mixcspeedratings

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4

These rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/28). If a runner has had a rated race since September 1st, they’re included (sadly, I have to account for injured athletes). These are for fun and done for free. Enjoy!

Recap

Seeming like it’s all Marquette that I write about, but when you finish 4^th at Griak and win Bluejay, it’s all deserved. Vibes and numbers-based, I think they’re the 2^nd best team in Michigan right now. In any normal, non-Northville year, the best.

A new arrival to the top-10 is Ironwood, winners in the Baraga Invite. The Red Devils were able to place three seniors under 19. Leading the way has been Zach Smith, hitting the 17’s on each of his last two efforts, hoping to improve on his 9^th place D2 finish from 2023.

Looking Forward

Painesdale-Jeffers hoping to secure a Copper Mountain title. The Jets overwhelmed their foes at Ewen-Trout Creek, all varsity runners in the top-11, the kinda form that wins Division 2 titles.

Eastern UP battles between Rudyard and Engadine. Engadine claimed the first one at EUP #1, adjusting to the 4600m distance (due to logging – UP problems), 35-49 over Rudyard. You’ve got another EUP duel and the Rudyard Autumn Classic quick on the horizon.

All the Full Teams

Rank	Team	Score	Division	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Marquette	20	UP 1	198.8	1
2	Sault Ste. Marie	59	UP 1	178.1	2
3	Houghton	139	UP 1	152.2	3
4	Painesdale-Jeffers	152	UP 2	148.4	4
5	Gladstone	171	UP 1	140.0	5
6	Munising	229	UP 2	139.2	6
7	Rudyard	260	UP 2	127.9	7
8	Engadine	316	UP 3	117.7	8
9	Dollar Bay	355	UP 3	109.9	9
10	Ironwood	357	UP 2	112.3	12
11	Ishpeming Westwood	367	UP 1	110.1	10
12	Stephenson	367	UP 3	108.7	11
13	Menominee	393	UP 1	104.1	14
14	Gwinn	397	UP 2	95.1	13
15	Negaunee	407	UP 1	102.7	15
16	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	412	UP 2	101.4	16
17	Calumet	444	UP 1	66.7	17
18	Escanaba	460	UP 1	90.9	18
19	Manistique	488	UP 2	87.2	19
20	Eben Jct. Superior Central	533	UP 3	81.0	20
21	Newberry	580	UP 3	67.5	21
22	Hancock	593	UP 2	64.3	22
23	Kingsford	601	UP 1	52.1	23
24	Rock Mid-Peninsula	629	UP 3	49.2	NR
25	Powers North Central	635	UP 1	-15.8	24
26	Forest Area	677	UP 3	48.2	NR
27	Carney-Nadeau	757	UP 3	-41.5	25

Recap

Interesting week. At El Harger, Houghton rollllled over Marquette, 26-78. Four in the top seven, pure numbers up front on the way to a substantial victory. Then at Shepherd, the Sentinels’ 3^rd-5^th girls ran a solid two minutes faster, helping the team place 22^nd of 33 in the elite division. Perhaps they tempo’ed at Munising? Anyhow, both performances were indicative of teams capable of winning Division 1.

The largest move came from Chassell, their girls shifting from 14^th to 10^th. As the weather has turned, so too has Sylvia Aho, racing to two consecutive 21-min. efforts, a good 1-2 minute improvement from her freshman era.

Looking Forward

The big one seems to be the Houghton Invite, which will contain Houghton, Hancock, and Negaunee. Hancock and Negaunee seem to be running similarly, Hancock coming ahead at Mid-Peninsula Conference, Negaunee at Tracy Strom. The Bulldogs are appearing to be a shoe-in for the D2 crown, Negaunee is an underdog for a top-3 spot in D1, but still in contention.

All the Full Teams

Rank	Team	Score	Division	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Marquette	56	UP 1	95.0	2
2	Houghton	66	UP 1	95.4	1
3	Hancock	153	UP 2	64.9	3
4	Sault Ste. Marie	176	UP 1	58.3	4
5	Ewen-Trout Creek	219	UP 3	45.5	5
6	Negaunee	239	UP 1	44.4	6
7	Gladstone	289	UP 1	26.5	9
8	Newberry	327	UP 3	34.6	8
9	Munising	327	UP 2	21.4	7
10	Chassell	331	UP 3	19.8	14
11	Calumet	335	UP 1	19.7	10
12	Kingsford	355	UP 1	16.1	18
13	Pickford	355	UP 3	23.0	12
14	Baraga	360	UP 2	12.9	11
15	Escanaba	387	UP 1	8.7	15
16	Brimley	398	UP 3	2.5	13
17	Ironwood	399	UP 2	8.8	17
18	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	401	UP 2	6.1	16
19	Stephenson	453	UP 3		20
20	St. Ignace	502	UP 3		21
21	Ishpeming Westwood	505	UP 1		19
22	Powers North Central	556	UP 1		24
23	Manistique	566	UP 2		22
24	Rudyard	577	UP 2		23
25	Rapid River	586	UP 3		25
26	West Iron County	613	UP 2		26
27	Holy Name	706	UP 3		NR
28	Eben Jct. Superior Central	722	UP 3		27

Individual Rankings

Recap

Armelagos to Argeropoulos, I’ve gotta give a shout to my fellow Greek, Peter Argeropoulos. His 16:01 at Shepherd was by far the best performance of his life. Coming into Saturday’s race at Bluejay, his previous best was 16:33. Huge performance to lead his Marquette brethren to victory.

Perhaps the biggest mover was Painesdale-Jeffers’ Landon Larson. He’s recaptured his freshman and sophomore form, the kinda form that finished 2^nd in 2022 and won in 2023. Running much of the season in the 18’s, he unleashed a 17:11 to win at Ewen-Trout Creek.

Looking Forward

Finally. FINALLY. Luck has had it that when Gabe Litzner traveled downstate, he’s competed in sections without much elite competition. That changes Saturday in the D1 race at Portage.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Gabe Litzner	Sault Ste. Marie	212.2
2	12	Seppi Camilli	Marquette	210.3
3	11	Rorik Holmquist	Marquette	197.9
4	12	James Barch	Marquette	195.8
5	11	Peter Argeropoulos	Marquette	195.5
6	12	Evan Balko	Marquette	194.6
7	12	Chase Thomsen	Marquette	193.0
8	11	Shea Armstrong	Sault Ste. Marie	192.4
9	12	Danny Goss	Munising	189.8
10	12	Kalvin Kytta	Chassell	189.7
11	10	Lucas Ballard	Marquette	183.2
12	12	Birk Seagren	Houghton	180.6
13	11	Landon Larson	Painesdale-Jeffers	170.6
14	11	Cameron Anderson	Painesdale-Jeffers	168.6
15	12	Evan Huyck	Sault Ste. Marie	165.5
16	12	Trevor Nolan	Munising	164.3
17	12	Eli Hills	Sault Ste. Marie	164.1
18	11	Steven Kirschner	Rudyard	163.2
19	11	Benjamin Hemmer	Houghton	162.0
20	12	Zach Smith	Ironwood	161.7
21	11	Daniel Bowerman	Sault Ste. Marie	156.3
22	12	Dakota Taylor	Engadine	153.9
23	11	Canon Kuntze	Stephenson	153.9
24	11	Adam Brandt	Sault Ste. Marie	153.1
25	10	Andrew Junttila	Calumet	151.2
26	9	Brandon Van Karsen	Houghton	149.9
27	10	Chase Aldridge	Sault Ste. Marie	149.4
28	11	Max Beauchamp	Gladstone	147.2
29	12	Brayden Bourion	Menominee	147.0
30	12	Weston Knauf	Powers North Central	144.4

Recap

Took awhile, but now Talya Schreiber is contained within the rankings. Her early meets were either too small or mud runs. The waiting was worth it, she’s surely continued her winning form from 2023. In Upper Peninsula action, she’s won 11 consecutive races. Her main competition has been right in the area, Samantha Taylor finishing 12 sec. back at the first EUP Jamboree.

Looking Forward

Pickford’s goin’ to Portage as well. The Panthers are placed in D3, a great spot that Schreiber won’t be overwhelmed and can compete near the front. Currently, I’d have her around 15^th-20^th in D3. But take in the caveat that she GREATLY outperformed the ratings at MITCA last year.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Talya Schreiber	Pickford	132.2
2	11	Samantha Taylor	Newberry	131.7
3	11	Tessa Rautiola	Houghton	122.4
4	10	Abby Taylor	Newberry	111.6
5	12	Alisha Mabie	Escanaba	108.9
6	11	Ella Fure	Marquette	105.8
7	12	Roman Trevino Peterlin	Houghton	104.5
8	8	Molly McNamara	Engadine	102.7
9	12	Aubrey Smith	Ironwood	101.9
10	9	Sela Niska	Houghton	101.1
11	12	Monet Argeropoulos	Marquette	97.9
12	9	Evelyn Grant	Marquette	95.7
13	12	Lily Ross	Houghton	91.7
14	12	Ella Keranen	Hancock	89.2
15	12	Chloe Miller	Marquette	88.0
16	12	Maija Maki-Warne	Marquette	87.8
17	12	Marlee Plaxco	Negaunee	87.3
18	10	Winley Brandt	Menominee	87.0
19	12	Alyssa Shirkey	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	85.0
20	9	Isabelle McCord	Sault Ste. Marie	84.1
21	9	Maria Murvich	Kingsford	83.8
22	10	Regan Sporte	Sault Ste. Marie	81.6
23	9	Alena Pietila	Hancock	78.8
24	11	Faith Cappaert	Stephenson	78.1
25	10	Eryn Veverka	Marquette	77.8
26	12	Rayna Towles	Hancock	74.5
27	11	Stephanie Jones	Sault Ste. Marie	73.2
28	9	Bree Besonen	Ewen-Trout Creek	72.7
29	11	Maya Carlson	Manistique	71.3
30	10	Sylvia Aho	Chassell	70.4

Homeschool & Other Teams

Homeschool, clubs, and teams not allowed to compete in MHSAA events. Perhaps that’s a little strong on wording, but I’m not sure why schools such as Kensington Woods, Christ the King, and Washtenaw Christian don’t compete at the MHSAA level. They’re clearly schools, they’ve been at it for awhile, and it’s not as if other charter-type or private schools can’t compete. Not stirring up controversy here, just curious on the reasoning!

Boys

Rank	Team	Score	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	GRTC Peregrines	36	181.0	1
2	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	51	177.1	2
3	Capital Homeschool	74	172.8	3
4	North Trails	118	158.0	4
5	MACH	155	145.2	5
6	Central Michigan Homeschool Athletics	180	135.5	7
7	Butternut Homeschool	209	123.4	6
8	Christ the King	235	116.5	8
9	West Michigan Homeschool	250	104.8	9
10	Washtenaw Christian	304	62.6	11
11	Kensington Woods	317	60.6	12
12	Monroe Milers	321	54.8	10

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Luke Long	West Michigan Homeschool	208.8
2	12	Ezekiel Grimmet	Capital Homeschool	192.8
3	12	Trent Taratuta	North Trails	190.5
4	11	Caleb Willard	GRTC Peregrines	186.3
5	12	Keith Siek	Berrien County Youth Track	185.7
6	9	Abenezer Olson	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	183.6
7	11	Brendan O’Donohue	GRTC Peregrines	181.9
8	12	Kaelan Miller	GRTC Peregrines	181.8
9	10	Anthony Schmitz	GRTC Peregrines	181.5
10	11	Vince Garritano	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	181.2
11	9	Leo Garritano	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	175.0
12	9	Eli Miller	GRTC Peregrines	173.6
13	12	Trevor Basch	Capital Homeschool	173.1
14	10	Brian Artman	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	172.9
15	10	Evan Armstrong	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	172.7
16	12	Jack Ryan	Capital Homeschool	172.3
17	11	Ian Potts	MACH	171.2
18	11	Benaiah Roby	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	169.0
19	9	Jackson Willard	GRTC Peregrines	166.4
20	12	David Artman	Kalamazoo Homeschool Sports	166.2
21	10	Jacob Ziolkowski	GRTC Peregrines	166.1
22	9	Garrett Potts	MACH	165.8
23	11	Isaac McAlvey	Capital Homeschool	163.0
24	12	Edward Fountain	Capital Homeschool	162.9
25	11	Carter Grimmet	Capital Homeschool	162.2
26	10	Peter Kamp	Capital Homeschool	162.2
27	12	Axel Krantz	North Trails	158.3
28	12	Sebastian Hornibrook	North Trails	153.7
29	10	Thor Krantz	North Trails	153.2
30	9	Etienne Ruble	Central Michigan Homeschool Athletics	150.6

Girls

Rank	Team	Score	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	GRTC Peregrines	21	128.4	1
2	Capital Homeschool	78	68.3	4
3	MACH	84	62.0	3
4	Christ the King	120	33.8	5
5	North Trails	147		6
6	Monroe Milers	152	2.6	7
7	West Michigan Homeschool	178		NR
8	Interlochen Arts Academy	194		NR
9	Detroit International Academy	270		NR

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	10	Stephanie DiPiazza	GRTC Peregrines	165.9
2	12	Sinead Noonan	GRTC Peregrines	145.2
3	9	Alannah Wessel	MACH	129.7
4	12	Maya Willard	GRTC Peregrines	118.6
5	9	Kate O’Donohue	GRTC Peregrines	114.8
6	10	Faith Wessel	MACH	106.0
7	12	Olivia Gust	North Trails	104.5
8	11	Samantha Hundt	Capital Homeschool	97.7
9	12	Melia Cullen	GRTC Peregrines	97.3
10	11	Evie Hakes	GRTC Peregrines	92.6
11	11	Dorothy Wagenmaker	GRTC Peregrines	92.0
12	9	Ingrid Thomas	Washtenaw Christian	88.8
13	11	Esther Hornibrook	North Trails	84.7
14	9	Micaela Cabello	Christ the King	84.5
15	10	Kimberly Siek	Berrien County Youth Track	83.3
16	10	Eleri Raleigh	Capital Homeschool	71.8
17	10	Taylor Basch	Capital Homeschool	70.7
18	12	Rebekah Gram	Monroe Milers	61.7
19	10	Rosie Stelwagen	West Michigan Homeschool	58.3
20	11	Hana Nishi	Interlochen Arts Academy	56.5
21	11	Maizy Minnaar	Capital Homeschool	55.1
22	12	Amber Watta	MACH	50.9
23	10	Alexis Graham	Christ the King	50.6
24	10	Juliana Prewett	Central Michigan Homeschool Athletics	48.7
25	9	Matti Vanderwey	Capital Homeschool	46.1
26	10	Lauren Carothers	Christ the King	39.3
27	12	Kennedy Childress	Monroe Milers	34.2
28	11	Lucy Spencer	Capital Homeschool	32.4
29	12	Ava Patterson	Capital Homeschool	31.6
30	12	Livia Kuecken	Blue Water Christian Academy	25.4

Uncategorized

2024 Rankings: Division 1, Championship Season

October 3, 2024October 3, 2024 mixcspeedratings

Week 3

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4
Mid-Season Projections – Boys
Mid-Season Projections – Girls

Recap

It was a ~~rough~~ smooth two week stretch for Northville. The Mustangs handled business on their usual trip out of Michigan. Chicago in 2022, Roy Griak in 2023, then on September 21^st, a trip to the famed Blue River XC Course. For Michigan’s top-ranked team facing the best of Indiana, 24 total points and all five scorers under 16:10.

Meanwhile on that same date, many of the top-10 boys showed up to Jackson. Following a few weeks off, rested and ready to roll, Livonia Churchill was able to put three in the 15’s and have just enough from Wojtkowicz and Morche, claiming victory in a field as close to the D1 Finals as you’ll see in September.

Looking Forward

Whereas in previous weeks, the top teams went their separate ways, in early October, they’re now all entering the fray. Clarkston looks to be the Oakland County favorite, Canton and Livonia Churchill will duel at Willow (projections for both coming tomorrow), and Portage has:

#1 Northville
#2 Brighton
#3 Jenison
#6 Saline
#8 Kalamazoo Central
#9 Grand Haven
#10 Traverse City Central

Amongst many others.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Northville	84	6	204.6	1
2	Brighton	254	4	197.4	3
3	Jenison	263	1	198.5	2
4	Canton	368	6	195.9	4
5	Livonia Churchill	391	6	194.6	7
6	Saline	412	5	192.7	6
7	Clarkston	429	8	192.9	5
8	Kalamazoo Central	456	3	192.4	21
9	Grand Haven	466	1	193.7	8
10	Traverse City Central	506	2	191.0	11
11	Ann Arbor Pioneer	541	5	193.6	NR
12	Portage Central	550	3	189.2	10
13	East Kentwood	556	3	190.8	9
14	Oxford	559	8	191.9	12
15	Forest Hills Central	609	3	189.9	17
16	Plymouth	633	6	188.9	13
17	Utica	679	9	188.3	18
18	Macomb Dakota	722	9	186.1	15
19	Rockford	742	1	185.0	14
20	Midland	775	2	185.1	16
21	Okemos	791	2	185.3	NR
22	Highland-Milford	806	7	187.9	19
23	White Lake Lakeland	811	7	183.7	20
24	Traverse City West	833	2	184.5	23
25	Caledonia	870	3	183.4	24
26	Salem	892	6	182.1	22
27	Dexter	973	4	183.5	25

Recap

It’s been all red and pink. I thought that Holland West Ottawa’s performance at FlashRock was the best of their year, the pink Panthers were able to outdo that at Otsego. Both were wins, the former against Indiana’s best, the latter containing seven WO girls under 19.

Setting the standard for the past 1.5 seasons has been Romeo, performing in this two week stretch in the same manner that the Bulldogs always have. A perfect score in the MAC Red Championship, preceded by placing six in the top-20 at Sharp Park.

Looking Forward

They’ve been flexing muscles separately all year long. Under the Lights, Holly, FlashRock, Jackson, Otsego, now a meeting. Romeo and Holland West Ottawa. This is as close to a State Final preview as you’ll find. The main question in comparing the two teams is Romeo’s 3^rdthrough 6^th vs. West Ottawa’s 2^nd through 6^th. The numbers thus far have shown that Romeo’s pack is slightly ahead of West Ottawa. The race isn’t run on numbers.

Yes, there are other teams in the state. With the addition of Ella Abraham, Rochester’s Falcons have asserted themselves as the favorite in Oakland County. Everyone else in the top-10 is Portage.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Romeo	82	9	150.5	1
2	Holland West Ottawa	133	1	149.1	2
3	Saline	235	5	140.0	3
4	Ann Arbor Pioneer	272	5	143.4	5
5	Brighton	290	4	135.6	4
6	Rockford	334	1	133.7	6
7	Okemos	413	2	133.3	12
8	Traverse City West	439	2	129.2	7
9	Rochester	474	8	129.0	16
10	Grand Haven	493	1	128.0	8
11	Portage Central	524	3	125.0	10
12	Midland Dow	530	2	134.2	9
13	Northville	538	6	124.6	11
14	Jenison	584	1	122.7	15
15	Utica	592	9	123.1	13
16	White Lake Lakeland	623	7	121.4	14
17	Dexter	634	4	120.8	20
18	Hartland	652	4	120.9	17
19	Ann Arbor Skyline	669	4	120.2	19
20	Rochester Adams	688	8	119.8	18
21	Macomb Dakota	779	9	116.0	21
22	Hudsonville	791	1	115.6	22
23	Clarkston	813	8	114.5	24
24	Bay City Western	853	2	115.3	NR
25	Traverse City Central	880	2	112.7	25
26	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	915	3	110.9	23
27	Ann Arbor Huron	927	6	112.3	NR

Individual Rankings

Recap

Two weeks ago, we were heavily anticipating a Jackson Invite. Cooler early morning temps, Kyle O’Rourke traversing an easier, Aidan Pengelly assuring an honest pace. Neither of the two disappointed, neither did any of the field. Sharp Park was home to five of the six fastest D1 times in the State. O’Rourke pulled away in the second mile, creating enough of a gap to ensure a 15:08 victory. Carter Livermore has quietly been racking up outstanding races, he was 2^nd. Pengelly crushed his previous PR.

The lone man that didn’t run at Jackson and was able to break into that top-six was Seth Conner, whose 15:16 at Otsego showed that he’s a few weeks ahead of last year’s schedule.

Thankfully, we received a debut. Kamari Ronfeldt on the way back, taking no time in finding a win in the second SEC Jamboree. The Pioneer course isn’t the easiest ever, he was still able to cruise to victory in 15:46.

Looking Forward

Three separate spots for matchups: Oakland County, Wayne County, and Portage.

Kyle O’Rourke going for his first Oakland crown, hoping to use course knowledge to earn a victory.

Just as the teams will vie for points in the pack, Joey Rohmfeld and Aidan Pengelly will face off near the front. Of course, they’ll be joined by a Colin Murray. We saw Murray come back on the two at Rambling Rock, we’ll see if the D1 kids will alter their approach to attain a win.

And of course – Portage. Seth Conner riding the high of last week, perhaps Kamari Ronfeldt in the purple, Carter Livermore, Ethan Powell, and a gang of others.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Kyle O’Rourke	Highland-Milford	216.5
2	10	Jack MacGregor	Howell	212.6
3	11	Aiden Pengelly	Canton	212.4
4	10	Kamari Ronfeldt	Ann Arbor Pioneer	211.4
5	12	Carter Livermore	Grandville	210.6
6	12	Ethan Powell	Northville	210.5
7	12	Seth Conner	Jenison	210.3
8	12	Alexander McArthur	Oxford	207.8
9	12	Joseph Rohmfeld	Livonia Churchill	207.3
10	12	Taye Levenson	Bloomfield Hills	207.3
11	11	Jackson Lam	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	206.1
12	11	Ben Hartigan	Northville	206.0
13	12	Kian Schneeweis	Troy	205.6
14	11	Beckett Crooks	Ann Arbor Pioneer	205.0
15	10	Luka Hammond	Grand Haven	205.0
16	12	Nick Barretto	Northville	204.0
17	12	Tyler Brock	Brighton	203.2
18	12	Julian Linebaugh	Dexter	203.0
19	10	Ben Romero	Forest Hills Central	202.7
20	11	Ryan Barnes	Clarkston	202.5
21	11	Ian Morgan	Okemos	201.8
22	12	Ishaan Kundapur	Northville	201.7
23	12	James Cusick	Oxford	201.5
24	12	Ben Eisnor	Grand Haven	201.4
25	12	Lucas LaMilza	Macomb Dakota	201.1
26	12	Sawyer McCarthy	Forest Hills Central	200.9
27	11	Aron Gal	Grand Haven	200.8
28	10	Brandon Cloud	Northville	200.7
29	12	Parker Strelecki	Jenison	200.5
30	12	Evan Nickoles	East Kentwood	200.1

Recap

Winning wings were indeed spread, both in Indiana and Michigan. Sub-17’s at each, both contributions to a national top-10 ranking for Helen Sachs (it’s on MileSplit and you have to pay, such a racket. Just trust me).

Taking a careful approach and likely shooting for a November/December peak, Victoria Garces opened with a 17:17 at Cadillac, then followed with a 17:26 at Shepherd. Both were wins, both solidifying her status as one of Michigan’s top runners.

Always saving her best for the State Finals, Lucy Cook gave us a preview of her condition. Facing great competition from Natasza Dudek, Cook was able to summon just enough in Jackson’s finishing stretch to claim a win, 17:26.2 to 17:27.5.

Looking Forward

Going for four straight Oakland County crowns will be Lucy Cook. Finn, DaDamio, Belf, Goethals, Osika – none of those girls have won four County titles. Only one, Katie Boyles can make that claim. Lucy has always displayed patience while racing, a necessity to conquer the infamous double hill and emerge victorious. We’ll see if she can pull it off.

At Portage, Helen Sachs will be up to her usual shenanigans, laying waste to the field up front, hoping to set an example for her fellow Panthers looking to hit an upset. Freshmen that have already proved they can handle the sublime experience, Rachel Smith, McKinley Jones, and Natasza Dudek will gain even more of it on the star-studded Portage West MS grounds.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Helen Sachs	Holland West Ottawa	176.7
2	12	Victoria Garces	Midland Dow	170.5
3	9	Natasza Dudek	Ann Arbor Pioneer	167.2
4	9	Rachel Smith	Okemos	162.3
5	11	Natalia Guaresimo	Romeo	160.0
6	9	Emilia Garces	Midland Dow	159.0
7	11	Hana Boggess	Ann Arbor Pioneer	154.9
8	9	Sienna Klemmer	Ann Arbor Pioneer	154.5
9	9	McKinley Jones	Saline	154.0
10	12	Lucy Cook	Rochester	153.6
11	10	Daisy Cox	Rockford	152.9
12	12	Mallory Bigelow	Oxford	152.5
13	11	Lydia LaMarra	Brighton	152.1
14	10	Annie Hrabovsky	Romeo	151.7
15	12	Valerie Beeck	Grand Haven	151.4
16	12	Kaelin Hughes	Livonia Stevenson	150.5
17	10	Annabeth Hazlewood	Salem	149.9
18	12	Annie Alkema	Kalamazoo Central	148.9
19	9	Savannah Staton	Saline	148.8
20	12	Lillian Deskins	Romeo	148.2
21	12	Violet Hrabovsky	Romeo	146.8
22	12	Olivia Purdy	Romeo	145.8
23	10	Collette Wierks	Holland West Ottawa	144.9
24	11	Leah Corby	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	144.9
25	12	Emma Gunnett	Holland West Ottawa	144.8
26	11	Ava Porras	Holland West Ottawa	144.7
27	11	Emmerson Clor	Romeo	144.5
28	10	Tessa Mascari	Traverse City West	144.4
29	12	Isabelle Becker	Bay City Western	143.5
30	12	Corynn Gady	Saline	142.7

Uncategorized

2024 Rankings: Division 2, Championship Season

October 3, 2024 mixcspeedratings

Week 3

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4
Mid-Season Projections – Boys
Mid-Season Projections – Girls

Recap

We’ve gotten plenty of action between the GR area teams. Grand Rapids Christian has led the D2 contingent in the OK White, Forest Hills Eastern and East Grand Rapids trading places behind the Eagles. When the latter two traveled northeast to Bluejay, EGR was able to pull ahead, mainly based on the strength of their top-three, one of the better trios in the entire state.

Holland Christian locked heads with Grand Rapids Christian twice, at Otsego Bulldog and Cougar Falcon. The former produced a tiny upset, the Maroons winning by 2 points.

Following a dominant Spartan performance, Allendale went back on the grind, then emerged to hold serve on their home course.

Looking Forward

Haha, Portage:

#1 Allendale
#2 Grand Rapids Christian
#3 Holland Christian
#4 Alma
#5 East Grand Rapids
#6 Forest Hills Eastern
#9 Plainwell

But don’t forget about Greater Flint, where a rapidly improving Flint Powers Catholic will test Frankenmuth in an early preview of Region 15.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Allendale	198	11	195.0	1
2	Grand Rapids Christian	253	12	193.4	2
3	Holland Christian	326	11	190.0	4
4	Alma	328	14	191.8	3
5	East Grand Rapids	366	12	189.4	6
6	Forest Hills Eastern	378	12	189.9	5
7	Otsego	438	13	184.2	9
8	Frankenmuth	445	15	184.2	7
9	Plainwell	486	12	182.8	10
10	Flint Powers Catholic	530	15	185.4	15
11	Sparta	534	10	182.9	8
12	Cedar Springs	561	10	181.3	13
13	Marshall	561	13	187.5	11
14	Shepherd	602	15	182.5	12
15	Gladwin	632	10	182.5	14
16	DeWitt	731	14	176.1	17
17	Three Rivers	752	13	177.6	16
18	Pinckney	754	16	177.0	18
19	Freeland	771	15	180.2	19
20	New Boston Huron	787	18	176.6	20
21	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	838	11	177.0	22
22	Corunna	841	14	172.7	NR
23	Fremont	865	10	172.5	21
24	Zeeland East	896	11	171.6	23
25	Edwardsburg	925	13	171.0	24
26	Hudsonville Unity Christian	984	11	169.0	25
27	Adrian	1007	18	170.0	27

Recap

You had a couple huge performances from teams down the rankings. Up in Shepherd, Goodrich asserted their championship form, racing to their best overall performance of the season. Contributions from all scorers, five under 19:40. The Martians may not have the low sticks just yet, but their advantage in the pack could be enough.

Repeats on Mount Bulldog must’ve gained an advantage for Otsego, who defended their home course beautifully. PR/SR’s from their top six girls, all scorers under 20, a showing that they’re in contention for a podium spot. The Bulldogs beat #1 Zeeland East, who had a solid race. Otsego was just that good. No chance in the actual rankings, but check the point totals, they’re on the path forward.

Looking Forward

A bit more diversity than the boys side. DeWitt and Otsego taking the weekend off and Goodrich hoping to win amongst the D1/D2 teams at Greater Flint.

But there’s still Portage, with:

#1 Zeeland East
#3 Grand Rapids Christian
#4 Holland Christian
#7 East Grand Rapids
#8 Adrian
#10 Unity Christian

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Zeeland East	149	11	137.5	1
2	Goodrich	193	15	131.0	3
3	Grand Rapids Christian	208	12	130.4	2
4	Holland Christian	248	11	126.8	4
5	Otsego	266	13	130.4	5
6	DeWitt	306	14	123.5	6
7	East Grand Rapids	332	12	122.3	7
8	Adrian	395	18	124.8	8
9	Freeland	459	15	118.6	9
10	Hudsonville Unity Christian	495	11	115.0	10
11	Forest Hills Eastern	549	12	110.0	14
12	Linden	568	16	110.8	12
13	Spring Lake	579	10	109.5	15
14	St. Joseph	645	13	113.8	11
15	Grand Rapids South Christian	711	12	104.2	20
16	Ludington	724	10	108.0	18
17	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	725	18	105.8	17
18	Sturgis	748	13	108.7	19
19	Cadillac	752	10	106.4	16
20	Frankenmuth	773	15	107.3	13
21	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	859	16	99.9	24
22	Coopersville	885	11	99.6	21
23	Dearborn Divine Child	897	16	96.8	22
24	Plainwell	898	12	96.9	27
25	Shepherd	929	15	97.0	23
26	Owosso	933	14	95.9	26
27	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	999	12	96.8	NR

Individual Rankings

Recap

Continually running the even splits, TJ Hansen sped to another personal best. 4:39, 4:48, 5:14 (4:43 pace) all added up to a 14:41 at Shepherd. Behind him in the elite field were Henry Dixon and Jonah Workman, coming into his own.

Further establishing that D2 has the best individuals in the state, Jack Bidwell ripped a 14:56 at Stockbridge.

Another hub of D2 activity took place at Otsego, the patient Colin Murray running nearly 20 sec. faster than 2023 and holding off Will Engbers and Simon Triezenberg.

Looking Forward

TJ Hansen will be the lone Falcon representative at Nike Town’s Race of Champions. Gotta admire the competitive spirit, going out of state and sticking his nose in there with the Midwest’s best. I’m sure it’ll be a helpful experience in the championship races to come.

With Divine Child at Wayne County, Marshall at Calhoun County, TJ in Terredise, competition between the top dudes won’t take place. Thankfully, a little meet on the west side will play a role in determining D2’s best. Following a rare defeat at Shepherd, Henry Dixon will look to continue his winning ways. He’ll be chased by Thomas Larson, Zeke Baltierra, Jonah Workman, Simon Triezenberg, Will Engbers, amongst many others.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	TJ Hansen	Freeland	223.6
2	12	Jack Bidwell	Marshall	216.0
3	12	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child	211.8
4	12	Henry Dixon	Forest Hills Eastern	211.4
5	11	Thomas Larson	Alma	207.8
6	12	Simon Triezenberg	Grand Rapids Christian	206.0
7	10	Ezekiel Baltierra	Alma	205.8
8	11	Jonah Workman	East Grand Rapids	205.7
9	11	Bryce Gross	Flint Powers Catholic	205.5
10	12	Dominic Lowrie	Battle Creek Harper Creek	205.4
11	12	Will Engbers	Holland Christian	204.8
12	12	Jeb Hillary	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	204.3
13	12	Elijah Christensen	Gladwin	204.1
14	9	Lennox Naswell	Flint Powers Catholic	203.8
15	12	Sullivan Zietlow	Three Rivers	203.7
16	10	Bryce Cahoon	Shepherd	203.6
17	11	Edison Lopeman	Parma Western	201.8
18	10	Abraham McHugh	Marshall	201.5
19	11	Vincent Pattison	Goodrich	201.5
20	11	Moises Salazar	Adrian	200.4
21	11	Ronnie Silveira	Allendale	200.3
22	12	Kilian Whalen	Allendale	199.6
23	12	Seth Mead	Gladwin	199.5
24	12	Lucas Kuhn	New Boston Huron	199.4
25	11	Owen Metzger	Sparta	199.3
26	12	Ben Gross	Allendale	198.9
27	12	Alex Doneth	Mason	198.8
28	10	Cole McCraw	Pinckney	198.7
29	12	Jack Lillywhite	Flint Kearsley	198.6
30	12	Abatu Dykstra	Hamilton	198.3

Recap

The tour of vast improvements and stunning results has only continued for Emma Hoffman. She traveled to the land of Spotted Cow to show those Wisconsin folks one of her many sub-18’s. Then blew away the D2 field on her home course, further lowering the Otsego school record to 17:22.

Other than Emma, not too much movement in the individual rankings. Ava Schafer quietly running her 17:40’s and winning in the CAAC Red, Emma Drnek and Courtney Bovair continually lowering their school records, Elena Figueroa dominatingly winning in the SMAC West, back-to-back sub-18’s for Katie Berkshire. Normally, any one of these would result in a drastic move, however, these girls just match each other in great performances.

Looking Forward

Again, a separating of the top folks. Emma and her Bulldog girls having the weekend off, Ava preparing for Greater Lansing. Portage again saves the day, with Katie Berkshire, Emma Drnek, Elena Figueroa, and Courtney Bovair all facing one another.

In championship action, perhaps Natalie Foltz in line for a Greater Flint crown? Mea D’Agostino hoping to crack the top-five against Oakland County’s best?

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Emma Hoffman	Otsego	168.2
2	10	Ava Schafer	St. Johns	164.2
3	11	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord	159.9
4	12	Emma Drnek	Zeeland East	159.0
5	12	Elena Figueroa	St. Joseph	156.1
6	12	Courtney Bovair	Carleton Airport	155.8
7	10	Clara Kaczor	Freeland	153.6
8	11	Berkley Holtz	Sturgis	151.0
9	10	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney	148.7
10	12	Sophy Skeels	Adrian	147.2
11	11	Natalie Foltz	Frankenmuth	146.9
12	11	Ellie Scholma	Grand Rapids Christian	144.9
13	12	Ayla Holben	DeWitt	144.6
14	10	Adeline Armstrong	East Grand Rapids	144.2
15	11	Marie Gates	Hudsonville Unity Christian	143.8
16	10	Ayda Skeels	Adrian	143.0
17	9	Adalyn Raab	Zeeland East	142.1
18	12	Mea D’Agostino	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	141.2
19	10	Johanna Mulder	Holland	140.9
20	12	Grace Evanoff	Flint Powers Catholic	140.3
21	11	Meredith Cook	Zeeland East	139.3
22	10	Alivia Ottinger	Goodrich	138.8
23	10	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington	137.7
24	9	Remie Ellis	Eaton Rapids	137.4
25	12	Ava Crews	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	137.1
26	11	Lilah Poel	Grand Rapids Christian	137.1
27	9	Avery Engbers	Holland Christian	136.6
28	10	Mia May	Sparta	136.4
29	12	Kamryn Lauinger	Goodrich	135.5
30	10	Lane Isom	Richland Gull Lake	134.8