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50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Girls #36

mixcspeedratings

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

  • 1600m – 5:12
  • 3200m – 11:06
  • 5k (XC) – 18:28
  • 21st Place – D1 State
  • Region 4 Champion
    • 2x Top-5
  • KLAA Champion
    • 2x Top-3
  • 2nd Place – KLAA 3200m
  • 2nd Place – Region 3 3200m

Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
10Lydia LaMarra18:28.7Brighton145.1Division 1 State4-Nov2023
10Lydia LaMarra18:37.9Brighton147.4Region 428-Oct2023
10Lydia LaMarra18:49.6Brighton150.5KLAA Conference20-Oct2023
10Lydia LaMarra18:35.5Brighton146.2Portage7-Oct2023
10Lydia LaMarra19:00.6Brighton135.8Jackson23-Sep2023
10Lydia LaMarra19:13.5Brighton139.5Spartan15-Sep2023
10Lydia LaMarra20:06.6Brighton131.5Averill9-Sep2023
10Lydia LaMarra19:50.3Brighton134.2Mustang29-Aug2023
10Lydia LaMarra19:15.8Brighton145.4Lamplighter18-Aug2023
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
9Lydia LaMarra19:15.4Brighton133.9Division 1 State5-Nov2022
9Lydia LaMarra18:50.4Brighton140.2Region 428-Oct2022
9Lydia LaMarra19:15.9Brighton136.4KLAA22-Oct2022
9Lydia LaMarra19:04.2Brighton134.9Portage8-Oct2022
9Lydia LaMarra19:46.1Brighton131.0Spartan16-Sep2022
9Lydia LaMarra20:52.6Brighton121.5Averill10-Sep2022
9Lydia LaMarra20:40.6Brighton127.1Mustang30-Aug2022
9Lydia LaMarra20:33.5Brighton120.2Lamplighter19-Aug2022

The Rundown

I often call Shepherd the “cross country heartland” and the folks from Shepherd call the northern and western suburbs the “cross country mecca”. If you take a peek at every Division 1 Team Champion since 2000, depending on how you define geography, you’ll find that 50-70% of them are from the area.

What am I getting at? When you’re a sophomore like Lydia LaMarra, racing in your conference meet, facing off against the Northvilles, Plymouths, Salems, Hartlands of the world, you’re going against the vey best competition the state has to offer. Coming into the conference championship, Lydia had raced approximately 20 times, winning once, earlier in the year at Mustang. Although a top runner, not a favorite by any stretch.

In dramatic fashion, moving up in the latter stages of the race, then releasing a fiery clinching kick, Lydia won that conference race. It was a muddy day on a new course, don’t pay attention to the time. She won. A sophomore going against the giants. In the coming weeks came another win at Regionals, leading the Bulldogs to another regional victory. Then a 21st place at State, applying that confidence to a new 18:28 PR.

Now a junior, she’s one of those giants she was looking to slay. But I bet her confidence will keep others at bay.

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50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Boys #36

mixcspeedratings

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

  • 1600m – 4:29
  • 3200m – 9:33
  • 5k (XC) – 15:33
  • 33rd Place – D1 State
  • 3rd Place – OK Red Conference
    • 2x Top-10
  • 5th Place – Region 1
    • 2x Top-10
  • 13th Place – D1 State 4×8
  • 3rd Place – OK Red 3200m

Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
11Mason Lucas15:33.9Jenison201.7MITCA11-Nov2023
11Mason Lucas15:50.7Jenison197.4Division 1 State4-Nov2023
11Mason Lucas15:57.7Jenison194.4Region 128-Oct2023
11Mason Lucas15:54.2Jenison195.6OK Red Conference19-Oct2023
11Mason Lucas15:57.4Jenison197.9Portage7-Oct2023
11Mason Lucas15:49.3Jenison200.2Allendale Falcon30-Sep2023
11Mason Lucas16:04.1Jenison195.6Ottawa Hills15-Sep2023
11Mason Lucas16:14.0Jenison197.0John Bruder Classic7-Sep2023
11Mason Lucas15:54.6Jenison196.8SW Rustbuster30-Aug2023
11Mason Lucas16:34.3Jenison191.9Under the Lights v225-Aug2023
11Mason Lucas16:19.1Jenison197.6Muskegon CC19-Aug2023
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
10Mason Lucas16:09.6Jenison189.5MITCA12-Nov2022
10Mason Lucas16:40.5Jenison186.2Division 1 State5-Nov2022
10Mason Lucas16:27.7Jenison187.4Region 129-Oct2022
10Mason Lucas16:17.5Jenison185.8OK Red Championship20-Oct2022
10Mason Lucas16:44.2Jenison184.9Kent Ottawa15-Oct2022
10Mason Lucas16:29.8Jenison186.1Portage8-Oct2022
10Mason Lucas16:47.2Jenison184.3OK Red 24-Oct2022
10Mason Lucas16:33.3Jenison184.9Allendale Falcon1-Oct2022
10Mason Lucas16:42.8Jenison181.7OK Red 120-Sep2022
10Mason Lucas17:11.2Jenison181.3Spartan16-Sep2022
10Mason Lucas16:42.2Jenison181.9Lakeview10-Sep2022
10Mason Lucas16:48.5Jenison184.9SW Rustbuster31-Aug2022
10Mason Lucas17:09.2Jenison177.6Under the Lights v226-Aug2022
10Mason Lucas17:12.6Jenison181.8Muskegon CC20-Aug2022
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
9Mason Lucas17:21.7Jenison169.8Region 329-Oct2021
9Mason Lucas17:28.7Jenison164.1Mel Hall23-Oct2021
9Mason Lucas17:26.4Jenison164.2OK Red Conference21-Oct2021
9Mason Lucas17:40.7Jenison169.1Portage9-Oct2021
9Mason Lucas17:52.9Jenison164.0OK Red 25-Oct2021
9Mason Lucas17:46.1Jenison163.3Otsego Bulldog2-Oct2021
9Mason Lucas17:57.9Jenison162.7Cougar Falcon25-Sep2021
9Mason Lucas17:49.0Jenison157.3OK Red 121-Sep2021
9Mason Lucas17:57.4Jenison165.2Ottawa Hills17-Sep2021
9Mason Lucas18:08.0Jenison162.3Bredeweg11-Sep2021
9Mason Lucas18:19.3Jenison154.6Saranac1-Sep2021
9Mason Lucas18:35.6Jenison150.5Pete Moss28-Aug2021
9Mason Lucas18:54.5Jenison148.5Muskegon CC21-Aug2021

The Rundown

I had the pleasure of having Mason our team for the MITCA race and what a grateful kid. Gratefulness is a great attribute in life and especially in our sport. When you can show appreciation for others, it becomes easier for you to have a positive attitude towards the things we do in competition, and often leads to great performances of your own.

A few great things that Mason has done:

  • Run a whopping five straight sub-16 efforts to close out his junior year. Most of those were 15:50’s, save for a massive personal best at Shepherd, 15:33
  • Move from 43rd at Regionals as a freshman to top-10 the past two years
  • Achieve a top-10 finish in each of the past six OK Red Jamborees
  • Be a relay member of the OK Red winning 4×8 team

Good teammate, consistent performer, and great person to have around in our sport.

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Regional Previews: Division 3, Region 23

mixcspeedratings

SUMMER PREVIEW

Last Year

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Boys

  1. Jonesville (8th)
  2. Jackson Lumen Christi (12th)
  3. Hanover-Horton (9th)

Girls

  1. Jackson Lumen Christi (D3 State Champion)
  2. Hanover-Horton (15th)
  3. Onsted (20th)

Dead on each of the top three and *almost* got the order.

Top 27 Teams

Boys

Top Ten – Jackson Lumen Christi
#12 – Hanover-Horton
#13 – Jonesville
#21 – Brooklyn Columbia Central

Girls

Top Ten – Jackson Lumen Christi
#19 – Onsted
#25 – Quincy

Projected Scores

Boys

PlaceTeamProjected Score
1Jackson Lumen Christi49
2Hanover-Horton71
3Jonesville76
4Brooklyn Columbia Central104
5Onsted153
6Bronson189
7Homer204
8Sand Creek205
9Hillsdale223
10Hudson246
11Napoleon285
12Quincy286

Girls

PlaceTeamProjected Score
1Jackson Lumen Christi48
2Onsted72
3Quincy116
4Hudson147
5Napoleon148
6Hanover-Horton161
7Jonesville165
8Bronson169
9Hillsdale217
10Sand Creek249
11Homer277
12Michigan Center383

Top Runners

Boys

PlaceGradeNameTeam
112Mitchell HiattOnsted
212Isaiah DinvernoJackson Lumen Christi
312Leo SwagerJackson Lumen Christi
410Caleb BlondeJonesville
512Landen BoulisHanover-Horton
610Logan YoungmanHillsdale
710Collin FucileJonesville
811John EdlerHomer
912Jack GortonBrooklyn Columbia Central
1011Zach HassenzahlHanover-Horton
1110Cooper FlickHanover-Horton
1211Nicholas FowlerJonesville
1311Gibson ShoreJackson Lumen Christi
1410Silas DanielsSand Creek
1510Avery MorrowJackson Lumen Christi
1610Rocky BoltonJackson Lumen Christi
179Clint CouchmanBrooklyn Columbia Central
1812Isaac St. JohnHudson
1911Wyatt VowellBrooklyn Columbia Central
2010Nicklas HolmesOnsted
2110Chad TysonHanover-Horton
2212James BayesOnsted
239Ashton PotwinJonesville
249Tyler HarrisHanover-Horton
2511Karl SwagerJackson Lumen Christi

Mitchell Hiatt

Hard to guess which his best track event was, but I’m gonna go with the 3200m. He was 11th in D3 and had a season’s best of 9:39. BUT that was after three events. My guess is he had 9:29 in his legs and we’ll see that proven in the fall.

Isaiah Dinverno

Your defending champ. Although the State Finals didn’t go his way, many things in 2023 did. Two sub-16’s. A ton of wins, including Jackson County, Jackson, Spartan, DeWitt, and of course, this one.

Leo Swager

From Chelsea to Traverse City to Jackson, he’s been all over Michigan. All that moving hasn’t hurt his running in the slightest, as Leo’s junior era was his best. 12th at State and owner of a sub-16 personal best.

Caleb Blonde

Jonesville freshman was pegged to have an impact and delivered on that promise. Broke 17:00 on six occasions and in his MIS effort, finished 4th amongst freshmen boys.

Landen Boulis

Showed a flash of his talent in a breakout 16:13 race at Bluejay, then found it a bunch more with a series of low-10 3200m’s and a 9:54 that qualified him for State.

Logan Youngman

Another incoming sophomore, this guy came of age during track, racing to 4:36 & 9:55. That 1600m time ranked him 4th amongst D3’s freshmen boys.

Girls

PlaceGradeNameTeam
112Emmry RossOnsted
210Samantha SchroederJackson Lumen Christi
311Macy FazekasJackson Lumen Christi
412Chloe StalhoodHillsdale
512Ava HathawayBronson
611Ashlynn HarrisBronson
79Maisey ToteffBrooklyn Columbia Central
812Layla LopezJackson Lumen Christi
910Kendyl MusielewiezQuincy
1012Thia TelloJackson Lumen Christi
1112Jayla BrightHudson
1210Brynlee SwihartHanover-Horton
1312Allie EnglandOnsted
1411Raegan BrosamerOnsted
1511Brookelyn ParkerQuincy
1612Karly PageJonesville
179Brynleigh GriffithsJonesville
189Madalynn TrameSand Creek
199Madisyn LindemannNapoleon
209Klair BakerOnsted
2112Lauren McLainNapoleon
2212Priya MericleEast Jackson
2311Annabelle CzeiszpergerHudson
2411Sophie PatrickHomer
2510Izabel RaglowOnsted

Emmry Ross

You know there’s more words coming later. Two-time Region 23 Champ, twice placing top-5 in D3. One of the rare girls with range from the 200m to the 5k.

Samantha Schroeder

Freshman was the perfect piece on the Titan title squad. Consistently in the 19’s all year with two exceptions – one of them being an 18:56, 13th place D3 final finish.

Macy Fazekas

The latest Fazekas to grace our fall sport, she’s made a living in the 19’s in late-season. Twice 7th here, twice top-50 down the road at MIS.

Chloe Stalhood

An endurance monster who showed out during track. Her 11:49 was over 50 seconds faster than her sophomore best and it earned Chloe a 13th place in D3.

Ava Hathaway

Before she heads off to Georgia for her equestrian skills, has another chance to receive a D3 medal. She has two All-States to show for her two seasons on the cross courses.

Ashlynn Harris

Had a whale of State Finals last year. Projected 37th, finished 29th, and knocked more than 15 seconds off her previous best.