Author: mixcspeedratings

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Where: Huron Meadows, aka “The Meadows”

During the latter half of last October, rainy day after rainy day swamped many courses around Southeast Michigan. The North Course at Hudson Mills had mudpits in the woods, the swampy Algonac and Anchor Bay areas were swampy, Willow couldn’t even host, and Huron Meadows ran as fair as it normally runs.

Is it the higher ground? Firm footing? Good drainage? Magic evaporation of the Brighton area? Who knows, but what one can expect as a runner is a flat track in the open areas and a bit of rolling terrain in the woods. As a spectator or coach, one can expect to see their favorite athletes at least 5 times if not more. Just be sure to get there early with only one entrance to the park.

Expect to see times consistent with what one would run at State.

2021 Boys: Brighton (1^st), Hartland (17^th), East Lansing (16^th)

2021 Girls: Brighton (7^th), Ann Arbor Skyline (14^th), South Lyon East (13^th)

Unfortunately, to finish all these previews before Friday morning, some areas need to get cut. The writing about the various athletes, any sort of team battles, history, backdrop, that’s the most logical area to take in order to save time. The negative is that’s my favorite part. The positive is that with a lighter schedule of meets next week, I’ll be able to write my Upper Peninsula preview (yes, you read that right) and fill these in. So I’ll likely post an update to all the socials after those athletes are covered, and maybe we’ll have more info on some of the teams that are in contention.

Top 25 Boys Teams: Brighton (3^rd), Ann Arbor Skyline (17^th)

Top 25 Girls Teams: Brighton (11^th), Ann Arbor Skyline (13^th), Howell (18^th), South Lyon East (19^th), Grand Blanc (24^th)

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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.

Unfortunately, to finish all these previews before Friday morning, some areas need to get cut. The writing about the various athletes, any sort of team battles, history, backdrop, that’s the most logical area to take in order to save time. The negative is that’s my favorite part. The positive is that with a lighter schedule of meets next week, I’ll be able to write my Upper Peninsula preview (yes, you read that right) and fill these in. So I’ll likely post an update to all the socials after those athletes are covered, and maybe we’ll have more info on some of the teams that are in contention.

2021 Boys: Saline (8^th), Ann Arbor Pioneer (11^th), Monroe (27^th)

2021 Girls: Ann Arbor Pioneer (1^st), Saline (5^th), Temperance Bedford (10^th)

Top 25 Boys Teams: Ann Arbor Pioneer (7^th), Saline (16^th)

Top 25 Girls Teams: Saline (Top 2), Ann Arbor Pioneer (8^th)

In ranking Pioneer 8^th, Sylvia Sanok Dufallo wasn’t included. When I do these rankings, I have to stick to a formula, a method, or else I’m deleting this, editing that all summer long. With 15,000+ athletes that run in a typical year, customizing can get a bit tedious and aggravating. The method includes anyone that ran XC the year prior, with the thought being that they are most likely to run XC the following year. Of course, that eliminates girls such as Sylvia, who’ve run XC, missed a year, but are still a prominent part of the Pioneer team. Since she didn’t have ratings from 2021 to go off, I used her freshman ratings mixed with her track times from this past spring. Obviously, her track times suggest she can run much faster than her freshman year, but who knows? Anyway, with Sylvia back, Pioneer is likely better than 8^th and judging by these projected scores, Top-5 at the very least.

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• Out of the multitudes of Northville pack poised for greatness, Brendan was not someone I had on my radar
• I called this out over in the Region 6 preview, but Coach Dalton’s squad really began to turn heads in 2020 with a quick youth movement
  • Brendan’s first year of cross was 2021
• He did run track in that 2020-2021 school year, his freshman year, and if you’ve been around the sport long enough, you know any boy breaking 2:15 and 5:00 at a young age is impressive, if developed right, can be a varsity runner or more
• Yep, he’s been more than just a varsity runner
• His debut XC season contained a solid, consistent mid-season, running with previously mentioned standouts Ethan Powell, Brady Heron, and whomever else Northville can throw at you
  • In late October, we started to see him kick it up a notch
  • First a 16:01, good for 4^th at KLAA
  • Then at State, his first jaunt into the 15’s, a 15:51, good for 18^th
• Like a few guys mentioned earlier, Brendan pushed boundaries during indoor, then broke though all those boundaries during outdoor
  • A 4:18 at the MITS 1600m gained him a 6^th place finish
• After running in the 4:20s and grinding through some 3200ms for the early part of the year, Brendan threw down a 1:57 against Howell, then threw down a 4:14 for an important dual against Brighton
• Those efforts set the stage for a tremendous state meet, where he was a part of the Mustangs’ dominant 4×8 quartet, came back with a 4:10 for the 1600m (if not for Seth Norder, this is a Michigan sophomore record – yep, better than Ritz, Fisher, Brazier), then even after all that, a 1:55 in the 800m
• And the scary part is he doesn’t have to do it all alone, that mean pack of Northville boys are right on his tail, a great support system for which will be a blazing next two years

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Brendan Herger	16:59.2	191.3	Lamplighter	Ford Field	20-Aug
10	Brendan Herger	16:28.4	192.9	Bath	Bath HS	11-Sep
10	Brendan Herger	16:34.0	196.7	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
10	Brendan Herger	16:45.1	196.6	Cleverley Friday Night	Anchor Bay HS	24-Sep
10	Brendan Herger	16:19.6	198.1	Wayne County	Willow	9-Oct
10	Brendan Herger	16:01.8	197.4	KLAA Championship	Huron Meadows	21-Oct
10	Brendan Herger	16:23.7	197.1	6 Hudson Mills	Hudson Mills (North)	30-Oct
10	Brendan Herger	15:51.3	200.9	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

• From afar, Rochester does things the right way, and a girl such as Lucy is much better off for it
• We didn’t see her in any elite miles, 3200s, tripling/quadrupling at any meet this spring, in the fall, she ran ten races total
• As a result, she might be underrated by these ratings and rankings, her cross season taking awhile to get cranking
  • But when it did, damn did she ever move
• On a slow day at Possum Hollow, she put away the field in the last half of the race, claiming her first championship crown by almost 20 seconds
• At State in the first few miles, she left people confused, questioning “who’s that Rochester girl?”, but those of us in the awards room knew what she was up to
  • Her splits on that giant stage – 5:42, 5:50, 5:49, a patient race with a speedy close
• That patience paid off this past track season, both in her racing and the planning of her season
• Like I mentioned earlier, the Falcons kept it close to the vest for much of the spring, but when it was time to roll, she repeated her cross country breakout
• Come late May, she captured titles in the 800 and 1600m at Oakland County, a 3200m at the Lapeer Regional, the 3200m at OAA Red/White
• Although blessed with some of the best closing speed in the state, she saved herself for the 3200m, where she patiently hung in a pack of three until the last lap, where she comfortably kicked into 2^nd place
• We might not see much come October, but that’s fine, when titles are on the line, we know Lucy will be there

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Lucy Cook	14:40.2 (4k)	145.3	Golden Grizzly	Oakland University	3-Sep
9	Lucy Cook	19:19.4	143.5	OAA White 1	Bloomer Park	14-Sep
9	Lucy Cook	18:57.2	150.9	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
9	Lucy Cook	19:04.8	141.7	Hansons	Freedom Hill	2-Oct
9	Lucy Cook	18:57.8	153.7	Oakland County	Possum Hollow	9-Oct
9	Lucy Cook	19:51.0	133.7	Oxford	Friendship Park	15-Oct
9	Lucy Cook	18:32.8	149.7	OAA White 3	Hess Hathaway	22-Oct
9	Lucy Cook	17:50.8	160.1	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov
9	Lucy Cook	17:49.0	161.3	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov