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Entering the year as the #1 ranked team, all eyes were on Johannesburg-Lewiston. Similarly to their boys team, the girls weren’t able to run their full squad at the 2021 State Finals, missing Natalie Zochowski, who was their 3^rd girl for much of that season. As they would return their entire top seven (plus add another potential contributor from the Gascho clan), hopes were high heading into 2022.

Of course, there were challengers. Whitmore Lake has been adding young talent recently, with more to come in the future. Hillsdale Academy has a strong tradition. Lutheran Northwest captured the 4x800m title in the spring. Harbor Springs was moving down from Division Three. There were no guarantees.

This became apparent in mid-September, the heat at Forest Akers teaching you a necessary early season lesson. The Cardinals finished 12^th in the White Division, six spots behind another D4 contender, Kingston. Looking back, it’s easy to understand why they finished so far back, Madalyn Agren unable to finish, two of the Gascho trio not toeing the line. But in the moment, a setback can trend towards a downward spiral or snap a team into shape.

Meanwhile, down south, Whitmore Lake was laying waste to any small school in the Metro area. The MIAC Conference may be one of the more stacked girls leagues in the state, featuring three top-10 teams. The Trojans swept the three league meets and even hung with the bigger schools at invites such as New Balance and Stockbridge. They did suffer a defeat, however, those Hillsdale Academy Colts coming out of Holly with a narrow victory.

With a win at Portage over a strong D4 field, it appeared as if Johannesburg-Lewiston had learned the lessons dumped upon them at Spartan and were primed for a run towards a state title. Yolanda Gascho had debuted with two consecutive sub-20’s, Agren had established herself as a steady third girl, the pieces were in place with nothing to stop these girls.

Until Northern Michigan and Regionals, where Harbor Springs made their bid. At Region 28, the Rams were able to show out with six of their top seven hitting a personal best, in the process putting four girls in front of Johannesburg’s third, laying the blueprint for an upset the following week. Would Johannesburg fall victim again, allowing Hillsdale Academy, Whitmore Lake, or Harbor Springs steal a crown? Or would they dress for revenge and grab it for their own self?  

WEEKLY RANKINGS

State Place	Team	Summer	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Champ Season	County Week	League Week	State Proj.
1	Johannesburg-Lewiston	1	1	1	3	1	1	1	1
2	Hillsdale Academy	2	2	2	2	4	3	3	4
3	Whitmore Lake	3	3	3	1	2	2	2	3
4	Kingston	6	8	10	7	7	7	7	6
5	Harbor Springs	8	7	8	9	3	4	4	2
6	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	5	6	7	5	6	5	5	5
7	Leland	NR	11	18	17	14	14	NR	11
8	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	4	5	5	6	8	9	11	9
9	Unionville-Sebewaing	11	4	4	4	5	6	6	7
10	Buckley	12	17	24	12	12	10	9	12

WANTING IT MORE IN DIVISION FOUR

Eliza Keith, Auburn Hills Oakland Christian: Thanks to her surprise showing at the 2021 State Finals, Eliza came into the year as one of the higher ranked returners. Her 19:28 then was one of a few sub-20 efforts. She greatly expanded on her 19 min. 5k portfolio this fall, winning her division at Holly and Whitmore Lake, finishing second in the MIAC, Region 36, and here.

Adelaida Gascho, Johannesburg-Lewiston: After seven months off, racing might feel a bit strange. Adelaida has had two All-State honors in her career, a personal best in the low-19’s. Her senior year has looked a bit different, debuting in late October, running above 21:00. But this was the role the Cardinals needed her to be in. She ran consistent 6:50’s, moving up throughout the race to be the fastest fourth girl on any team, clinching a state title for Johannesburg-Lewiston.

Madi Hare, Plymouth Christian Academy: As the girls races commenced, the winds began to howl, the personal bests all but impossible. Well, except for Madi, one of five girls to run their best time ever. That personal best was part of a late season surge, where she’s raced under 21:00 in four of her final six races, placing top-10 in the MIAC and Region 33, then 11^th here.

Gracy Walker, Kingston: Although the top 10 girls teams largely remained static throughout the year, Kingston was one that was on a championship season rise. The Cardinals won the NCTL and Region 35, finished third at Thumb Area, and fourth here. As Kingston has ascended, as has Gracy. Prior to October, much of her year was spent above 22:00. Her regional effort may have been her best time-wise, but her performance at MIS was easily the most impressive. Her 20:33 gave Gracy her second consecutive All-State.

Natalie Gibbs, Birmingham Roeper: Early on, it appeared Natalie might not recapture the freshman form that led her to a 23^rd place finish. Over 22:00 at Holly and Oakland County, maybe it wasn’t meant to be. But beginning in mid-October, she began to put it together, racking up a bunch of mid-20 efforts, leading to another incredible State Finals, where the Roeper sophomore brought home her second All-State medal.

Aiden Harrand, Buckley: Aiden has racked up track titles, three in her first two years, but the cross-country championship has eluded her. Supported by her little team, she was undefeated against D4 competition all year. That winning streak continued onto State, where she quickly disposed of the competition en route to a 15 second victory.

Adjustment: +5

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating
11	Aiden Harrand	19:05.9	Buckley	136.4
10	Eliza Keith	19:20.0	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	131.7
10	Allie Nowak	19:20.8	Johannesburg-Lewiston	131.4
9	Carina Burchi	19:22.2	Whitmore Lake	130.9
11	Ava Teed	19:55.9	Allen Park Cabrini	119.7
9	Sadie Schout	20:00.9	Libertas Christian	118.1
9	Yolanda Gascho	20:04.2	Johannesburg-Lewiston	116.9
12	Petra Foote	20:05.2	Grand Traverse Academy	116.6
9	Rowan Allen	20:10.9	Mendon	114.7
12	Megan Roberts	20:11.0	Hillsdale Academy	114.7
9	Madi Hare	20:11.4	Plymouth Christian Academy	114.5
12	Erika Van Loton	20:12.0	Huron Valley Lutheran	114.3
10	Izzy Brooks	20:13.6	Adrian Lenawee Christian	113.8
9	Ruth Brownlee	20:16.6	Hillsdale Academy	112.8
10	Ella Knudsen	20:19.8	Leland	111.7
11	Allison Glendening	20:23.7	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	110.4
10	Natalie Gibbs	20:26.2	Birmingham Roeper	109.6
10	Ava Mallar	20:27.4	Pittsford	109.2
11	Isabella Yeoman	20:29.1	Genesee	108.7
11	Leah Zarrilli	20:29.9	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	108.4
10	Juniper Rodham	20:31.7	Harbor Springs	107.8
9	Cieara Barrett	20:31.9	Concord	107.7
12	Ashlyn Kephart	20:32.5	Lansing Christian	107.5
11	Gracy Walker	20:33.0	Kingston	107.4
11	Natalie Meadows	20:33.1	Whitmore Lake	107.3
9	Lauren Niedzielski	20:33.7	Mason County Eastern	107.1
10	Lucy Shoup	20:35.2	Mason County Eastern	106.6
11	Miriam Murrell	20:35.6	Gaylord St. Mary	106.5
11	Brooke Smith	20:37.3	Pittsford	105.9
10	Hannah Geaney	20:38.6	Wyoming Potter’s House	105.5
12	Mackenzie Lemke	20:49.7	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	101.8
12	Anna Mitchell	20:52.5	Lake Leelanau St. Mary	100.8
9	Lilah Kiley	20:52.8	Kingston	100.8
10	Stephanie Hernandez	20:52.9	Addison	100.7
12	Helana Napiorkowski	20:55.3	Austin Catholic	99.9
12	Maze Gusa	20:55.5	Ubly	99.8
12	Sydney Van Es	20:56.8	Kalamazoo Hackett	99.4
12	Grace Thorpe	20:57.0	Harbor Springs	99.3
12	Kaylee Locke	21:01.3	Beal City	97.9
10	Jane Manthei	21:02.1	Petoskey St. Michael	97.6
10	Presley Allen	21:02.6	Mendon	97.5
10	Ella Walton	21:05.3	Hillsdale Academy	96.6
9	Madison Cooley	21:06.1	Gobles	96.3
12	Julia Jones	21:09.0	Grand Traverse Academy	95.3
12	Gabriella Reinbold	21:09.3	Unionville-Sebewaing	95.2
10	Isabelle Eppert	21:10.3	Farwell	94.9
10	Abigail Davis	21:13.5	Vestaburg	93.8
9	Taylor Wiegand	21:15.9	Livingston Christian	93
11	Madalyn Agren	21:17.1	Johannesburg-Lewiston	92.7
12	Sophia Sanford	21:18.1	Deckerville	92.3
12	Ariana Rodriguez	21:20.7	Leland	91.4
11	Josie Dubuc	21:21.1	Novi Christian Academy	91.3
10	Kyra Beemer	21:24.4	Brown City	90.2
12	Adelaida Gascho	21:26.9	Johannesburg-Lewiston	89.4
9	Addison Chownyk	21:27.8	Frankfort	89.1
10	Meeghan Flikkie	21:29.5	Kingston	88.5
9	Molly Walker	21:31.8	Kingston	87.7
11	Rosalinda Gascho	21:32.2	Johannesburg-Lewiston	87.6
10	Reece Wruble	21:32.4	Harbor Beach	87.5
12	Madeleine Barge	21:32.9	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	87.4
9	Emersyn Bachelder	21:34.0	Morenci	87
11	Alberta Reinbold	21:35.0	Unionville-Sebewaing	86.7
9	Brooklynn Frazee	21:37.0	Buckley	86
12	Julia Troxel	21:37.7	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	85.8
10	Mya Denoyer	21:37.8	Leland	85.7
10	Ada Grubaugh	21:38.7	Frankfort	85.4
10	Erica Walker	21:40.1	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	85
10	Kelcie Pung	21:40.3	Fowler	84.9
9	Lizzie Bassett	21:40.9	Harbor Springs	84.7
9	Ally Schmitz	21:41.2	Breckenridge	84.6
9	Abby Brownlee	21:41.7	Hillsdale Academy	84.4
11	Jacqueline Morton	21:42.0	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	84.3
12	Natalie Zochowski	21:42.6	Johannesburg-Lewiston	84.1
11	Ivy Andreas	21:45.2	Wyoming Potter’s House	83.3
12	Whitney Wilkinson	21:45.9	Hillsdale Academy	83
12	Aliz Pusztai	21:48.3	Libertas Christian	82.2
9	Elodie Weaver	21:50.3	Whitmore Lake	81.6
9	Kaya Rose	21:50.6	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	81.5
10	Tara Shouldice	21:53.0	Harbor Springs	80.7
9	Katie Sweeney	21:54.9	Ubly	80
12	Autumn Wakefield	21:57.3	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	79.2
9	Sofia Robertson	21:58.8	Whitmore Lake	78.7
10	Taylor Lautermilch	22:03.4	Camden-Frontier	77.2
10	Ava Wilson	22:03.7	Fruitport Calvary Christian	77.1
10	Brooke Sonnenberg	22:04.1	Genesee Christian Academy	77
12	Dani VanLente	22:04.6	Tekonsha	76.8
12	Brooke Craven	22:05.2	Whitmore Lake	76.6
11	Abby Rice	22:07.3	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	75.9
10	Elke Knauf	22:07.7	East Jordan	75.8
12	Anna Wolfe	22:09.2	Frankfort	75.3
11	Abby Kunkle	22:11.5	Libertas Christian	74.5
11	Lilli Stanzel	22:11.6	Colon	74.5
11	Morgan McNally	22:12.3	Acad Of The Sacred Heart	74.2
10	Sarah Nimtz	22:12.4	Unionville-Sebewaing	74.2
12	Cally Camara	22:12.7	Muskegon Catholic Central	74.1
11	Mya Guillermo	22:12.8	Novi Christian Academy	74.1
12	Abigail Guza	22:13.6	Ubly	73.8
11	Kendall Zaliwski	22:14.2	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	73.6
10	Riley McCumber	22:14.8	Pittsford	73.4
9	Emma Riker	22:16.6	Kalamazoo Hackett	72.8
10	Isobel Malcolm	22:17.1	Royal Oak Shrine	72.6
10	Mary Riley	22:18.7	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	72.1
12	Bridgette Duncan	22:18.9	Leland	72
12	Christine Whitaker	22:20.6	East Jordan	71.5
12	Alyse Felix	22:22.4	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	70.9
11	Cora Mullins	22:23.1	Johannesburg-Lewiston	70.6
12	Natalie Malczyk	22:23.4	Huron Valley Lutheran	70.5
9	Shenoah Collier	22:24.6	Grand Traverse Academy	70.1
10	Danica Aldrich	22:24.6	Breckenridge	70.1
11	Lily Lemanski	22:26.4	Marlette	69.5
11	Olivia Wing	22:27.1	Mason County Eastern	69.3
12	Luciana Bunker	22:28.8	Indian River Inland Lakes	68.7
12	Lauren Fenstermaker	22:29.4	Indian River Inland Lakes	68.6
9	Madisyn Smith	22:29.5	Allen Park Cabrini	68.5
10	Brielle Voorhees	22:35.4	Tri-unity Christian	66.5
10	Rose Losey	22:37.3	Royal Oak Shrine	65.9
11	Lily Finnigan	22:37.6	Dryden	65.8
9	Kinsey Peer	22:37.8	Buckley	65.7
12	Cozette Brown	22:38.0	Portland St. Patrick	65.7
8	Veronica Paga	22:39.1	Petoskey St. Michael	65.3
10	Caroline Roberts	22:41.4	Hillsdale Academy	64.5
12	Hadyn Armstrong	22:43.4	Beal City	63.9
9	Addisen Harrand	22:44.0	Buckley	63.7
12	Olivia Ortell	22:44.3	Jackson Preparatory	63.6
11	Addie Curtis	22:44.4	Marcellus	63.5
12	Lily Deja	22:46.6	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	62.8
9	Fran Warren	22:46.7	Harbor Springs	62.8
12	Raini Sponseller	22:47.7	Farwell	62.4
11	Zoe Van Rijn	22:48.3	Kingston	62.2
11	Eve Herrgott	22:48.4	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	62.2
11	Karis Keith	22:48.9	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	62
10	Cambree Torma	22:49.6	Unionville-Sebewaing	61.8
9	Raley Keith	22:50.8	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	61.4
12	Olivia Peter	22:51.1	Unionville-Sebewaing	61.3
12	Josie Baker	22:51.9	Harbor Springs	61
10	Madison Sallows	22:52.0	Hillsdale Academy	61
11	Ciara Parsons	22:52.3	Whitmore Lake	60.9
9	Shelby Wisnowski	22:52.6	Charlton Heston Academy	60.8
10	Annaliese Losey	22:55.1	Royal Oak Shrine	60
12	Lauren Green	22:55.7	Unionville-Sebewaing	59.8
10	Aubrey Appleman	22:56.0	Britton Deerfield	59.7
12	Larissa Huffman	22:57.2	Mackinaw City	59.3
10	McKenzie Bowman	22:57.2	Harbor Springs	59.3
12	Grace Piggott	22:58.7	Fowler	58.8
12	Riley Sinkler	22:59.1	Lawrence	58.6
12	Dalay Ojeda	22:59.6	Adrian Lenawee Christian	58.5
10	Chloe Surhigh	23:00.1	Royal Oak Shrine	58.3
12	Michaela Kurth	23:00.2	Lutheran HS Westland	58.3
11	Sydney Feagan	23:02.7	Petoskey St. Michael	57.4
11	Paige Bell	23:05.4	Grand Traverse Academy	56.5
9	Katelyn Van Es	23:06.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	56.3
11	Riley Adams	23:07.7	Concord	55.8
12	Maura Gum	23:08.7	Royal Oak Shrine	55.4
12	Zoey Breznik	23:10.2	Adrian Lenawee Christian	54.9
11	Tori Most	23:10.7	Breckenridge	54.8
12	Vanessa Peltoniemi	23:11.1	Holton	54.6
9	Julianne Mounce	23:12.4	Kalamazoo Hackett	54.2
12	Emma McKinley	23:14.7	Gaylord St. Mary	53.4
9	Acacia Williams	23:15.4	Holland Calvary Christian	53.2
10	Isabella Nelson-Daniels	23:16.5	Whitmore Lake	52.8
12	Emma Burrell	23:18.7	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	52.1
12	Kassidy Kleinheksel	23:26.3	Muskegon Catholic Central	49.6
10	Lilly Leppert	23:27.2	Beal City	49.3
9	Hailey McGuire	23:30.6	Kingston	48.1
11	Carissa Shedd	23:30.6	Tekonsha	48.1
10	Jessica Penrod	23:37.1	Vestaburg	46
10	Lauryn Licari	23:37.1	Beal City	46
10	Abby Ulbrich	23:37.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	45.9
10	Julia Silva	23:37.5	Farwell	45.8
12	Corinne Ritter	23:39.7	Lansing Christian	45.1
10	Rita Luhring	23:41.1	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	44.6
11	Grace O’Hare	23:41.8	Fowler	44.4
11	Abby Schrauben	23:42.3	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	44.2
10	Addyson Thormeier	23:44.0	Farwell	43.7
10	Nataly Vine	23:47.6	Breckenridge	42.5
11	Leah Rorick	23:49.3	Morenci	41.9
11	Macey Burgess	23:51.6	Colon	41.1
12	Stephanie Suran	23:52.9	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	40.7
11	Leah Kroge	23:56.9	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	39.4
10	Jamielynn Delarye	23:58.2	White Pigeon	38.9
12	Milla Klomp	24:03.7	Buckley	37.1
10	Olivia Leahy	24:05.1	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	36.6
10	Priya Mericle	24:06.4	East Jackson	36.2
10	Brianna Locke	24:07.5	Beal City	35.8
11	Alleah Dix	24:09.7	Grand Traverse Academy	35.1
9	Aribel Mills	24:09.9	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	35
12	Meg Gleeson	24:10.4	Royal Oak Shrine	34.9
12	Emily Folkert	24:12.8	Libertas Christian	34.1
11	Ava Butera	24:13.3	Grand Traverse Academy	33.9
11	Lillie Tscirhart	24:13.6	Grand Traverse Academy	33.8
10	Hannah Stimer	24:16.4	Concord	32.9
11	Isabelle Schrauben	24:16.8	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	32.7
9	Marisa Toonstra	24:20.3	Wyoming Potter’s House	31.6
11	Mimi Hibbard	24:23.1	St Philip Catholic Central	30.6
12	Remi Sponseller	24:27.3	Farwell	29.2
11	Lydia VerBeek	24:28.6	Wyoming Potter’s House	28.8
9	Paige Zeigler	24:30.4	Kalamazoo Hackett	28.2
11	Emily Greyerbiehl	24:39.6	Ubly	25.1
11	Sydney Amondson	24:46.1	Wyoming Potter’s House	23
9	Taylor Zinsmaster	24:49.6	Mendon	21.8
12	Lilly Backus	24:51.6	Beal City	21.1
10	Hannah Hysell	24:53.8	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	20.4
11	Amabel Schwaiger	24:59.6	Leland	18.5
11	Kate Wehrman	24:59.8	Libertas Christian	18.4
10	Megan Peter	25:02.5	Unionville-Sebewaing	17.5
10	Tess Tillman	25:04.5	Royal Oak Shrine	16.8
9	Kayla Milarch	25:10.3	Buckley	14.9
9	Bethany Carpenter	25:11.4	Kalamazoo Hackett	14.5
10	Natalie Cross	25:15.8	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	13.1
12	Jessie Burns	25:17.8	Clarkston Everest Collegiate	12.4
9	Kylie Bobo	25:21.1	Wyoming Potter’s House	11.3
10	Bella Davis	25:23.4	Beal City	10.5
10	Nowell Van Rijn	25:28.2	Kingston	8.9
12	Emilee Jagielski	25:28.7	Pittsford	8.8
11	Natalie Halloway	25:32.4	Buckley	7.5
9	Evalynne Bell	25:33.8	Farwell	7.1
10	Areyel Weiss	25:36.1	Breckenridge	6.3
11	Rebecca Smith	25:36.9	Fowler	6
11	Aran Harris	25:42.2	Ubly	4.3
12	Sara Kooistra	25:46.2	Wyoming Potter’s House	2.9

The question in the summer was – how much would the addition of Jackson Rodriguez and Ian Palacios impact The Potter’s House, and would that impact be enough for a state title? Ian, coming back from injury and Jackson, fully committed to XC after an excellent track season, were welcome additions to the duo of Lezawe Osterink (the defending state champion) and Logan Swiney (a 2x all-stater in his own right).

Their title campaign started off with a banger of an opener, crushing a field of D1 and D2 teams at Under the Lights. Placing five runners under 17:10, the question shifted from a shot at the title to a shot at the all-time low point total. Undaunted by those lofty expectations, the Pumas still went about their business, capturing titles at Allendale Falcon, Portage, the Alliance League, and Region 31 before last week’s fateful day.

With such a heavy favorite occupying the top spot, attention shifted towards the battle for the other podium spot. In the Region 28 preview, I had remarked about how Petoskey St. Michael would need to add numbers to establish a contender, and boy did they ever find some athletes. The Guardians always find a few, this season it was two freshmen, Lynus Cadarette and Cody Bradley, both of whom were able to find sub-18 marks by the end of the year.

Early in the fall, it appeared as if St. Michael and Johannesburg-Lewiston were on a collision course for altercations at Regionals and State. That thought was based on Johannesburg bringing a full squad. As the year wore on, the injury bug found its way to the Cardinals, both Malaki Gascho and Ronin Vaden missing many mid-season meets. With COVID wrecking their title chances in 2021, Coach Marcum’s squad could have given up and folded, but they were determined to not let that happen, finally pulling together a complete squad at Region 28. After St. Michael took victory between the two squads at Portage, Johannesburg captured the Regional trophy, and we were all set for a state showdown.

WEEKLY RANKINGS

Place	Team	Summer	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Champ Season	County Week	League Week	State Proj.
1	The Potter’s House	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
2	Johannesburg-Lewiston	2	2	2	2	5	5	5	2
3	Petoskey St. Michael	NR	3	3	3	2	2	2	3
4	Hillsdale Academy	3	6	6	6	4	4	4	6
5	Three Oaks River Valley	7	9	10	9	9	8	8	5
6	Whitmore Lake	12	14	8	8	8	9	7	9
7	Mason County Eastern	13	8	7	7	7	7	10	8
8	Adrian Lenawee Christian	4	4	4	5	6	6	6	7
9	Harbor Springs	6	5	5	4	3	3	3	4
10	Frankfort	18	15	11	11	17	10	9	10

WANTING IT MORE IN DIVISION FOUR

Ian Palacios, The Potter’s House: This was Ian’s second trip to MIS, his efforts two years apart. As a freshman, he placed 80^th, running well above his season best. His junior year, 11^th, nearly matching his effort from Under the Lights. He’s absorbed much adversity, both missing his sophomore year and missing considerable time throughout this September and October, but battled back to help the Pumas grab the all-time lowest point total in Division 4 history.

Wyoming Potter’s House winning score of 35 is the lowest in D4 history. Their team margin of 66 points is the third-biggest in D4 history.

The 1-2-3 by Potter’s House boys was the first-ever such sweep in D4 history. It had only been done 3 times earlier in any division. (7/10)

— Jeff Hollobaugh (@michtrack) November 6, 2022

Malaki Gascho, Johannesburg-Lewiston: Like Palacios, Malaki missed quite a bit of time throughout the season. After sitting out over two months’ worth of races, he finally started his comeback at Region 28, placing 8^th in 17:22. At State, a patient strategy paid off. Ki was 5:44 at the mile, 94^th place. Over the final 3400 meters, he moved up 65 places, nabbing that second to last All-State spot, a great contributor to the Cardinals obtaining the second place trophy.

Adair Artis, Concord: The Yellowjacket senior has seen improvement each and every year. 18:42 to 18:11, 17:06 to 16:29. Those last two years have resulted in a guy that has accomplished two All-States and a Regional Championship.

Reece Poole, Hillsdale Academy: What a leap from his freshman to sophomore year. Just last year, Reece was barely under 19:00 and wasn’t part of the Chargers’ state outfit. This time around, under 17:00 for the first time ever and 13^th place.

Evan Suydam, Petersburg-Summerfield: Ever since his 24^th place finish at 2021’s State Finals, Evan has been a consistent figure for the Bulldogs. His senior year brought about many honors – another All-Region selection, another top-5 finish in the TCC, and best yet, another All-State medal.

Cameron Griffin, Whitmore Lake: Of the 249 competitors in the first race of the day, only 13 crossed the line in a SR or PR, Cameron being one of them. The Whitmore Lake junior gave us a season full of ups and downs, 17:2x performances mixed in with 20:00+ efforts. But he brought it on the big day, helping his Trojans grab a 6^th place finish.

Adjustment: +5

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating
12	Lezawe Osterink	15:36.8	Wyoming Potter’s House	204.4
12	Logan Swiney	16:00.9	Wyoming Potter’s House	196.4
11	Jackson Rodriguez	16:07.2	Wyoming Potter’s House	194.3
12	Dakota Dykhuis	16:10.4	Montabella	193.2
12	Tyler Bays	16:16.9	Reading	191.0
12	Jacob Wartenberg	16:17.9	Johannesburg-Lewiston	190.7
12	Cal Benjamin	16:27.9	Harbor Springs	187.4
11	Owen Patton	16:29.2	Vestaburg	186.9
12	Adair Artis	16:29.6	Concord	186.8
12	Christopher Russelburg	16:37.0	Allen Park Cabrini	184.3
11	Ian Palacios	16:42.9	Wyoming Potter’s House	182.4
11	Thomas Holm	16:46.6	Hillsdale Academy	181.1
10	Reece Poole	16:54.4	Hillsdale Academy	178.5
12	Skylar Werden	16:59.1	Frankfort	177.0
12	Evan Suydam	17:00.2	Petersburg-Summerfield	176.6
11	Blake Fox	17:00.5	Johannesburg-Lewiston	176.5
9	Landon Rogers	17:01.9	Three Oaks River Valley	176.0
12	Nathan Wing	17:03.0	Mason County Eastern	175.7
12	Macartan Moore	17:04.5	Petoskey St. Michael	175.2
12	Braylan Majesky	17:09.3	Whitmore Lake	173.6
11	Michael Allen	17:11.6	East Jackson	172.8
12	Logan Cooper	17:13.3	Potterville	172.2
11	Aiden Fitchett	17:13.5	Dryden	172.2
12	Alex Meszaros	17:14.3	Riverview Gabriel Richard	171.9
11	Luke Sprague	17:15.6	St Philip Catholic Central	171.5
9	Lynus Cadarette	17:15.9	Petoskey St. Michael	171.4
9	Grayson Rorick	17:16.0	Hillsdale Academy	171.3
12	Ronin Vaden	17:16.0	Johannesburg-Lewiston	171.3
11	Malaki Gascho	17:17.3	Johannesburg-Lewiston	170.9
11	Noah Finton	17:18.0	Wyoming Potter’s House	170.7
11	Cameron Griffin	17:19.3	Whitmore Lake	170.2
11	TJ Donnan	17:22.6	Southfield Christian	169.1
10	Tyler Laansma	17:23.2	Tri-unity Christian	168.9
12	John Schoen	17:28.0	Capac	167.3
11	Abe VanDuinen	17:28.5	Pentwater	167.2
9	Pierson Cousino	17:29.3	Adrian Lenawee Christian	166.9
12	Zachary Maendel	17:30.1	Petoskey St. Michael	166.6
11	Gavin Sehy	17:31.3	Kalamazoo Hackett	166.2
11	Adam Townsend	17:33.6	Frankfort	165.5
12	Owen Gross	17:33.7	Beal City	165.4
12	Brandon Thompson	17:35.6	Petersburg-Summerfield	164.8
9	Timothy Chamberlain	17:36.2	Portland St. Patrick	164.6
12	Jacob Skidmore	17:36.2	Novi Christian Academy	164.6
11	Sawyer Stoneman	17:37.0	Breckenridge	164.3
9	Charlie Gibson	17:38.1	Three Oaks River Valley	164.0
8	Riley Weed	17:39.0	Holland Calvary Christian	163.7
9	Cody Bradley	17:39.1	Petoskey St. Michael	163.6
11	Ezra Hagedorn	17:39.2	Wyoming Potter’s House	163.6
10	Adam Slavens	17:41.0	Three Oaks River Valley	163.0
11	Tyler Lenn	17:41.3	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	162.9
12	Lars Huffman	17:41.9	Mackinaw City	162.7
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:42.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	162.6
11	Utah Gusa	17:42.5	Ubly	162.5
10	Alex Tyndall	17:43.2	Mason County Eastern	162.3
9	Cole Bates	17:43.8	Concord	162.1
9	Abenezer Cerone	17:46.6	Royal Oak Shrine	161.1
10	Rodney Iamurri	17:47.1	Saginaw Nouvel	161.0
9	Benjamin Lauber	17:47.5	Johannesburg-Lewiston	160.8
12	Grant Long	17:47.7	Adrian Lenawee Christian	160.8
12	Jackson Kulawiak	17:49.4	Buckley	160.2
11	Austin York	17:49.7	Three Oaks River Valley	160.1
11	Javin Mericle	17:50.7	East Jackson	159.8
12	Ethan Green	17:51.6	Kingston	159.5
11	Nathan Daniels	17:51.7	Adrian Lenawee Christian	159.4
12	Chase Snell	17:52.1	Grand Traverse Academy	159.3
12	Kade Spahr	17:52.4	Pittsford	159.2
11	Trevor Clarke	17:52.5	Harbor Springs	159.2
10	Jeremiah Witt	17:52.7	Johannesburg-Lewiston	159.1
11	Owen McLoughlin	17:56.4	St. Joseph Our Lady of the Lake Catholic	157.9
12	Gavin Hancox	17:57.6	Gobles	157.5
10	Mason Sinke	17:58.3	Bear Lake-Onekama	157.2
11	Connor Rouse	17:58.8	Genesee	157.1
9	Kristian Coon	17:58.9	Carson City-Crystal	157.0
11	Alex Wanty	17:59.3	Hale	156.9
12	Easton Jager	18:00.0	Brown City	156.7
11	Gavin Helgeson	18:01.1	Mayville	156.3
9	Brody Karg	18:01.6	Harbor Beach	156.1
11	Luke Douglas	18:02.5	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	155.8
9	Henry Kruzel	18:02.7	Harbor Springs	155.8
12	Bryson Bachelder	18:04.0	Morenci	155.3
10	Isaac Bignall	18:04.1	Unionville-Sebewaing	155.3
11	Max Shugars	18:04.2	St Philip Catholic Central	155.3
12	Caleb Diener	18:04.5	Hillsdale Academy	155.2
9	Edward Mugisha	18:05.7	Wyoming Potter’s House	154.8
12	Isaac Waldron	18:05.9	Concord	154.7
11	Kaden Forward	18:06.5	Bear Lake-Onekama	154.5
9	Landen Livingston	18:06.7	Whitmore Lake	154.4
12	Dennis Wilson	18:07.9	Novi Christian Academy	154.0
12	Adam Moore	18:08.3	Plymouth Christian Academy	153.9
10	Russell Vandermus	18:09.1	Petoskey St. Michael	153.6
11	Jacob Lyonnais	18:11.4	Muskegon Catholic Central	152.9
12	Lucas Lange	18:13.2	Adrian Lenawee Christian	152.3
11	Carter Follett	18:13.3	Merrill	152.2
11	Levi Benzing	18:13.3	Petoskey St. Michael	152.2
11	Charlie DeVries	18:13.4	Byron Center Zion Christian	152.2
11	Owen Lyonnais	18:14.0	Muskegon Catholic Central	152.0
11	Jeffery Harden	18:14.3	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	151.9
10	Sean O’Grady	18:14.5	Saginaw Nouvel	151.8
11	Luke Niedzielski	18:14.9	Mason County Eastern	151.7
9	Carson Burgess	18:15.3	Brown City	151.6
10	Seth Slater	18:16.8	Southfield Christian	151.1
11	Reily Henderson	18:17.1	Whitmore Lake	151.0
10	Turlough Bennett	18:18.8	Marlette	150.4
12	Caleb Howard	18:19.4	Webberville	150.2
11	Jobe Skaff	18:19.8	Novi Christian Academy	150.1
9	Sean Siems	18:20.9	Kalamazoo Hackett	149.7
10	Ryan Blankenship	18:22.4	Eau Claire	149.2
9	Max Brannan	18:24.2	Lutheran HS Westland	148.6
12	Merrick Michaelson	18:24.7	West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy	148.4
11	Mitchel Daniels	18:25.6	Pentwater	148.1
11	Isaac Humm	18:27.8	Breckenridge	147.4
10	Kaleb Brown	18:28.1	Pentwater	147.3
12	Dean Moshier	18:28.8	Auburn Hills Oakland Christian	147.1
10	Ron Hasenbank	18:29.3	Mason County Eastern	146.9
9	Oliver Mitchell	18:29.4	Lake Leelanau St. Mary	146.9
12	Devin Dudley	18:29.5	Brown City	146.8
10	Nate Dillon	18:29.8	Whitmore Lake	146.7
11	Peter Hybza	18:31.0	Mason County Eastern	146.3
10	Joel Enos	18:32.6	Mayville	145.8
11	Kutter Vanaken	18:33.2	Reading	145.6
9	Jesse Fielis	18:33.4	White Pigeon	145.5
11	Trevor Feldpausch	18:34.3	Fowler	145.2
12	Arline Lile	18:34.9	Royal Oak Shrine	145.0
12	Matthew Zammit Jr.	18:35.7	Marine City	144.8
9	Cole Upper	18:35.9	Lincoln-Alcona	144.7
10	Jacob Chamberlain	18:38.3	East Jordan	143.9
9	Michael Bowker	18:38.4	Royal Oak Shrine	143.9
12	Andrew Vogel	18:40.0	Ubly	143.3
11	Christopher Gonzales	18:40.8	Mayville	143.1
8	Noah Schipper	18:41.2	Holland Calvary Christian	143.0
9	Keith Crompton	18:41.5	Frankfort	142.8
10	Sean Driscoll	18:42.4	Three Oaks River Valley	142.6
9	Kole Franzel	18:43.2	Mayville	142.3
10	Tom Shafer	18:44.0	Lutheran HS Westland	142.0
12	Johnny Benko	18:44.8	Riverview Gabriel Richard	141.7
10	Carroll Robotham	18:45.0	Frankfort	141.7
8	Christian Getz	18:45.3	Holland Calvary Christian	141.6
11	Isaac Zammit	18:46.2	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	141.3
10	Teddy Krieger	18:47.1	Harbor Springs	141.0
10	Diego BoCole	18:47.3	Jackson Preparatory	140.9
12	Garret Ensor	18:50.3	Buckley	139.9
10	Joel Lange	18:51.9	Adrian Lenawee Christian	139.4
11	Ryan Williams	18:52.0	Novi Christian Academy	139.3
9	Adam Ferguson	18:57.0	Harbor Springs	137.7
8	Gibson White	18:57.1	Holland Calvary Christian	137.6
12	Vincenzo Lewan	18:57.2	Plymouth Christian Academy	137.6
11	Clay Shoup	18:57.3	Mason County Eastern	137.6
11	Jeffrey McGuire	18:57.4	Lutheran HS Westland	137.6
11	Logan Kihnke	18:59.5	Harbor Springs	136.8
10	Henry Malburg	19:00.8	Mason County Eastern	136.4
10	Ben Iobe	19:04.7	Mendon	135.1
12	Silas Schultz	19:04.9	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	135.0
9	Cole Brege	19:07.3	Rogers City	134.2
11	Owen Slavens	19:10.2	Three Oaks River Valley	133.3
10	Ronaldo Rivas	19:10.6	Whitmore Lake	133.1
11	Aiden O’Dwyer	19:11.7	Frankfort	132.8
9	Emmanuel Mehari	19:12.3	Plymouth Christian Academy	132.6
12	Dominic Catallo	19:12.7	Lutheran HS Westland	132.4
11	Ethan Workman	19:12.8	Brown City	132.4
12	Trevor Moody	19:14.5	Frankfort	131.8
12	Drew Peckens	19:15.3	Webberville	131.6
9	Michael Walsh	19:15.6	Ubly	131.5
11	Braiden Brooks	19:15.8	Three Oaks River Valley	131.4
12	Luke Witte	19:16.0	Lutheran HS Westland	131.3
8	Zeke Williams	19:16.4	Holland Calvary Christian	131.2
9	Gavin Howery	19:17.5	Webberville	130.8
11	Dusty Layman	19:18.7	Johannesburg-Lewiston	130.4
12	Josh Jensen	19:21.5	Petersburg-Summerfield	129.5
12	Wynn Blake	19:21.7	Brown City	129.4
12	Jesse Jones	19:23.6	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	128.8
9	Sean Bernard	19:25.3	Hale	128.2
10	Theodore Gault	19:27.1	Petersburg-Summerfield	127.6
10	Alex Richards	19:27.3	Hillsdale Academy	127.6
9	Max Vroman	19:27.7	Harbor Springs	127.5
9	Henry Lindley	19:28.6	Hillsdale Academy	127.1
12	James Davis	19:28.9	Pentwater	127.0
12	Guy Chamberlain	19:30.6	East Jordan	126.5
11	Tyler DeYoung	19:34.1	Ellsworth	125.3
12	Mitchell Graveline	19:35.6	Royal Oak Shrine	124.8
9	Zyan Breznik	19:35.9	Adrian Lenawee Christian	124.7
10	Chandler Lafler	19:37.9	Colon	124.0
10	Lleyton Bauman	19:38.1	Concord	124.0
10	Camden Fager	19:40.7	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	123.1
10	Jack Luzynski	19:41.7	Marine City	122.8
11	Landon Dekoski	19:45.2	Ubly	121.6
9	Aiden Sprague	19:45.3	Beal City	121.6
9	Wyatt Roberts	19:47.3	Pentwater	120.9
12	Donald Blakeley	19:47.7	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	120.8
11	Max Procissi	19:49.4	Marine City	120.2
11	Ryan Casterline	19:50.1	St Philip Catholic Central	120.0
10	Joseph Kemp	19:52.5	Royal Oak Shrine	119.2
10	Colin Beck	19:54.5	Deckerville	118.5
11	Nathan Betke	19:54.7	Lutheran HS Westland	118.4
–	Nolan Gallagher	19:56.1	Novi Christian Academy	118.0
10	Joey Harris	19:56.5	Novi Christian Academy	117.8
11	Sean Pierucci	19:57.4	Kalamazoo Hackett	117.5
11	Ike Lindley	19:57.9	Hillsdale Academy	117.4
9	Guy Knoblock	19:59.8	Ubly	116.7
10	Zach Vonk	20:01.2	Holland Calvary Christian	116.3
12	Brandon Kohler	20:04.4	Brown City	115.2
10	Bo VeenKant	20:05.6	Tekonsha	114.8
9	Maddox Hutchinson	20:06.2	Concord	114.6
9	Andrew Abramowicz	20:07.8	Lutheran HS Westland	114.1
10	Liam Shaner	20:13.4	Petersburg-Summerfield	112.2
9	Dalton Williams	20:20.8	Colon	109.7
11	Jacob Messing	20:22.4	Ubly	109.2
10	Jack Williams	20:23.2	White Pigeon	108.9
10	Matthew Bannick	20:25.7	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	108.1
10	Kaleb Richardson	20:26.1	Adrian Lenawee Christian	108.0
11	Carter Upper	20:30.5	Lincoln-Alcona	106.5
10	Luke Gallagher	20:33.5	Novi Christian Academy	105.5
9	Ben Merten	20:33.9	Pentwater	105.4
9	Skylar Sentell	20:34.1	Mayville	105.3
9	Bode Powell	20:36.0	Pentwater	104.7
12	Caleb Munson	20:36.7	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	104.4
10	Julian Barry	20:40.1	Kalamazoo Hackett	103.3
10	Evan Jacobs	20:40.5	Marine City Cardinal Mooney	103.2
10	Nathan Carey	20:41.5	Mayville	102.8
9	Gavin Zechmeister	20:41.5	Mayville	102.8
12	Dakota Villanueva	20:47.4	Brown City	100.9
11	Keegan Gallagher	20:50.9	Kalamazoo Hackett	99.7
9	Summer Yuan	20:53.5	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	98.8
9	Damien Martinez	20:54.8	Kalamazoo Hackett	98.4
9	Matthew Howery	20:55.9	Webberville	98.0
9	Jerome Fate	20:59.2	Petoskey St. Michael	96.9
9	Jordan Weber	21:00.7	Beal City	96.4
10	Owen Nofs	21:14.9	St Philip Catholic Central	91.7
9	Andrew Cary	21:15.6	Holland Calvary Christian	91.5
10	Aimon Humm	21:16.1	Breckenridge	91.3
11	Robert O’Dell	21:17.0	Royal Oak Shrine	91.0
11	Ashton Easterwood	21:22.6	Concord	89.1
9	Ethan West	21:25.2	Webberville	88.3
12	Drew Colton	21:25.6	Royal Oak Shrine	88.1
12	Sam Scharrer	21:36.1	Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary	84.6
9	Dan Birmingham	21:40.1	Whitmore Lake	83.3
10	Austin Gross	21:41.1	Beal City	83.0
10	Addison Stanton	21:43.6	Athens	82.1
10	Jerome Bastian	22:00.2	St Philip Catholic Central	76.6
11	Preston Foster	22:01.8	Breckenridge	76.1
12	Richard Duynslager	22:09.0	Beal City	73.7
10	Sawyer Weiss	22:22.1	St Philip Catholic Central	69.3
10	Eli Zeien	22:32.4	Beal City	65.9
10	Kaleb Chisholm	22:44.0	Frankfort	62.0
10	Maddax McCaw	22:56.5	Breckenridge	57.8
10	Chase Wezensky	22:57.1	Beal City	57.6
9	Connor Stevens	23:17.5	Concord	50.8
11	Joshua Fairfield	23:28.0	Webberville	47.3
12	Tyler Jenkins	24:27.0	St Philip Catholic Central	27.7
12	Brady Pierce	24:59.0	Webberville	17.0

As I’ve been doing with Macomb County, Upper Peninsula Finals, and Regionals, these are done via simulations. To make a short story long, an athlete’s weighted average (more recent meets weighed heavier) and the variance within those ratings are thrown into a blender, and from there, I’m able to simulate various “races”. With the meets above, I performed 100 simulations, I kicked it up a notch with 1000 this time around. See TullyRunners for a more mathy description of how these work.

You may notice that these previews are less intensive on the writing, this is intentional for my sanity. I feel that I (and Jacob Tanner) have done an excellent job of setting the stage throughout the year, if you’ve followed our work, you know what’s about to take place.

These are all based on what an athlete has run this year, no personal opinions involved. That’s not to say I don’t have personal opinions, it’s just that these are all number-driven. Of course, races aren’t run on a computer, that’s the beauty of sport, competition, and life. I hope you’re able to embrace the big and small moments this weekend. These are the memories that will stick with you forever. Let’s make some good ones.

BOYS TEAM

Place	Team	Avg. Score	Win %	Podium %	Top 10 %
1	Northville	121	95+	95+	95+
2	Traverse City Central	201		45	95+
3	Plymouth	207		27	95+
4	Brighton	216		23	95+
5	Portage Central	253			95+
6	Ann Arbor Skyline	260			95+
7	Clarkston	265			94
8	Saline	296			87
9	Grand Haven	322			49
10	Romeo	322			55
11	Forest Hills Central	333			39
12	Kalamazoo Central	346			29
13	Troy	352			21
14	Detroit Catholic Central	354			22
15	Zeeland West	400
16	Port Huron Northern	405
17	Jenison	410
18	Livonia Churchill	415
19	Utica	417
20	Highland-Milford	422
21	White Lake Lakeland	429
22	Ann Arbor Pioneer	435
23	Saginaw Heritage	473
24	Dexter	474
25	Fraser	500
26	Bay City Western	610
27	Monroe	654

The Northville boys have done a pretty satisfactory job of not taking the cheese, holding onto their #1 ranking all year. They were victors in the KLAA and on their fantastic voyages to the state’s larger meets (Spartan and Portage), they came out with trophies, both wins by a considerable margin.

It’s a very intriguing battle for 2^nd, three teams by the numbers plus a few more that I think could slide in there as well. Saline defeated many of these teams at Portage. At KLAA, Plymouth and Brighton were as close to Northville as you’ll find. Ann Arbor Skyline had their day at Jackson, Traverse City Central had their day at Bluejay, and Clarkston won the OAA Red (and likely would’ve won Oakland County at full strength). In a congested field with many 3^rd-7^th runners capable of running 16:30-17:15, who can find themselves on the right end of packs will find success getting to the podium.

Team	1st Boy	2nd Boy	3rd Boy	4th Boy	5th Boy	6th Boy	7th Boy
Traverse City Central	9	16	38	56	83	131	146
Plymouth	4	20	48	62	73	85	117
Brighton	11	18	48	63	76	98	131
Portage Central	22	33	48	65	86	120	147
Ann Arbor Skyline	9	22	31	49	149	166	178
Clarkston	24	33	48	64	95	140	158
Saline	13	20	49	97	116	126	147

Team	Thru 1	Thru 2	Thru 3	Thru 4	Thru 5
Traverse City Central	9	24	62	118	201
Plymouth	4	24	72	134	207
Brighton	11	29	77	140	216
Portage Central	22	54	102	167	253
Ann Arbor Skyline	9	32	62	111	260
Clarkston	24	57	106	170	265
Saline	13	33	82	180	296

BOYS INDIVIDUAL

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Avg. Place
1	12	Benne Anderson	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	1.42
2	11	Seth Norder	Grand Haven	1.63
3	11	Brendan Herger	Northville	3.60
4	11	Thomas Westphal	Anchor Bay	4.88
5	12	Trent McFarland	Utica	5.13
6	12	Sean Byrnes	Plymouth	6.09
7	12	Jonah Hochstetler	Traverse City West	8.40
8	11	Jasper Cane	Kalamazoo Central	8.81
9	12	Joe Muha	Traverse City Central	14.94
10	12	Nicolas Fry	Ann Arbor Skyline	15.16
11	12	Ethan Pruzinsky	Auburn Hills Avondale	17.32
12	12	Jared Platt	White Lake Lakeland	18.41
13	11	Vishvaa Ravishankar	Troy	18.85
14	11	Tyler Langley	Brighton	19.49
15	11	Aiden Moore	Battle Creek Lakeview	20.23
16	11	Ty Parker	Walled Lake Northern	21.11
17	11	Sebastian Ramirez	Royal Oak	21.12
18	11	Vincent Guaresimo	Romeo	21.71
19	12	Samuel Jackson	Saline	22.10
20	12	Micah Bauer	Traverse City Central	24.46
21	12	Jordan Domany	Caledonia	24.91
22	12	Brady Heron	Northville	25.76
23	11	Brandon Anderson	Dexter	25.97
24	12	Logan Detweiler	Grosse Pointe South	26.22
25	12	Brady Matuszewski	Brighton	27.97
26	12	Caleb Branch	Muskegon Mona Shores	28.20
27	12	Ethan Krampe	Forest Hills Central	28.30
28	11	Connor Clor	Romeo	29.21
29	11	Truman Johnson	Saline	31.19
30	12	Alex Bobak	Plymouth	32.01
31	10	Taye (Sintayehu) Levenson	Bloomfield Hills	35.34
32	11	Liam Walters	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	38.37
33	11	Luke Suliman	Ann Arbor Skyline	38.47
34	12	Colin Graham	Rockford	39.24
35	11	Kenny Lewis	Saginaw Heritage	40.31
36	10	Ethan Powell	Northville	40.41
37	12	Benjamin Smith	Hartland	40.68
38	11	Noah Selvaraj	Bay City Western	41.22
39	12	Griffin Conway	Novi	41.46
40	10	Logan Mullan	Detroit U-D Jesuit	41.97
41	11	Iain Forrest	Davison	44.11
42	12	Matthew Short	Berkley	46.16
43	11	Bryce Nowik	Clarkston	46.34
44	12	Owen Lawrence	East Kentwood	47.46
45	12	Jaben Bakker	Hudsonville	48.34
46	12	Brock Malaikal	Northville	49.48
47	12	Nathan Riddering	Novi	50.04
48	12	Glen Davis	Port Huron Northern	50.68
49	12	Justin Roose	Fraser	51.21
50	12	Henry Poploskie	Clarkston	52.22
51	12	Elliot Carey	Salem	55.27
52	12	Christopher Van Lent	Ann Arbor Skyline	55.65
53	12	Ben Hunter	Portage Central	57.13
54	12	Samuel Roberts	Dearborn	58.40
55	11	Logan Begeman	Portage Central	59.03
56	11	Pierce Grzymkowski	White Lake Lakeland	59.48
57	12	Seth Pianga	Livonia Churchill	59.52
58	12	Joshua Gormley	Portage Central	62.84
59	11	Tyler Donovan	Fraser	66.56
60	12	Caleb Bost	Battle Creek Lakeview	66.72
61	11	Jaxon Allen	Muskegon Reeths-Puffer	69.84
62	11	Willem DeGood	Traverse City West	70.09
63	12	Nathan Katic	Fenton	70.20
64	11	Dylan Penberthy	L’Anse Creuse North	70.96
65	12	Eddie King	Farmington	71.16
66	12	Matthew Atkinson	Detroit Catholic Central	72.10
67	12	Logan Post	Portage Northern	72.36
68	11	Zack Truszkowski	Traverse City Central	73.18
69	12	Chase Holwerda	Zeeland West	74.49
70	12	Connor Martin	Lapeer	74.79
71	11	Mason Jett	Ann Arbor Skyline	75.15
72	9	Kyle O’Rourke	Highland-Milford	75.99
73	12	Espen Wood	Cedar Springs	76.60
74	12	Reuben Philip	Livonia Stevenson	79.46
75	10	Sawyer McCarthy	Forest Hills Central	80.84
76	0	Seth Conner	Jenison	81.84
77	11	Parker Ludwig	Forest Hills Central	81.84
78	12	Jason Whitton	Saline	82.74
79	12	Sebastian Cervelli	West Bloomfield	83.45
80	12	Jack Mathers	Macomb Dakota	83.59
81	10	Isaac Tanis	East Kentwood	84.95
82	10	Ben Held	Grand Haven	85.16
83	12	Luke Butler	Monroe	85.41
84	12	Brandon Latta	Northville	85.56
85	11	Luke Campbell	Brighton	85.77
86	11	Louis D’Souza	Troy	88.37
87	10	Alex McArthur	Oxford	88.58
88	12	Jett Reimers	Traverse City Central	88.79
89	12	Owen Ackerman	Dexter	90.73
90	10	Adam Dicken	Canton	93.44
91	10	Jaxson Nowik	Clarkston	94.12
92	11	Anirudh Krishnan	Plymouth	95.35
93	11	Andrew Floros	Clarkston	95.59
94	12	Gabriel Trevino	Saginaw Heritage	96.75
95	12	Quaid Schimetz	Highland-Milford	97.54
96	11	Vincent Peterson Sand	Ann Arbor Pioneer	98.62
97	12	Tyler Gaylord	Plymouth	100.06
98	10	Mason Lucas	Jenison	100.40
99	12	Gavin Voetberg	Portage Central	101.64
100	12	Andre Soisson	Kalamazoo Central	102.55

It’s tough to evaluate Benne Anderson and Seth Norder, both taking a judicious approach on when to go to the well, but here they both are. The two have been near or at the top of the D1 leaderboard for the season, and we got to see them chase Hunter Jones while locking heads at Portage. Anderson won that matchup by 1.3 seconds, 14:44 to 14:45, I don’t expect any different on Saturday.

I also expect others to try their hand and steal one. Brendan Herger and Thomas Westphal would both hold the sophomore 1600m record if not for the other or Norder. Trent McFarland will kick anyone down. And steady Sean Byrnes has the strength to capture any carnage from what will surely be a hot pace.

GIRLS TEAM

Place	Team	Avg. Score	Win %	Podium %	Top 10 %
1	Holland West Ottawa	117	59	95+	95+
2	Ann Arbor Pioneer	125	37	91	95+
3	Brighton	177	4	10	95+
4	Saline	210			95+
5	Romeo	237			95+
6	Traverse City West	276			95+
7	Ann Arbor Skyline	289			93
8	Okemos	304			90
9	Jenison	316			66
10	Oxford	332			52
11	Walled Lake Northern	338			43
12	Northville	344			31
13	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	368			5
14	Grand Haven	370			12
15	Traverse City Central	388			3
16	Macomb Dakota	389			7
17	Dexter	405
18	Highland-Milford	434
19	Troy	440
20	Lowell	453
21	Forest Hills Central	467
22	Farmington	489
23	Clarkston	531
24	Canton	535
25	Portage Central	558
26	White Lake Lakeland	589
27	Ann Arbor Huron	671
28	Temperance Bedford	701

The final race of the day may end up being one of the better team battles. Both Holland West Ottawa and Ann Arbor Pioneer have been locked into the top-2 spots all throughout the fall. Both have been to this stage before, have state champions as senior leaders, have underclassmen improving by the minute. The numbers show West Ottawa’s cushion through their first two being a decent advantage, with Pioneer gradually cutting into that gap.

Saline may be another team to defy the fastest fifth philosophy, having the closest 1-5 spread and a few great candidates at the best fifth runner in the field. That formula works well in large meets but it also worked well in their Region 5 upset of Pioneer. Another team that’s been working it in the past month has been Brighton, who finished right behind Saline at Portage and has been helped by the return of one of their top girls in winning the KLAA and Region 4.

Team	1st Girl	2nd Girl	3rd Girl	4th Girl	5th Girl	6th Girl	7th Girl
Holland West Ottawa	1	2	23	40	51	94	122
Ann Arbor Pioneer	5	11	19	39	51	66	79

Team	Thru 1	Thru 2	Thru 3	Thru 4	Thru 5
Holland West Ottawa	1	3	26	66	117
Ann Arbor Pioneer	5	16	35	74	125

GIRLS INDIVIDUAL

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Avg. Place
1	10	Helen Sachs	Holland West Ottawa	1.14
2	12	Arianne Olson	Holland West Ottawa	2.01
3	12	Allison Arnsman	Grandville	2.94
4	11	Jayden Harberts	Macomb Dakota	4.38
5	12	Emily Cooper	Ann Arbor Pioneer	6.67
6	12	Annika Sandman	Lowell	6.80
7	12	Allison Cornell	Forest Hills Northern	8.81
8	12	Madison Clor	Romeo	9.22
9	10	Lucy Cook	Rochester	10.35
10	11	Clara James-Heer	Forest Hills Central	11.39
11	12	Maya Guikema	Jenison	12.59
12	10	Victoria Garces	H.H. Dow	14.41
13	11	Rachel Forsyth	Ann Arbor Pioneer	16.75
14	10	Valerie Beeck	Grand Haven	17.75
15	12	Taylor Pangburn	Grand Ledge	19.17
16	10	Cassie Garcia	Northville	19.81
17	11	Selma Anderson	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	20.05
18	12	Mackenzie Wright	Howell	20.84
19	11	Carrigan Eberly	Brighton	22.19
20	10	Jordyn Klaasen	Zeeland West	23.62
21	11	Alexandra Brigham	Clarkston	23.87
22	10	Molly Baracco	Farmington	25.46
23	10	Mallory Bigelow	Oxford	25.52
24	10	Alena Blumberg	Dexter	26.31
25	11	Natalie Mello	Ann Arbor Pioneer	26.94
26	12	Natalie Kessler	Ann Arbor Skyline	28.02
27	9	Emmerson Clor	Romeo	28.63
28	11	Nikki Carothers	Brighton	29.18
29	12	Samantha Cost	Wyandotte Roosevelt	30.14
30	11	Ella Christensen	Northville	34.00
31	10	Isabelle Becker	Bay City Western	34.79
32	11	Shannon Gillahan	Okemos	34.92
33	12	Megan Postma	Holland West Ottawa	35.10
34	10	Lauren Walker	Holt	37.55
35	12	Emma Netzel	Holt	38.06
36	9	Trinity VanderWoude	Rockford	40.63
37	9	Lydia LaMarra	Brighton	42.79
38	9	Abby Veit	Traverse City West	43.16
39	12	Mia Rogan	Saline	43.33
40	11	Katie Watkins	H.H. Dow	44.99
41	10	Taylor Brodeur	Oxford	45.58
42	12	Lily Solek	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	48.14
43	12	Cara Newman	Canton	50.53
44	12	Ana Dunfee	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	51.58
45	10	Violet Hrabovsky	Romeo	51.93
46	11	Alexis Ball	Traverse City Central	52.27
47	12	Chloe Nixon	Rochester	52.28
48	12	Grace Harkenrider	Highland-Milford	53.24
49	11	Lily Salazar	Okemos	54.77
50	10	Annabel O’Haver	Dexter	58.58
51	12	Jacie Remtema	Highland-Milford	58.76
52	12	Genavieve Kushner-Lopez	Walled Lake Western	60.39
53	12	Sophia Thomas	Grand Blanc	60.53
54	12	Caroline Vance	Ann Arbor Skyline	61.35
55	11	Payton Scheffler	Brownstown Woodhaven	61.57
56	11	Laney Alig	Saline	64.23
57	12	Ambria Nagel	Bay City Western	64.59
58	11	Braydee Elling	Oxford	65.58
59	11	Madelyn Gordon	Walled Lake Northern	66.39
60	12	Julia Kozal	Forest Hills Northern	67.30
61	12	Hope Webber	Mattawan	67.85
62	9	Ava Porras	Holland West Ottawa	68.33
63	11	Ava Kurczewski	Walled Lake Northern	70.45
64	11	Layla Krayem	Livonia Stevenson	70.46
65	12	Maggie Otto	Jenison	70.73
66	12	Amanda Soldan	Rochester Adams	72.95
67	12	Bella Hoffer	Zeeland West	73.21
68	11	Alisia Olteanu	Walled Lake Western	74.82
69	11	Addison Johnson	Utica	75.07
70	10	Jane Olney	Holland West Ottawa	76.39
71	11	Sylvia Sanok Dufallo	Ann Arbor Pioneer	76.45
72	9	Olivia Stacy	Portage Northern	77.83
73	9	Bailey Wenzlick	Traverse City West	81.04
74	10	Abby Roth	Saline	82.38
75	12	Anjali Kidambi	Novi	83.64
76	10	Sienna Snyder	Saline	83.86
77	9	Ellery Horness	Muskegon Mona Shores	84.23
78	12	Rebekah Asselin	Temperance Bedford	84.80
79	12	Lauren Wroza	Rochester	85.21
80	11	Lydia Bowman	Ann Arbor Pioneer	85.87
81	11	Allison Mayer	Ann Arbor Skyline	88.38
82	11	Nicole Mays	Okemos	89.78
83	12	Leah White	Ann Arbor Skyline	89.95
84	10	Corynn Gady	Saline	90.07
85	12	Larissa McGrath	Cedar Springs	91.39
86	11	Kylee King	Oak Park	91.75
87	9	Kayla Ward	South Lyon	92.07
88	10	Lillian Deskins	Grosse Pointe North	92.48
89	12	Natalia Quigley	Caledonia	92.63
90	9	Quincy Behm	Ann Arbor Pioneer	93.19
91	12	Amyla Eberhart	South Lyon East	95.02
92	10	Grace Roth	Saline	95.51
93	12	Taylor Regester	Walled Lake Northern	96.29
94	10	Grace Grupido	Fraser	97.31
95	10	Sydney Law	Byron Center	98.21
96	11	Emma Dickins	Alpena	98.67
97	12	Ava Walsh	White Lake Lakeland	99.34
98	11	Mariah Belmont	Macomb Dakota	99.56
99	10	Annalise Alkema	Kalamazoo Central	99.64
100	11	Madelyn Vande Bunte	Jenison	100.37

It’s just some OK Red/Region 1 domination through the first three spots. I love the differing paths to get here. Arianne Olson, the grizzled vet coming off her first individual title in the spring. Helen Sachs, observing on the fly last year, taking a giant leap forward early in the season. Allie Arnsman, on the comeback trail, making up for a lost track season.

I hope you enjoyed reading all these! Take a look at Jacob Tanner’s previews, take a look at the coaches polls. Most importantly, take a look within and race with the confidence and swagger that you’ve used to get here. I believe in you, we all believe in you, and the whole state is ready to see what you’ve got tomorrow.