1st Place – Greater Flint 1st Place – FML 2nd Place – Region 16 7th Place – D2 State
2020
5th Place – Greater Flint (Division 2) 4th Place – FML Stripes 4th Place – Pre-Region 31 4th Place – Region 16
2019
6th Place – Greater Flint 2nd Place – FML 2nd Place – Region 16 11th Place – D2 State
Anything in Track?
Kyle Eberhard
50.9/1:57/4:18/9:51
1st Place – FML 400-3200m 1st Place – Region 19 800m-3200m 5th Place – D2 800m 8th Place – D2 1600m
Hayden Bradfield
53.7/2:03/4:49
3rd Place – FML 800m 8th Place – Region 19 800m
Ryan Blackwood
2:15/4:47/10:50
6th Place – FML 1600m & 3200m
Ian Martin
2:37/5:24/11:54
Caleb Monaghan
2:25/5:17
Blaise Gooding
2:34/5:32/12:34
Davin Meckstroth
2:27/5:17
The Past Three Years
2021
5th Place – Greater Lansing 5th Place – Region 4
2020
2nd Place – CAAC Blue 3rd Place – Greater Lansing (Division 1) 1st Place – Pre-Region 7 4th Place – Region 4
2019
1st Place – Greater Lansing 1st Place – CAAC Blue 5th Place – Region 4
Anything in Track?
Autumn Thompson
2:31/5:10/11:21
4th Place – Region 8 1600m 5th Place – Region 8 3200m 2nd Place – CAAC Blue 3200m 3rd Place – CAAC Blue 1600m 4th Place – Greater Lansing 1600m
Don’t know much about this course! Seems to run pretty fast, 30-40 seconds so last year. But everyone is running the same course the same day, so fast doesn’t mean that much, it’s all about the competition. And this final D4 region may be one of the more competitive ones.
2021 Boys: Johannesburg-Lewiston (9th), Petoskey St. Michael (6th), Fairview (25th)
2021 Girls: Johannesburg-Lewiston (6th), Petoskey St. Michael (26th), Gaylord St. Mary (27th)
Last year was all Johannesburg-Lewiston. The Cardinals brought it in their first meet of the year, ravaging the small school competition at Benzie. They brought that same energy through to regionals, but unfortunate COVID news wrecked any chance at a state title. Still, both teams placed in the top 10 and that return visit to MIS is on their minds. But standing in the way are some Harbor Springs teams on the move down from D3. Petoskey St. Michael’s boys will be there, as I said earlier, watch if they can add numbers. They always do, but the five that they have should be enough to move onto the next round. The girls battle between Gaylord St. Mary and East Jordan could be a tight race. Miriam Murrell is a perennial frontrunner, the other battles between each team’s 2nd girl, 3rd girl, are all up for grabs.
Top 25 Boys Teams: Johannesburg-Lewiston (Top 7), Harbor Springs (Top 7), Petoskey St. Michael (8th)
Top 25 Girls Teams: Johannesburg-Lewiston (Top 7), Harbor Springs (8th), East Jordan (24th), Gaylord St. Mary (25th)
Just a little rundown of those in the top-15 that haven’t been mentioned in the 50 Tickets, the Top Tens (a few teams here!), and aren’t freshmen. 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.
Lars Huffman, Mackinaw City: His MIS experience in 2021 was a full minute faster than in 2020. Twenty-one places as well, earning him a 20th place spot.
Samuel Ford, Fairview: Great peak from Sam. After struggling to break 19:00 for much of the year, came through with two straight sub-18:30’s to close the season.
Arin Pyles, Fairview: Consistent mid-19:00 performer as a freshman, displayed a bit of speed during track, getting as low as 2:18 in the 800m.
Cooper Whipkey, Mackinaw City: His seventeen races before the 2021 season were all above 20:00. His eleven races in the 2021 season were all sub-20:00.
Miriam Murrell, Gaylord St. Mary: Junior is well-accustomed to this championship stage. Three-time All-State, twice regional champ. Gascho had the upper hand in 2021, but my guess is Miriam doesn’t give this up easily.
Maia Romeyn, Ellsworth: Just as Miriam, another girl who had experience running at the HS level as an 8th grader. And thus, has four consecutive top-10 regional finishes to her credit.
Jessie Ross, Fairview: Although her times didn’t improve from her freshman to sophomore year, her places did, getting from 69th to 50th at State.
Christine Whitaker, East Jordan: Each of the past two years has run a massive personal best at Regionals.
Lilian Curtis, East Jordan: Neeearly snuck under 22:00 in her final race as a freshman, but nailed a 40+ second personal best on the way there.
I love the slow cookin’, gradual development of Luke as a runner
That development began in middle school, with multiple sub-11’s in cross, back to back Lutheran state titles, and a sub-5 in his 8th grade track year
His first two high school XC seasons were fairly similar, getting into the 16’s in the latter part of the season, placing high in the SEC, qualifying for State
But the real jump occurred during May of ’21, where he lowered his 1600m PB by more than 10 seconds in one single meet (4:47 to 4:36), then whittled his time down to 4:31
Last fall, Luke displayed a great contrast, mucking it up with the best of ‘em on the muddy courses, but still laying down speed on the faster days
And that ability to adapt was a major reason that I drafted him in last year’s Meet of Champions
In summary, be sure on whichever day, whichever conditions, Luke will be ready
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
11
Luke Butler
16:16.1
197.0
Warrior Classic
Lake Erie
10-Sep
11
Luke Butler
16:33.7
195.1
SEC 1
Hudson Mills (South)
14-Sep
11
Luke Butler
15:55.8
205.4
Huron
Willow
18-Sep
11
Luke Butler
16:48.0
191.0
Jefferson
Sterling State Park
25-Sep
11
Luke Butler
16:29.4
195.5
SEC Red 2
Munson Park
28-Sep
11
Luke Butler
16:14.2
197.3
Coaching Legends
Huron Meadows
2-Oct
11
Luke Butler
16:25.5
194.2
Portage
Portage West MS
9-Oct
11
Luke Butler
17:34.8
200.4
Dave Bork Classic
Munson Park
16-Oct
11
Luke Butler
16:27.3
190.6
SEC Championship
Hudson Mills (North)
21-Oct
11
Luke Butler
16:33.7
179.8
Mark of Excellence
Airport HS
23-Oct
11
Luke Butler
17:17.2
199.6
5 Lake Erie
Lake Erie
30-Oct
11
Luke Butler
16:13.3
193.6
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
11
Luke Butler
16:18.5
192.8
MMOC
Shepherd HS
13-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
Luke Butler
176.0
Bedford/Monroe
Indian Creek Park
22-Aug
10
Luke Butler
175.4
Monroe/Tecumseh
Munson Park
19-Sep
10
Luke Butler
182.6
Monroe/Ypsi Lincoln
Munson Park
26-Sep
10
Luke Butler
190.4
SEC Red
Indian Creek Park
17-Oct
10
Luke Butler
185.4
PR 9
Indian Creek Park
24-Oct
10
Luke Butler
181.1
D1 Reg 5
Lake Erie
31-Oct
10
Luke Butler
184.3
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
9
Luke Butler
180.5
Warrior Classic
Lake Erie
9
Luke Butler
172.5
Spartan
Forest Akers
9
Luke Butler
177.3
Jefferson
Sterling State Park
9
Luke Butler
179.3
Coaching Legends
Huron Meadows
9
Luke Butler
181.6
Portage
Portage West MS
9
Luke Butler
182.4
Dave Bork
Munson Park
9
Luke Butler
177.4
SEC
Hudson Mills (North)
9
Luke Butler
187.8
5
Lake Erie
9
Luke Butler
184.3
D1 State
MIS
We’ve detailed her brother’s rise and potential, now we complete the first brother/sister combo of 2022
Madi is the elder stateswoman of the Clor clan (yes, clan, there’s more) and she’s set quite a legacy for others to live up to
Macomb County has had faster runners, but don’t let the small number of victories confuse you, Madi brings it when it matters most, and is super reliable in championship races
By my view, there hasn’t been one where she hasn’t either placed or performed below her capability
Her times may look remarkably similar from year to year (18:26 to 18:28), but she was able to improve by 9 places at D1 State (30th to 21st)
The Bulldogs break in a younger team this year, having a steady senior leader will be necessary fending off challengers in the newly revamped Region 9
