This certainly wouldn’t be the first time a Skyline runner started his career in an inauspicious fashion then ended up with multiple All-States
I honestly don’t know too much about Nicolas, maybe it’s the lack of social media, maybe he just excels at laying in the cut and quietly putting up results
His junior year was full of results and low times
His last five races on the grass were all sub-16:30
Among those races were top-5 finishes at SEC Red and Region 4, along with an All-State 29th place
On the track, he’s been part of two All-State squads in the 4×800
In 2021, setting the stage for Hobbs’s near walkdown of Novi
In 2022, helping the Eagles medal from the slow heat
This year, individually, he wasn’t finished after that 4×800, he came back to run two events at State, the 1600 and 3200m, placing top-20 in each
Keep doing your thang, Nicolas, under the radar, high on the leaderboard
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
11
Nicolas Fry
17:13.6
191.5
Mustang
Cass Benton
31-Aug
11
Nicolas Fry
16:40.6
188.8
Bath
Bath HS
11-Sep
11
Nicolas Fry
16:32.5
195.5
SEC 1
Hudson Mills (South)
14-Sep
11
Nicolas Fry
16:36.4
190.5
Jackson
Sharp Park
25-Sep
11
Nicolas Fry
16:39.7
192.1
SEC Red 2
Munson Park
28-Sep
11
Nicolas Fry
16:03.3
201.6
Portage
Portage West MS
9-Oct
11
Nicolas Fry
16:02.6
192.1
Gabriel Richard
Hudson Mills (South)
16-Oct
11
Nicolas Fry
16:19.5
193.2
SEC Championship
Hudson Mills (North)
21-Oct
11
Nicolas Fry
16:22.1
194.6
4 Meadows
Huron Meadows
29-Oct
11
Nicolas Fry
16:00.1
198.0
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
Nicolas Fry
157.1
Hartland/Skyline
Hudson Mills North
25-Aug
10
Nicolas Fry
159.3
Adrian/Hudson/Skyline/Tecumseh
Heritage Park (Adrian)
12-Sep
10
Nicolas Fry
172.2
Pioneer/Skyline
Pioneer HS
3-Oct
10
Nicolas Fry
170.7
Plymouth/Skyline
Huron Meadows
13-Oct
10
Nicolas Fry
179.2
SEC Red
Indian Creek Park
17-Oct
10
Nicolas Fry
178.0
PR 11
Hudson Mills (North)
24-Oct
10
Nicolas Fry
181.6
D1 Reg 6
Willow
31-Oct
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
9
Nicolas Fry
118.7
Mustang
Cass Benton
9
Nicolas Fry
129.4
Jackson
Sharp Park
9
Nicolas Fry
143.7
Portage
Portage West MS
Mackenzie has been another one, quietly running to glory, quietly leading one of the better Howell teams in years
She first entered my radar as a freshman, where after a slow beginning, she snuck into the 19’s late in championship season
That progress continued to her sophomore year, where she broke 19:00 for the first time
Although she didn’t make this list last year, she was my last projected All-Stater during the summer, she more than lived up to that promise, finishing 26th at MIS
Which I believe is Howell’s first All-State girl in 20+ years
That junior year was full of other honors as well, third straight All-Region, 2nd straight top-10 at KLAA, along with dropping her personal best from 18:49 to 18:25
Joined by McGregor, Cholewa, Koons, and others – can she help lead Howell to the promised land in Brooklyn?
This guy usually runs pretty fast. I had it at +8 for the DeWitt Invite this past fall, +4 on average for Regionals in 2020. I don’t know too much about it! But with this burner of a field, it’s definitely on the list of regionals to spectate!
There are a few ways to judge regional strength. Many teams battling for that third spot is one, we’ll see examples of that in future D3 regions. A time needed for an individual qualifier is another. This region would normally be rough for that characteristic, three dominant teams on the girls side, but with the current setup, individual qualifiers will likely reach down past 20th place. Far and away, this will be a excruciatingly hard regional to take home a team trophy, especially on the girls end. THREE TOP 10 TEAMS.
Lansing Catholic is the experienced outfit. Hannah Pricco, CC Jones, Tessa Roe, Emmie West, they’ve all been here before and will do as to win, who can they slide into their top-5? I have Frances Melinn, who was a steady high-12/low-13 performer at the middle school level. Ithaca loses a ton, they also gain a ton, loses a coach, gains a new coach. Underneath that turmoil you have a talented Karisa Deacons, who came along nicely last season and now has a summer of running under her belt and Liliana Lehnst, who undertook a dramatic leap come track. Pewamo-Westphalia is just always there, year after year, kinda quietly an eternal factor. The Pirates have a nice mix of youth and experience. Ella Kowatch, a senior, here for one final year. Emerie Smith, learning from all the girls that’ve been there before. Whitney Werner, stirring the pot at the front of races.
Lansing Catholic should be able to dominate up front, Ithaca should be able to pack up in the teens, Pewamo-Westphalia should be able to have a mix of both. But should is an easy word to use before the season.
The boys don’t have that dominant team battle, but this is going to be as grand an individual race as you’ll get in Division 3. Parks Allen and Collin Farmer are both ranked in the 50 Tickets. Head to head in 2021 XC? 3-3. Collin with the better season best, Parks with the better place at State. Track? Parks won 2-1. Young runners improve more from season to season than older ones, a point in Collin’s favor. The ratings indicate a 6 second difference between the two, you just know that’ll be closer come late October.
Just a little rundown of those in the top-15 that haven’t been mentioned in the 50 Tickets (CC, Hannah, Parks, Collin), the Top Tens (Lansing Catholic, P-Dub, Ithaca), and aren’t freshmen (you’ll get your day, Noah). Many of these are just scouring athleticnet (note – if you have a kid you want to brag about, reach out, tell me their story), but it’s more attention paid than many publications, it helps me learn names, and most of all – GETS ATTENTION TOWARDS KIDS THAT DESERVE IT.
Levi Maier, Chesaning: Has a very real possibility of upsetting both Collin and Parks. If track is any indication, he underwent a huge transformation this past winter. 4:36 to 4:21, 2:00 to 1:54. Extrapolate those drops into cross and you have a kid capable of running in the 16:30’s, if not faster.
Cole Yaros, New Lothrop: First time All-Region last year, placing 13th here. His previous best finish was 35th as a freshman.
Stephen Fair, Lansing Catholic: The Cougars lose a load of talented, accomplished, state champions (track). Stephen will be carrying the water for the regrowth of the program, as a sophomore, he showed he’s more than capable. Improved his personal best from 20:19 to 17:28.
Carter Holmes, Bath: Fifteen races into his high school career, he finally broke 18:00 at Webberville. He delivered another breakthrough performance here, placing 15th, moving on to compete another week.
Andrew Koenigsknecht, Bath: As with Carter, broke 18:00 for the first time earlier in the year. Andrew’s was at CMAC, the meet prior, that boost of confidence resulted in a State qualifier as well.
Clay Powell, Ovid-Elsie: Look to track and look for the drop this fall. 11:09 at the end of the spring for this true freshman.
Alexis Spitzley, Ovid-Elsie: Was on the path to her best season yet. Although her 2021 fall was cut short, Alexis was still able to bust through 21:00 for the first time.
Ally Andres, New Lothrop: Introductory year to high school running was full of honors and achievements. MMAC Champion on the track and State qualifier on the grass.
It all started with a promise to herself, a laundry list of goals that at the time may have seemed unattainable
Following a cross season where she hit All-State but hadn’t hit the times she had as a freshman, CC set out for sub-5 and sub-11 in track
It took awhile for that sub-5, she patiently waited until Greater Lansing to get that in
At Bluejay, running among mid-Michigan’s best distance girls, she was the surprise performance, her 10:49 placing her 6th
She never quite matched that time in a 3200m, but I’d argue her state performance was equally as impressive, a 5th place finish on a day that was going sideways
Her cross country achievements are nothing to ignore either, she was right on that 19:00 mark for much of the season, getting there at Cadillac, Greater Lansing, and State
State was again the most notable of the bunch, her 18th place helping her Cougars secure 4th place, one single point ahead of Lumen Christi
But in comparison to track, in my opinion, she had the greatest growth of any from fall to spring, a message many can learn from – when you dream, DREAM BIG
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
11
CC Jones
20:31.2
133.6
Michigan Catholic
St. Francis Retreat Center
28-Aug
11
CC Jones
20:11.0
121.0
Lansing Catholic Mini 1
St. Francis Retreat Center
9-Sep
11
CC Jones
20:10.0
122.3
Lansing Catholic Mini 2
St. Francis Retreat Center
17-Sep
11
CC Jones
18:52.3
119.9
CAAC White 1
Burchfield Park
21-Sep
11
CC Jones
19:05.5
133.2
Cadillac
Veterans Serving Veterans Park
25-Sep
11
CC Jones
19:21.3
131.9
Bluejay
Shepherd HS
2-Oct
11
CC Jones
20:01.3
128.6
CAAC White 2
St. Francis Retreat Center
5-Oct
11
CC Jones
19:27.6
134.8
Portage
Portage West MS
9-Oct
11
CC Jones
19:04.7
141.8
Greater Lansing
Ledge Meadows GC
16-Oct
11
CC Jones
19:36.3
121.6
CAAC White 3
Portland HS
21-Oct
11
CC Jones
20:25.5
131.2
24 SFRC
St. Francis Retreat Center
29-Oct
11
CC Jones
19:10.4
128.5
D3 State
MIS
6-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
9
CC Jones
99.6
Under the Lights
St. Johns HS
9
CC Jones
131.3
Corunna
Shiawasee County Fairgrounds
9
CC Jones
118.6
Bath
Bath HS
9
CC Jones
108.5
Spartan
Forest Akers
9
CC Jones
117.9
Jackson
Sharp Park
9
CC Jones
115.4
Greater Lansing
Ledge Meadows
9
CC Jones
143.7
14
Uncle John’s
9
CC Jones
131.8
D2 State
MIS
First Liam, then Zander, now Bram, those Hartsuff’s have been a reliable force for the Chelsea program
Do you ever get the sense someone can handle pain and is just a gritty racer?
That’s what I get with Bram, his 800/1600 bests are “only” 2:17/4:42, but last fall, he was able to summon some power and race to multiple sub-16’s and many low-16 efforts
The best example of that grittiness may be his regional race, Lake Erie is swampy already, add in a week’s worth of rain and it was a mess, Bram’s 17:07 was the 4th best effort of anyone on that course that day, Divisions 1 & 2
He brought it again the following week, a 14th place effort launching Chelsea into the 2nd spot, earning a trophy
Had he been even a little off his game, 5 seconds slower, the Bulldogs wouldn’t have been able to walk up that podium
It’s those little things, those tiny edges, getting the most out of your ability that Bram has used in his ascent towards one of the top runners in Division 2
