Okay, I had to break my own rule and do this. But I wanted to find out how fast this course really was. What did the times say? Discounting a few anomalies and outliers, most runners ran about 35-40 seconds faster than what their seasonal ratings would suggest.
Girls Adjustment: +39 Boys Adjustment: +36
*** = Team State Title type of performance ** = Top-10 Team type of performance * = Team Qualifier type of performance
We’ve finally arrived in the prime part of the year. Meets such as Holly, Spartan, Jackson, Cougar Falcon, Otsego Bulldog, Bluejay have been excellent bellwethers, showcasing how different teams from different areas compare against one another. We have one final example of those this week at Portage (which isn’t technically a championship, but I’m gonna label it as our mid-season championship) before embarking on our stretch of county, area, league, and finally – Regionals and State Finals.
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.
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. With a bit of free-r time this week, I should get to the Upper Peninsula.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Make it 4 straight and 13 of the past 14. The Bears have truly established a Berrien County dynasty.
St. Johns
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.
Spring Lake
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.
Rank
Team
Region
Score
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Grand Rapids Christian
11
63
1
1
1
2
2
Otsego
13
194
2
2
2
1
3
Goodrich
15
285
4
4
4
3
4
East Grand Rapids
12
290
3
3
8
6
5
Zeeland East
11
362
5
7
3
5
6
St. Joseph
13
397
6
5
6
4
7
St. Johns
14
415
7
8
7
7
8
Spring Lake
11
463
8
9
9
11
9
Frankenmuth
15
467
9
6
5
8
10
Holland Christian
11
489
11
12
28
10
11
DeWitt
14
520
13
10
10
14
12
Freeland
15
534
12
11
11
12
13
Ludington
10
555
10
15
12
13
14
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg
12
604
14
13
13
27
15
Hudsonville Unity Christian
11
650
15
14
14
17
16
Owosso
14
674
21
19
18
26
17
Alma
15
708
17
16
16
15
18
Warren Regina
17
735
16
20
19
34
19
Croswell-Lexington
17
737
19
17
17
29
20
Linden
16
761
20
26
24
20
21
Dearborn Divine Child
16
762
18
22
20
19
22
Petoskey
10
763
23
18
15
18
23
Forest Hills Eastern
12
802
24
24
22
25
24
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
16
869
25
23
25
44
25
Chelsea
18
888
26
25
23
21
26
Grand Rapids South Christian
12
939
29
29
29
22
27
Stevensville Lakeshore
13
982
28
27
27
24
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Alma
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.
Adrian
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.
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.
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.
Otsego
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.
Rank
Team
Region
Score
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Forest Hills Eastern
12
198
1
1
1
3
2
Grand Rapids Christian
11
257
2
4
2
2
3
Allendale
11
267
4
3
4
4
4
East Grand Rapids
12
301
3
2
3
1
5
Alma
15
444
7
7
5
10
6
Adrian
18
459
6
6
7
5
7
Marshall
12
464
5
5
6
15
8
Otsego
13
479
9
9
8
13
9
Holland Christian
11
534
8
8
21
8
10
Sparta
10
546
10
10
10
17
11
Pinckney
16
567
23
23
29
6
12
Petoskey
10
575
13
16
15
9
13
Frankenmuth
15
585
15
15
13
21
14
Gladwin
10
598
11
12
9
12
15
Plainwell
13
635
12
11
12
37
16
Hamilton
11
661
19
19
19
16
17
Yale
17
665
14
13
11
19
18
Flint Powers Catholic
15
674
22
22
20
25
19
Fremont
10
698
17
21
NR
14
20
Spring Lake
11
739
20
18
18
18
21
Clio
15
789
26
24
17
28
22
Parma Western
14
834
24
27
25
27
23
Chelsea
18
837
21
20
23
7
24
St. Clair
17
839
16
14
14
31
25
DeWitt
14
899
25
26
24
20
26
St. Johns
14
906
30
30
28
34
27
Shepherd
15
927
28
28
26
33
GIRLS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
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.
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.
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.
A senior going out with wins all over the place. In conference, in county, and in her college decision, recently committing to Michigan.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Drew Muller
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.
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.
Katie Berkshire
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.
Emma Hoffman
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.
Mary Richmond
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.
Rank
Grade
Name
Team
Region
1
12
Natalie VanOtteren
Grand Rapids Christian
11
2
12
Gail Vaikutis
St. Joseph
13
3
11
Elena Figueroa
St. Joseph
13
4
9
Ava Schafer
St. Johns
14
5
12
Drew Muller
East Grand Rapids
12
6
10
Katie Berkshire
Gaylord
10
7
10
Emma Hoffman
Otsego
13
8
12
Mary Richmond
Frankenmuth
15
9
12
Meghan Ford
Mason
14
10
11
Emma Drnek
Zeeland East
11
11
10
Ellie Scholma
Grand Rapids Christian
11
12
12
Emily Tomes
Grand Rapids Catholic Central
11
13
10
Lilah Poel
Grand Rapids Christian
11
14
12
Logan Brazee
Otsego
13
15
11
Sadey Seyferth
East Grand Rapids
12
16
11
Summer Brower
Ludington
10
17
12
Payton Holtz
Grand Rapids Christian
11
18
11
Sophy Skeels
Adrian
18
19
12
Megan Germain
Otsego
13
20
11
Natalia DeMea
Chelsea
18
21
12
Naomi Nelson
Grand Rapids Christian
11
22
9
Clara Kaczor
Freeland
15
23
12
Allison Kuzma
Zeeland East
11
24
11
Eva Thompson
Croswell-Lexington
17
25
11
Kamryn Lauinger
Goodrich
15
26
10
Natalie Foltz
Frankenmuth
15
27
11
Ezgi Kurt
Alma
15
28
11
Ava Crews
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg
12
29
11
Layla Jordan
Goodrich
15
30
12
Jenna Pilachowski
Monroe Jefferson
18
31
12
Abby Young
St. Johns
14
32
12
Emma DeVries
GR West Michigan Aviation
12
33
12
Camille DeCola
Marshall
12
34
9
Jaelyn Ray
Pinckney
16
35
9
Caroline Randall
Hastings
12
36
12
Anastee Davis
Adrian
18
37
12
Clara Fletcher
St. Johns
14
38
9
Olivia Hollebeek
Holland Christian
11
39
10
Berkley Holtz
Sturgis
13
40
10
Linnea Paige
Fremont
10
41
9
Lucy Conzelmann
Frankenmuth
15
42
9
Eliana Stob
Holland Christian
11
43
10
Brooklynn Brown
Cadillac
10
44
12
Ellia Agar
Grand Rapids South Christian
12
45
12
Kyla Meyers
Spring Lake
11
46
9
Ayda Skeels
Adrian
18
47
11
Kayla Williams
DeWitt
14
48
9
Johanna Mulder
Holland
11
49
10
Samantha Brown
Clio
15
50
9
Adeline Armstrong
East Grand Rapids
12
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We’ve finally arrived in the prime part of the year. Meets such as Holly, Spartan, Jackson, Cougar Falcon, Otsego Bulldog, Bluejay have been excellent bellwethers, showcasing how different teams from different areas compare against one another. We have one final example of those this week at Portage (which isn’t technically a championship, but I’m gonna label it as our mid-season championship) before embarking on our stretch of county, area, league, and finally – Regionals and State Finals.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
Pewamo-Westphalia
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
Stanton Central Montcalm
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.
Caro
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.
Rank
Team
Region
Score
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
159
1
1
1
1
2
Traverse City St. Francis
19
208
2
2
2
3
3
Elk Rapids
19
254
4
3
3
2
4
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
279
5
5
6
13
5
Hart
20
289
3
4
4
4
6
Pewamo-Westphalia
24
294
7
7
7
7
7
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
313
6
6
8
12
8
Caro
25
337
8
8
5
5
9
Lansing Catholic
26
356
9
9
9
9
10
Leslie
26
454
10
10
11
6
11
Hanover-Horton
23
471
12
12
10
25
12
Ithaca
25
489
11
11
12
10
13
Kent City
21
596
13
14
14
16
14
Clinton
27
603
14
16
13
18
15
Remus Chippewa Hills
20
605
16
15
15
23
16
Monroe St. Mary CC
27
609
15
13
16
11
17
Fennville
21
653
17
19
20
26
18
Buchanan
22
694
18
18
17
27
19
Grass Lake
27
749
19
17
18
19
20
Onsted
23
757
22
21
25
21
21
Ann Arbor Greenhills
27
778
21
20
22
22
22
Grandville Calvin Christian
21
811
23
22
41
51
23
St. Louis
25
829
28
28
24
31
24
Clare
19
847
20
24
21
8
25
The Potter’s House
21
923
29
33
31
35
26
McBain
20
923
24
25
23
34
27
Quincy
23
967
27
31
29
44
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
Pewamo-Westphalia
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
Two Tuesdays, two weeks aparts, the Yotes knocked out CSAA victories over their conference competition from down south.
Stanton Central Montcalm
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.
Hart
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.
Jackson Lumen Christi
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?
Rank
Team
Region
Score
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Summer
1
Traverse City St. Francis
19
166
1
1
1
2
2
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
334
2
2
2
6
3
Pewamo-Westphalia
24
334
6
6
9
3
4
Hanover-Horton
23
339
4
5
4
11
5
Reed City
20
369
3
3
3
9
6
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
422
5
7
6
19
7
Hart
20
442
7
10
8
7
8
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
460
8
8
7
22
9
Clare
19
468
9
9
10
5
10
The Potter’s House
21
508
10
4
5
1
11
Bath
24
512
11
11
16
12
12
Jonesville
23
534
14
15
14
8
13
Midland Bullock Creek
25
552
17
14
12
37
14
St. Louis
25
559
16
16
15
4
15
Ithaca
25
588
12
12
13
16
16
Buchanan
22
613
13
13
11
18
17
Flat Rock
27
703
15
17
17
34
18
Charlevoix
19
723
18
20
20
30
19
Kalkaska
19
770
19
18
18
29
20
Olivet
22
824
20
19
19
15
21
Leslie
26
833
22
25
24
36
22
Kent City
21
853
21
22
23
33
23
Ann Arbor Greenhills
27
868
29
28
32
23
24
Lansing Catholic
26
877
23
29
27
26
25
Clinton
27
907
24
24
36
20
26
Elk Rapids
19
929
25
21
21
17
27
Benzie Central
20
949
34
33
26
45
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
Tessa Roe
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.
Betsy Skendzel
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.
Miranda McNeil
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.
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
12
Alyson Enns
Hart
20
10
11
Lila Volkers
Kent City
21
11
11
Eliza Bush
Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory
27
12
11
Whitney Werner
Pewamo-Westphalia
24
13
12
Amber Koole
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
14
9
Samantha Schroeder
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
15
11
Ashley Choponis
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
16
9
Kamryn Salladay
Lakeview
20
17
10
Bella LaFountain
Monroe St. Mary CC
27
18
12
Jenna Sweeney
Reese
25
19
11
Kaya Vrable
Caro
25
20
10
Brynne Schulte
Elk Rapids
19
21
9
Isabelle Sliter
Fennville
21
22
12
Isabella Max
Kent City
21
23
12
Liliana Lehnst
Ithaca
25
24
12
Cecilia Postma
Manistee
20
25
10
Hope Miller
Blissfield
27
26
12
Kendra Koster
Lawton
22
27
10
Grace Coston
Stanton Central Montcalm
24
28
9
Sophia Buzzelli
Clare
19
29
12
Kinsie Jacques
Pinconning
25
30
9
Shelby Kuiper
Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
21
31
10
Ashlynn Harris
Bronson
23
32
12
Olivia Perrine
Hanover-Horton
23
33
12
Jaiden Dickman
St. Louis
25
34
12
Cylee Elkins
Clinton
27
35
11
Megan Woelkers
Flat Rock
27
36
12
Paige Herron
Caro
25
37
10
Quinn Hatfield
Remus Chippewa Hills
20
38
10
Macy Fazekas
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
39
10
Anna Pray
Elk Rapids
19
40
12
Avelina Hollandsworth
Remus Chippewa Hills
20
41
11
Lola Bryce
Grandville Calvin Christian
21
42
11
Isabelle Eppert
Farwell
19
43
12
Sophia Reynolds
Hanover-Horton
23
44
11
Layla Lopez
Jackson Lumen Christi
23
45
12
Claire Neumann
Saginaw Valley Lutheran
25
46
10
Mattie Gagne
Midland Bullock Creek
25
47
12
Gracie Houtman
Kent City
21
48
11
Mary Masserant
Traverse City St. Francis
19
49
11
Alaina Klooster
Kalamazoo Christian
22
50
11
Chloe Stalhood
Hillsdale
23
BOYS INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Brad White
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.
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.”
Has opened CSAA competition with two consecutive wins to go along with another dub on his home course.
Ben March
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.
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.”
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.
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.”
A 3rd place in the Berrien County Championship marked four consecutive top-5 finishes there.
August Rohde
The 11 day stretch that the Coyotes took off from racing was surely beneficial to Gus. The fresh legs and the Bluejay Boost combined to form one tremendous personal best – a 35+ second one. Graduating from the low-16’s to 15:40, Mr. Rohde is now in the conversation to challenge for the D3 title.
