Michigan XC Speed Ratings

The second weekend in September is always a relief. Typically two huge meets, now three with Ottawa Hills joining Holly and Spartan. Teams leaving the nest, taking on the best throughout the state. Very illuminating as far as rankings go, no doubt enlightening as well to a runner when they face great competition.

Week Three’s Rankings tell the tale of how these are created.

This week’s rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/14).

These are for fun. And I do this for free. I’m positive toward every runner in the state. Abiding by that golden rule, you should reciprocate. Capisce? Enjoy.

Recap

When they attack, there ain’t an army that can strike back. Past two miles, Northville attacked with a vengeance, erasing their 18-point gap behind Sycamore and opening up a 48-point difference of their own. The big mover was Nick Barretto, who passed body after body, moving from 50^th at one to 32^nd at two, finally finishing in 15^th place.

Northville is looking like one of the better teams in recent memory and perhaps the best collection of individuals since I’ve started tracking. In a normal, non-Northville year, Jenison would be a real candidate to win the title. Though even now, they’ve made a very strong case for a podium spot. The Wildcats’ group of 2^nd to 4^th runners did work, all placing in the top-35. Nolan Wenglikowski was the real key, Spartan was far and away his best race of the year. When the conditions are more favorable, he’ll likely see a significant time drop.

Looking Forward

Jackson is the spot this weekend. None of the top-3 teams will be there, but beyond those three, the field is stacked. #4 Clarkston, #5 Canton, #6 Saline, #8 Traverse City Central, #9 Livonia Churchill. Then you have the typically underrated two, #18 Ann Arbor Pioneer and #19 Highland-Milford. I’m particularly interested in four of these squads who have lightened their September schedule, seemingly in anticipation of popping big times on this quick course: Clarkston, Saline, Churchill, and Milford.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Northville	67	6	204.6	1
2	Jenison	195	1	199.9	3
3	Brighton	214	4	197.4	2
4	Clarkston	341	8	193.6	4
5	Canton	342	6	195.3	5
6	Saline	418	5	191.3	7
7	Grand Haven	452	1	192.5	9
8	Traverse City Central	467	2	190.5	6
9	Livonia Churchill	479	6	191.2	8
10	Portage Central	496	3	189.0	10
11	East Kentwood	531	3	189.6	12
12	Oxford	551	8	190.6	25
13	Kalamazoo Central	562	3	188.4	13
14	Rockford	649	1	185.5	11
15	Midland	666	2	185.8	14
16	Plymouth	682	6	186.5	29
17	Macomb Dakota	716	9	184.4	20
18	Ann Arbor Pioneer	742	5	185.2	16
19	Highland-Milford	792	7	186.9	18
20	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	837	3	183.9	27
21	Salem	845	6	181.4	26
22	Utica	860	9	182.6	22
23	Caledonia	865	3	181.9	31
24	Temperance Bedford	872	5	182.8	24
25	Lowell	886	3	183.1	21
26	Lake Orion	899	8	182.0	34
27	White Lake Lakeland	901	7	180.8	23

Recap

You can say the same about Romeo as you would Northville’s boys. Even with an Emmerson Clor on the comeback or without an Annie Hrabovsky, the Bulldogs placed all five of their scorers in the top-ten, clearing the second-place team by nearly 100 points.

We were hoping for a little separation from the pack of teams running Ottawa Hills and Spartan. Over on the Grand River, Rockford provided a little. The Rams had juuust enough from senior Melana Karsten to stave off Portage Central and Traverse City West. In the sunny Forest Akers pastures, Ann Arbor Pioneer threw tons of girls up front, escaping with a ten-point victory. Even if their rank is the same, they’ve moved up points wise, Brighton still holding the edge because of their depth.

Looking Forward

Jackson may be even more loaded for these girls. Five of the top-eight teams, including #1 Romeo, #3 Saline, #4 Brighton, #5 Ann Arbor Pioneer, and #8 Northville. You’ve even got a Utica, fresh off a restful weekend, ready to assert themselves into the top-10. Holland West Ottawa is seeking competition out of state, you can never turn down a road trip.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Romeo	79	9	147.4	1
2	Holland West Ottawa	142	1	144.8	2
3	Saline	254	5	136.4	3
4	Brighton	274	4	133.3	4
5	Ann Arbor Pioneer	274	5	140.2	5
6	Rockford	279	1	133.2	7
7	Traverse City West	372	2	128.7	6
8	Northville	447	6	124.9	8
9	Grand Haven	448	1	126.9	10
10	Okemos	449	2	128.2	9
11	Portage Central	515	3	121.9	13
12	Utica	534	9	121.6	11
13	Jenison	546	1	121.9	14
14	Hartland	599	4	119.0	17
15	Rochester Adams	601	8	119.9	15
16	White Lake Lakeland	602	7	118.3	12
17	Hudsonville	702	1	114.7	21
18	Macomb Dakota	719	9	114.1	18
19	Rochester	752	8	113.2	23
20	Ann Arbor Skyline	779	4	113.6	19
21	Midland Dow	782	2	117.3	20
22	Dexter	807	4	110.5	24
23	Traverse City Central	825	2	110.0	16
24	Salem	887	6	111.2	22
25	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	900	3	107.4	30
26	Fraser	939	9	107.0	27
27	Farmington	943	6	107.8	25

Individual Rankings

Recap

Last week, I stated that Aidan Pengelly and Jack MacGregor have both shown themselves as racers. If you were there, you’d have seen how accurate this was. Pengelly set the early pace, Jack closely following. 4:55 at one, 10:06 at two. Entering the final fall and rise, MacGregor was calculating when to go, after cresting the final hill, he’d opened up a minor gap, crossing the line in 15:41 during the hottest part of the day.

At Spartan, hidden within the D2 boys stealing the show, Seth Conner greatly stayed clear of his D1 competition. His 15:38 was the best D1 time of the Elite section by 20+ seconds. Back a year ago, he rounded into his final form in mid-October, this time around, it appears he’s already there.

Looking Forward

We’ll get to see how Kyle O’Rourke does when not traversing the Kensington Mountains. If last year is any indication, he’ll do quite well. Milford will be at Jackson, as will Jack MacGregor, coming off that Holly victory. His rival from last week, Aidan Pengelly will also be there. You may also see a Beckett Crooks, Joey Rohmfeld, Kian Schneeweis, or Jackson Lam. Any time that Pengelly is in the race, you can expect an honest pace, so I’m sure we’ll be cookin’ on Saturday.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	11	Kyle O’Rourke	Highland-Milford	217.6	7
2	10	Jack MacGregor	Howell	212.5	4
3	12	Seth Conner	Jenison	212.4	1
4	11	Aiden Pengelly	Canton	212.3	6
5	12	Carter Livermore	Grandville	211.7	1
6	12	Ethan Powell	Northville	210.5	6
7	12	Alexander McArthur	Oxford	207.8	8
8	11	Ben Hartigan	Northville	206.0	6
9	11	Beckett Crooks	Ann Arbor Pioneer	205.8	5
10	11	Jackson Lam	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	205.5	3
11	10	Luka Hammond	Grand Haven	204.9	1
12	12	Nick Barretto	Northville	204.1	6
13	12	Kian Schneeweis	Troy	203.3	8
14	12	Tyler Brock	Brighton	203.2	4
15	12	Joseph Rohmfeld	Livonia Churchill	203.2	6
16	11	Ian Morgan	Okemos	202.3	2
17	12	Taye Levenson	Bloomfield Hills	202.2	8
18	12	Parker Strelecki	Jenison	202.0	1
19	12	Ishaan Kundapur	Northville	201.7	6
20	12	Ben Eisnor	Grand Haven	201.6	1
21	12	Julian Linebaugh	Dexter	201.2	4
22	10	Brandon Cloud	Northville	200.7	6
23	11	Ryan Barnes	Clarkston	200.2	8
24	12	Evan Nickoles	East Kentwood	200.1	3
25	12	James Cusick	Oxford	200.0	8
26	11	Andrew Wright	Kalamazoo Central	199.6	3
27	12	Mason Lucas	Jenison	199.6	1
28	11	Jack Steen	Traverse City Central	199.4	2
29	11	Aron Gal	Grand Haven	198.7	1
30	12	Lucas LaMilza	Macomb Dakota	198.7	9

Recap

Splitting up of the Romeo pack did occur on Saturday. Emilia Garces battled back, climbing four spots in the final 1800m to take 2^nd. Mallory Bigelow improved 13 seconds from last year (under tougher conditions) to place 4^th. As good as they are as a team, the Bulldog girls had some individual victories too. Natalia Guaresimo’s lead kept increasing and increasing, eventually ending up with a 30+ second victory. Lillian Deskins hung in the chase pack through one, made a move through the south hills to surge into 2^nd, then held on the best she could for a 3^rd place finish.

Freshmen proved the Spartan stage wasn’t too bright, a great omen for the large, looming meets. Both Natasza Dudek and Rachel Smith displayed patient, winning racing. The two hung in the back of the lead pack through two, sitting in 2^nd and 5^th, before capitalizing on the tired legs of the leaders and grabbing 1^st and 3^rd. Ranked 2^nd and 3^rd now, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about the state stage.

Also, I have to apologize to McKinley Jones. Last week’s ranking didn’t have the speedy Saline freshman listed. There was an erroneous initial result from Rambling Rock that listed her running a 30:48. As these ratings are a weighted average, that mistake dropped her far out of the top-ranked girls. With thousands of names and time NOT on my side, I didn’t catch it. And if you were wondering, she’s lived up to her earned hype, running under 19:00 in her last two races, winning at Bath and finishing 2^nd in the first SEC Jamboree.

Looking Forward

The two winners from Spartan and Holly will bash heads at Jackson. Each have shown a mastery of tactics thus far, waiting until the right moments to assert their race strategy. Expect Natalia Guaresimo and Natasza Dudek to have a memorable race up front. Beyond those two, a host of Pioneer, Romeo, and Saline girls will be racin’.

Of course, Helen Sachs will be in Indiana, hoping to spread her winning wings to another state. We’ll have to wait until Otsego or Portage to see again how she stacks up against her Michigan competitors.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	Helen Sachs	Holland West Ottawa	167.6	1
2	9	Natasza Dudek	Ann Arbor Pioneer	162.6	5
3	9	Rachel Smith	Okemos	159.3	2
4	9	Emilia Garces	Midland Dow	159.3	2
5	11	Natalia Guaresimo	Romeo	154.9	9
6	10	Daisy Cox	Rockford	153.2	1
7	11	Hana Boggess	Ann Arbor Pioneer	152.9	5
8	11	Lydia LaMarra	Brighton	152.7	4
9	9	McKinley Jones	Saline	152.4	5
10	9	Sienna Klemmer	Ann Arbor Pioneer	152.2	5
11	12	Valerie Beeck	Grand Haven	151.5	1
12	12	Kaelin Hughes	Livonia Stevenson	150.7	6
13	10	Annabeth Hazlewood	Salem	149.9	6
14	9	Savannah Staton	Saline	149.1	5
15	12	Lillian Deskins	Romeo	148.6	9
16	12	Mallory Bigelow	Oxford	147.5	8
17	12	Lucinda Paliani	Ann Arbor Huron	144.9	6
18	10	Annie Hrabovsky	Romeo	144.9	9
19	12	Violet Hrabovsky	Romeo	144.8	9
20	12	Annie Alkema	Kalamazoo Central	144.7	3
21	11	Ava Porras	Holland West Ottawa	144.5	1
22	12	Olivia Purdy	Romeo	144.0	9
23	10	Tessa Mascari	Traverse City West	142.6	2
24	12	Emma Gunnett	Holland West Ottawa	142.2	1
25	11	Emmerson Clor	Romeo	141.2	9
26	10	Paige McMeans	Jenison	141.2	1
27	10	Collette Wierks	Holland West Ottawa	141.1	1
28	10	El McMahan	Rochester Adams	140.8	8
29	9	Lucia Llanes	Ann Arbor Skyline	140.8	4
30	12	Catherine Steele	Farmington	140.8	6

Uncategorized

2024 Rankings: Week 4, Division 2

September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 mixcspeedratings

Week Three’s Rankings tell the tale of how these are created.

This week’s rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/14).

These are for fun. And I do this for free. I’m positive toward every runner in the state. Abiding by that golden rule, you should reciprocate. Capisce? Enjoy.

Recap

The top-two teams toed the line at Riverside, but Allendale stole the show at Spartan. The pre-season #1 Falcons had lofty goals coming into the season, returning their first six runners from the squad that placed 4^th at last year’s State Finals. At Spartan’s Bronze race, the D2 division with 36 scoring teams (a huge field), Allendale placed five in the top-16, good enough for 42 points. To put this in perspective, Alma, who is probably a top-5 team and who I thought had a good day, was over 2.5x higher in their point total at 110.

Back to that top-two matchup though, Grand Rapids Christian was overwhelming early, putting five in front of the maroon three. I don’t say that lightly, as Holland Christian placed their top-four under 17 on that humid morning.

Looking Forward

The Grand Rapids area, the traditional D2 stronghold, is home to a few meets concentrated on the 2^nd Division powers. First, tonight’s OK White Jamboree (I wrote this in the morning), with Grand Rapids Christian, Forest Hills Eastern, and East Grand Rapids. Christian is the favorite, though we’ll get a glimpse of how the Hawks and Pioneers can split up their packs, able to judge the rest of the season from there. And then again at Cougar Falcon, with Holland Christian and Grand Rapids Christian. Field size and composition is different, but we can compare the top-5 avg. (GRC 11-12 sec. faster) and dual meet scoring (23-33 Grand Rapids Christian) at Ottawa Hills.

Top 27

Place	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Allendale	193	11	195.7	6
2	Grand Rapids Christian	246	12	192.9	1
3	Holland Christian	325	11	189.3	2
4	Alma	346	14	190.8	3
5	Forest Hills Eastern	367	12	189.3	4
6	East Grand Rapids	437	12	185.7	5
7	Plainwell	442	12	184.0	20
8	Frankenmuth	465	15	183.3	7
9	Otsego	479	13	182.3	8
10	Marshall	521	13	188.4	9
11	Gladwin	588	10	182.5	10
12	Flint Powers Catholic	607	15	182.4	15
13	Cedar Springs	623	10	178.8	13
14	Shepherd	624	15	181.0	12
15	Three Rivers	645	13	178.6	11
16	DeWitt	663	14	176.2	14
17	Pinckney	725	16	176.8	16
18	Sparta	736	10	177.3	17
19	New Boston Huron	757	18	176.1	18
20	Freeland	787	15	178.7	19
21	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	814	11	176.2	21
22	Fremont	874	10	171.1	NR
23	Edwardsburg	901	13	170.9	24
24	Zeeland East	953	11	169.1	23
25	Adrian	983	18	169.5	27
26	Petoskey	985	10	168.0	35
27	Hudsonville Unity Christian	989	11	167.2	25

Recap

I have a feeling these top-three squads will swap spots on many occasions throughout these next six weeks. After Ottawa Hills, it was Zeeland East’s turn. Many complained of tougher conditions in the evening race, that didn’t dissuade the Chix from attaining the highest average ratings of the entire day and beating multiple top D1 teams.

Earlier in the day, Grand Rapids Christian had the lowest score of any team, ahead of a few high-quality teams, including #4 Holland Christian. Over in the Elite section at Spartan, Goodrich continued their travels around the state, placing 7^th in the ringer-filled field.

Looking Forward

The Chix are right back at it, with an OK Black Jamboree against Hudsonville Unity Christian, then another matchup with the Crusaders at Autumn Sunrise. Of course, Cougar Falcon has Holland Christian and Grand Rapids Christian, who we’ll be able to compare via the same metrics as above (12 sec. differential and 25-30 victory by GRC).

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Zeeland East	186	11	132.1	3
2	Grand Rapids Christian	194	12	128.5	1
3	Goodrich	208	15	127.1	2
4	Holland Christian	243	11	124.3	4
5	DeWitt	293	14	122.5	7
6	Otsego	298	13	126.7	6
7	East Grand Rapids	379	12	117.3	5
8	Adrian	381	18	123.2	8
9	Freeland	411	15	118.6	9
10	Hudsonville Unity Christian	523	11	111.2	10
11	Forest Hills Eastern	572	12	106.7	23
12	Frankenmuth	577	15	110.9	11
13	Linden	595	16	107.0	12
14	St. Joseph	630	13	110.8	16
15	Spring Lake	658	10	103.8	14
16	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	680	18	104.0	17
17	Cadillac	681	10	106.0	15
18	Sturgis	753	13	106.1	21
19	Grand Rapids South Christian	774	12	98.1	18
20	Ludington	806	10	102.4	13
21	Coopersville	808	11	99.2	25
22	Shepherd	877	15	96.5	22
23	Dearborn Divine Child	886	16	94.4	20
24	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	901	16	95.4	24
25	Plainwell	920	12	94.1	27
26	Owosso	939	14	93.0	19
27	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	956	12	95.7	26

Individual Rankings

Recap

Division 2 runners dominated early on at Spartan Elite. The times maybe didn’t match what previous years had run, but XC is about place and if you look at times, you gotta judge the context. Overbearing sun, muddy stretches, and unusual humidity made TJ Hansen’s 15:24, Jack Bidwell’s 15:28, and Colin Murray’s 15:46 super impressive

Although perhaps Bidwell’s mid-15 wasn’t that difficult, as the kid came back the next day smiling and talking through a 16-flat at Holly, selflessly leading Abraham McHugh to a minute+ Holly PR. Considering the conditions, that sort of mark vaults McHugh into the upper echelon of D2 runners.

Looking Forward

With Holly, Spartan, and Ottawa Hills taking up much headspace and energy, many teams take this weekend off to get themselves right and rested. We do have a major meet at Cougar Falcon, where Jeb Hillary, Simon Triezenberg, and Will Engbers will all compete. The three were separated by 5 seconds in the early session at Ottawa Hills.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	TJ Hansen	Freeland	223.0	15
2	12	Jack Bidwell	Marshall	216.6	13
3	12	Henry Dixon	Forest Hills Eastern	211.9	12
4	12	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child	211.8	16
5	11	Thomas Larson	Alma	209.0	14
6	10	Ezekiel Baltierra	Alma	205.8	14
7	11	Bryce Gross	Flint Powers Catholic	205.5	15
8	12	Dominic Lowrie	Battle Creek Harper Creek	205.4	13
9	12	Elijah Christensen	Gladwin	205.0	10
10	12	Will Engbers	Holland Christian	204.9	11
11	12	Sullivan Zietlow	Three Rivers	204.8	13
12	12	Jeb Hillary	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	204.8	11
13	10	Bryce Cahoon	Shepherd	204.1	15
14	9	Lennox Naswell	Flint Powers Catholic	203.8	15
15	12	Simon Triezenberg	Grand Rapids Christian	203.8	12
16	11	Jonah Workman	East Grand Rapids	203.2	12
17	10	Abraham McHugh	Marshall	202.4	13
18	11	Vincent Pattison	Goodrich	201.4	15
19	11	Ronnie Silveira	Allendale	200.9	11
20	12	Ben Gross	Allendale	200.9	11
21	11	Moises Salazar	Adrian	200.7	18
22	12	Seth Mead	Gladwin	200.2	10
23	12	Kilian Whalen	Allendale	200.1	11
24	12	Lucas Kuhn	New Boston Huron	199.7	18
25	11	Edison Lopeman	Parma Western	199.3	14
26	11	Owen Metzger	Sparta	199.1	10
27	12	Alex Doneth	Mason	198.8	14
28	12	Abatu Dykstra	Hamilton	198.5	11
29	12	Reece Davis	Marshall	198.1	13
30	10	Cole McCraw	Pinckney	197.9	16

Recap

Untouched from the gun, Emma Hoffman continued her fiery start to the season, racing to a 50 sec. victory (18:11) in the Bronze race at Spartan. The gap decreased by 20 seconds for Ava Schafer, who comfortably defeated many podium finishers in a blazing 17:47 in the early session at Ottawa Hills. Later on in the day, Emma Drnek opened a similar margin on her competitors, racing to her 2^nd sub-18 of her career. Elsewhere, you had Katie Berkshire dominate from the gun at Holly, Clara Kaczor sprint through an aggressive last mile at the same spot, and Courtney Bovair continue to vanquish SE Michigan competition at Willow.

Looking Forward

As with the boys, you have many D2 going their separate ways before converging at Bluejay, Otsego, and Portage. Down ballot, you do see some potential matchups such as Sophy Skeels and Berkley Holtz on the rolling hills of Sharp Park. A crossover looks to be in store up in Cadillac, with the fearless Katie Berkshire toeing the line against Betsy Skendzel and Emilia Garces.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	11	Emma Hoffman	Otsego	167.9	13
2	10	Ava Schafer	St. Johns	164.1	14
3	11	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord	157.9	10
4	12	Emma Drnek	Zeeland East	153.3	11
5	12	Courtney Bovair	Carleton Airport	152.5	18
6	12	Elena Figueroa	St. Joseph	152.0	13
7	10	Clara Kaczor	Freeland	151.8	15
8	11	Berkley Holtz	Sturgis	151.7	13
9	10	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney	148.8	16
10	12	Sophy Skeels	Adrian	147.0	18
11	11	Natalie Foltz	Frankenmuth	146.6	15
12	12	Ayla Holben	DeWitt	145.6	14
13	10	Ayda Skeels	Adrian	142.7	18
14	11	Ellie Scholma	Grand Rapids Christian	142.7	12
15	11	Marie Gates	Hudsonville Unity Christian	141.8	11
16	12	Mea D’Agostino	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	141.4	16
17	10	Adeline Armstrong	East Grand Rapids	139.3	12
18	12	Grace Evanoff	Flint Powers Catholic	139.0	15
19	10	Johanna Mulder	Holland	138.8	11
20	11	Meredith Cook	Zeeland East	137.9	11
21	9	Remie Ellis	Eaton Rapids	137.8	14
22	12	Ava Crews	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	137.3	12
23	10	Lane Isom	Richland Gull Lake	134.8	12
24	10	Mia May	Sparta	134.6	10
25	10	Alivia Ottinger	Goodrich	134.6	15
26	11	Brooklynn Brown	Cadillac	134.3	10
27	10	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington	134.3	10
28	12	Joy Evans	Alma	132.7	14
29	11	Lilah Poel	Grand Rapids Christian	132.7	12
30	12	Eva Thompson	Croswell-Lexington	131.7	17

Uncategorized

2024 Rankings: Week 4, Division 3

September 18, 2024September 18, 2024 mixcspeedratings

Week Three’s Rankings tell the tale of how these are created.

This week’s rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/14).

These are for fun. And I do this for free. I’m positive toward every runner in the state. Abiding by that golden rule, you should reciprocate. Capisce? Enjoy.

Recap

Traverse City St. Francis made the trek down US-31 to Grand Rapids for the early session at Ottawa Hills. The Glads sped around the Riverside track, with six boys crossing the line in under 17:00. All in all, TCSF placed 2^nd in a field full of D1 and D2 teams, including a few top-10 squads from the latter division.

We were greatly interested in how the White race at Spartan would turn out, given its lengthy list of ranked teams. At the time, three were in the top-10. At this time, there’s four, thanks to Hanover-Horton’s 3^rd place finish in the division. The winner ended up being the Titans of Lumen Christi, who put all five boys under 18 and all five boys in the top-22. Their ranking didn’t change, but if you notice the point total, they’re growing closer into claiming the 2^nd spot.

Looking Forward

Two top-10 matchups at two of our traditionally great mid-season meets. Cougar Falcon is back at the Eagles Nest, we’ll see Saugatuck and Lansing Catholic traverse the new Gainey course. At the Jackson area’s ancestral home, the two teams with momentum will face off, #3 Lumen Christi and #8 Hanover-Horton.

Top 27

Place	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Traverse City St. Francis	103	19	190.3	1
2	Ithaca	215	25	185.0	2
3	Jackson Lumen Christi	218	23	183.1	3
4	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	338	21	175.2	5
5	Saugatuck	357	22	171.9	4
6	Charlevoix	360	19	176.7	6
7	Pewamo-Westphalia	374	24	172.2	7
8	Hanover-Horton	380	23	173.2	12
9	Lansing Catholic	419	26	169.4	8
10	Buchanan	441	22	168.9	9
11	Stanton Central Montcalm	461	24	173.2	10
12	Flat Rock	496	27	173.8	15
13	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	514	21	167.4	11
14	Jonesville	536	23	167.7	13
15	Reed City	549	20	168.7	14
16	Hart	625	20	161.3	17
17	Onsted	629	23	166.0	22
18	Benzie Central	633	20	161.6	16
19	Leslie	674	26	159.8	18
20	Bath	700	24	161.8	20
21	Holland Black River	727	21	159.7	19
22	Union City	731	22	159.4	21
23	Montague	803	21	157.0	23
24	Erie Mason	810	27	156.1	31
25	Sanford-Meridian	877	25	156.0	27
26	Ann Arbor Greenhills	905	26	152.6	24
27	Lake City	911	20	153.5	25

Recap

Similar to the boys, the White race at Spartan was loaded with top teams. Three in the previous week’s top-10, seven in the top-27. Of those three in the upper echelon, Benzie Central and Jackson Lumen Christi separated themselves from the field, each scoring under 100 points, with the Titans claiming the victory.

Not facing off, the top-three squads remain unchanged. However, we did receive Pewamo-Westphalia’s best team effort of the year, PRs from the front four Pirates in a sweeping Sparta win. Placing 4^th of 19 in the D1/2-centric field at Ottawa Hills, TCSF’s girls showed they can handle racing in a big crowd.

Looking Forward

We’ll see if the toughness translates for Lansing Catholic. The Cougars have spent a majority of their early season either at home or on the grueling Possum Hollow hills. Now they’re onto a faster, flatter track over at Cougar Falcon.

We’re a bit more populated than the other gender in terms of top matchups. Veterans Serving Veterans will offer up a platter of ranked teams, including #2 Traverse City St. Francis, #7 Benzie Central, #12 Clare, and #15 McBain. On the gentle hills of Sharp Park, you’ll have more elites – #5 Lumen Christi and #8 Leslie, not to mention Grass Lake & Onsted.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Lansing Catholic	219	26	111.2	1
2	Traverse City St. Francis	223	19	114.7	2
3	Pewamo-Westphalia	224	24	117.0	3
4	Stanton Central Montcalm	273	24	117.3	4
5	Jackson Lumen Christi	274	23	107.5	5
6	Ithaca	327	25	102.4	6
7	Benzie Central	403	20	98.1	7
8	Leslie	430	26	97.5	8
9	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	491	21	91.3	9
10	Hart	502	20	87.9	10
11	Blissfield	625	27	89.7	13
12	Clare	629	19	82.8	14
13	Midland Bullock Creek	632	25	84.5	15
14	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	638	21	89.8	25
15	McBain	655	20	82.2	12
16	Remus Chippewa Hills	664	20	79.2	11
17	Saugatuck	666	22	81.8	18
18	Ann Arbor Greenhills	725	26	78.6	16
19	Onsted	728	23	84.0	17
20	Grass Lake	733	27	75.3	24
21	Grandville Calvin Christian	834	21	71.6	21
22	Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian	879	21	68.7	22
23	Boyne City	894	19	67.8	20
24	Sanford-Meridian	914	25	67.8	28
25	Laingsburg	923	24	67.1	23
26	Union City	933	22	69.1	26
27	Schoolcraft	937	22	65.4	35

Individual Rankings

Recap

Much movement in and around these individual rankings. Josh Slocum moved into first thanks to another outstanding race, this time at Riverside. Add his mid-15 performance to the one at Buckley and you’ve got a kid who’s making his case to be the favorite at State.

Gage Hoffman racked up another sub-16 equivalent with a 16:21 in the Elite section at Spartan. He went for it too, 7^th at the mile in 4:50, before slightly fading to a 16:21.

Mitchell Hiatt faded a little less. He sat in a similar position at the mile, moved to 4^th through two, before getting across the line in 9^th. Even with that move back a few spots, Hiatt stepped to a sub-16, an astounding effort under stressful conditions.

Looking Forward

Josh Slocum will again have an opportunity to run fast, now at Cadillac’s typically quick track. Perhaps he can pull teammate William Ready to another 15-min. performance? There will be D2 standouts as well in Bryce Cahoon, Seth Mead, Elijah Christensen. Mitchell Hiatt will likely have more favorable conditions at Jackson. Firmer ground, gradual downhills, and less oppressive heat. Plus, an Isaiah Dinverno to keep the pace honest.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	Josh Slocum	Traverse City St. Francis	205.3	19
2	11	Gage Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	204.4	24
3	12	Mitchell Hiatt	Onsted	204.0	23
4	11	Landen Styka	Ithaca	203.7	25
5	12	August Rohde	Reed City	202.8	20
6	11	Jacob Stanislawski	Flat Rock	201.7	27
7	12	Isaiah Dinverno	Jackson Lumen Christi	201.3	23
8	12	Miingen Bertrand	Ithaca	199.5	25
9	12	Levi Kamps	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	196.5	21
10	10	William Ready	Traverse City St. Francis	195.3	19
11	12	Matthias Morse	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	193.8	21
12	12	Leo Swager	Jackson Lumen Christi	193.6	23
13	10	Hunter Eaton	Charlevoix	193.6	19
14	12	Landen Boulis	Hanover-Horton	192.3	23
15	12	Landon Pestrue	St. Louis	192.0	25
16	11	Noah Devereaux	Laingsburg	191.4	24
17	12	Nathan Vargo	Flat Rock	190.8	27
18	12	Tyler Heal	Sanford-Meridian	190.7	25
19	11	Tyler Leach	Otisville LakeVille	190.5	24
20	10	Caleb Blonde	Jonesville	189.7	23
21	9	Owen Poppema	Bath	188.6	24
22	11	Robert Dykhouse	Manton	188.4	20
23	9	Nole Lorenzen	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	188.2	26
24	10	Ryder Hopkins	Charlevoix	187.7	19
25	10	Luke Herron	Caro	187.2	25
26	12	Owen Read	Traverse City St. Francis	186.1	19
27	12	Daniel Mandujano	Watervliet	185.1	22
28	10	Logan Youngman	Hillsdale	184.6	23
29	9	Christian Craanen	Monroe St. Mary CC	184.4	27
30	11	Jacob Mankey	Ithaca	183.9	25

Recap

Both Emmry Ross and Kyah Hoffman were right there with the D1 freshmen and Ohio studs in the Elite division at Spartan. Both faded a bit late, Hoffman a little before Ross, but each were able to find themselves in the top-10. Although she didn’t have as successful a race as the above two, Eliza Bush was still 11^th in the division on that hot day.

Grace VanderKooi’s debut occurred at Sparta, just on the high side of 19-flat. Whitney Werner was able to move up thanks to her 18:33, a personal best and first time in the 18:30’s since the end of her sophomore season.

Looking Forward

We’re pretty devoid of top matchups. That’s okay, Bluejay and Portage are on the horizon and these girls need to conjure all energy before ripping it again.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	Kyah Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	162.0	24
2	12	Emmry Ross	Onsted	159.3	23
3	12	Betsy Skendzel	Traverse City St. Francis	152.1	19
4	12	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia	149.3	24
5	12	Eliza Bush	Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory	148.0	27
6	10	Kamryn Salladay	Lakeview	147.0	20
7	12	Lila Volkers	Kent City	145.4	21
8	11	Hope Miller	Blissfield	142.5	27
9	12	Grace VanderKooi	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	141.1	21
10	11	Bella LaFountain	Monroe St. Mary CC	141.0	27
11	10	Alyssa Kramer	Pewamo-Westphalia	140.8	24
12	11	Hailey Creisher	Leslie	140.0	26
13	12	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm	135.5	24
14	10	Samantha Schroeder	Jackson Lumen Christi	134.6	23
15	10	Isabelle Sliter	Fennville	134.2	22
16	9	Elliana Max	Kent City	133.4	21
17	12	Ava Hathaway	Bronson	131.3	23
18	11	Grace Coston	Stanton Central Montcalm	126.7	24
19	11	Mattie Gagne	Midland Bullock Creek	125.5	25
20	12	Kaya Vrable	Caro	125.4	25
21	9	Caelyn Torry	McBain	125.4	20
22	12	Chloe Stalhood	Hillsdale	125.3	23
23	10	Shelby Kuiper	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	124.6	21
24	10	Grace Wonch	Lansing Catholic	122.6	26
25	10	Sophia Buzzelli	Clare	122.4	19
26	12	Mary Masserant	Traverse City St. Francis	120.8	19
27	11	Ashlynn Harris	Bronson	120.6	23
28	10	Makinna Foglesong	Ithaca	120.4	25
29	12	Nora Grossnickle	Benzie Central	120.1	20
30	9	Isabelle Currie	Lansing Catholic	118.5	26