Hey all! Finally, some Top Ten lists. I had to get these all out before the weekend, because although there were some meets on the 15th and 16th, this upcoming weekend is when the season truly kicks off for a great number of teams. Yes, I’m a master procrastinator, but if you know me, I’m unbothered and in my own world, working on my own timeline.
The Top Tens are just as they sound, the Top Ten teams from each division. This is scored like an XC meet, all 100+ teams from a division against one another. XC is so different than other sports in that a team’s strength varies with the size of the field they’re competing against. Thus, teams with a little more depth tend to be stronger on these statewide rankings.
I’m throwing all these into one post, with a little bit written about each team. Contained at the end are the State Finals Projections, which are in the same vein as the Top Tens, but a little different. These combine the top-3 teams from all the regional projections in order to form an idea of what *might* occur at MIS in early November.
One little caveat: I learned about a few teams in the past week of meets, who isn’t on a team, who was on a separate team than I had anticipated. Most of these should be pretty congruent with team rosters, there might be some errors. If there are any, the season soon starts in earnest, and these won’t matter.
This is gonna be a fun year.
Returning for three in a row are your Hillsdale Academy Colts. Each title has been earned in a different fashion. 2023’s used dastardly strong depth to overwhelm teams late. Last year, comparing 4th and 5th runners, they were matched by Holland Calvary Christian, but helped by Grayson Rorick and Reece Poole up front. Rorick returns, Reece does not, and HA appears that they’ll be strong through six runners.
Losing a bit of the depth and a bit of the front-runners, teams with a youthful infusion might take advantage. And there are plenty here in D4! Most prominently, Maple City Glen Lake. The Laker boys were third here last year, but lose their top dog, All-Stater Colebrook Sutherland. Two studs could boost the depth and help replace Sutherland – Spencer McNitt and Christian Feeney. The pair went 1-2 in all of their NWC competitions last year. A bit further down the list lies Whitmore Lake, who was aided last year by now sophomore Nolan Collins, who placed in the top-5 at both the MIAC Championship and Region 33. Mason County Eastern too will rely heavily on a sophomore. As a freshman, Lance Niedzielski moved rapidly through the time spectrum, beginning his year in the high-18’s and closing with a 16:49 at Benzie and 50th place in D4. We saw evidence of the next era of running at Three Oaks River Valley, the next Rogers brother capturing an early win at the Bridgman Invite. The 2024 BCS and Zone 1 winner opened with a 16:54, lending many eyes to view what he might do next. The team might be tiny and underclass heavy, but Leland gained valuable experience in 2024, their entire four-man ’28 class getting to experience the State Finals and run their best at the end of the year. Led by Carter Suttmann, the Comets put all four freshmen kids under 19:30 in order to earn a State Finals qualifier.
Some might say the youth is important and gives great potential. Others believe that wisdom and experience can predict state success. At the beginning stages of the foundation of their program have been the Holland Calvary Christian kids. Their forays into the MIS space started as far back as 2022, where a group of five 8th graders helped their Crusaders qualify out of Region 31. Now three years later, that ’27 class has earned back-to-back runner-up trophies in D4. Kalamazoo Hackett and Royal Oak Shrine have similar methods of experience. Both have the frontrunners and low sticks – Sean Siems, Abenezer Cerone, and Marek Butkiewicz. Each have quality depth, such as Michael Bowker, Kellen Siems, and Andrew Lopez. Hoping to make a return trip to MIS are the Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart Irish. 2024 saw a return to glory for this tradition-rich program, competing as a team in early November for the first time in a few seasons. Everyone comes back from their Region 30 champion squad.
This is the first of the writings where the defending champions are not ranked within the top-10, but what anyone really be shocked if Traverse City St. Francis ended up here by the end of the season?
Thus, at least early on, this means that a championship is up for grabs. Rising above the rest of the field are two teams – Saugatuck and Lansing Catholic. The Cougars come in feisty after an excellent track season. They’ve accumulated six returners that have run under both 2:10/4:50. Two of those six also raced to excellent 3200m times, Everrett Beach and Lucas Gates, both sub-10 in the spring. Peaking at the right time late in the ’24 season were the Trailblazers. Nary a senior on their roster, a majority of Saugatuck’s underclassmen laden group hit personal bests en route to a runner-up finish. It’ll likely be a clash of placement, Saugatuck’s depth vs. Lansing Catholic’s low sticks.
Two teams from our great, scenic north rely on depth as well – Benzie Central and Hart. For the Huskies, the strength will likely come from their 2nd and 3rd kids, athletes such as Jackson Schaub and Cade Edingfield. Schaub was a consistent sub-17 performer late, Edingfield showed tremendous growth as a sophomore, dropping more than a minute from his freshman best. The Pirates extend deep into their varsity lineup for advantages. Although not blessed with the fastest folks up front, Hart returns a whopping 11 boys that were under 18:30. With numbers come potential, and if a few have significant breakthroughs, this outfit can turn from a solid pack to one that can make some noise in the division.
Similar to the girls, two teams with plenty of experience find their way here – Ithaca and Jackson Lumen Christi. Both schools have qualified boys’ teams in the past two years, neither has a finish lower than 12th place in that timeframe. Three Titans have toed the line twice at MIS – Gibson Shore, Rocky Bolton, and Avery Morrow. Add in one more body for the Yellowjackets, as Landen Styka, Jacob Mankey, Thad Whitmore, and Evan McLaren have all donned the Blue n’ Yellow in early November.
Stanton Central Montcalm has been coming around as a program to be reckoned with. The Hornets have sent an outfit to the Finals each of the past three years, placing in the top-10 each time out. The kids clad in green have grown up in the race, Evan Rolston being a steady 17 min. figure, Kyler Fertig dropping 2.5 minutes in from 2022 to 2024, Sylus Wilson blasting mid-16’s each of the past two years, and Gage Hoffman grabbing three straight top-10’s. Charlevoix has been a qualifier for each of the past two years, with 2025’s version of the Rayders bringing back six of the seven starting members from 2024. All are upperclassmen, led by seniors Matthew Solomon and Jacob Veurink.
The class of ’28 has been a huge help to the rankings of two southern teams – Jonesville and Hanover-Horton. Both teams have experience up front, but should be aided by youthful depth pieces toward the middle of the pack. Ashton Potwin took the momentum from the end of cross and turned it into a 2:03 in the 800m, the #20 time of any Michigan 9th grader. For the Comets, the trio of Wyatt Hassenzahl, Carson Beach, and Tyler Harris should contribute to one of the better packs in the division, as all three, as all three were sub-18 during the most important race of the year.
Allendale was one of the more impressive champions in recent memory, the Falcons having a season they’d been building toward for a while. Seniors Parker Tiethof, Kilian Whalen, and Ben Gross were a huge part of their team success, breaking 16:00 in the State Finals and receiving a medal in the process. Still, kids such as Mason Hill, Aden Ashworth, and Ronnie Silveira remain, looking to make the most of their final years and influence the next era of Allendale athletes.
With it appearing that it’ll be a free for all for the title, some teams stepped up in a huge way this spring. The entire Parma Western track squad raised their level this spring, contributors from the sprints, throws, and distance playing a hand in the Panther state title. Improvement from the distance folk didn’t just come from Edison Lopeman, but from future stars such as Caleb Lynd, who broke 5:00 for the first time ever and dropped 30+ seconds from his freshman 3200m. The team that seemed to rise the most as a distance squad is Flint Powers Catholic. Yes, Bryce Gross and Lennox Naswell had excellent springs. Beyond their fearless top-two, the Chargers should be excited for Caleb Carignan and Tommy Beiter. Beiter went from a primarily mid-17 kid in the fall to one that dropped a 9:48 at Regionals. Carignan wasn’t quite as fast over 3200m, but he was extremely expedient in the 800m, playing a role in the Powers 4×8 All-State.
Underclassmen play a little less of a role when we get to these lower divisions and greater team sizes. That said, two teams could find some benefit from 9th and 10th graders. Grand Rapids Christian has some podium-quality seniors up front and two ascending sophomores following them. Ashton Fink was sub-17 for all but two races as a freshman and James Scholten-Holcomb’s 4:32 ranked #12 amongst Michigan’s 9th graders. Holland Christian brings in a great triumvirate from their middle school squad – Grant Lampen, Zander Stewart, and Zach Diller were all sub-11 and part of a team that dominated Zone 6.
Backing up Jonah Workman, the East Grand Rapids Pioneers hope to raise a trophy by outstanding depth. Two possibilities are at play for EGR – having the best top-three and having the best fifth runner. Micah Becker and Jack Edison make up the first of the two scenarios, the two right in the 16 min. range or faster. Four Pioneers hovered around 17-flat last year, if two of them can make a solid jump, EGR jumps from title contender to favorite.
Maybe not in a title-contending spot, but still having quality compared to the rest of the division are Shepherd and Cedar Springs. The Bluejays have one of the smaller enrollments in D2, a bit of an adjustment from their D3 success over the years. They’ve found their footing in recent years, both by having low sticks such as the recently graduated Nolan Longuski and the now junior Bryce Cahoon. Their differentiating factor in 2025 might be their numbers, six of the Bluejay runners having raced faster than 17:40 in 2024. The RedHawks aren’t the best in the division in any one particular spot, though they’ve got one of the better top-two’s, one of the better 3rd/4th man combos, and one of the better groups of displacers. And if you have seven that could score, you heighten the chances that someone has the race of their life. At 2024’s Benzie Regional, that was their entire top-seven.
Alma has followed the same trajectory as Allendale has, building and building, never taking a season off, biding their time until this moment. Thomas Larson and Ezekiel Baltierra have been in every race imaginable. Luca Lebron has been featured on an All-State relay, Elijah Baltierra as well. Kevin Terpstra spit out a sub-17 late at State. And even little Nico Lebron has found himself running ovals at Hayward Field. They hope that the callousness developed through the years leads to a resilient bunch in early November.
Magnus, Clark, Plana, Conger – these are Frankenmuth names we’ve seen for a long while. This group of wise old vets were victorious in championship season, winners at Greater Flint, Saginaw County, and Region 15. And they’re a few years removed from their own team title, though the tradition of development still remains, Forest Hills Eastern bringing Hawks along until they’re ready to shine. For example, two seniors that have immensely grown through their years have been Cooper Donovan and Colin Pattison. Both were north of 20:00 as freshmen. Donovan slipped under 17 at Region 12, Pattison made the right choice by running at MITCA, lacing up the spikes for a 17:23, a 10+ second personal best.
Three in a row and we just may make it four. The train keeps rolling at Northville, bursting at the seams in talent and developing anyone willing to go along for the ride. Any doubt about the Mustangs motivation was laid to rest last Friday night. Their top-three did what was expected, but an early 16:30 from Colton Blackburn was a little unexpected. On that humid night, the senior ripped a 25+ second personal best that was two years in the making. And he was their fifth runner.
Experience of great races at a particular place, that’s a confidence that one can’t shake. And although ranked 4th here, one can’t help but think Saline can repeat last fall’s runner-up finish. After all, when your top-five returners all ran under 16:30 on the state’s biggest stage, how can you bet against a team? In combination with the two mentioned earlier in the summer, expect a leap from Wesley Rogan and flirtations with sub-16 from Carlos Basulto and Jack Klein.
Traverse City West and Kalamazoo Central are two senior-laden squads. Liam Wierzba is probably the frontrunner for the former, though he is buoyed by both Hayden Murray and Aidan Simrau. The two have grinded through the years, reaching new breakthroughs in track, as both slipped under 10:00 in the 3200m (a great indicator of cross potential) for the first time in their careers. Giant seniors such as Finlay Cane, Elijah Thompson, Ty Billings, and Andrew Wright surely recall the magical end to KC’s 2022 season, a closing stretch where the Giants pulled a huge upset to win Region 3, then placed 10th in Division 1. That was the commencement of Maroon excellence and it’s been going ever since, Sam Baker coming into the fold, the long-graduated Jasper Cane fiercely spinning his wheels on the track a few years back. May the end of this era be memorable for the Giants.
The entire MIXC era has been memorable for Brighton. The tradition rich Bulldogs are another developmentally strong culture, winners of two D1 titles, bringing about new names each and every year. Some are relatively new to racing, such as Evan Cummings, who as a junior, just completed his first full season, moving from a mid-18 athlete from the first half of the season to one that ran in the 4:30’s during track. Or they’ve raced a ton and grew with each season, like Mitchell Cory, who has dropped over 5 minutes from when he commenced his career.
With these traditions, MIS wizardry, three-peats, and years of practice, a few teams made the most of their spring to get a jumpstart on the fall. For example, Milford had tons of excellence delivered by Kyle O’Rourke. They also bore witness to the development of Todd Tobin, whose 4:25/9:44 combo both placed within the top-7 of Michigan freshmen. Midland brings back five boys that were faster than 10:05 for the 3200m, one of the better eight lap track seasons of the listed teams. And Pioneer had their hands all over the State Finals, Crooks and Kamari winning and medaling, but also Quinn Davis qualifying in the 800m and Theo Sacks Thomas dropping 10 sec. for his 1600m.
Looking toward the future, yet embracing the present, Ann Arbor Skyline and Romeo would have strong teams without any newcomers. Though adding a Hudson Doll, who was the top freshman at Lamplighter, doesn’t hurt. The Eagles are no stranger to freshman contribution, with Oskar MacArthur, Roman Stilwell, and Martin Gehrke all throwing down 4:30’s or faster during track. Consistently churning out huge numbers, the Romeo middle school program is the not-so-hidden secret of their success. The foundation was laid early for their boys’ title in 2020 and their girls’ nationwide success over the past two years. And adding to a team that returns six sub-17 upperclassmen is a ’29 class that brought six incoming freshmen under 11:15 and dominated Zone 3.
State Finals Projections
As stated, these are the combinations of the projected top-three squads from each regional. These differ from the lists above, as we’re comparing against the projected qualifiers from each division instead of the entire division.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 