Look above and you’ll see a result from 7th grade Clara. That is a mistake. I’ll usually filter out 7th graders to clean up my sheets at the end of the year. But this was left in there for some mysterious reason, perhaps as a glance into the past, showing us that Clara has long been built for this.
Her freshman season(s!) fully proved that. In terms of ratings, times, places – her best efforts came at the end of the year. And it’s not as if she gradually grew into her role. From the outset, Kaczor was running in the 19’s as Freeland’s #1 girl. By the conclusion, Clara was still the #1 Falcon, now running in the 18’s and turning in All-County, All-State performances. Track was no different, with her 1600m PR coming at the biggest meet, a significant (12 sec.) one too.
Not since 2007 had a Canton boys squad qualified for MIS. Plymouth definitely did in that stretch, Salem too, many schools in the western suburbs as well. Seventeen years, until a special group transformed the trajectory of the Red & White. The 2022 team placed 4th in the always tough Region 6 and one of the many standout runners on that day was a freshman Aiden.
I get that Willow has become a faster course. But it’s not fast to the point where a kid with a 17:10 previous best runs 16:36. On that day, Pengelly showed he’s a man for the big moments, a characteristic that’d further become evident in his sophomore year. When October came around, he went on a streak that established him as one of the better runners in the area. 15:58 at Wayne County for 3rd, 4th in the KLAA on a treacherous day, 15:31 at State for 18th, and a 15:34 on that same Willow course. Where the Chiefs made it to State, breaking the streak.
A new streak has begun and with guys such as Adam Dicken and Aiden at the front, it’ll continue.
Inspiring freshman to sophomore leap. In any big meet late, Bryce dropped more than a minute. For example, this regional, where he subtracted 65 seconds (17:21 to 16:16) and placed 10th.
Such a journey from the girl opening her career with a 23+ minute race at Birch Run. 10th grade season contained four sub-19 performances, the final one being a 22nd place in D2.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 