
10
5
10
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
478
8
8
7
22
11
Jonesville
23
492
12
15
14
8
12
Bath
24
525
11
11
16
12
13
Midland Bullock Creek
25
569
13
14
12
37
14
St. Louis
25
570
14
16
15
4
15
Ithaca
25
612
15
12
13
16
16
Buchanan
22
650
16
13
11
18
17
Flat Rock
27
718
17
17
17
34
18
Charlevoix
19
735
18
20
20
30
19
Leslie
26
815
21
25
24
36
20
Kalkaska
19
845
19
18
18
29
21
Olivet
22
849
20
19
19
15
22
Clinton
27
863
25
24
36
20
23
Kent City
21
886
22
22
23
33
24
Ann Arbor Greenhills
27
893
23
28
32
23
25
Lansing Catholic
26
901
24
29
27
26
26
Monroe St. Mary CC
27
915
29
26
25
27
27
Sanford-Meridian
25
934
31
27
31
21
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Jessica Jazwinski
Week Three: Her 2023 debut may have ended in defeat, but I saw a girl that didn’t lay down when the race wasn’t going her way. A 17:35 at Benzie was 10 seconds faster than her sophomore performance, likely on a tougher course as well.
Week Four: “Back to her winning ways this past week, triumphing at her first conference jamboree and at Ottawa Hills. Her 17:29 at Riverside was a season best and only proves that she’s in better fitness than she was at this point last fall.”
Championship Week: This grinder just doesn’t let up. In these past two weeks, wins at all four meets. And in the same fashion that I’ve written before, with faster performances than this point last year. I’m getting old, my memory is fading, but I feel that we’ve raced under similar conditions to 2022. At Cougar Falcon, she improved from 17:54 to 17:12, at Bluejay, from 17:41 to 17:08.
Opened up a significant early lead and stretched it out. 7 seconds at the mile, 11 thru 2, and then 14 at the finish. Two straight Portage wins and undefeated from September 1st on.
Madison Osterberg
Week Three: Usual pattern has been to exert patience then speed up late. Well, her 17:42 at Lakeview was a jolt to that process. The second sub-18 of her career and nearly a minute faster than her 2022 effort.
Week Four: “Had the XC race of her career at Spartan, crushing her time from 2022 by 85 seconds. Outlasted Lucy Cook in the final 1800m, nearly matching her time from Lakeview on a much tougher track.”
Championship Week: Came out victorious in a huge race between D3 and D4 powers at Jackson. Madison, Emmry, and Kaylie went out blazing fast, and Madison just had enough to outlast the other two.
Her second defeat of the year occurred at Portage. Though in defeat and in victory, she seems to love those 17:40’s, showing toughness either in front or trailing.
Emmry Ross
Week Three: Was undefeated until 2022’s State Finals and she’s on the same streak yet again. Four wins in four races, including a sub-18 at Addison. Some big tests are coming soon on the schedule – at Spartan and then Jackson.
Week Four: “Continued the undefeated streak with a comfortable win in the first LCAA Meet and a challenge from Kyah Hoffman at Spartan. This week, we’re setting up for one of the better D3 individual battles at Jackson.”
Championship Week: Was put to the test early at Jackson and came up a little short. But failing is sometimes a blessing in disguise and often leads to greater heights – such as her 17:29 PERSONAL BEST and 2nd consecutive Stockbridge win.
Has picked herself back up after Jackson and is on another winning streak. Just in this past week, she’s won in conference and at two invites.
Kyah Hoffman
Week Four: “Continuing to put it all together during her junior year, hanging with Ross at Forest Akers until succumbing by 5 seconds in the final 1.1.”
Championship Week: I recall her joy after hitting that 18:16 at MITCA to close her sophomore year. It felt like the perfect ending and a show that she could run with all the elite girls. Which she has more than showed this fall, the latest piece of evidence being her 17:56 winner in the Gold race at Bluejay.
Hung with Jazwinski and Osterberg for as long as she could before fading a bit. Even with the slight fade, Kyah crossed the line in another personal best.
Mylie Kelly
Week Four: “Her 18:29 at Riverside was her best time in the past 23 months and nearly a minute faster than each of her previous two efforts at the Ottawa Hills Invite.”
Championship Week: The training, the fire and focus showed over the summer is paying many dividends. Twenty races later, Mylie finally broke her personal best from her sophomore year. Her 18:04 from Saturday was 5 seconds faster than that regional race as a sophomore and over a minute quicker than her Bluejay performance from a fall ago.
While others were off setting personal bests and duking it out against each other, Mylie and her BC teammates took to the sand at Pine River. She came out of it a stronger girl, trudging away from the field by over 80 seconds.
Tessa Roe
Championship Week: Lansing Catholic did their early season thing on the tough courses, great preparation for a tough hilly regional at Possum Hollow. In her first real opportunity to rip it, Tessa made the most of it, blasting an 18:21 personal best at Cougar Falcon.
Through her career, she’s run three times at Greater Lansing, placing in the top-15 each time out. As a senior, she has a real chance of ending her career just as she commenced it, placing in the top-5.
Betsy Skendzel
Championship Week: D3’s most unheralded star had a breakout race at Shepherd. Betsy’s 18:15 nearly matched her personal best and was close to 20 seconds better than any race in 2023.
It had been a two-year absence from the winner’s circle, but I’m sure the wait was worth it. Just last night, Betsy captured the LMC title to go along with her team’s victory.
Miranda McNeil
Championship Week: Miranda must love the taste of that Shepherd Sweetness, because she brings her best material there each time out. By my count, she’s raced through those mid-Michigan fields on five occasions, and on four of those, ran her lifetime best. The 18:25 from Saturday beat out her previous PR by 23 seconds and solidly affirms her as a favorite to grab a fourth All-State.
A 6th place finish and 18:40 caps three years of running at Portage. Three years in the top-10, with two of those being sub-19’s.
Lila Volkers
Beginning to stick her nose in there more and more as the season rolls on. Her 18:28 at Portage builds upon her 18:32 from Sparta and shows that she’s primed for another podium finish in early November.
Eliza Bush
Has shown the gradual time drops from her sophomore year. Wins at Novi Christian and Jefferson, an 18:34 at Stockbridge, were all around 20 seconds faster than her 10th grade form.
Rank
Grade
Name
Team
Region
1
11
Jessica Jazwinski
Hart
20
2
12
Madison Osterberg
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
3
11
Emmry Ross
Onsted
23
4
11
Kyah Hoffman
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
5
12
Mylie Kelly
Benzie Central
20
6
12
Tessa Roe
Lansing Catholic
26
7
11
Betsy Skendzel
Traverse City St. Francis
19
8
12
Miranda McNeil
Morley-Stanwood
20
9
11
Lila Volkers
Kent City
21
10
11
Eliza Bush
Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory
27
11
11
Whitney Werner
Pewamo-Westphalia
24
12
9
Samantha Schroeder
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
13
12
Amber Koole
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
14
11
Ashley Choponis
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
15
9
Kamryn Salladay
Lakeview
20
16
12
Jenna Sweeney
Reese
25
17
10
Bella LaFountain
Monroe St. Mary CC
27
18
11
Kaya Vrable
Caro
25
19
12
Avelina Hollandsworth
Remus Chippewa Hills
20
20
9
Isabelle Sliter
Fennville
21
21
10
Hope Miller
Blissfield
27
22
10
Grace Coston
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
23
12
Olivia Perrine
Hanover-Horton
23
24
12
Liliana Lehnst
Ithaca
25
25
12
Cecilia Postma
Manistee
20
26
12
Isabella Max
Kent City
21
27
10
Brynne Schulte
Elk Rapids
19
28
9
Sophia Buzzelli
Clare
19
29
9
Shelby Kuiper
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
30
12
Kinsie Jacques
Pinconning
25
31
11
Lola Bryce
Grandville Calvin Christian
21
32
12
Jaiden Dickman
St. Louis
25
33
11
Mary Masserant
Traverse City St. Francis
19
34
12
Cylee Elkins
Clinton
27
35
12
Paige Herron
Caro
25
36
11
Megan Woelkers
Flat Rock
27
37
10
Quinn Hatfield
Remus Chippewa Hills
20
38
10
Macy Fazekas
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
39
10
Ashlynn Harris
Bronson
23
40
12
Gracie Houtman
Kent City
21
41
9
Molly Kate Hollandsworth
Traverse City St. Francis
19
42
11
Isabelle Eppert
Farwell
19
43
11
Alaina Klooster
Kalamazoo Christian
22
44
11
Layla Lopez
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
45
12
Sophia Reynolds
Hanover-Horton
23
46
12
Claire Neumann
Saginaw Valley Lutheran
25
47
10
Mattie Gagne
Midland Bullock Creek
25
48
10
Anna Pray
Elk Rapids
19
49
11
Chloe Stalhood
Hillsdale
23
50
12
Maddie Gallagher
Traverse City St. Francis
19
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
Collin Farmer
Week Four: Was able to lower his already low school record from 15:53 to 15:43. Three for three in terms of victories this year.
Championship Week: And within two weeks, that school record was ripped to shreds. Collin’s 15:29 at Shepherd was a statement, announcing a serious candidacy for the D3 crown.
Senior strength pulled through in the end. His 5:36 for the final 1.1 (5:03 pace) was the fastest final split in the Division Three field.
Bobby Jazwinski
Week Three: Following his astounding debut at Benzie, picked up wins in the first WMC Rivers Jamboree and at Leanna Wolf Geers.
Week Four: “There were 92 athletes that competed at both Pete Moss and Ottawa Hills. Removing a few anomalies, the average runner ran 10-11 seconds faster at Ottawa Hills. Bobby was 15 seconds faster, showing that even at the elite level, he’s improving at a faster rate than many of his competitors. His 15:33 was of course, a personal best.”
Championship Week: Two intense races since that 15:33 at Ottawa Hills, two 15:3x efforts. Bobby is showing no letting up in the middle stages of his freshman year.
Succumbed late to Farmer, coming across the line 11 seconds back. Even in defeat, comfortably ran the fastest time of any freshman at Portage’s massive invite.
Isaiah Dinverno
Week Four: “Has raced three times this year – at Michigan Catholic, Lakeview, and Spartan. Last year, he opened with those three as well. His average time last year was 18:22, this season is 16:18. This past weekend, he was victorious at Spartan in a field that will resemble many during championship season.”
Championship Week: Five races this year, four wins. A sub-16 at Jackson was the quickest of all and he covered the Sharp Park course in 45 less seconds than his sophomore regional effort.
Moved up throughout the race in typical LC fashion. 6th at the mile to 4th at the finish, notching another sub-16 and another considerably quicker time compared to his sophomore year.
Boden Genovese
Week Three: Three consecutive low-16 efforts, all lower than his junior best. He’ll get another opportunity to roll towards the 15’s on Friday at Spartan.
Week Four: “Acquitted himself quite well to the D1 race at Spartan, placing 3rd with a 16:15.”
Championship Week: A 3rd place in the Berrien County Championship marked four consecutive top-5 finishes there.
3.5 years of races and his first 15:xx ever. Congrats to Boden, coming back strong after slightly slower efforts at Jackson and Berrien County.
Ben March
Championship Week: Historically, the Sharks begin to hunt at this time of year, with Ben at the front of it all. Perhaps a prep for Regionals, perhaps a statement, but most affirmatively, a massive personal best. His 15:46 was nearly 20 seconds faster than his previous lifetime best.
Just capped off an undefeated season in the TVC Blue, winning his first conference title of his career.
Samuel Martini
Week Four: “When he’s brought it, he’s been his usual high-15/low-16 self. Shaved 4 sec. off his time from last fall’s race at Sparta, placing an admirable 2nd to Farmer.”
Championship Week: Has opened CSAA competition with two consecutive wins to go along with another dub on his home course.
At White Cloud early last week, grabbed his 9th consecutive CSAA win. Then at Portage, came through with his 3rd consecutive top-10 placing.
Brad White
Championship Week: It’s taken 3.5 years and a few close calls, but the sub-16 finally happened. Brad’s 15:55 at Cadillac was only a slight improvement from his best as a junior, but I bet it meant the world. And to prove it was no fluke, he doubled it up with another one at Bluejay.
The wheels may have come off late at Portage, but I applaud him for taking the risk to run with the front group.
Gage Hoffman
Sophomore has been on the brink of sub-16 on too many occasions this year. Saranac, Cedar Springs, Bluejay, Portage. When that breakthrough comes, he’ll undoubtedly run in the 15:40’s.
Jackson Rodriguez
Greatly emerged with the heightened Portage competition. His sub-16 there was his first since 2022’s Regionals.
Theodore Davis
Ten races this year and he’s been in the 16’s for every last one. The unheralded junior has been in the top-10 at State each of the past two years and while it will take work, can easily get there again.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 