Blog

SUMMER PREVIEW

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Last Year

Boys

1. Kalamazoo Central (4^th)
2. Forest Hills Central (14^th)
3. East Kentwood (24^th)

Girls

1. Forest Hills Central (13^th)
2. Kalamazoo Central (24^th)
3. Portage Central (28^th)

Another rough one for ol’ MIXCSR. East Kentwood’s boys and Kalamazoo Central’s girls coming through.

Top 27 Teams

Boys

Top Ten – Kalamazoo Central
Top Ten – East Kentwood
#13 – Forest Hills Central
#18 – Portage Central

Girls

Top Ten – Portage Central
#18 – Forest Hills Central
#26 – Byron Center

Projected Scores

Boys

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Kalamazoo Central	58
2	East Kentwood	79
3	Forest Hills Central	104
4	Portage Central	112
5	Forest Hills Northern	168
6	Battle Creek Lakeview	171
7	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	181
8	Caledonia	185
9	Lowell	203
10	Byron Center	267
11	Portage Northern	273
12	Mattawan	288
13	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	303

Girls

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Portage Central	44
2	Forest Hills Central	82
3	Byron Center	112
4	Forest Hills Northern	148
5	Kalamazoo Central	178
6	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	179
7	Portage Northern	197
8	Caledonia	212
9	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	221
10	Lowell	223
11	Battle Creek Lakeview	237
12	East Kentwood	238
13	Mattawan	309

Top Runners

Boys

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	10	Ben Romero	Forest Hills Central
2	12	Evan Nickoles	East Kentwood
3	11	Jackson Lam	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
4	10	Samuel Baker	Kalamazoo Central
5	12	Isaac Tanis	East Kentwood
6	12	Mitchell Jeruzal	Byron Center
7	11	Andrew Wright	Kalamazoo Central
8	12	Spencer Parker	Portage Central
9	12	Jonah Bills	Battle Creek Lakeview
10	12	Sawyer McCarthy	Forest Hills Central
11	11	Logan Westgate	Portage Central
12	11	Dylan Duguay	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
13	11	Ty Billings	Kalamazoo Central
14	12	Joseph Spada	Kalamazoo Central
15	12	Kort Thompson	Caledonia
16	12	Spencer Porter	Forest Hills Northern
17	11	Owen Gifford	Portage Central
18	12	Jacob Sanford	Forest Hills Central
19	11	Owen Fisher	Mattawan
20	11	Elijah Thompson	Kalamazoo Central
21	11	Eli Velting	Caledonia
22	10	Matii Tarekegn	East Kentwood
23	11	Cooper Byrne	Lowell
24	11	Myles Gesselman	East Kentwood
25	11	Marcel Stork	Mattawan

Ben Romero

Coming soon. But how soon?

Evan Nickoles

Jackson Lam

Samuel Baker

Pegged as one of the better incoming freshmen in the State, Sam lived up to that billing. Two high-15 races, one of them on the most important day of the year. That 15:59 ranked as the #6 9^th grade time of the day.

Isaac Tanis

A kid that can run fast at any time, knocking out sub-10’s in all but one of his 3200m races this spring.

Mitchell Jeruzal

Quite a difference between the Mitch of late and his freshman version. Back in 2021, he grinded all season before breaking 19 late. This past fall, everything was under 17.

Andrew Wright

Steadiness during track’s 3200m races, running sub-10 each time out past April 12^th. Being consistent like that should help Andrew continue to reach his potential.

Spencer Parker

Dark horse alert. Following his first year of XC, Spencer excelled at all track events, hitting times ranging from 1:58 to 9:57.

Girls

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	9	Avery Scott	Portage Central
2	12	Annie Alkema	Kalamazoo Central
3	11	Ava Lawrence	East Kentwood
4	9	Jaclyn Charbauski	Forest Hills Northern
5	11	Olivia Stacy	Portage Northern
6	9	Graycen Carlisle	Portage Central
7	12	Anna Sybenga	Forest Hills Central
8	12	Clare Mathison	Forest Hills Central
9	9	Julia Welc	Portage Central
10	10	Roxanne Jorgensen	Portage Northern
11	10	Olivia Storteboom	Portage Central
12	11	Lilah Yoder	Forest Hills Central
13	10	Madeleine Hengeveld	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills
14	12	Sydney Law	Byron Center
15	9	Emmarie Formsma	Byron Center
16	11	Lilamae Frank	Battle Creek Lakeview
17	11	Rhea Mouw	Portage Central
18	11	Enna Wainer	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills
19	11	Willa Prinsen	Forest Hills Northern
20	12	Mia Stibitz	Forest Hills Central
21	12	Reese Hansen	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills
22	9	Lilly Harthorn	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
23	12	Daphne Ball	Byron Center
24	12	Rachel Grice	Kalamazoo Central
25	12	Ella Harlow	Portage Northern

Annie Alkema

Following a cross campaign featuring her first sub-19’s ever, embarked on a track season full of more progress. 12:37 became 11:28, 5:32 turned into 5:13. She ran more 800s than anything, but those longer distances should portend well for the fall.

Ava Lawrence

Came into her own late, running in the 18’s a few times past late September. Displayed the ability to race as well, earning top-10 finishes in the OK Red and here.

Olivia Stacy

Closed track season with two personal bests (5:19 & 11:33), which should be a great kick off point for her junior cross season.

Anna Sybenga

Three years of Ranger runnin’, all spent in the 19’s at some point in her season. Each year, it’s more and more races.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 1600m – 5:07
• 3200m – 10:58
• 5k (XC) – 18:04

• 13^th Place – D1 State
• 2x All-State
• 3^rd Place – Macomb County
  • 2x Top-3
• 4^th Place – Region 9
  • 2x Top-5
• 19^th Place – D1 State 3200m
• 5^th Place – D1 State 4×8
• 3^rd Place – MAC Red 3200m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Emmerson Clor	18:20.2	Romeo	147.9	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	18:49.6	Romeo	152.5	Region 9	27-Oct	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	19:10.0	Romeo	131.3	MAC Championship	21-Oct	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	18:06.4	Romeo	157.2	Macomb County	14-Oct	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	18:04.4	Romeo	153.9	Bluejay	30-Sep	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	18:15.4	Romeo	150.9	Jackson	23-Sep	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	18:44.7	Romeo	150.8	Holly	16-Sep	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	19:27.8	Romeo	144.4	Averill	9-Sep	2023
10	Emmerson Clor	18:30.9	Romeo	160.4	Lamplighter	18-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Emmerson Clor	18:21.1	Romeo	144.3	MITCA	12-Nov	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	18:47.3	Romeo	143.2	Division 1 State	5-Nov	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	18:34.8	Romeo	139.1	Region 9	29-Oct	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	18:47.5	Romeo	138.5	MAC Division	22-Oct	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	18:53.2	Romeo	141.6	Macomb County	15-Oct	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	18:43.1	Romeo	139.6	Jackson	24-Sep	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	20:10.3	Romeo	135.6	Averill	10-Sep	2022
9	Emmerson Clor	20:03.9	Romeo	130.0	Lamplighter	19-Aug	2022

The Rundown

2023’s writeup concentrated how she’d carry on the Clor legacy. I’m happy to report that Emmerson has kept that train rolling.

Her 18:21 personal best from her freshman year was dropped by another 17 sec. on that same, friendly Shepherd course.

On the track, she had another state qualifier in the 3200m and dropped her best time into the 10’s.

Back to cross, at State, Emmerson nabbed her 2^nd straight All-State. She dropped 27 seconds from her freshman time and 6 places as well.

But you know what (and I say this as a positive attribute!!!), she’s kinda boring. There isn’t a bad or blowup race on her resume. There’s no drama or skepticism as to whether she’ll perform. Faced with championship-level pressure in her first two years, she’s delivered each and every time. Boring is good when defending a state title.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 1600m – 4:26
• 3200m – 9:16
• 5k (XC) – 15:44

• 27^th Place – D2 State
• Region 13 Champion
• 2^nd Place – Allegan County
• 3^rd Place – Wolverine Conference
• 11^th Place – D2 State 3200m
• Wolverine Conference & Region 14 3200m Champion
• 2^nd Place – Wolverine Conference 1600m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
11	Henry Cox	15:52.7	Plainwell	196.4	Division 2 State	4-Nov	2023
11	Henry Cox	15:56.1	Plainwell	196.0	Region 13	28-Oct	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:37.9	Plainwell	188.0	Allegan County	20-Oct	2023
11	Henry Cox	15:44.2	Plainwell	190.9	Wolverine Conference	17-Oct	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:26.6	Plainwell	187.8	Allegan	7-Oct	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:07.8	Plainwell	191.1	Otsego Bulldog	30-Sep	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:36.3	Plainwell	189.2	Bangor	23-Sep	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:05.3	Plainwell	195.2	Ottawa Hills	15-Sep	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:57.8	Plainwell	188.1	Delton Kellogg	7-Sep	2023
11	Henry Cox	16:07.8	Plainwell	192.4	SW Rustbuster	30-Aug	2023
11	Henry Cox	17:27.5	Plainwell	194.2	Big Hill	22-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Henry Cox	17:23.0	Plainwell	173.3	Division 2 State	5-Nov	2022
10	Henry Cox	17:41.6	Plainwell	162.5	Region 13	29-Oct	2022
10	Henry Cox	18:17.0	Plainwell	158.0	Wolverine Conference	18-Oct	2022
10	Henry Cox	17:40.1	Plainwell	157.6	Allegan	8-Oct	2022
10	Henry Cox	17:37.6	Plainwell	163.5	Otsego Bulldog	1-Oct	2022
10	Henry Cox	18:01.3	Plainwell	158.9	Ottawa Hills	16-Sep	2022
10	Henry Cox	18:21.2	Plainwell	160.3	Delton Kellogg	8-Sep	2022
10	Henry Cox	18:10.8	Plainwell	157.4	SW Rustbuster	31-Aug	2022
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Henry Cox	18:25.8	Plainwell	145.4	Region 12	30-Oct	2021
9	Henry Cox	18:48.7	Plainwell	140.4	Allegan County	22-Oct	2021
9	Henry Cox	19:10.2	Plainwell	137.6	Wolverine Conference	19-Oct	2021
9	Henry Cox	19:39.8	Plainwell	133.4	Wolverine Paw Paw	12-Oct	2021
9	Henry Cox	18:41.8	Plainwell	139.4	Allegan	9-Oct	2021
9	Henry Cox	18:43.8	Plainwell	144.1	Otsego Bulldog	2-Oct	2021
9	Henry Cox	19:13.0	Plainwell	131.3	Bangor	25-Sep	2021
9	Henry Cox	19:24.6	Plainwell	136.1	Ottawa Hills	17-Sep	2021
9	Henry Cox	19:56	Plainwell	114.7	SW Rustbuster	1-Sep	2021
9	Henry Cox	21:25.0	Plainwell	107.0	Viking Stampede	20-Aug	2021

The Rundown

Just who is this cat? That’s the question I’ve been asking myself. With many of the names on these lists, I’ve seen them for years and can easily rattle off a few anecdotes. For Henry Cox, the name was drawing a blank, which can only mean one thing:

A chart. Yep, dramatic progression coming out of his third year of high school. After a little introduction to the sport, Henry’s freshman year consisted of ratings that hovered around 140 (19-flat equivalent). A year later, the ratings stayed steady near 160 (18-flat equivalent), before a big bounce at State. Then this past fall, even more of a step forward. Henry hunkered down in the 190’s and once again ran some of his better races of the year at season’s end.

The progression is palpable and it’s not just evident in cross. Track too saw considerable breaks in time. These might even be more dramatic than the fall versions, 5:26 to 4:26 and 11:43 to 9:16, each in a two-year span.

Will the progress ever end? Doubtful.