Another one in a long line of Saline greats, Madi burst onto the scene with a surprising 18:49 (and nearly All-State) performance at the 2018 State Meet
Continued that momentum into her freshman year of track, showing considerable speed, getting down to 2:13 in the 800m
Beginning in October, put together a championship-level stretch of races, with a sub-18 at Portage, then running the equivalent rating at State in tougher conditions
Given her steady improvement, don’t be shocked if she makes a bid for the Division 1 crown
15. Connor Vachon, Jenison
Jenison runs many races, it must be difficult to go to the well that many times, but Connor was up for the task
Following a surprising 16:41 at Regionals as a freshman, he wasn’t able to finish his sophomore year, this year he showed tremendous resiliency late
Has some mid-distance ability on the track, having run 4:23 last spring. This winter, he was able to shave 7 seconds off his time from the previous winter, may he have had a similar drop in outdoor?
Nabbed his first All-State berth in his first appearance at MIS
One of my personal favorite teams resides in this area, the Bridgman Bees. The girls there took a love for the speed ratings, perhaps fueled by their rise to the #1 ranking in Division 4 last year. They were (and still are) the little engine that could, their tiny team has defeated the best in Berrien County for a few years now, conquering schools with much larger enrollments. They move up to Division 3 in 2020, but I believe they’re up to the task.
Included are schools west of Kalamazoo, south of South Haven, and (I’m jealous) in close proximity to Lake Michigan:
Bangor Benton Harbor Berrien Springs Bloomingdale Bridgman Buchanan Cassopolis Ross Beatty Coloma Decatur Dowagiac Union Eau Claire Edwardsburg Hartford Lawrence New Buffalo Niles Niles Brandywine South Haven St. Joseph St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic Stevensville Lakeshore Three Oaks River Valley Watervliet
Over the past year and a half, Talha has worked incredibly hard to go from a really good runner to a Salem legend. The way he’s been able to handle the mental and physical strains of training at the intensity he trains at is one of the greatest things I’ve seen as a member of the Salem XC and Track teams. He’s incredibly well-read on what he needs to do, when he needs to do it, and how he needs to do it, and he’ll go out and execute perfectly, because that’s the standard that he has set for himself. He never misses practice, never misses a run, and is always there to talk about anything, which is what you want your #1 guy to be.
Gavin Ray, Salem
With an average of 30 seconds being dropped each year, Talha has shown an appetite for improvement (he’s a fixture at the top of the MIXCSR Strava leaderboard)
His 2019 season began with a bang, with his first victory in a major invitational
He repeated that feat in Chelsea, then ran multiple sub-16 efforts the rest of the way
Indoor showed more progress, where he was able to go 9:21 in the 3200m (in the middle of a 65-mile week), one can see the potential for a faster time if we had an outdoor campaign
Along with the previously mentioned Gary Gardella and Gavin Ray, will be instrumental in Salem’s bid for a State Title
16. Meghan Ford, Mason
Meghan may have run slightly slower at Portage than a few of the incoming freshmen listed prior, but with multiple sub-12 performances, she’s shown she belongs
As I linked to with Alyson Enns, that Portage time still shows her level, on par with a young Amber Gall, Jessi Larson, and a few girls to be mentioned later.
During this track season, she was able to run 5:20/10:58. I have no doubt that 1600m could be quicker, but the 3200 is the key, indicates great strength that will be essential this fall
