Author: mixcspeedratings

50 Tickets

Regional Previews

Top Tens

Here’s a list of Michigan freshman boys (in recent history) who have been faster than TJ’s 9:21 3200m:

1. Ben Hill

Yep, that’s it. Ben went onto achieving All-State at the end of each and every year (the one he didn’t, he was hurt, and would’ve seriously challenged Grant Fisher). Then he went onto be a great teammate at Michigan and Wake Forest.

Here’s a list of those who have run in the 9:20’s as a freshman in the past 10 years:

1. Riley Hough
2. Cole Johnson
3. Enael Woldemichael
4. Carter Solomon

Cole has been ripping it up in the mid-distances at Michigan, Enael has broken 14:00 for 5k, and Riley + Solomon have won the last three D1 cross titles.

Needless to say, I believe TJ has a bright future ahead of him and a great coach to guide him along that path.

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	TJ Hansen	16:18.3	199.6	Under the Lights (St. Johns)	St. Johns HS	20-Aug
9	TJ Hansen	17:10.4	195.9	ES Warrior	Chippewa Hills HS	24-Aug
9	TJ Hansen	16:08.3	199.2	John Bruder	Shepherd HS	8-Sep
9	TJ Hansen	15:49.7	197.8	Northwood	Fisher Trails	11-Sep
9	TJ Hansen	16:57.6	187.8	TVC 8	Freeland	15-Sep
9	TJ Hansen	16:16.5	201.2	Holly	Springfield Oaks	18-Sep
9	TJ Hansen	16:09.7	190.4	Cadillac	Veterans Serving Veterans Park	25-Sep
9	TJ Hansen	16:27.0	190.3	TVC 8 2	Delta College	28-Sep
9	TJ Hansen	15:53.6	201.1	Bluejay	Shepherd HS	2-Oct
9	Tj Hansen	16:02.1	202.0	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
9	TJ Hansen	16:38.0	185.3	TVC 8 3	Roberts Park	12-Oct
9	TJ Hansen	16:35.2	202.6	Freeland Falcon	Freeland	16-Oct
9	TJ Hansen	16:22.4	193.2	TVC Overall	Taymouth Township Park	19-Oct
9	TJ Hansen	16:39.5	189.5	Saginaw County	Freeland	23-Oct
9	TJ Hansen	16:21.9	192.0	15 Shepherd	Shepherd HS	29-Oct
9	TJ Hansen	15:55.5	198.8	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov
9	TJ Hansen	16:35.2	187.3	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

• Hart is the school, heart is the adjective
  • How this family (the Ackleys are her cousins) and school keeps coming after it year after year takes a bit of talent, but the willpower within must be tremendous
• Alyson began her track season late, people have told me she was recovering from an injury, but I didn’t hear a single complaint coming from their program, family, or herself
• The track season ended the way most seasons do at Hart, with some sort of title, Alyson playing a role in the 4×800
• On the grass, Alyson is just a flat out winner
  • Of the 27 races listed on athleticnet in her career, she’s won 17 of them
  • Among those, 7 of the 7 conference races she’s entered, Portage this year, Regionals last year, Cougar Falcon the past two years
• At the state level, she’s found a ton of success as well
  • Hart has captured the team title each of the past two years
  • Alyson has finished 2^nd in each of those races, some may say the 5^th runner is the most important, but if she walks it in, those titles don’t occur – everyone plays a role
• History can be a great indicator and I think it applies here – Alyson will again play an integral part for her Pirate team and given her response to adversity this spring, great accomplishments are on her horizon

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Alyson Enns	18:15.3	158.6	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	28-Aug
10	Alyson Enns	18:23.9	151.7	Leanne Wolf Geers	Mason County Fairgrounds	9-Sep
10	Alyson Enns	19:04.4	151.9	WMD 1	Walkerville	14-Sep
10	Alyson Enns	18:33.4	158.9	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
10	Alyson Enns	18:30.1	145.3	WMC 2	Montague HS	21-Sep
10	Alyson Enns	18:08.2	158.6	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	25-Sep
10	Alyson Enns	17:53.8	161.1	Bluejay	Shepherd HS	2-Oct
10	Alyson Enns	18:20.1	152.3	WMC 3	Whitehall HS	5-Oct
10	Alyson Enns	18:18.5	157.8	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
10	Alyson Enns	19:12.5	131.2	Hart & Sole	Colonial GC	16-Oct
10	Alyson Enns	17:55.8	146.7	20 Benzie	Benzie Central HS	30-Oct
10	Alyson Enns	17:59.7	152.1	D3 State	MIS	6-Nov
10	Alyson Enns	18:37.5	145.2	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Alyson Enns	146.9	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	29-Aug
9	Alyson Enns	149.6	Wolf Geers	Mason County Fairgrounds	10-Sep
9	Alyson Enns	149.4	Ludington	West Shore CC	19-Sep
9	Alyson Enns	150.8	WMC Oakridge	Oakridge HS	22-Sep
9	Alyson Enns	142.1	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	26-Sep
9	Alyson Enns	164.1	Allendale Falcon	Allendale HS	3-Oct
9	Alyson Enns	151.2	Pentwater Falcon	Golden Sands GC	10-Oct
9	Alyson Enns	142.4	WMC Conference	Unversity Park GC	13-Oct
9	Alyson Enns	145.0	PR 40	Manistee HS	23-Oct
9	Alyson Enns	149.2	D3 Reg 20	Buckley HS	31-Oct
9	Alyson Enns	160.7	D3 State	MIS	7-Nov

Regional Previews

50 Tickets

Top Tens

Where: Milan HS

Don’t know much about this course! The Milan area is pretty flat. I was out checking out some nature preserves this summer and I came upon one that borders their HS property. And peering out over the grounds, there were no hills in sight. I had two meets from last fall that were rated, the Puddle Jumper in late August (+11), and the first Huron League Jamboree (+16). My guess is this is a fast one and looking at this boys field, it’s gonna be a burner.

2021 Boys: Chelsea (2^nd), Adrian (6^th), Dearborn Divine Child (17^th)

2021 Girls: Tecumseh (16^th), Chelsea (19^th), Dearborn Divine Child (21^st)

As I said, this boys field is a burner. Across all divisions, all regions, I’d be shocked if there’s another region featuring 6(!) of the top-50 returners. What about another one featuring 3 of the top-6 teams?

Chelsea and Adrian were two teams that faced off quite a bit last year. Adrian won the first of their five matchups, Chelsea took the rest. The Bulldogs were spurred by the gradual improvements of folks such as Nick Spruce, who began the year with many times in the high-17’s, but closed with three of four runs in the 16’s. Nick, along with Jackson Dell and the Swagers will be the key boys for a repeat regional trophy and perhaps more. Adrian returns many of their crew, hard to believe many of them are seniors. It seems like just yesterday that Bryce Soule, Ben Schefka, and Aiden Smith were freshman. Speaking of freshman, it appears that Moises Salazar might join their ranks. He ran for Madison MS in cross country with many times in the 11’s, then Adrian MS for track. This spring, he went undefeated, getting down to 2:14/4:51. Can he be the missing piece to cut into Chelsea’s dominance?

Whereas the boys might be dominant up front and across the entire state, the girls present another exciting scenario. Five teams competing for three spots. Both Chelsea and Tecumseh look to be favorites to move on, both have 6-7 girls capable of finishing in the top 30. That gives insurance if one of their top girls isn’t having a great day, it also gives the added possibility of a breakout performance. But it’s gotta be soothing to a coach when you have an experienced senior such as Emily Stevenson (21:18, 2:42/6:03) or Audra Guthre (20:24) sitting near the all-important 5^th position. The question then becomes, who joins them? Monroe Jefferson is extra strong up front, Adrian and Divine Child have the ability to put numbers in front of the Bears’ 4^th-7^th runners. Ah, the pack and numbers game in cross country. Best team sport out there.

Top 25 Boys Teams: Chelsea (Top 5), Adrian (Top 5), Dearborn Divine Child (6^th)

Top 25 Girls Teams: Chelsea (16^th), Tecumseh (19^th), Monroe Jefferson (24^th)

*LATE BREAKING UPDATE* Abdul Ghennewa, formerly a Manistee standout, is now running for New Boston Huron. I’m not going back and recalculating this, but he’ll likely move Huron solidly into that 4th spot. Likely won’t change much in terms of qualifying here, but it should move Huron to a favorite in the Huron League.

Here, I’m writing at least a little anecdote about kids that are in the top-15 but aren’t freshman, in the 50 Tickets, or on Top 10 teams. Just a show of the strength of the guys side, that contains two boys. Then on the girls side, a ton of individual stars. Want to spread love but also not overwork myself. All in all, my estimation is through all these previews, I’ll be writing at least a sentence about 1000+ kids.

Logan Ruffner, Riverview: Junior entered high school a sensation and has kept it up. Two consecutive years running in the 16:30’s, two consecutive State qualifiers. Had a minor step up in track too, knocking 9 seconds off his 1600m personal best.

Brayden Humes, Milan: Three consecutive top-5’s in the Huron League, two straight State qualifiers. Can he make a third trip to MIS? Track season says he’s right on course, having found a new personal best in the 800m and coming close in the 1600m.

Jenna Pilachowski, Monroe Jefferson: Took great strides in track, especially in the eight lapper. Picked up a Regional and Huron League title, along with a 13^th place State finish.

Kirsten Koss, Dearborn Divine Child: Two years of track and she’s established herself as an 800 queen. 2:25 as both a freshman and sophomore, picked up a Regional and CHSL title in that event this past spring.

Courtney Bovair, Carleton Airport: The defending champ! We all know Lake Erie was drenched last year, but she ran nearly 1:30 faster at MIS, her first jaunt under 20:00.

Chesney Wilke, Tecumseh: Broke 2:20 in the 800m during both her sophomore and junior years. As a junior, it came late, and not before State. But on that date in early June, a 2:16 arose and fate led her to a 3^rd place spot.

Sophy Skeels, Adrian: Sam Skeels dominated the soccer fields at Siena, Sophy is now making a name for herself on the cross country course.

Riley Peer, Monroe Jefferson: The second in the triumvirate of top Jefferson girls. Riley moved up a ton of places in important meets this past fall. 13^th to 5^th in the Huron League, 26^th to 14^th at Regionals. Sneaking under 12:00 in the spring shows that progress keeps occurring.

Trillian Krug, Chelsea: Although her late-season times didn’t match that of 2020, Trilian still managed another 4^th place regional finish. When the conditions worsened, she stepped up.

Kaylee Pesta, Tecumseh: Was projected 11^th going into last year’s race. She crossed the line in 6^th, and given that the Tribe won by a single point and were 7 points out of third, Kaylee’s effort may have been the clincher.

Kim Miller, Monroe Jefferson: It took eight races, but Kim was the THIRD Bear to reach the depths of sub-12 in the 3200m this past spring.

Megan Woelkers, Flat Rock: Freshman year contained two top-10 finishes at Regionals and the Huron League, then a 12:16 3200m on the track. Pretty darn good debut.

Gianna-Marie Schubert, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard: The Irish reload after losing their top two girls from one of the better Division Three teams. Gianna will be at the front of that rebuild, using the momentum from a massive personal best in the 1600m (5:45 to 5:32) at the State Finals.

Marisa Chuey, Trenton: A 19^th place at Wayne County showed her potential. Hitting the tape in second here confirmed it. She didn’t have the payoff the following week, but I know it’s lurking there.

Yoselin Fermin-Campos, Adrian: Home to massive step forward from 2020 to 2021. Subtracted 3.5 minutes from her best and qualified for State. She didn’t even qualify for Regionals as a freshman.

Where: East Jordan Community Park

Don’t know much about this course! Seems to run pretty fast, 30-40 seconds so last year.

2021 Boys: Traverse City St. Francis (6^th), Harbor Springs (15^th), Charlevoix (12^th)

2021 Girls: Traverse City St. Francis (3^rd), Harbor Springs (12^th), Elk Rapids (19^th)

Take a peek at the qualifying teams from last fall and you’ll notice a team not present in this year’s edition. Harbor Springs takes their talents to Division Four, although they’re declining in enrollment, both boys and girls are projected to be one of the top Division Four teams. Replacing the Rams is a school from way down south, Clare. The Pioneers themselves are slowly and quietly coming of age, kids such as Allison Nobis and Brad White leading their respective squads to, if everything goes to plan, a return to MIS.

Traverse City St. Francis is just so dang strong. In these rankings that are 20 deep, both Gladiator squads should fit their top seven runners. The depth is tremendous, you have guys like Judge Morgan (17:42, 52.2 400m) and girls such as Margot Hagerty (21:32, 2:38/5:48) who would normally be a top runner on a Division 3 squad, they may play the role of displacer on these versions of the St. Francis team.

The race within the races here has a high possibility of being the matchup between Elk Rapids and Charlevoix’s boys. The teams were separated by one single point last fall and share similar attributes this time around. Both teams are candidates to put four in the top-20, who wins here will be determined by their 5^th runners, displacers, and who is best at staying ahead of packs of competitors.

Top 25 Boys Teams: Traverse City St. Francis (Top 5), Clare (Top 5), Elk Rapids (13^th), Charlevoix (15^th)

Top 25 Girls Teams: Traverse City St. Francis (Top 5), Elk Rapids (8^th), Clare (19^th)

Here, I’m writing at least a little anecdote about kids that are in the top-15 but aren’t freshman (you’ll get your day, Brynne and Joe), in the 50 Tickets, or on top-10 teams (Clare, St. Francis x2, Elk Rapids). Want to spread love but also not overwork myself. All in all, my estimation is through all these previews, I’ll be writing at least a sentence about 1000+ kids.

Drew Moore, Grayling: Underwent a dramatic improvement during track, knocking 35+ seconds off his 3200m best. His 10:06 in Region 21 was good enough for 2^nd place, qualifying him for D3 State.

James Descamps, Charlevoix: Closed out his junior year on the courses with 5 consecutive sub-18’s. Throughout his career prior to last October, James had only hit that mark once.

Max Ward, Elk Rapids: Freshman showed he can do it all on the track. From 400m to High Jump to 300h, he was helpful to his Elk Rapids team at Lake Michigan Conference and Regionals.

Christian Kerfoot, Elk Rapids: Had one of his better races of the year here at Regionals. His 17:49 was a personal best and his second sub-18 of his career.

Kinsie Jacques, Pinconning: After almost two years of hovering around 20:00, Kinsie came through with a stunning performance at State, knocking almost 30 seconds off her previous best, grabbing that final medal. Momentum carried over to track, where she was able to run 5:18/11:31.

Ava Maginity, Boyne City: Last year, reached the 18’s for the first time since her freshman season. Three straight All-States, can Ava make it four?

Katie Rohrer, Charlevoix: October of ’21 started with her first sub-20, a 19:58 at Shepherd. Her season closed with two more, at Regionals and State.

Allison Nobis, Clare: First season of high school track was an all around success. She attained a State qualifier in the 800m and then two weeks later, ran a personal best of 2:28. That 2:28 was good for the 30^th best freshman in the State but don’t let that mid-distance concentration fool you, she also fielded a 11:59 3200m earlier in the spring.