11 to 27
| Rank | Team | Score |
| 11 | Stanton Central Montcalm | 502 |
| 12 | Hanover-Horton | 512 |
| 13 | Jonesville | 550 |
| 14 | Erie Mason | 698 |
| 15 | Reed City | 711 |
| 16 | Muskegon Western Michigan Christian | 753 |
| 17 | Leslie | 757 |
| 18 | Buchanan | 770 |
| 19 | Benzie Central | 792 |
| 20 | Union City | 808 |
| 21 | Brooklyn Columbia Central | 831 |
| 22 | Montague | 842 |
| 23 | Holland Black River | 844 |
| 24 | Flat Rock | 893 |
| 25 | St. Louis | 919 |
| 26 | Pigeon-Laker | 936 |
| 27 | Ann Arbor Greenhills | 942 |
Overall Landscape
| Rank | Team | 2023 State Place | Scoring Returners | Varsity Returners |
| 1 | Traverse City St. Francis | 1st | 3 of 5 | 5 of 7 |
| 2 | Pewamo-Westphalia | 7th | 4 of 5 | 6 of 7 |
| 3 | Ithaca | 11th | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| 4 | Grand Rapids Covenant Christian | 3rd | 3 of 5 | 4 of 7 |
| 5 | Jackson Lumen Christi | 12th | 4 of 5 | 6 of 7 |
| 6 | Hart | 10th | 3 of 5 | 5 of 7 |
| 7 | Lansing Catholic | 25th | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
| 8 | Saugatuck | 10th (D4) | 5 of 5 | 6 of 7 |
| 9 | Charlevoix | 15th | 5 of 5 | 5 of 7 |
| 10 | Bath | 14th | 5 of 7 | 3 of 5 |
I wanted to change things up a bit regarding the Top Ten Teams. Over the past two summers, this has been a solid feature in the hype department, giving highlight to many kids on superb teams. One aspect I’ve felt that I’ve lacked is explaining how each team relates in comparison to others. I’ll attempt to do that here!
Included features are:
Strengths – characteristics making that team a contender.
Question Marks – any person or team that I write about here, I’m 100% confident you’ll shore up this “weaker” spot by year’s end. But this is a section that’ll look into why a team could be beat.
Looking Ahead – how the team might fare in their championship meets (conference, county, regional, state)
#1 Traverse City St. Francis
Strengths
Stupendously fast depth. Last year’s title team scored 113 points, the highest scorer was Riley Pattinson with 31. If you took out their top-two runners, they’d be in a dead heat with St. Louis for the win. Turns out that the Glads will be missing Leo Swager along with graduating senior Tucker Krumm. Two candidates to replace those two are William Ready, who dropped into the 16’s on three occasions late in the year and Joseph Carlson, who was splitting some 2:02’s on the TCSF title-winning 4×8.
Question Marks
Struggling here. Complacency, perhaps? Of the 2022 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Champs, only of the eight winners repeated. I’d love to do a deeper dive into this subject over the winter. But for now, the Glads have all the material to repeat.
Looking Ahead
With the LMC dissolving, it appears St. Francis is without a home. Shouldn’t have too much effect on their scheduling, as that conference only had one race. Thankfully, the Northern Michigan MoC is still a concept. Currently, I have TCSF as the 2nd best team in Up North, Traverse City Central slightly ahead. TCC isn’t attending the MoC, so the Glads are the favorite once again. Region 19 looks to be a certain qualifier, leaving all eyes on State.
#2 Pewamo-Westphalia
Strengths
Deep at all spots. P-W has had a great culture for years, community members realize the importance of athletics. The now sophomore class infused a ton of talent into the Pirate team, occupying four of their projected top-seven slots. But it may be seniors Allan George and Sam Muirhead that play the most important roles, making P-W one of the stronger teams through four guys. George was on the 17-min. mark for much of the year, then hopped on the Bluejay Express en route to a 10:11 during track. Whereas George hung in their for eight laps, Muirhead proved tough over 800m, dropping from 2:08 to 1:59.
Question Marks
Really don’t like calling this a weakness, but St. Francis looks to exert more of a gap on their fifth guy. As freshmen track athletes, both Charlie George and Nolan Mitchell hit under 10:40 in the 32. Flirting with the 16’s is certainly possible given those marks.
Looking Ahead
In the CMAC, P-W will be challenged by Bath. For Region 24, add in Stanton-Central Montcalm. The fear of not qualifying shouldn’t be there, as those three are far and away the best teams in their area. Greater Lansing contains a great mix of D1-D4 teams. I expect Alma to be the favorite, then Grand Ledge and Okemos close behind. P-W and DeWitt are contenders for the 4th and 5th spots.
#3 Ithaca
Strengths
Leaders up front and high quality through four. Jacob Mankey showed tremendous strength during track, running 10:08 at Region 30’s 3200m (his 1600m best is 4:54). Shemes is an incoming freshman who won 2/3 of his races last year, including Overall TVC crown. Styka placed 16th D3 a year ago and Bertrand ripped off a 7th place 3200m finish in track.
Question Marks
Other than Hart, the Yellowjackets have better depth than the rest of the division. P-W and TCSF should be a little stronger from the fifth spot on. Brent DeSaegher popped a 17:23 at State after a season spent near 18-flat. He continues that trend and now Ithaca is contention for a podium spot.
Looking Ahead
Appears that a bit of conference realignment has occurred. A few teams from their old league have moved into the Jack Pine, Ithaca is now in with teams from the other TVC division. Alma and Frankenmuth should be duking it out up front, but an opportunity lies for third. Region 25 has been detailed already.
#4 Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
Strengths
Levi Kamps, Graeson Decker, and Luke Dykstra. Through three, the Chargers will be right in contention with D3’s best. Both Kamps and Decker were All-State last year, finishing 19th and 17th respectively. Dykstra was a reliable figure in the low-17’s (with a few bust outs into the 16’s).
Question Marks
Splitting hairs here, but perhaps the 5th thru 7th runners. The quality of D3 is improving so much that having sub-18 kids here isn’t enough. Having run a 4:49 1600m at the end of his freshman track season, Micah Kuiper has the opportunity shore up the fifth spot.
Looking Ahead
Doesn’t appear that the Chargers are in a conference and Kent Ottawa has an interesting format. Weekend meets every week, no interruption from weekday races, a nice rhythm should be formed for the Chargers to peak toward the end of the year.
#5 Jackson Lumen Christi
Strengths
Really, I mean really good up front. Returning Ziggy Dinverno and adding Leo Swager. Dinverno was sub-16 on a few occasions last fall, placed in the top-5 in all but one race, and won Jackson, Spartan, and Region 23. Swager hit a few sub-16’s as well and placed 12th in D3. That’ll take care of two scoring spots.
Question Marks
Appears that there will be a bit of gap between their front two and the rest of the pack. Rocky Bolton and Avery Morrow are your candidates to cut into that. Both ran in the mid-10’s in the 3200m this past spring.
Looking Ahead
Their schedule doesn’t list which league they’re in. A few years ago, it was the I-8, last year the Catholic League. And with all the shuffling in the latter league, I’m not even gonna try to guess what’ll go down. Whatever it is, they’re the favorites over in Region 23. Hanover-Horton and Jonesville are right in position if the Titans have an off day.
#6 Hart
Strengths
The Pirates are deeeeeeep. They return four kids who were sub-18. They have three more that were right there. Of those seven, three were freshmen, typically those who advance the most from year to year. In addition to the returners, three freshmen are coming that are 100% capable of finding their way into the 17’s. To make a short story long, I foresee ten possible runners in the 17’s at some point this fall.
Question Marks
Low sticks. One path forward for title-winning teams is to have All-State caliber folks up front. If you eliminate the need for scoring at certain spots, then less possible points are available. On the other hand, with many runners training together and pushing one another, there are greater odds that one will break out.
Looking Ahead
I don’t foresee much competition for the Pirates in the WMC Rivers. Region 20 is always one of the better ones, however the predictions have 6 Black & Red kids in the top-12.
#7 Lansing Catholic
Strengths
Depth. The Cougars should make up ground late in races, especially in large fields. Would expect at six (maybe more) of their runners to be in the mid-17’s or lower by season’s end. Given that the team is extremely young, much improvement is yet to come.
Question Marks
A true, bona fide, front-runner. Lucas Gates has the most potential to get there, hitting 9:57 in track. If he stays at that level, he can run in the 16’s. If he keeps the progression up, the Cougars can move up as well.
Looking Ahead
After taking a few years off, Lansing Catholic appears primed to restart their CAAC White winning streak. Just as Bath below, the Blue & White can definitely place in the top-10 at Greater Lansing. The squad travels all the way to Algonac for Region 26. Last October, the Cougars performed admirably on the Kensington hills, winning over Leslie. They’ll be favorites once again.
#8 Saugatuck
Strengths
The Trailblazer top-3. Both Sammy Gamboa and Sawyer Monroe blazed their path into the 16’s last fall. Marcus Silva shouldn’t be too far behind, reaching as low as 10:12 in the 3200m this past spring.
Question Marks
Saugatuck’s 4th thru 7th runners are a bit weaker than the teams ranked above them. However, a kid such as Jackson Bowman is fresh off an 8th grade track season where he ran 4:55/10:40. A very real chance he alleviates a bit of that concern.
Looking Ahead
I like the Blue & Orange to win in the SAC and in Region 22, previewed here.
#9 Charlevoix
Strengths
Hunter Eaton at the front. Will likely be a very low stick for the Rayders. Had a streak of mid-16 efforts at the end of the cross season, then really came into his own during track. Placed 10th in the D3 1600m with a major PR.
Question Marks
Not the deepest team ever. Their 2nd thru 6th spots are weaker relative to the other top teams, but are in the same range as teams ranked below them. One source of optimism is how their 3200m runners performed in track. Four runners under 10:35.
Looking Ahead
The new Northern Shores Conference has some good quality on the boys side. I believe Charlevoix is the class of the conference. Region 19 preview.
#10 Bath
Strengths
Their top-3. River Fox and Luke Skidmore both should be in the 16’s this fall. Skidmore was trending in that direction. Fox had some up and down performances, but came through in a huge way at State. Then of course there’s incoming Owen Poppema, who won all but two of his middle school races.
Question Marks
The youth. I have four freshmen claiming Bees varsity spots. Their 2023 middle school team had results, winning Zone 5 and finishing 4th of 27 at Jr. Greater Lansing.
Looking Ahead
The Bees were 11th at the senior version of Greater Lansing and they have a great chance of moving into the top-10. Unfortunately, very little opportunity in the CMAC with the always strong Pewamo-Westphalia. Region 24 is covered here.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 