Author: mixcspeedratings

WEEK ONE JUMP CREW

Just taking a glance at the meet schedules throughout the state over the next few days, there’s a good chance we’ll get some great efforts in the vault and hurdles. Hopeful to get those events analyzed and ranked this week.

To review, these “best crews” were started last year to try to recognize the best teams in each event area, whether that’s the jumps here, or sprints or throws elsewhere. Last year’s version was more complex and relied on having three participants in each event. I’ve changed things a bit this year, mostly to ease the process on my end and have the ability to include more teams.

Here’s the process:

Over the winter, I created my own version of World Athletics Tables, but for Michigan athletes. These are based on times/marks from the 2022 Outdoor Season throughout the US. Their purpose is to compare across events. Here are the tables:

BOYS TABLES

GIRLS TABLES

There are two guidelines for being included. Your mark has to be from this outdoor season and it has to be better than the Regional Additional Qualifying Mark. Marks from this season are taken from the athletic.net performance lists. There will likely be some instances where someone has run a time, but it’s not included on that list. I can’t help that! Please contact the necessary folks to get your name on there.

For each event, with a maximum of four athletes, those scores are added together. Then within a category, those events are added together. Relays are scaled to match their importance within a meet. Often, at the state level, teams score more points from a relay than they would with four individuals running that event, so they’re given a bit more importance here.

Here’s an example of one of the better early season crews, the East Kentwood Boys high jumpers. The Falcons are always one of the more well-rounded teams in the State, 2023 looks to be no different.

Grade	Name	Team	Division	Height	Points
12	Nakia Willis	East Kentwood	1	6′ 0″	377
11	Elisee Kanda	East Kentwood	1	5′ 10″	349
12	Marshaun Flakes	East Kentwood	1	5′ 10″	349

These are from this season only, containing meets up until MONDAY and included on the athleticnet lists.

One of the better all-around athletes on one of the better teams is back for another round of it, hoping to help lead his Falcons to a State Title. At 2022’s MITCA Team State, Nakia Willis placed in the top-10 in the 110h, High Jump, and Long Jump, a major factor in their third place finish as a team. Already this year, he’s found new lengths in the Long Jump, hitting over 21’ on both of his early season meets. Over the previous two years, he’d been 21’+ only twice. A new dimension for someone capable of contributing to a team goal come early June.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
12	Nakia Willis	East Kentwood	21′ 9.75″	415
12	Nakia Willis	East Kentwood	6′ 0″	377
11	Elisee Kanda	East Kentwood	5′ 10″	349
12	Marshaun Flakes	East Kentwood	5′ 10″	349

D1 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	East Kentwood	1075	415	1490
2	Canton	881	452	1333
3	Warren Cousino	405	400	805
4	Ypsilanti Lincoln	349	412	761
5	Northville	405	349	754
6	Fraser	377	361	738
7	Lansing Waverly	377	357	734
8	Portage Central	726	0	726
9	Caledonia	349	368	717
10	North Farmington	377	339	716
11	Holland West Ottawa	363	341	704
12	Dexter	349	352	701
13	St. Joseph	419	0	419
14	Battle Creek Lakeview	0	407	407
15	Oxford	405	0	405
16	Ann Arbor Skyline	0	401	401
17	Rockford	0	394	394
18	Zeeland East	391	0	391
19	Sterling Heights	0	391	391
20	Detroit Catholic Central	0	384	384
21	Grand Blanc	0	381	381
22	Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills	0	380	380
22	Grand Haven	0	380	380
24	Grosse Pointe South	377	0	377
24	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer	377	0	377
24	South Lyon	377	0	377

Funny how when you evaluate the jumpers, you get those multi-event kids who can handle pretty much anything. Ben Merkel is another one. In addition to his 6’2 High Jump (tied for the State Lead in D2), he contributed to Jefferson’s 4×2, 4×4, and long jumped to top it off. Look back to last year, he hurdled, he ran an 800. Back to that 6’2 though, it ties his personal best and is his second effort ever over 6’. I’m not sure what the future holds at the state level, but I know he’s the early favorite for the Huron League title.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
12	Gage Vanalstine	Charlotte	6′ 0″	377
12	Joe Davis	Charlotte	5′ 10″	349
12	Gage Vanalstine	Charlotte	19′ 8.5″	325
12	Kaeden Maynard	Charlotte	19′ 5.25″	314
11	Cutler Brandt	Charlotte	19′ 5″	313

D2 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	Charlotte	726	951	1678
2	Whitehall	726	373	1099
3	Wayland Union	0	766	766
4	Pinckney	405	339	745
5	Ferndale University	0	744	744
6	Mason	349	391	740
7	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	0	733	733
8	Parma Western	405	327	732
9	Ortonville Brandon	335	352	687
10	Freeland	0	680	680
11	Corunna	0	434	434
12	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	405	0	405
12	Monroe Jefferson	405	0	405
12	Sturgis	405	0	405
15	Lake Fenton	377	0	377
15	Tecumseh	377	0	377
17	Hopkins	0	363	363
17	Milan	0	363	363
19	Three Rivers	363	0	363
20	Forest Hills Eastern	349	0	349
20	Ludington	349	0	349
20	Marshall	349	0	349
20	Richland Gull Lake	349	0	349
20	Shepherd	349	0	349
20	Stevensville Lakeshore	349	0	349
20	Wyoming Godwin Heights	349	0	349
20	Lake Odessa Lakewood	0	341	341

Even the best fail. Andrew Phillips failed at the 2022 Regionals, where he missed a state qualifier by an inch. Those failures are necessary on the road to success. His 21’9 season opener was the exact opposite of a failure. A school record by 6”, 1.5 feet longer than his regional leap, and the best mark in D3 thus far. Many early mornings, hour long winter drives, and intense dedication led to this. In over a month, lord willing and the creek don’t rise, he’ll get a chance to redeem those past failures.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
12	Shea Ruddy	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	6′ 2″	405
11	Kolby Masserant	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	20′ 2.5″	346
9	Mason DeBarr	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	5′ 8″	321

D3 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	726	346	1073
2	Manton	349	412	761
3	Hillsdale	377	357	734
4	Durand	405	313	718
5	Montague	698	0	698
6	Quincy	321	362	683
7	Chesaning	335	316	651
8	Napoleon	0	640	640
9	Springport	321	318	639
10	Hart	321	290	610
11	Vassar	405	0	405
12	Grand Traverse Academy	377	0	377
12	Lakeview	377	0	377
14	Clare	0	359	359
15	Hudson	0	350	350
16	Clinton	349	0	349
16	Grandville Calvin Christian	349	0	349
16	Homer	349	0	349
16	Reed City	349	0	349
20	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	0	348	348
21	Delton-Kellogg	0	336	336
22	Harrison	0	334	334
23	Clintondale	0	327	327
24	Holland Black River	0	323	323
25	Bronson	321	0	321
25	Cass City	321	0	321
25	Ida	321	0	321
25	Schoolcraft	321	0	321

Top-8 marks, a Regional title in the Long Jump, all was set for Mekhi Wingfield to cause a scene at the 2022 D4 State Finals. Unfortunately, he was unable to compete and better his 3^rd place Long Jump finish from his freshman year. Now in 2023, his early season marks have put D4 on notice. He’s high jumped 2” higher than his previous best, he’s hit 22’ for the first time ever. That long jump is quickly turning into a must-see event. Anthany Buford has already been over 22’ and you know Alex Affer ain’t giving up the crown that easily. June can’t come soon enough.

Grade	Name	Team	Height/Dist.	Points
11	Mekhi Wingfield	Concord	22′ 4″	437
11	Mekhi Wingfield	Concord	6′ 4″	434
12	Anthony Evans	Concord	19′ 10.5″	332

D4 Rank	Team	High	Long	Score
1	Concord	434	769	1203
2	Marion	377	666	1043
3	Detroit Frederick Douglass	0	698	698
4	Britton Deerfield	585	0	585
4	Marcellus	585	0	585
6	Petersburg-Summerfield	293	277	570
7	Pentwater	0	566	566
8	Unionville-Sebewaing	293	262	555
9	Beal City	0	348	348
10	The Potter’s House	335	0	335
11	Lawrence	0	309	309
12	East Jackson	0	297	297
13	Marlette	293	0	293
14	Holland Calvary Christian	0	291	291
15	Ubly	0	284	284
16	Mesick	0	281	281
17	Mt Clemens	0	263	263

I really really really wanted to kick off Week Three with some hurdlers or vaulters, but there weren’t enough qualifying marks over the weekend to justify putting a list together. So we’ll start again with the jumpers and I’ll play it by ear with the hurdlers and vaulters. This warm weather should contribute mightily to fast times and towering heights.

To review, these “best crews” were started last year to try to recognize the best teams in each event area, whether that’s the jumps here, or sprints or throws elsewhere. Last year’s version was more complex and relied on having three participants in each event. I’ve changed things a bit this year, mostly to ease the process on my end and have the ability to include more teams.

Here’s the process:

Over the winter, I created my own version of World Athletics Tables, but for Michigan athletes. These are based on times/marks from the 2022 Outdoor Season throughout the US. Their purpose is to compare across events. Here are the boys tables:

BOYS TABLES

GIRLS TABLES

There are two guidelines for being included. Your mark has to be from this outdoor season and it has to be better than the Regional Additional Qualifying Mark. Marks from this season are taken from the athletic.net performance lists. There will likely be some instances where someone has run a time, but it’s not included on that list. I can’t help that! Please contact the necessary folks to get your name on there.

For each event, with a maximum of four athletes, those scores are added together. Then within a category, those events are added together. Relays are scaled to match their importance within a meet. Often, at the state level, teams score more points from a relay than they would with four individuals running that event, so they’re given a bit more importance here.

Here’s an example of one of the better early season crews, the Detroit Renaissance long jump girls, who are scarily contributing to a more well-rounded squad in addition to their sprint dominance:

Grade	Name	Distance	Team	Points	Team Score
10	Celeste Davis	16′ 8.5″	Detroit Renaissance	385	1095
12	Martia Williams	16′ 1.5″	Detroit Renaissance	361
11	Kristen Lavergne	15′ 10″	Detroit Renaissance	349

These are from this season only, containing meets up until SATURDAY.

If there’s ever a heptathlete candidate for the future, it’s Margaret Monaghan. The Port Huron Northern senior can do it all – hurdle, throw, sprint, high jump, long jump. It’s hard to tell what her best event is yet in 2023! All her marks at Davison’s Shake off the Rust Invite rank in the top-5 in the State. What will the future hold? Margaret was 4^th in the D1 Long Jump, with the top 2 places graduating. That may be her best shot at a trophy, but I wouldn’t put anything past her.

D1 Rank	Team	Long	High	Team Score
1	Port Huron Northern	778	401	1179
2	Zeeland East	368	745	1113
3	Saline	783	324	1107
4	Detroit Renaissance	1095	0	1095
5	Macomb Dakota	1084	0	1084
6	Lake Orion	344	649	993
7	Rockford	340	497	837
8	Portage Central	732	0	732
9	Utica	370	324	694
10	Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills	0	687	687
11	Livonia Stevenson	349	324	673
12	Grandville	0	440	440
13	Woodhaven-Brownstown	418	0	418
14	Salem	0	401	401
15	Holland	0	382	382
16	Jackson	378	0	378
17	Zeeland West	364	0	364
18	Holland West Ottawa	363	0	363
18	Ann Arbor Skyline	0	363	363
18	Flint Carman-Ainsworth	0	363	363
18	St. Clair Shores Lakeview	0	363	363
18	Troy Athens	0	363	363
23	East Kentwood	345	0	345
23	Novi	345	0	345
25	North Farmington	344	0	344

After a season full of 15’s and a few 16’s, Brielle Reason jumped out of her mind at the 2022 Regionals. Her 17’5 leap gave her a regional championship and added to the confidence needed to place 4^th at D2 State. She’ll be battling a field full of returners, but she’s already shown to be in peak form, her 17’5.25” in Novi is the second-best mark in the state in 2023.

D2 Rank	Team	Long	High	Total
1	Parma Western	357	649	1006
2	Hastings	713	286	999
3	Charlotte	328	649	976
4	Otsego	343	572	915
5	Macomb Lutheran North	0	745	745
6	Stevensville Lakeshore	342	382	724
7	Pinckney	416	305	721
8	Allendale	349	363	711
9	Gladwin	371	324	696
10	Belding	0	687	687
10	Tecumseh	0	687	687
12	Mason	349	324	673
13	Adrian	0	649	649
14	Forest Hills Eastern	0	610	610
15	Hopkins	314	286	600
16	Spring Lake	0	591	591
17	Saginaw Swan Valley	0	572	572
18	Edwardsburg	0	382	382
19	Wayland Union	364	0	364
20	Lake Fenton	0	363	363
20	Whitehall	0	363	363
22	Big Rapids	358	0	358
23	Clio	343	0	343
24	Chelsea	338	0	338
25	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	335	0	335

Another girl that can do it all: Alyssa Budd. Alyssa only contributed to 20 points in Napoleon’s win over Brooklyn Columbia Central. Contributor in the 4×1, Winner in the 100m, Pole Vault, and her best event – Long Jump. Having leapt into the 17’s last spring, her 17’9.5” was barely a personal best, but it is easily the best mark in D3 thus far.

D3 Rank	Team	Long	High	Total
1	Hillsdale	690	382	1072
2	Lawton	0	802	802
3	Napoleon	737	0	737
4	Hart	300	425	725
5	Grand Rapids West Catholic	332	324	656
6	Remus Chippewa Hills	351	286	637
7	Ida	309	324	633
8	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	303	324	628
9	Grand Traverse Academy	621	0	621
10	Ann Arbor Greenhills	586	0	586
11	McBain	288	286	574
12	Clinton	0	572	572
12	Schoolcraft	0	572	572
14	Hudson	385	0	385
15	Comstock	0	344	344
16	Bath	335	0	335
17	Stockbridge	332	0	332
18	Galesburg-Augusta	326	0	326
19	Bridgman	0	324	324
19	Manistee	0	324	324
19	Reed City	0	324	324
19	Saugatuck	0	324	324
23	Durand	315	0	315
24	Ithaca	300	0	300
25	Bad Axe	298	0	298

She’s been a mainstay at the D4 State Finals, finishing 12^th as a sophomore and 3^rd as a junior. Claire Molnar kicked off her senior year with a magnificent jump into the 16’s. Currently, that’s the #1 leap amongst D4 girls and already matches her championship form from her junior year. There’s sure to be competition – 11 of the top 12 places return, but Claire has set a mark for others to ponder.

D4 Rank	Team	Long	High	Total
1	Farwell	268	509	777
2	Breckenridge	331	344	675
3	The Potter’s House	296	363	658
4	St. Charles	0	610	610
5	Brethren	304	247	552
6	Frankfort	0	533	533
6	Marlette	0	533	533
8	Kalamazoo Hackett	265	247	512
9	Britton Deerfield	361	0	361
10	New Buffalo	347	0	347
11	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	331	0	331
12	Marcellus	0	324	324
13	Vestaburg	286	0	286
13	Holland Calvary Christian	0	286	286
13	Webberville	0	286	286
16	Beal City	0	262	262
16	Montabella	262	0	262
16	Mt Clemens	262	0	262
19	Coleman	0	257	257
20	Mason County Eastern	0	247	247
20	Pentwater	0	247	247
20	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	0	247	247
20	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	0	247	247
20	Whittemore-Prescott	0	247	247

To review, these “best crews” were started last year to try to recognize the best teams in each event area, whether that’s the jumps here, or sprints or throws elsewhere. Last year’s version was more complex and relied on having three participants in each event. I’ve changed things a bit this year, mostly to ease the process on my end and have the ability to include more teams.

Here’s the process:

Over the winter, I created my own version of World Athletics Tables, but for Michigan athletes. These are based on times/marks from the 2022 Outdoor Season throughout the US. Their purpose is to compare across events. Here are the boys tables:

BOYS TABLES

There are two guidelines for being included. Your mark has to be from this outdoor season and it has to be better than the Regional Additional Qualifying Mark. Marks from this season are taken from the athletic.net performance lists. There will likely be some instances where someone has run a time, but it’s not included on that list. I can’t help that! Please contact the necessary folks to get your name on there.

For each event, with a maximum of four athletes, those scores are added together. Then within a category, those events are added together. Relays are scaled to match their importance within a meet. Often, at the state level, teams score more points from a relay than they would with four individuals running that event, so they’re given a bit more importance here.

Here’s an example of one of the better early season crews, the Spring Lake 400m bunch, which includes one of the better overall athletes in the State, Jaxson Tober:

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Division	Points	Team Score
12	Tanner Guczwa	50.86	Spring Lake	2	388
12	Jaxson Tober	50.94	Spring Lake	2	385
12	Caden Kyser	51.61	Spring Lake	2	361	1134

These are from this season only, containing meets up until TUESDAY. Since the early season meets omit a few events, what I did was take a team’s best three event scores. Future versions will include all events.

The two crews I’ve neglected to rank have been the pole vaulters and hurdlers. Hurdles, because there have been very few opportunities at the 100/110/300m distances, vaulters because it’ll take a bit for them to hit the regional qualifying height. I plan to kick those off next week and settle into a consistent rhythm and schedule.

Third fastest 400m mark as a freshman doesn’t mean much unless it translates to quicker times as an upperclassman. Ahmad Ameen has definitely accelerated in terms of speed and growth, throwing down a 49.46 in his opener. Running that indoors shows Ahmad can definitely be in the discussion come June and perhaps be a challenger to defending champ Malachi Mosley.

D1 Rank	Team	Score	100m	200m	400m	4×1	4×2	4×4
1	Byron Center	2285	319	542	659	0	1084	0
2	Saline	1669	0	294	324	0	1050	0
3	Caledonia	1382	319	0	345	718	0	0
4	Detroit U-D Jesuit	1162	0	309	0	0	853	0
5	Detroit Cass Tech	1154	0	0	402	0	752	0
6	Ann Arbor Pioneer	1108	0	0	368	0	0	740
7	Holland West Ottawa	1010	313	306	391	0	0	0
8	Rockford	920	0	580	340	0	0	0
9	Lansing Waverly	658	658	0	0	0	0	0
10	Holt	529	0	529	0	0	0	0
11	Jackson	438	0	0	438	0	0	0
12	Ann Arbor Skyline	411	0	0	411	0	0	0
13	Zeeland West	387	0	0	387	0	0	0
14	Hudsonville	337	0	0	337	0	0	0
15	Detroit Catholic Central	330	0	0	330	0	0	0
16	Warren DeLaSalle	313	313	0	0	0	0	0
17	East Kentwood	308	0	308	0	0	0	0
18	Grand Blanc	294	0	294	0	0	0	0
19	Grand Haven	282	0	282	0	0	0	0
20	Warren Mott	269	0	269	0	0	0	0

Wrote a bit about his sister on Tuesday, thought I’d return the favor today. They’re both 100m studs, and Rasean O’Tey has kicked off his season in unfamiliar territory. His previous two openers have been of the 11.8 variety, now he’s closing in on sub-11 with an 11.12. Last spring, he was able to nab his first State Qualifier in the 200m, can he double that up with a 100m berth as well?

D2 Rank	Team	Score	100m	200m	400m	4×1	4×2	4×4
1	Spring Lake	2438	279	241	1134	0	624	679
2	Forest Hills Eastern	1269	0	0	0	0	608	661
3	Sturgis	1073	369	0	0	0	704	0
4	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	897	260	0	0	0	638	0
5	Detroit Country Day	704	0	0	0	0	704	0
6	Tecumseh	661	0	0	0	0	661	0
7	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	616	0	295	321	0	0	0
8	Clio	596	0	0	0	0	0	596
9	Hastings	592	0	0	0	0	0	592
10	Mattawan	505	0	209	296	0	0	0
11	Fowlerville	482	0	482	0	0	0	0
12	Charlotte	471	0	471	0	0	0	0
13	Linden	375	0	0	375	0	0	0
14	Yale	374	0	0	374	0	0	0
15	Pinckney	336	0	0	336	0	0	0
16	Summit Academy North	326	0	0	326	0	0	0
17	North Branch	306	0	0	306	0	0	0
18	Chelsea	303	0	0	303	0	0	0
19	Remus Chippewa Hills	295	0	0	295	0	0	0
20	Riverview	295	0	0	295	0	0	0

As a team, Constantine probably doesn’t get the attention from me as they deserve. In 2022, the Falcons closed the season as runner-ups in Region 24 and the SAC, 5^th at MITCA, and 16^th in the State Finals. A large part of that was Dean Topoloski’s sprinting. He was a consistent contributor at the 200m and 400m. He specialized in the 400m, finally nailing a sub-51 at the D3 Finals, good enough for a 5^th place finish. He opened this year with a 51.48, almost a second quicker than his 2022 opener, which makes one wonder how low he can go in 2023.

D3 Rank	Team	Score	100m	200m	400m	4×1	4×2	4×4
1	Lansing Catholic	1172	0	170	0	406	596	0
2	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	1059	0	247	346	0	466	0
3	Delton-Kellogg	1020	254	244	0	0	522	0
4	Burton Atherton	856	0	339	0	0	517	0
5	Montague	519	0	263	256	0	0	0
6	Chesaning	456	0	456	0	0	0	0
7	Lawton	443	250	193	0	0	0	0
8	Almont	415	0	155	261	0	0	0
9	Ithaca	411	0	411	0	0	0	0
10	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	385	225	160	0	0	0	0
11	Constantine	366	0	0	366	0	0	0
12	Centreville	357	0	0	357	0	0	0
13	Kent City	351	0	351	0	0	0	0
14	Dearborn Advanced Technology	286	286	0	0	0	0	0
15	Caro	276	0	0	276	0	0	0
16	Grandville Calvin Christian	259	0	0	259	0	0	0
17	Ovid-Elsie	253	0	0	253	0	0	0
18	Hart	229	0	229	0	0	0	0
19	Reed City	194	0	194	0	0	0	0
20	Holland Black River	194	0	194	0	0	0	0

Jack of all trades, master of all, Northwood commit and Petersburg point getter is back again for his senior campaign. In Tuesday’s Tri meet between Dundee, Dearborn ATA, and P-S, Brandon Thompson finished first in the 400m, 800m, AND long jump. None of his marks were especially outstanding, but the mere fact that he’s out there means trouble for any D4 competition. After all, last June, he pulled off one of the harder doubles possible, placing 2^nd in the 400m and then doubling back with a 3spot in the 800m. I have no doubt this competitive beast will pull off something similarly spectacular in a few months.

D4 Rank	Team	Score	100m	200m	400m	4×1	4×2	4×4
1	Detroit Frederick Douglass	1010	0	0	243	0	428	340
2	Kalamazoo Hackett	984	471	253	0	220	260	0
3	Muskegon Heights	450	0	0	0	139	311	0
4	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	354	0	142	211	0	0	0
5	Mt Clemens	332	0	332	0	0	0	0
6	Vestaburg	314	0	0	314	0	0	0
7	Petersburg-Summerfield	268	0	0	268	0	0	0
8	Manistee Catholic	188	0	0	188	0	0	0
9	Novi Christian Academy	187	0	0	187	0	0	0
10	The Potter’s House	187	0	0	0	187	0	0