Cross Country from a Numerical Perspective
Allegan
Grand Rapids Christian
Grand Rapids South Christian
Grand River Preparatory
GR West Michigan Aviation
Hamilton
Hastings
Hopkins
Middleville-Thornapple Kellogg
Otsego
Plainwell
South Haven
Wayland Union
Wyoming Godwin Heights
Wyoming Kelloggsville
Charlotte
Corunna
Eaton Rapids
Fowlerville
Haslett
Jackson Northwest
Lake Odessa Lakewood
Lansing Catholic
Mason
Olivet
Owosso
Portland
St. Johns
Williamston
The transfers out of a certain school in this region are some of the worst kept secrets in Michigan HS XC. I had originally feared these were for competitive reasons, but diving further into it, I’m relieved to report that’s not the case. The athletes that are switching teams are extremely talented, and their future results will speak for themselves. Some of the runners that are running for their hometown teams will be highlighted below:
St. Johns (4), Lansing Catholic (16), Fowlerville (21)
During championship season, Nathan peaked extremely hard. His regional race was rated the highest, a 2nd place finish (and 30 sec. PR!) when he was projected outside of the top-20 coming in. Throughout his three years, he’s shown he’s capable of improvement, look for that to continue.
Mason looks to continue Corunna’s rich tradition. Late in his sophomore year, he made a leap, then last season, continued that progress. To close the year, he had Top 5 finishes at FML, Shiawassee County, and Region 15-2.
St. Johns success is dependent on their ability to pack up. Just take a look at the 1-5 spread projected above. Runners such as Ryan play a role in that. His consistency (his ratings were all between 178-185) and his ability to step up in important races (ran his best at regionals) will aid the Redwings down the stretch.
During his sophomore campaign, Josh was able to achieve quite a few honors. He was victorious in two CAAC White Jamborees, finished in the Top 5 at Michigan Catholic, Marauder, and Spartan. He also qualified for MIS for the second year in a row.
Tremendous improvement between his 9th and 10th grade years. Zach was able to accomplish a few sub-18 runs as a freshman. In 2019, he raised himself to a new level, running a 16:29 to finish 10th in this regional.
Koda has a great chance of following in the footsteps of Bryce Dubay and Kobe Blanco. Early in his freshman year, he ran to his potential, nailing a sub-18 at Harper Creek. Although he didn’t get an individual qualifier, he was able to run 17:19 later in the year at the Portage Regional.
One of the benefits of training with a fast pack like St. Johns has is that you’re almost forced to speed up. Bryce has done just that. As a freshman, he hovered around the 20:00 mark. As a junior, he lowered that average by almost 3:00.
Haslett (5), Mason (10), St. Johns (22), Lansing Catholic (23)
Highest Rated Seniors
I feel this tandem has represented Corunna extremely well over the past three years. Between the two, they have six All-Region finishes, six Top-3 Shiawassee County finishes, and one All-State honor.
After missing a sub-20 by 0.3 seconds as a sophomore, Sarah made sure to smash her way through that barrier. She ran 19:54 early at the Corunna EB, then was steadily in the mid-19’s for her championship season. The best race of which came at MIS, her 19:37 placing 48th.
Career Achievement
Anyone Else?
In her freshman campaign, Olivia had her share of outstanding races. A few stand out: her two breakthroughs at DeWitt and Portage, along with 13th place finish at this tough regional.
Over the past two years, Amalia has shown she belongs and will likely succeed at the HS level. She’s been in the 12:00 range multiple times, even running 11:53 to conclude her 7th grade season.
As with Olivia, Katie was able to string together strong performances at Portage and Regionals. Her Regional race was a 17 sec. PR, and compared to her early season, a sign that she responded quite well to her training.
Alma
Bay City John Glenn
Birch Run
Clio
Essexville Garber
Flint Kearsley
Flint Powers Catholic
Flint Southwestern
Frankenmuth
Freeland
Midland Bullock Creek
North Branch
Saginaw Swan Valley
Shepherd
Standish-Sterling
Flint Powers Catholic (11), Freeland (25)
Matthew turned it up a notch during the championship season. He ran his personal best at Greater Flint, which was his first time breaking 17:00. He nearly duplicated that at Regionals, running 17:03 to place in the top-15 for the second consecutive year.
Evan’s first year of cross country came as a junior and he stepped right into All-Region contention. He ended up finishing 18th here last year. It took one race for Evan to get his feet wet, from then on, he was almost always in the 17:00’s. With a year of experience, expect Evan to get into that top-15.
At Greater Flint, Andrew showed what he’s capable of in this sport. His 17:06 there definitely wasn’t projected, and was easily his best rating of the season. He’s had significant improvement throughout the years, during his freshman year, he was largely above 19:30.
This was a very senior-dominant region last year with the Corunna boys, Jorden Sowash, Wesley Beck, and others. However, Braydon and Logan were able to break into the too-10 as freshmen. Logan gets lost in the great talent in the mid-Michigan area, but with the common sophomore breakthrough, he could vault past many. He gradually improved throughout last year, culminating in a 17:02 here.
Lucas gets underrated because of his State race, but he showed a dramatic jump from his freshman to sophomore year. He mainly ran in the mid-18’s as a freshman, in his second race as a sophomore, he nearly slipped under 17:00. It took a majority of the season to get back to that level, but he was able to here at Regionals, where he finished 13th.
Can Mason follow in the footsteps of Caleb, Tyler Noble, and Seth Schafer in being the next Shepherd great. Early returns say yes. He ranks in the top-5 on both their freshman and sophomore lists and has displayed that he can run his fastest late in the season. He competed in their Midnight Mile, running a 4:48 (and closing in 66!).
Frankenmuth (3), Shepherd (8), Freeland (13)
Madde just got done running her HS mile PR in Shepherd’s Midnight Mile. Along with the ultra-talented, deep Shepherd team, she moves into D2. Late in her sophomore year, she broke 20:00 for the first time. As a junior, she cemented her status into the 19’s, resulting in a 20th place finish at MIS.
Delaney roared back from a subpar Regional race to nab her second consecutive top-100 finish at MIS. That State Meet performance was key in Frankenmuth’s 6th place finish and she’ll be needed to get them into the top-5 this year. She’s broken 20:00 each of the past two years.
Twice the Regional Champion, Kiera has established herself as a big race runner. In both of the past two years, she’s run her season best at this race. Peaking like this (compared to early season efforts) leaves her a little underrated, as she’s definitely shown she can compete with Gabbie and Haileigh. Oh, she’s also been All-State in both seasons as well.
Amelia also competed in the Midnight Mile and ran faster than Madde Skeel and Ariel Warner. Results like that can compound, if she can race with them over a mile, she can do it over 5k. And she’s shown she’s capable of doing so, owning a PR of 19:32 from her sophomore year.
Mary just missed an inclusion in the top 50 returners, but she is definitely one of the better incoming freshmen. She was just a winner last year. Bluejay, Marauder, Saginaw County being a few examples. She even moved up to the 5k distance, running 20:43 at the Delta College PROM.
