Author: mixcspeedratings

Regional Previews

50 Tickets

Top Tens

Where: South Christian HS

South Christian has graciously hosted many meets, including four from last year. We had Under the Lights in late August, running slow as early races are known to do. The final OK White Jamboree is a great example, many of those teams in Division 1 or 2, including a certain East Grand Rapids outfit that will be here. Altogether, those races rated as +6, so we’ll assume this is a fair course.

2021 Boys: Otsego (1^st), Three Rivers (26^th), Holland Christian (23^rd)

2021 Girls: Otsego (5^th), Zeeland East (14^th), Holland Christian (26^th)

Another regional example of the shifting puzzle pieces. This map nerd would either love the job of sitting in the regional assignment room or dread the geographical challenges. Otsego is down to the previously posted Region 13, Zeeland East and Holland Christian to Region 11, moving west are East Grand Rapids and West Michigan Aviation, Marshall coming a bit more north, heck even our host was somewhere else.

Some of the coaches come from elsewhere. East Grand Rapids’ Drew Collette is the Matt Barnes/Lou Williams/Jamal Crawford of Michigan XC coaches. Those three haven’t won a title, Drew, if everything goes to plan, has a very real shot of making that happen. If one extrapolates his past and pegs it into the future, imagine a guy who can turn a program around in short order combined with the massive talent that East Grand Rapids produces. Your mind may explode.

On the other hand, Forest Hills Eastern grows in the shadows of giants such as EGR and Grand Rapids Christian. Quietly, the Hawks have assembled another team capable of finishing in Division 2’s top-5. After all, they’ve placed there in two of the past three years. Those recent high placings have affected their entire program, with multiple boys coming out from under the woodwork, hitting mileage goals over the summer. Oh, and you may have heard of Aiden Sullivan, that headband wearin’ speed demon.

Top 25 Boys Teams: East Grand Rapids (Top 5), Forest Hills Eastern (19^th), Marshall (23^rd)

Top 25 Girls Teams: East Grand Rapids (Top 5), Forest Hills Eastern (Top 5), GR West Michigan Aviation (13^th), Grand Rapids South Christian (21^st)

Here, I’m writing at least a little anecdote about kids that are in the top-15 but aren’t freshman (Lynn twynns), in the 50 Tickets (Aiden, Drew, Emma), or on Top 10 teams (EGR, FHE, EGR). 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. Also, it’s late at night and I’m tiiiiired. If there’s an error in here, let me know.

Caleb Boes, Grand Rapids South Christian: For whatever reason, Caleb wasn’t listed in the first edition of this post. I’m not sure why he wasn’t included in the original sheet. There were a few errors with grades and kids not getting included, but it’s not that… whatever. Only one more week until I throw away this summer stuff and start anew.

ANYHOW, as Lucas VanDam correctly pointed out, he’s rated and ranked right next to Joseph VanderKooi. His personal best hails from this regional race, over in Region 13, but a grand stage nonetheless. Ranked 11th going into that race, he placed 5th, then turned that momentum into a track season where he debuted in the 1600m at 4:39 and set a significant PB in the 3200m at 10:02.

Joseph VanderKooi, Grand Rapids South Christian: Joseph ran his first regional race as a junior. His freshman year, he didn’t make South Christian’s varsity squad for the race. His sophomore year, he finished 22^nd at Pre-Regionals. His junior year, he was 10^th in the whole dang thing. Two minute improvement from 2020 to 2021.

Jacob Montgomery, Ionia: Over in the rain-soaked hills of the St. Francis Retreat Center, Jacob outperformed his regional projections by 6 places, helping Ionia graduate to run another week. Many of his teammates have moved on, but Jacob will still be out there battling.

Jack Bidwell, Marshall: Jack just comes through at I-8 Championship meets. 4:34 to close out his 1600m races in track, grabbing a 4^th place in his conference.

Dominic Lowrie, Battle Creek Harper Creek: Another freshman that’s flying under the radar. Dominic was sub-17 in his final four races.

Jack DeVries, GR West Michigan Aviation: Whereas others may have dropped significant time on the grass, Jack came through on the cinders. In only his second 3200m of the year, he ran 10:18, a good minute faster compared to 2021.

Riley Shults, Hastings: Used the disappointment of not qualifying for State to fuel him for a Barry County title. Any time you can win an area championship, that’s a major win in my book.

Aidan McPartlin, Marshall: Beginning in the sport as a freshman, Aidan was sub-18 once. A year later, sub-18 in the majority of his races.

Ava Crews, Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg: After September 13^th, she only raced once above the 20:00 barrier. That was a Barry County victory, somewhat excusable. When she wasn’t capturing county titles, she was nearly reaching the podium at MIS or placing top-5 at both regionals and OK Gold.

Camille DeCola, Marshall: Hit November on a roll and just kept going. Hit a 19-flat on the notoriously quick Turkeyville course, even more impressively, hit that same mark on a slower MIS track. That State Finals time? Only good enough for 14^th place. Yes, she is lower than what her state meet suggests. These ratings take into account the entirety of the 2021 season, championship warriors such as Camille tend to get underrated.

Olivia Barabas, Wayland Union: All three years running in HS, she’s been in the 19’s. Her first two, those performances would happen late, as a junior, she was impatient and sped to that mark early. Top-10 in the OK Gold, 7^th over in Region 13, and her best State Finals finish yet.

50 Tickets

Regional Previews

Top Tens

• They call him D1 Trent for a reason, he’s absolute money with a race on the line
• We saw that on multiple instances throughout the year, beginning with a 1:55 state lead at Elaine Leigh, extending out to the 3200m in the early session at New Balance
  • In front of all eyes, the 800m at Rockford
  • Patient early, knowing to wait to take the lead in a decisive fashion, then putting it away
• Last fall, we were able to grab a peek at his 5k fitness, running the equivalent of sub-16 multiple times, capturing a MAC Red victory in front of the best in Macomb County (a few All-Staters)
• Sadly, his season was cut short, sidelined by a rare foot injury
• But perhaps that was a blessing in disguise, paving the path for a careful build towards track?
• Blessed with the confidence from victory after victory and raised up by the support of his Macomb County brothers and sisters, Trent is finally ready to make his stamp on the fall

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Trent McFarland	17:02.7	195.4	UCS Quad	Eastwood Beach	26-Aug
11	Trent McFarland	16:23.8	198.1	A2 Early Bird	Huron Meadows	2-Sep
11	Trent McFarland	16:00.0	202.7	Muskrat Classic	Algonac HS	11-Sep
11	Trent McFarland	16:16.9	201.0	Holly	Springfield Oaks	18-Sep
11	Trent McFarland	16:15.6	202.8	MAC Red 1	Eastwood Beach	21-Sep
11	Trent McFarland	17:29.8	169.1	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Trent McFarland	177.5	MAC Red 1	Barnabo Field	18-Sep
10	Trent McFarland	173.6	Cleverley Friday Night	Anchor Bay HS	25-Sep
10	Trent McFarland	181.6	Hansons	Freedom Hill	3-Oct
10	Trent McFarland	177.5	Macomb County	Freedom Hill	9-Oct
10	Trent McFarland	174.3	PR 17	Bloomer Park	21-Oct
10	Trent McFarland	180.7	D1 Reg 9	Anchor Bay HS	30-Oct
10	Trent McFarland	177.3	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Trent McFarland	145.0	A2 Early Bird	Huron Meadows
9	Trent McFarland	162.3	Averill	Kensington
9	Trent McFarland	159.2	Holly	Springfield Oaks
9	Trent McFarland	165.7	Hansons	Parkway Christian
9	Trent McFarland	170.7	Macomb County	Eastwood Beach
9	Trent McFarland	171.0	MAC Division	Eastwood Beach

• You know you’re getting deep into a list of accomplishments when you leave out Jessica’s 4^th place in the D3 1600m, State title in the 4×800, two Regional wins, two Conference championships
• Tremendous to me beyond the wins is Jessica’s range
  • One might think that a freshman might specialize in one area of events and throughout time, you’d build towards other areas
• Nope, Jessica laid down speed – 13.8 to 61.3 in the sprints, endurance – 10:44, multiple sub-18’s in cross
• All while being a major contributing part to a Hart team that’s taken home the past five titles
• It’ll be a tougher road this time around but with this girl on board, that’s a steady hand at the front for the next three years

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Jessica Jazwinski	19:00.6	143.5	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	28-Aug
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:58.5	140.2	Leanne Wolf Geers	Mason County Fairgrounds	9-Sep
9	Jessica Jazwinski	19:39.1	140.3	WMD 1	Walkerville	14-Sep
9	Jessica Jazwinski	19:09.0	147.0	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:42.0	141.3	WMC 2	Montague HS	21-Sep
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:31.5	150.8	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	25-Sep
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:47.2	143.3	Bluejay	Shepherd HS	2-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:42.1	145.0	WMC 3	Whitehall HS	5-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:38.0	151.3	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	20:37.6	149.1	WMC Champ	Shelby HS	12-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:21.5	148.2	Hart & Sole	Colonial GC	16-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:23.0	145.0	Mel Hall	Spring Lake HS	23-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	17:43.2	150.9	20 Benzie	Benzie Central HS	30-Oct
9	Jessica Jazwinski	18:00.6	151.8	D3 State	MIS	6-Nov
9	Jessica Jazwinski	17:57.8	158.4	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Regional Previews

50 Tickets

Top Tens

Where: Bangor HS

Looking back over the past few years, there have been a couple meets a year held here. Many of them are of the SW10 variety, small jamborees that I haven’t rated. The others are the Bangor Invite, held in late September. The rating at the 2021 Bangor Invite was +11. With another month left going towards Regionals, I’ll assume this course runs fast. A look at the terrain on Google Maps shows nothing in the way of hills. The previous post on this region had nothing in terms of a map, but Jacob Tanner has been tremendously selfless in his contributions, always good for a message after I neglect to find a map in my quick research. Here you go:

2021 Boys: Mason (13^th), Battle Creek Harper Creek (16^th), Grand Rapids South Christian (25^th)

2021 Girls: Marshall (11^th), Mason (8^th), Grand Rapids South Christian (18^th)

So much upheaval here in the regional setups in the SW side of the state. It appears that half the teams here were present last year, the other half are coming over from 2021’s Region 12.

Otsego is the heavyweight that’s making their way over to Bangor. As Jacob Tanner noted here, their dynasty is unmatched within their region. I’ll also note that their boys have finished in the top-10 at MIS in 7 of the past 10 years, including a State Championship in 2021. Each team will be replacing a bunch, though the culture Coach Long has created has cultivated depth and incoming freshman that want to be part of success.

Three Rivers looks to be in a good spot to make a return trip east to Brooklyn. The Wildcats are a team full of experience, only two underclassmen projected to be in their top-7. And those seven look to be better than many others best five.

St. Joseph’s girls share a similar spot to those Three Rivers boys, though the Bears are coming over from Division 1. Their regional last October was a harrowing one, battling the likes of Caledonia, Zeeland West, Portage Central, and Jenison for a qualifying spot. These girls came out ahead, largely aided by clutch performances from Cecilia Ruchti and Olivia Ippel.

Top 25 Boys Teams: Otsego (7^th), Three Rivers (20^th)

Top 25 Girls Teams: Otsego (Top 5), St. Joseph (11^th)

Here, I’m writing at least a little anecdote about kids that are in the top-15 but aren’t freshman (Berkley and Sydney, I see you), in the 50 Tickets (Megan Germain, I’m rooting for you to get here next year), or on Top 10 teams (Otsegooo). 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. Also, it’s late at night and I’m tiiiiired. If there’s an error in here, let me know.

Austin Williford, Paw Paw: Track was his best season of any thus far, cross country included. He was sub-10 in the 3200m at Don Lukens, then nearly matched that mark a month later at the Distance Night Under the Lights.

Luke Morrison, Berrien Springs: With Race Bettich graduated, that Berrien County title opens up. At the County meet in 2021, Luke found his way into the 16’s for the first time in his career.

Will Vanderbor, Paw Paw: From afar, sometimes it’s easy to tell when motivation hits a team. After spending a majority of his junior cross season in the 17’s, Will (along with Austin above) was able to drop a sub-10 in the 3200m. A sure sign of a gritty winter.

Will Fiesbeck, St. Joseph: Behold this 800m kid. Will went sub-2 on three occasions in our most recent spring. Placed 5^th in an ultra-competitive Grand Haven regional and 4^th in the SMAC.

Kyler Copenhaver, Three Rivers: Talent made a few appearances during Kyler’s debut to the high school scene. On the cusp of crashing through 17:00, he ran his best race on the biggest stage, helping Three Rivers move onto run another week. When you share a last name to a Michigan linebacker from the best defense ever, you know how to perform an important role for your team.

Shay White, St. Joseph: Always here for that year to year improvement. 18:42 in his 9^th grade year, 16:56 in a year’s time.

Skye Smith, Vicksburg: Gave a few great efforts in the longer distances during track. Four sub-11’s and a single sub-5, the aerobic capacity is high at such a young age.

Javier Kelly-Martinez, Three Rivers: Four days after clinching his first St. Joseph County title, he one-upped himself with a nearly 20 second personal best on the regional stage.

Sulley Zietlow, Three Rivers: I’m calling it now. It may be this year, but it’ll definitely be next year: Three Rivers will be a top-10 team in Division 2. Sully is ANOTHER underclassmen who spent much of 2021’s October in the 17’s.

Tucker Radgens, Vicksburg: Wasn’t looking likely early, but come late October, Tucker matched his championship season from the season prior. In two consecutive years, he’s run a season best at Regionals.

Side note: is it me or does this region have the best names?

Elena Figueroa, St. Joseph: Flashed greatness in cross, but took it a step further in track. Became a reliable figure in the 1600m late, a virtual guarantee to run 5:25.

Grace Pettit, Plainwell: Grace has been through it all and accomplished it all. Twice All-State, Allegan County Champ, three-time state qualifier. A great career with one year left.

Charlie Drew, Edwardsburg: Charlie’s freshman year saw her close the fall with five consecutive sub-21 efforts.

Amanda Laughery, Vicksburg: As a sophomore, Amanda closed her year with many efforts in the 21’s, qualified for State, an all-around success. Her junior year wasn’t on the same trajectory UNTIL a giant 15+ second personal best on regional day.

Anezka Pradna, Three Rivers: Over in Region 12 last October, Anezka picked a great day to run a 20+ second personal best. She was 10^th there, her second consecutive state qualifier.

Olivia Timmons, Otsego: One of those Otsego girls ready to step up and shine. Learned from their upperclasswomen, then took that knowledge to a final three meets where she was able to break 21:00 on each occasion.