Uncategorized

Best Sprint Crews: Girls Week Two

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 girls 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 Divine Child girls 200m bunch:

GradeNameTimePointsTeamScore
11Meghan Koss26.41358Dearborn Divine Child945
10Kathryn Kurtinaitis27.36301Dearborn Divine Child
11Olivia Velazquez27.60286Dearborn Divine Child

These are from this season only, containing meets up until Saturday. Some invites aren’t listed on the athletic.net lists (GVSU and SVSU meets), but results from there are included here. 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.

Soleil Moore spent all of her sophomore year and the first part of her junior year running above 60 in the 400m. Then come late April, she was able to slip under a minute, that breakthrough leading to a run that included an OK Red title, Region 3 title, and 7th place at D1 State. That 400m has always been her calling card, which is scary, because it appears she’s added a little speed to her repertoire. Her 25.79 indoors is a full second faster than her previous 200m best. Extrapolate to twice the distance and you’ve got a girl who is a factor come June.

D1 RankTeam100m200m400m4x100m4x200m4x400mTotal
1East Kentwood0700009898122501
2Forest Hills Central61200096001572
3Holland West Ottawa00755007551509
4Saline00409009121321
5Ypsilanti Lincoln00342082701169
6Ann Arbor Pioneer0000011011101
7Walled Lake Northern0346613000959
8Wayne Memorial00008860886
9Woodhaven-Brownstown00008610861
10East Lansing07470000747

GradeNameTimePointsTeamEvent
1:48.2989East Kentwood4×2
4:16.7812East Kentwood4×4
12Soleil Moore25.79395East Kentwood200m
9Arianna Carter27.30304East Kentwood200m

The Detroit girls may get much of the attention (and rightfully so), but Sturgis’s Keyanna O’Tey had herself a freshman year on par with many of them. Region 3 Champ and State Qualifier in the 100m, a top-10 mark amongst all freshman in the 200m. Early returns suggest an improvement in the 100. She didn’t reach 12.3 until mid-May of 2022. Her sophomore form nailed 12.3 in the cold, wind, and rain. With Sturgis’s move to D2, that 100m field looks to be stacked – Elizabeth Anderson, Kylin Griffin, Victoria Miller will all be there to challenge.

D2 RankTeam100m200m400m4x100m4x200m4x400mTotal
1Dearborn Divine Child094573607647282445
2Sturgis4140071774401874
3Hastings2655330079701595
4Summit Academy00296076601062
5Monroe Jefferson0031900599919
6Spring Lake0036600543909
7East Grand Rapids00000857857
8Tecumseh00008110811
9Mason00006810681
10Linden06220000622

GradeNameTimePointsTeamEvent
1:52.4764Dearborn Divine Child4×2
4:20.4728Dearborn Divine Child4×4
10Kathryn Kurtinaitis59.85392Dearborn Divine Child400m
11Meghan Koss26.41358Dearborn Divine Child200m
11Samantha Black61.96343Dearborn Divine Child400m
10Kathryn Kurtinaitis27.36301Dearborn Divine Child200m
11Olivia Velazquez27.60286Dearborn Divine Child200m

Devin Johnston had herself a DAY at the SVSU D3/4 Invite. She grabbed titles in both the 60m and 200m, that 200m time a good two full seconds better than any D3 competitor has run thus far in 2023. Last year, she was able to double and grab medals in both the 100m and 200m at D3 State. Can she repeat the feat?

D3 RankTeam100m200m400m4x100m4x200m4x400mTotal
1Saginaw Valley Lutheran05196620001181
2Lawton0272319004551046
3Hillsdale0024906810930
4Lansing Catholic00005540554
5Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard2380226000464
6Almont04000000400
7Ithaca00342000342
8Manistee00342000342
9Delton-Kellogg00249000249
10Manton02200000220

GradeNameTimePointsTeamEvent
11Claire Neumann61.00366Saginaw Valley Lutheran400m
11Claire Neumann27.41298Saginaw Valley Lutheran200m
12Sarah Mills64.00296Saginaw Valley Lutheran400m
12Emma Britton28.67222Saginaw Valley Lutheran200m

Kenzie Fedewa enters her sophomore year looking to improve upon her 6th place finish at the D4 400m. During her freshman year, she was able to progress from 67+ opener to a 62.2 at the State Finals. In this 2023 season, she’s opened with a 63.4 (on a 200m flat track, mind you). With 3 of the top-5 spots having graduated, there are many opportunities to move up.

D4 RankTeam100m200m400m4x100m4x200m4x400mTotal
1Portland St. Patrick0501319005631383
2Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart0187452000639
3Lawrence29100000291
4Southfield Christian00273000273
5Rochester Hills Lutheran NW00226000226
6Marine City Cardinal Mooney02040000204
7The Potter’s House01510000151

GradeNameTimePointsTeamEvent
4:28.2563Portland St. Patrick4×4
10Kenzie Fedewa63.00319Portland St. Patrick400m
11Rylee Scheurer27.84272Portland St. Patrick200m
11Sophia Schrauben28.54230Portland St. Patrick200m
Uncategorized

Best Throws Crews: Boys Week One

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.

GIRLS 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. There is some scaling done for relays and more than four athletes included if you’re especially dominant in an event, but we’ll get to those in time.

Here’s an example of Zeeland East’s already dominant girls:

GradeNameFeetInchesTotalTeamDivisionScore
12Mariah Sackett11191341.0Zeeland East1409
12Kallie Taylor10461254.0Zeeland East1389
11Anna Tilden9851181.0Zeeland East1372
GradeNameFeetInchesTotalTeamDivisionScore
12Faith Bonnema3511431Zeeland East1410
12Mariah Sackett350.75420.75Zeeland East1401
11Anna Tilden347415Zeeland East1396

These are from this season only, containing meets up until Saturday. They do contain shot AND disc, I know many of the indoor meets didn’t contain the discus, but I felt it necessary to reward those that have braved the outdoors.

Of the 22 throwers that qualified for the 2022 State Finals in the Shot Put, 14 were seniors, leaving a void both in advancement and perhaps on the medal stand. Utica’s Daniel Yarrington has made an early bid for jumping on stage. His 49’2 throw won the Macomb County Indoor Championship (which has thankfully returned under Matt Fecht) and is a 3’ foot personal best.

D1 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Zeeland East154201542
2Holland West Ottawa393421814
3Warren DeLaSalle8130813
4Saginaw Heritage4520452
5Midland4330433
6Utica4160416
7Saline3980398
8Rockford3940394
9East Kentwood3910391
10Monroe3850385

GradeNameEventDistanceTeamPoints
11Parker WilliamsShot48′ 4″Zeeland East409
11Garrett WeedenShot45′ 8″Zeeland East387
12Drestin Ter HaarShot44′ 0.25″Zeeland East374
12Evan BerghorstShot43′ 8″Zeeland East372

This will be a common theme and it makes sense; throwing is a technique and strength driven activity. The top 6 finishers in Division 2’s discus are all gone (and the great throwing crew of Zeeland East has moved up to D1). The top returning finisher sure made his mark to begin the year. Michael Griffey threw 20’ further than his 2022 opener. He wasn’t bad in the Shot Put either, only nailing down the best mark of any D2 competitor thus far.

D2 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Portland38211341516
2Coopersville118201182
3Plainwell393436830
4Edwardsburg370439809
5Milan7800780
6Hopkins7400740
7Hastings384350734
8Ionia0701701
9Whitehall4340434
10Carleton Airport4240424

GradeNameEventDistanceTeamPoints
12Noah SimpsonShot45′ 0″Portland382
12Evan BowerDisc142′ 6″Portland403
12Noah SimpsonDisc133′ 4″Portland380
12Logan RogersDisc121′ 10.75″Portland351

Kellen Kimes just won’t let up on his destructive path. MITS titles in the Weight Throw and Discus, Indoor Record in the Weight Throw. His weakness may be the Shot Put. And by weakness, I mean he lobbed a 57’er that would’ve been a top-10 throw in Michigan last year. Can he pull of the double this year? Early returns suggest a high possibility!

Also, please check out his interview with Jeff Hollobaugh on the Michtrack newsletter.

D3 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Clare7250725
2Saginaw Valley Lutheran6900690
3Hart4780478
4Lawton0412412
5Montague4080408
6Manistee3800380
7Chesaning3720372
8Berrien Springs3700370
9Grand Rapids West Catholic3630363
10Caro3550355

GradeNameEventDistanceTeamPoints
11Jake PunchesShot43′ 3″Clare368
12Kyle PotterShot41′ 9″Clare356

Last year, Zane Forist was out doing Zane Forist things, winning titles, etching his name into record books. There will be at least one new champion crowned this spring. There will be a ton of new All-Staters coronated as well. One potential name to look for is Morrice’s Oliver Long. As a freshman, he’s already thrown 44’, a mark that would’ve placed him among the ten best freshmen of 2022.

D4 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Morrice7150715
2Kalamazoo Hackett326335661
3Lawrence329326656
4Decatur0328328
5Marcellus3190319

GradeNameEventDistanceTeamPoints
9Oliver LongShot44′ 6.5″Morrice378
12Drew McGowanShot39′ 2.75″Morrice336
Uncategorized

Best Throws Crews: Girls Week One

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.

GIRLS 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. There is some scaling done for relays and more than four athletes included if you’re especially dominant in an event, but we’ll get to those in time.

Here’s an example of Zeeland East’s already dominant girls:

GradeNameFeetInchesTotalTeamDivisionScore
12Mariah Sackett11191341.0Zeeland East1409
12Kallie Taylor10461254.0Zeeland East1389
11Anna Tilden9851181.0Zeeland East1372
GradeNameFeetInchesTotalTeamDivisionScore
12Faith Bonnema3511431Zeeland East1410
12Mariah Sackett350.75420.75Zeeland East1401
11Anna Tilden347415Zeeland East1396

These are from this season only, containing meets up until Tuesday. They do contain shot AND disc, I know many of the indoor meets didn’t contain the discus, but I felt it necessary to reward those that have braved the outdoors.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the defending D1 State Champ in the Shot and Disc. As an Allen Park alum, I’m afforded that fandom! One must pay attention to potential competitors, and Royal Oak’s Elly Finch is on the rise yet again. Last May, she was able to dramatically improve, adding 5’ to her SP and 15’ to her Discs in the final month of the season. At Indoor State, she was able to crack 40’ for the first time ever, then she one upped that with a 41’0 toss at the Macomb Indoor Meet.

D1 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Zeeland East120711702377
2East Kentwood8520852
3Port Huron Northern7550755
4Midland7490749
5Royal Oak4660466
6Traverse City West4470447
7Livonia Stevenson4150415
8East Lansing4100410
9Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills4080408
10Chippewa Valley4020402

With seven of the top eight finishers graduating, the D2 Girl’s Shot Put is completely up for grabs. Janae Hudson finished outside of that top eight, but has made marked improvement in the year since. A 6th place finish at Indoor State showed she can compete in championships, a 39’2 toss to open the year shows she’s gained the distance to push towards 40’ and beyond.

D2 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Otsego449422871
2Niles370358728
3Marysville4460446
4Whitehall4250425
5Cadillac4050405
6Monroe Jefferson3970397
7Portland0394394
8Paw Paw0380380
9Dearborn Divine Child3750375
10GR Catholic Central3750375

With many of the top returners yet to throw, one must look for potential newcomers. Clare’s well-rounded program (pound for pound, among the best hurdle schools in the state) extends to their throwers. Kadence Zelinski has made a marked improvement from last year, punching into the 30’s for the first time ever in her Shot Put opener.

D3 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Chesaning7230723
2Clare7180718
3Caro3800380
4Constantine3600360
5Manistee3600360

Portland St. Patrick’s Isabella Russman is off to a start that could lead to her first ever state qualifier. Despite throwing over 30’ as a freshman, she still finished 5th in a tough regional last year. This time around, she’s started above 30’ and that could very well progress toward throws over the additional qualifying mark.

D4 RankTeamShotDiscTeam Score
1Saginaw Valley Lutheran3840384
2Portland St. Patrick3490349
3Kalamazoo Hackett3410341
4Austin Catholic3400340
5Manistee Catholic3380338