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It’s that time of the year where the Best Crews get thrown aside, the numbers are tossed in the trash, and ol’ MIXCSR gets to voice his own predictions. 2022’s preview included simulations (similar to what I do in cross country), 2023’s version had stats and charts for an athlete’s average/most recent performances. Compiling all that info is easy during the fall, with 17 separate events in the spring, it’s too dang tedious.

Instead, I’ll be just rolling with my own predictions. I feel that I can do that. Cross Country is all number-based, as are the Best Crews, this is my one moment to put my thoughts out there. But before I let you know my process, know this: I appreciate everyone for competing, to those who’ve made it to June and those who haven’t, you’re awesome. To those who see this and want to prove them wrong: Go do that and tell me about it afterward. To those who see this and want to prove them right: I know you’re 100% capable of showing the world your greatness.

My general thought process for hurdles is this:

• Consistency is huge, of course with the context of the competition and heights – emphasized a bit here
• Improvement throughout the year – emphasized a bit here
• Common competition
  • Now I haven’t even hurdled a step in my life, but I gotta imagine in the crowded space of the high hurdles, keeping your form and poise is essential – emphasized the most here
• Looking back to previous years, ability to rise to the occasion in important meets

So here are the predictions, with a little writing beforehand and a bit of info on who I think might the All-State finishers.

BOYS PROJECTED SCORES (THROUGH 7 EVENTS)
GIRLS PROJECTED SCORES (THROUGH 7 EVENTS)

DIVISION ONE BOYS

Last Year

110h – Braxton Brann, 13.77 (wind legal!)
300h – Kayenn Mabin, 38.31

The Belleville infusion, the rise of Zacchaeus Brocks, and the return of Brayden Kennedy. Kennedy was a force during his sophomore year, All-State in both hurdle events. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to be here for what would’ve been his junior version. But his senior version is here and primed to repeat the feats from two years ago. With the graduation of Brann and Mabin, a void was left that anyone could step into. Which is exactly what Zacchaeus did, dropping a second from his 110’s and a whopping 7+ seconds from his 300’s.

Oak Park and Pioneer’s girls have proved it over the years, if you want a direct path toward a state title, conquer the hurdles. And these Tigers boys + Coach Price have done their best to establish themselves as the best crew in the state. They’ve got three: Elijah Dotson, Schmar Gamble, and Will Jaiden Smith. The three can handle either event and also dabble in the sprints as well.

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Elijah Dotson	Belleville	5th Place – 2023, State leader into a headwind
2	10	Zacchaeus Brocks	Detroit Catholic Central	17th Place – 2023, Oakland County Champ
3	10	Schmar Gamble	Belleville	#5 in Michigan
4	11	Will Jaiden Smith	Belleville	#3 in Michigan
5	11	Michael Piggee Jr.	Muskegon	10th Place – 2023, OK Green Champ
6	11	Michael Wilkerson	Rochester Adams	Region 8 Champ
7	11	Keaton Hendricks	Zeeland West	13th Place – 2023
8	12	Brayden Kennedy	Highland-Milford	6th Place – 2022, LVC Champ

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Will Jaiden Smith	Belleville	Region 5 Champ, #1 in Michigan
2	12	Leonardo Ignacio	Saline	SEC Champ
3	12	Brayden Kennedy	Highland-Milford	Lakes Valley Champ
4	12	Leonardo Peralta-Castro	Lincoln Park	4.5 second improvement since junior year, #2 in Michigan
5	10	Zacchaeus Brocks	Detroit Catholic Central	Region 9 Champ
6	10	Schmar Gamble	Belleville	5th Place – 2023
7	11	Michael Wilkerson	Rochester Adams	Oakland County Champ
8	11	Elijah Dotson	Belleville	4th Place – 2023, KLAA Champ

DIVISION ONE GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Nonah Waldron, 13.56
300h – Nonah Waldron, 40.37

Nonah Waldron may have moved on, but what was left behind was a stable of great competitors. Just look at the names from last year’s finals – Morgan Roundtree, Maya Rollins, Carrie VanNoy, Lindsay Johnson, Lauren Bickerdt. And Renaissance, Cass, East Kentwood, Belleville, amongst many others, are adding more into the mix.

Roundtree is the main contender in each, former champ in the 300h, and unbeaten in all but one hurdle final this year. She hasn’t faced Johnson or Rollins yet this year. Rollins has put up remarkable times, the only girl to get into the 13’s yet this year in the 100’s. Johnson is slowly inching towards Roundtree in the 300’s. However it shakes out – Oak Park, Renaissance, and Cass Tech will all be putting up points in their quests towards trophies

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Maya Rollins	Ann Arbor Pioneer	2nd Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Morgan Roundtree	Oak Park	3rd Place – 2023, 3x All-State
3	12	Lindsay Johnson	Detroit Cass Tech	5th Place – 2023, Detroit PSL Champ
4	11	Carrie VanNoy	Oak Park	4th Place – 2023, 2x All-State
5	11	Celeste Davis	Detroit Renaissance	#6 in Michigan
6	11	Lauren Bickerdt	Detroit Renaissance	8th Place – 2023, #9 in Michigan
7	10	Laila Hawkins	Detroit Cass Tech	#1 sophomore in Michigan
8	11	Jada Wilson	Belleville	KLAA Champ

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Morgan Roundtree	Oak Park	2022 Champion, 3 top-3 State finishes
2	12	Lindsay Johnson	Detroit Cass Tech	3rd Place – 2022 & 2023, Detroit PSL Champ
3	11	Lauren Bickerdt	Detroit Renaissance	5th Place – 2023, 6th Place – 2022
4	12	Ashley Krahe	Northville	16th Place – 2023, KLAA & Region 6 Champ
5	11	Carrie VanNoy	Oak Park	4th Place – 2023
6	10	Alana Bracey	East Kentwood	9th Place – 2023, OK Red Champ, #1 sophomore in Michigan
7	12	Kate Carter	Walled Lake Northern	Region 9 & LVC Champ
8	12	Lydia Michelin	Highland-Milford	7th Place – 2023

DIVISION TWO BOYS

Last Year

110h – Tyler Baker, 14.63
300h – AJ Martel, 38.90

Just as Region 5 is the anchor point of D1’s Boys hurdles, that stretch from Lansing to Grand Rapids is hurdling heaven in D2. The two defending champs are from Mason, and Tyler Baker is back to play a prominent role, hoping to go back-to-back in the 110’s. He’s joined by another Bulldog standout, Cole Ries.

Heading west, you get Charlotte (Cutler Brandt quickly embracing the hurdles), Wayland Union (Austin Graham on a roll as good as any), and come across Catholic Central with another two-headed monster – Mill Coleman and Marcus Nystrom. Previous competitions from those in this area play a role in these predictions and definitely will be part of the story on Saturday.

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Mill Coleman	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	9th Place – 2023, #8 in Michigan, Region 13 Champ
2	12	Tyler Baker	Mason	Defending Champ, CAAC Red & Region 15 Champ
3	12	Cole Ries	Mason	First season of high hurdlin’, #25 in Michigan
4	11	DJ White	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	2nd Place – 2023, Region 15 Champ
5	12	Austin Graham	Wayland Union	11th Place – 2023, Region 12 Champ
6	12	Michael Armetta	Monroe Jefferson	Huron League & Region 16 Champ
7	11	Aydan Mccarey	Niles	6th Place – 2023, Region 14 Champ
8	12	Daniel Romero	Fremont	10th Place – 2023

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Mill Coleman	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	9th Place – 2023, #8 in Michigan, Region 13 Champ
2	12	Tyler Baker	Mason	Defending Champ, CAAC Red & Region 15 Champ
3	12	Cole Ries	Mason	First season of high hurdlin’, #25 in Michigan
4	11	DJ White	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	2nd Place – 2023, Region 15 Champ
5	12	Austin Graham	Wayland Union	11th Place – 2023, Region 12 Champ
6	12	Michael Armetta	Monroe Jefferson	Huron League & Region 16 Champ
7	11	Aydan Mccarey	Niles	6th Place – 2023, Region 14 Champ
8	12	Daniel Romero	Fremont	10th Place – 2023

DIVISION TWO GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Ella Jenkins, 14.64
300h – Annabelle Densmore, 45.06

The young blood is taking over. Freshwomen and sophomores abound in these hurdle lists. Sadie Dykstra, hailing from the Blue Water Area, comes into the State Finals unscathed. 9^th graders Macy Subka and Davea Crowe are among the freshwomen 300 hurdlers in Michigan. Then of course, you have old heads such as Leila Wells, hoping to recapture the magic of ’22 or Kam Moored, hoping to make the most of her first individual qualifier.

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Zion Ellis	Berrien Springs	9th Place – 2023, Region 14 Champ
2	11	Brooklyn Harmon	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	OK Gold & Region 13 Champ
3	10	Jayden VandenAkker	Allegan	SAC Champion, #5 sophomore in Michigan
4	10	Sadie Dykstra	Yale	5th Place  – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
5	12	Leila Wells	Chelsea	2022 Champion, Region 16 & SEC White Champ
6	11	Keirra Taube	Yale	Nearly 2 sec. improvement from sophomore year
7	12	Mallory Huttenga	Grand Rapids South Christian	13th Place – 2023
8	11	Lynzi Evans	Cranbrook-Kingswood	7th Place – 2023, CHSL AA Champ

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Sadie Dykstra	Yale	6th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	11	Brooklyn Harmon	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	OK Gold & Region 13 Champ
3	10	Gabrielle Hufnagel	Owosso	Region 20 Champ
4	12	Kambria Moored	Hopkins	Region 12 & OK Silver Champ
5	9	Macy Subka	Spring Lake	#3 freshman in Michigan
6	10	Jayden VandenAkker	Allegan	10th Place – 2023, SAC & Region 14 Champ
7	9	Davea Crowe	Pinckney	SEC White & Region 17 Champ, #2 freshman in Michigan
8	11	Abby Lambers	Hudsonville Unity Christian	Nearly 3 sec. improvement from sophomore year, OK Blue Champ

DIVISION THREE BOYS

Last Year

110h – Holden Van Poppel, 14.48
300h – Torren Mapes, 40.01

Holden Van Poppel returns to defend his crown and the 300’s are wide open between returners and newcomers. Van Poppel has a bit less on his resume compared to this point in 2023. But you wonder if that’s intentional, because when it’s mattered, he’s won, and won quickly.

I like the confluence of returners (Elijah Dyer), freshmen (Brandon Commet), and then the unbeaten folks such as Matthew Johnston and Max Ward. Unlike Divisions 1 & 2, many of these kids are coming from different areas, it will be interesting to see how they embrace a field full of competition.

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Max Ward	Elk Rapids	11th Place – 2023, Region 21 Champ
2	11	Caleb Walker	Chesaning	Region 30 Champ
3	12	Holden van Poppel	Napoleon	Defending Champ, Region 25 & Cascades Champ
4	12	Rhys Bedford	Delton-Kellogg	24th Place – 2023, SAC Champ
5	9	Brandon Commet	Ida	#1 freshman in Michigan
6	11	Grant Wheaton	Lakeview	10th Place – 2023, Region 23 Champ
7	10	Drew Enright	Schoolcraft	Region 24 Champ
8	12	Elijah Dyer	Springport	21st Place – 2023

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Max Ward	Elk Rapids	11th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Elijah Dyer	Springport	3rd Place – 2023, Region 25 Champ
3	12	Matthew Johnston	Hemlock	9th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
4	11	Aden Nystrom	Olivet	3.5 second improvement from sophomore year, #54 in Michigan
5	11	Rushawn James	Constantine	2+ second improvement from sophomore year, #46 in Michigan
6	9	Brandon Commet	Ida	#1 freshman in Michigan
7	11	Grant Wheaton	Lakeview	12th Place – 2023, Region 23 Champ
8	10	Jacob Hart	McBain	Highland Conference, Region 21 Champ

DIVISION THREE GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Destiny McDaniels, 15.28
300h – Emily Peters, 46.09

Last spring, I recall remarking or pondering the magnificent youth of this D3 hurdle group. Look at them again. I know the top-8 predictions don’t represent the whole state, but in a hypothetical world where these are completely correct, every single one of them is coming back next year.

But for now, we’re in 2024 and Emily Peters has a title to defend, Beth Sweeney is gunning for her in the 300’s while hoping to hold down the 100’s, and many of the top 300 girls have dropped significant time this season.

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Beth Sweeney	Erie Mason	Region 26 Champ
2	11	Sadie Larson	Lake City	8th Place – 2023, Region 22 Champ
3	9	Elli VanDusen	Kalamazoo Christian	#1 freshman in Michigan
4	11	Sophia Orton	Schoolcraft	17th Place – 2023, Region 24 Champ
5	11	Norah Galton	Kingsley	NWC Champ
6	11	Nevada Gillons	Union City	10th Place – 2023, Big 8 Champ
7	10	Brookelyn Parker	Quincy	Region 25 Champ
8	11	Hannah Abbott	Remus Chippewa Hills	13th Place – 2023, CSAA Champ

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Emily Peters	Olivet	Defending Champ, Unbeaten in 2024
2	11	Beth Sweeney	Erie Mason	11th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in May
3	11	Norah Galton	Kingsley	3+ sec. improvement from sophomore year, NWC & Region 22 Champ
4	11	Nevada Gillons	Union City	3+ sec. improvement from sophomore year, Big 8 Champ
5	10	Brookelyn Parker	Quincy	Nearly 4 sec. improvement from freshman year, Region 25 Champ
6	11	Hannah Abbott	Remus Chippewa Hills	9th Place – 2023, CSAA Champ
7	10	Julia Hughes	Ida	2nd Place – 2023, LCAA Champ
8	10	Mya Viegelahn	Grass Lake	1.5 sec. improvement from freshman year and 1st qualifier in the hurdles

DIVISION FOUR BOYS

Last Year

110h – Tayshawn Bester, 15.13
300h – Landon Bennett, 39.85

The age old battle of time vs. competition. Brady Feldpausch owns the best times in the Division, but Tayshawn Bester and Landon Bennett got crowns to defend.

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Tayshawn Bester	Reading	Defending Champion, Region 35 Champ
2	11	Brady Feldpausch	Fowler	2nd Place – 2023, Region 37 Champ
3	12	Daniele Tomasi	Holton	Region 33 Champ
4	12	Landon Bennett	Athens	3rd Place – 2023, Team State Winner
5	11	Jordan Pisco	White Pigeon	Region 34 Champ
6	11	Logan Smith	Morrice	5th Place – 2023
7	12	Michael Ross	Riverview Gabriel Richard	Region 40 Champ
8	12	Kaden Bruce	Kingston	Region 38 Champ

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Brady Feldpausch	Fowler	2nd Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	10	Dawson Scharer	Hillsdale Academy	Defending Champion, Region 35 Champ
3	12	Landon Bennett	Athens	#2 in Division 4, Team State Winner
4	12	Jadin Mix	Onaway	10th Place – 2023, Region 31 Champ
5	12	Jack Lantz	New Buffalo	Region 34 Champ
6	11	Kris Vigars	Riverview Gabriel Richard	14th Place – 2023, Region 40 Champ
7	12	Kaden Bruce	Kingston	12th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in May
8	11	Alex Richards	Hillsdale Academy	Nearly 3 second improvement from sophomore year

DIVISION FOUR GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Molly Brown, 15.01
300h – Anna Plum, 46.01

The powers of experience and the inexperienced who may not know any better. Upperclasswomen standouts such as Molly Brown, Mazie Robison, Sophia Schrauben have all been on this stage and have done very well. Someone such as Ava Mustapha is new to this whole thang and is picking it up quite quickly. Over half of her hurdle races have been wins and she’s raced to the fastest 300 time in D4.

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Molly Brown	Addison	Defending Champion, Region 35 & Cascades Conference Champ
2	11	Ava Mustapha	Lansing Christian	CMAC Champ
3	12	Sophia Schrauben	Portland St. Patrick	4th Place – 2023, Region 36 Champ
4	11	Mazie Robison	Saugatuck	2nd Place – 2023 (D3), Region 34 Champ
5	12	Leah Rorick	Morenci	5th Place – 2023, TCC Champ
6	9	Novella DeGraaf	Saugatuck	#5 freshman in Michigan
7	12	Abby Kissling	Brethren	Region 33 Champ
8	9	Lucy Cote	Hillsdale Academy	SCAA Champ, #8 freshman in Michigan

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Ava Mustapha	Lansing Christian	CMAC & Region 36 Champ
2	10	Paige Thelen	Fowler	7th Place – 2023, Region 37 Champ
3	11	Tamerah Peterson	Parkway Christian	13th Place – 2023, 2nd Place – Macomb County
4	11	Molly Brown	Addison	2nd Place – 2023, Region 35 & Cascades Conference Champ
5	12	Sophia Schrauben	Portland St. Patrick	4th Place – 2023
6	11	Rebecca Moeller	Deckerville	11th Place – 2023, Region 38 Champ
7	11	Ava Mallar	Pittsford	3rd Place – 2023, SCAA Champ
8	12	Abby Kissling	Brethren	20th Place – 2023, Region 33 Champ

UP DIVISION ONE BOYS

Last Year

110h – Will Fairchild, 15.60
300h – Will Fairchild, 41.88

Will Fairchild moves on and this brings about a massive matchup: Luke Bracket vs. Brody Mattila. In 2023, each finished 2^nd and 3^rd respectively in the two hurdle events. For the 110’s, they’re both unbeaten in 2024. Mattila hasn’t been touched in the longer race, though Brady Mager put a definite scare into him at Region 42.

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Luke Bracket	Gladstone	2nd Place – 2023, Undefeated in 2024
2	12	Brody Mattila	Houghton	3rd Place – 2023, Undefeated in 2024
3	11	Brady Mager	Negaunee	Marquette County Champ
4	10	Sid Olson	Kingsford	#11 in the UP
5	9	Kyle Waterman	Negaunee	#2 freshman in the UP
6	12	Carsyn Hinkson	Manistique	#14 in the UP
7	11	Seamus Waite	Marquette	#10 in the UP
8	10	Isaac Niebuhr	Sault Ste. Marie	7th Place – 2023

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Brody Mattila	Houghton	3rd Place – 2023, Undefeated in 2024
2	11	Brady Mager	Negaunee	6th Place – 2023, Marquette County Champ
3	12	Luke Bracket	Gladstone	2nd Place – 2023, Region 41 Champ
4	10	Ford Richardson	Marquette	#8 in the UP
5	12	Carsyn Hinkson	Manistique	3+ second improvement since junior year
6	10	Sid Olson	Kingsford	2+ second improvement since junior year
7	9	Kyle Waterman	Negaunee	#1 freshman in the UP
8	10	Oliver Kudej	Marquette	4+ second improvement since junior year

UP DIVISION ONE GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Danica Ryyanen, 16.80
300h – Madison Pekrul, 48.95

Two freshwomen have taken the Upper Peninsula by force – Sadie Rogers and Ahnaka Oshelski. Being from the Soo and past Marquette, the two haven’t faced each other. They’ll likely compete for the two hurdle thrones, but I bet defending 300h champion Madison Pekrul has something to say about that, as she did to secure the win at Region 41.

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	9	Sadie Rogers	Negaunee	Unbeaten in 2024, #1 freshman in UP
2	9	Ahnaka Oshelski	Sault Ste. Marie	Region 41 & Straits Area Conference Champ, #2 freshman in UP
3	11	Madison Pekrul	Negaunee	2nd Place – 2023
4	10	Ava Stalboerger	Escanaba	GNC Conference Champ
5	10	Camryn Pertile	Houghton	7th Place – 2023
6	11	Annabelle Fazzari	Sault Ste. Marie	2nd Place – 2022
7	11	Kristy Karl	Gladstone	6th Place – 2023
8	11	Chloe Serafin	Houghton	4th Place – 2023

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	9	Ahnaka Oshelski	Sault Ste. Marie	Region 41 & Straits Area Conference Champ, #1 freshman in UP
2	9	Sadie Rogers	Negaunee	WestPAC Conference Champ, #2 freshman in UP
3	11	Madison Pekrul	Negaunee	Defending Champion, Region 42 Champ
4	11	Maggie Martin	Escanaba	GNC Conference Champ
5	10	Ava Stalboerger	Escanaba	#4 sophomore in UP
6	9	Chloe Jackson	Marquette	#3 freshman in UP
7	11	Chloe Serafin	Houghton	5th Place – 2023
8	10	Josie Mechling	Negaunee	8th Place – 2023

UP DIVISION TWO BOYS

Last Year

110h – David Kozisek, 15.40
300h – David Kozisek, 41.39

We really missed out on some great hurdle matchups at Munising’s home invite. Time-wise, the Mustangs’ Joe Kelley has been one of the better hurdlers of the year. He’s only been bested once – by top freshman Gionni McDonough. We’ll see in a few days how he stacks up against Tramon Gauthier.

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Tramon Gauthier	Ishpeming	7th Place – 2023, Region 43 Champ
2	12	Joe Kelley	Munising	7th Place (D3) – 2023, Region 44 Champ
3	9	Gionni McDonough	Bark River-Harris	#1 freshman in the UP
4	11	Tommy Storey	Pickford	Over a second improvement from sophomore year
5	10	John Anderson	Pickford	EUP Conference Champion
6	10	Talon Hughes	Ironwood	8th Place – 2023
7	12	Alec Arvon	Ishpeming	6th Place – 2023
8	10	Logan Holm	Ironwood	2.3 second improvement from freshman year

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Joe Kelley	Munising	Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Tramon Gauthier	Ishpeming	4th Place – 2023, Region 43 Champ
3	11	Tommy Storey	Pickford	EUP Conference Champion
4	10	John Anderson	Pickford	#13 in the UP
5	12	Alec Arvon	Ishpeming	8th Place – 2023
6	10	Oliver Brzuchalski	Pickford	3+ second improvement from freshman year
7	10	Logan Holm	Ironwood	#29 in the UP
8	10	Talon Hughes	Ironwood	#51 in the UP

UP DIVISION TWO GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Lena Pleaugh, 16.72
300h – Lena Pleaugh, 49.79

After Lena Pleaugh doubled up in ’23, can Lauren Zawada do the same? Girl does hold the top times in each race. And can another Zawada join her to go 1-2 in the 300’s?

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Lauren Zawada	Bark River-Harris	Region 44 Champ
2	11	Dayne Behning	Munising	5th Place (D3) – 2023
3	11	Addison Pizzi	Hancock	5th Place – 2023, Region 43 Champ
4	12	Seanna Stine	West Iron County	4th Place – 2023
5	11	Rowyn Fiszer	West Iron County	6th Place – 2023
6	9	Evelyn Nicholas	Ishpeming	#15 freshman in UP
7	9	Sophia Redlon	Gwinn
8	10	Hailey Ketola	Gwinn

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Lauren Zawada	Bark River-Harris	2nd Place – 2023, Region 44 Champ
2	9	Emma Zawada	Bark River-Harris	#5 freshman in UP
3	11	Dayne Behning	Munising	5th Place (D3) – 2023
4	12	Seanna Stine	West Iron County	3rd Place – 2023
5	9	Laynie Korpi	Ishpeming	Region 43 Champ
6	9	Zahra Wicks	Iron Mountain
7	11	Rowyn Fiszer	West Iron County
8	9	Evelyn Nicholas	Ishpeming

UP DIVISION THREE BOYS

Last Year

110h – Samuel McKissack, 16.71
300h – Chris Hopson, 45.21

Can anyone match Jonathan Ingalls? The St. Ignace Saint is unbeaten against D3 competition and it hasn’t been very close either. If anyone, it could be defending champ Chris Hopson in the 300’s, who last year ran a personal best to capture the crown. Or perhaps one of the Upper Peninsula’s top freshmen?

110h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Jonathan Ingalls	St. Ignace	2nd Place (D2) – 2023, Region 45 Champ
2	10	Greg Taylor	Rapid River	Region 46 Champ
3	12	Elijah Parker	Engadine	First season competing in the high hurdles
4	12	Gabe Popko	Lake Linden-Hubbell	5th Place – 2023, Region 47 Champ
5	10	Asher Priebe	Stephenson	#27 in the UP
6	11	Miles Lindholm	North Dickinson County	10th Place – 2023, Region 48 Champ
7	12	Achilles Suri	Bessemer	6th Place – 2023
8	9	Connor Kemppainen	L’Anse	#4 freshman in the UP

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Jonathan Ingalls	St. Ignace	2nd Place (D2) – 2023, Region 45 Champ
2	12	Liam Rao	Newberry	4th Place (D2) – 2022
3	9	Connor Kemppainen	L’Anse	#3 freshman in the UP
4	9	Lukas Axford	Lake Linden-Hubbell	#4 freshman in the UP
5	11	Kaiden Gariepy	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Nearly 4 second improvement from sophomore year
6	11	Chris Hopson	Newberry	Defending Champion
7	10	Leonard Huffman	St. Ignace	First year running the 300’s
8	9	Dietrich Rasner	Forest Park	Region 48 Champ, #6 freshman in the UP

UP DIVISION THREE GIRLS

Last Year

110h – Abi Codere, 16.72
300h – Emily Jokela, 45.63

Can Emily Jokela keep the streak going? Twenty-one straight at this point and at this point in the season, the most impressive hurdle mark of any girl from our more scenic peninsula.

100h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Ava Fischer	Forest Park	Region 48 Champ, #1 in UP
2	12	Autumn Tremblay	Brimley	Unbeaten in 2024
3	10	Avery Visnaw	St. Ignace	2nd Place (D2) – 2023
4	9	Ava Elliott	Brimley	#3 freshman in UP
5	11	Claire Oven	Engadine	Region 46 Champ
6	10	Cleo Milkey	Lake Linden-Hubbell	9th Place – 2023
7	8	Addy Otradovec	Powers North Central
8	12	Ellie Delene	Baraga	10th Place – 2023

300h

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Emily Jokela	Lake Linden-Hubbell	21 consecutive 300 hurdle victories, including 2 State Titles
2	10	Ava Fischer	Forest Park	4th Place – 2023, Region 48 Champ
3	10	Avery Visnaw	St. Ignace	5th Place (D2) – 2023
4	12	Autumn Tremblay	Brimley	EUP Conference & Region 45 Champ
5	9	Laila Bell	Dollar Bay	#3 freshman in UP
6	11	Claire Oven	Engadine	6th Place – 2023
7	10	Aubrey Applekamp	North Dickinson County
8	12	Grace VanWormer	Big Bay de Noc

It’s that time of the year where the Best Crews get thrown aside, the numbers are tossed in the trash, and ol’ MIXCSR gets to voice his own predictions. 2022’s preview included simulations (similar to what I do in cross country), 2023’s version had stats and charts for an athlete’s average/most recent performances. Compiling all that info is easy during the fall, with 17 separate events in the spring, it’s too dang tedious.

Instead, I’ll be just rolling with my own predictions. I feel that I can do that. Cross Country is all number-based, as are the Best Crews, this is my one moment to put my thoughts out there. But before I let you know my process, know this: I appreciate everyone for competing, to those who’ve made it to June and those who haven’t, you’re awesome. To those who see this and want to prove them wrong: Go do that and tell me about it afterward. To those who see this and want to prove them right: I know you’re 100% capable of showing the world your greatness.

My general thought process for throws is this:

• Consistency is huge, of course with the context of the competition and heights
• Improvement throughout the year – emphasized more here
• Looking back to previous years, ability to rise to the occasion in important meets

So here are the predictions, with a little writing beforehand and a bit of info on who I think might the All-State finishers.

BOYS PROJECTED SCORES (THROUGH 5 EVENTS)
GIRLS PROJECTED SCORES (THROUGH 5 EVENTS)

DIVISION ONE BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Andrew Berryhill, 58’ 0.25”

I love the geographical concentrations of throwers here: Detroit’s Northwest suburbs (Walled Lake schools, Lakeland) and Grand Rapids area (Zeeland East, Cedar Springs). Oh, and don’t forget Merrick Hocking, representing Midland, All-State 4x now in his career.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Garrett Weeden	Zeeland East	9th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	11	Liam Vaughan	Walled Lake Western	10th Place – 2023, Lakes Valley Champion
3	12	Brycen Anderson	Walled Lake Central	Region 9 Champion
4	10	Andre Neumann	White Lake Lakeland	Oakland County Champion
5	12	Merrick Hocking	Midland	6th Place – 2023, SVL & Region 1 Champion
6	12	Tyler Marrogy	Walled Lake Central	8’+ improvement since junior year
7	12	Parker Williams	Zeeland East	8th Place – 2023
8	11	Hudson Pant	Cedar Springs	5.5′ improvement since sophomore year

Discus

Last Year: Gerald Capaccio – 167’ 2”

Interesting confluence of both consistent throwers – Garrett Weeden, Merrick Hocking, Robbie Schuckel, Teegan Williams with those showing huge tosses late in the season such as Tyler Marrogy, Nathan Cody, and Ray Glory-Ejoyokah.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Garrett Weeden	Zeeland East	6th Place – 2023, Region 2 & OK Green Champion
2	11	Teegan Simmons	Monroe	SEC & Region 5 Champion
3	12	Robbie Schuckel	Northville	Undefeated in 2024, KLAA & Region 6 Champion
4	12	Merrick Hocking	Midland	7th Place – 2023, Region 1 Champion
5	12	Tyler Marrogy	Walled Lake Central	3rd Place – 2023, Region 9 Champion
6	10	Jackson Shaltry	Grand Ledge	CAAC Blue, Region 4 Champion. #2 sophomore in Michigan
7	12	Clintin Allen	Grosse Pointe North	Region 7, MAC Red Champion
8	12	Matthew Gurwin	Walled Lake Northern	Moved up 8 spots in one year in Region 9 to qualify

DIVISION ONE GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Sophie Daugard, 41’ 7”

Abigail Russell has been performing to a high standard all year, enough to gain the #2 rank in the entire state in the Shot Put. We have yet to see what Traverse City Central freshman Lorelai Zielinski can do when facing intense competition, but I’m guessing she’ll be up for the task.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Abigail Russell	Allen Park	2022 Champion, 3rd Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	9	Lorelai Zielinski	Traverse City Central	#6 freshman in US
3	12	Kayla Harris	East Kentwood	4th Place – 2023, Region 3 & OK Red Champion
4	12	Aubree Meyer	Hartland	5th Place – 2023, Region 4 & KLAA Champion
5	11	Leigha Stoepker	Jenison	2nd Place – OK Red, Region 2
6	12	Jordyn Harris	Walled Lake Central	Region 9, LVC Champion
7	11	Izzy Krause	Plymouth	13th Place – 2023, Region 6 Champion
8	10	Olivia Hosford	Rockford	10th Place – 2023, Region 1 Champion

Discus

Last Year: Abigail Russell, 148’ 7”

As a senior, Abigail Russell has been over 150’ on many occasions, even ripping a 165’ that’s within sight of the state record. Ready to see what she has in store for the big stage and hopefully, favorable conditions.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Abigail Russell	Allen Park	2022 & 2023 State Champion
2	12	Kayla Harris	East Kentwood	OK Red & Region 3 Champion
3	12	Anna Tilden	Zeeland East	6th Place – 2023, Region 2 & OK Green Champion
4	9	Lorelai Zielinski	Traverse City Central	#4 freshman in US
5	11	Jada Ewell	Royal Oak	Region 8, OAA Red/White Champion
6	12	Jordyn Harris	Walled Lake Central	LVC, Region 9, Oakland County Champion
7	11	Leigha Stoepker	Jenison	26′ improvement from sophomore year
8	12	Ania Toboy	Wyandotte Roosevelt	Wayne County Champion

DIVISION TWO BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Michael Howey, 55’ 8”

Many of the top throwers have been hitting 50’+ with no shame, straight steadiness all year. These type of consistent, high-level efforts under pressure makes one believe that the 60’s aren’t out of the equation. The question is – who?

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Brennan Faber	Parma Western	4th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	11	Derrick Simmons	Frankenmuth	13th Place – 2023, TVC Red & Region 20 Champion
3	11	Adam Huff	Wayland Union	16th Place – 2023, OK Gold Champion
4	12	Logan Klein	Gladwin	3rd Place – 2023, Region 11 & Jack Pine Champion
5	12	Noah Shaw	Parma Western	8’+ improvement in past year, 2nd Place – Region 15 & I-8
6	12	Gabe Vansickle	Coopersville	Nearly 5′ improvement in past year, Region 12 & OK Blue Champion
7	12	Matthew Foor	Carleton Airport	8th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in May
8	11	Riley Gelderbloom	Comstock Park	20th Place – 2023, Region 13 Champion

Discus

Last Year: Dalton DeBeau, 171’ 6”

Four of 2023’s top five finishers were seniors, as a result, we’ll have some new faces to the top spots in D2. Regionals produced three throwers standing above the rest: Matthew Foor, Adam Huff, and Derrick Simmons. All ripped throws of 175+, the kind of peak you need to win a title here.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Adam Huff	Wayland Union	2nd Place – 2023, Undefeated in 2024
2	11	Derrick Simmons	Frankenmuth	6th Place – 2023, Region 20 Champion
3	12	Matthew Foor	Carleton Airport	Region 16, Huron League Champion
4	12	Samuel Talaga	Freeland	Region 11, Saginaw County Champion
5	12	Larson Fessenden	Edwardsburg	Wolverine Conference Champion
6	11	Niko Mamaladze	Frankenmuth	17′ improvement since 10th grade, 4th Place – Team State
7	11	Darrin Strey	Paw Paw	25′ improvement since 10th grade, Region 14 Champion
8	11	Korbin Sulitis	Petoskey	Big North Champion

DIVISION TWO GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Janae Hudson, 42’ 7”

The defending champion, Janae Hudson, returns and time after time, she’s been putting it over 40’. Lately, girls such as Ellianna Foley, Kalia Monroe, and Makenzie Johns have been joining her in the 40’s, and all have shown in the past that they can elevate to a new level come State time.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Janae Hudson	Marysville	Defending Champion, Region 19 Champion
2	11	Kalia Monroe	Eastpointe	6th Place – 2023, Region 18 & Macomb County Champion
3	12	Makenzie Johns	Cadillac	2nd Place – 2023, Region 11 Champion
4	11	Ellianna Foley	Coldwater	4th Place – 2023, I-8 & Region 14 Champion
5	11	Cora Williams	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	8th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
6	10	Aubree Deshetsky	North Branch	6′ improvement since freshman year
7	11	Anna Brant	Chelsea	14th Place – 2023, SEC White Champion
8	12	Ellie Thorburn	Williamston	19th Place – 2023, CAAC Red Champion

Discus

Last Year: Haley Guerrant, 136’ 10”

The throws have been poppin’ lately. Janae Hudson with a 146’ to win the Blue Water Meet of Champions, Aliyah Springer ripped a 138’ to capture the Region 12 crown, and Allyson Broaddus, the OK Gold Champion with a 133’.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Janae Hudson	Marysville	4th Place – 2023, Region 19 Champion
2	12	Aliyah Springer	Hamilton	5th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
3	12	Allyson Broaddus	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	6th Place – 2023, Region 13 & OK Gold Champion
4	12	Ella Schafer	St. Johns	CAAC Red & Region 20 Champion
5	10	Aubree Deshetsky	North Branch	32′ improvement since freshman year
6	11	Kalia Monroe	Eastpointe	Macomb County & Region 18 Champion
7	12	Makenzie Johns	Cadillac	19th Place – 2023
8	12	Lily Hileman	Freeland	11th Place – 2023, Saginaw County Champion

DIVISION THREE BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Gavin Nurenburg, 57’ 9.5”

In May of ’23, Gavin Nurenburg was defeated by Kellen Kimes at the Bluejay Invite, but in June, he came back to grab the crown. At this year’s Kent City Elite Invite, Mason Mayne bested Nurenburg. The prior year’s trend could continue, it could not, either way, these are two excellent throwers.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Gavin Nurenburg	Pewamo-Westphalia	Defending Champion, Unbeaten in May
2	11	Mason Mayne	Lawton	2nd Place – 2023, Undefeated in 2024
3	11	Mason Brodie	Clinton	13th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in May
4	12	Dalton Brown	Pewamo-Westphalia	4th Place – 2023
5	9	Chris Tetloff	Midland Bullock Creek	#11 freshman in the US
6	11	Carter Helsel	Manton	14th Place – 2023, Highland Conference & Region 22 Champion
7	12	Maddox Gonzalez	Standish Sterling	21st Place – 2023, Region 21 & TVC Blue Champion
8	12	Bennett VandenBerg	Constantine	Region 25, SAC Champion

Discus

Last Year: Kellen Kimes, 174’ 3”

The torch passes on. Last year, it was Kimes claiming the latter portion of his back-to-back titles. Placing second, right on his tail, was Mason Mayne, who is hitting his stride late in this season. His 178’er to win in Region 23 ranks #3 in Michigan and #141 in the nation.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Mason Mayne	Lawton	3rd Place – 2023, Region 9 Champion, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Gavin Nurenburg	Pewamo-Westphalia	2nd Place – 2023, CMAC & Region 30 Champion
3	12	Bennett VandenBerg	Constantine	6th Place – 2023, Region 25 & SAC Champion
4	12	Logan Cole	Union City	5th Place – 2023, Big 8 Champion
5	11	Chase Bott	Kingsley	11th Place (in D2) – 2023, Region 22 & NWC Champion
6	11	Mason Brodie	Clinton	4th Place – 2023, Region 26 & LCAA Champion
7	12	Alex Pranger	GR NorthPointe Christian	39′ improvement since 11th grade, Region 23 Champion
8	12	Maddox Gonzalez	Standish Sterling	9th Place – 2023, 14′ improvement since 11th grade

DIVISION THREE GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Payton Otto, 39’ 4.5”

Yes, you read that correctly. A freshman ranked #5 in the country.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	9	Addyson Stiverson	Montrose	Ranked #5 in the US
2	12	Rylan Finstrom	Grayling	Region 21 & LMC Champion
3	10	Allison Gladu	McBain	Region 22 & Highland Conference Champion
4	11	Isabel Rozeveld	McBain	10th Place – 2023, Region 1 Champion
5	11	Brenna McDonald	Schoolcraft	12th Place – 2023, Region 24 & SAC Champion
6	12	Emily O’Dell	Standish Sterling	TVC Blue Champion
7	12	Claire Boomstra	Grandville Calvin Christian	18th Place – 2023, OK Silver & Region 23 Champion
8	11	Kate Classens	Traverse City St. Francis	15th Place – 2023

Discus

Last Year: Sophia Snellenberger, 141’ 5”

After coming into 2022’s Finals with a personal best of 128’1, Rylan Finstrom busted out a 145’ winner. Coming back late in her junior season, a State title was unfortunately out of the cards. Now with a full season under her belt, she’s been consistently hitting 130’s with the occasional 148’+ toss.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Rylan Finstrom	Grayling	Defending Champion, Unbeaten in 2024
2	9	Addyson Stiverson	Montrose	#19 freshman in the US
3	12	Anya Sexton	Watervliet	SAC & Region 24 Champion
4	12	Jaylyn Perkins	Homer	7th Place – 2023, Region 25 & Cascades Champion
5	11	Brenna McDonald	Schoolcraft	4th Place – 2023
6	10	Jenna Spitzley	Pewamo-Westphalia	16th Place – 2023, CMAC & Region 30 Champion
7	10	Madalyn Wayward	Manistee	20th Place – 2023, Region 22 Champion
8	11	Megan Mackinder	Stockbridge	13th Place – 2023, Region 28 Champion

DIVISION FOUR BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Kyle Affer, 49’ 2”

The general rise of these competitors throughout the year, starting in the low 40’s and consistently moving into the high 40’s (or even 50’s) should make for a thrilling competition.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Oliver Long	Morrice	Region 36 Champion, #3 sophomore in Michigan
2	11	Zander Mapes	Breckenridge	Region 37, MSAC Champion
3	12	Lloyd Sebright-Johnson	White Cloud	Region 33, CSAA Champion
4	12	Seth Miller	White Pigeon	7th Place – 2023, Region 34 Champion
5	11	Warren Aylsworth III	Maple City Glen Lake	3rd Place – 2023, Region 32 Champion
6	12	Kylis Fletcher	Beal City	12th Place – 2023
7	12	Levi Schroeder	Michigan Lutheran Seminary	9′ improvement since junior year
8	12	Benjamin Gavin	Detroit Frederick Douglass	8th Place – 2023, Region 40 Champion

Discus

Last Year: Nathan Buchmann, 157’ 1”

The top spot up for grabs, some of the highest finishers have set up their senior year in excellent fashion to rise on the podium. Kylis Fletcher recovered from Regionals to throw 150’ in a Highland Conference win, Zander Mapes is throwing at least 20’ further than any comparable point in 2023, and Dominic Scharer is unbeaten during championship season.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Dominic Scharer	Hillsdale Academy	3rd Place – 2023, Region 35 & SCAA Champion
2	11	Zander Mapes	Breckenridge	4th Place -2023, Region 37 & MSAC Champion
3	12	Kylis Fletcher	Beal City	2nd Place – 2023, Highland Conference Champion
4	11	Zachary McFadden	Fruitport Calvary Christian	13th Place – 2023, Region 33 Champion
5	12	Noah Matson	Kalamazoo Hackett	Region 34 Champion
6	12	Jude Mickevich	Mason County Eastern	27′ improvement since junior year
7	12	Lloyd Sebright-Johnson	White Cloud	2nd Place – CSAA, Region 33
8	10	Julius Johnson	Marlette	Region 38, GTC East Champion

DIVISION FOUR GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Natalie Wandrie, 39’ 8”

Six of the top eight medalists from 2023 were seniors, paving the way for a whole new set of throwers.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Maddy Biller	Brethen	7th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Lyla Mullins	Austin Catholic	16th Place – 2023, Region 39 Champion
3	12	Desjanea Perkins	Forest Area	10th Place – 2023, Ski Valley & Region 32 Champion
4	12	Izzy Boyer	East Jordan	18th Place – 2023
5	12	Grace Nemecek	East Jordan	10th Place (D3) – 2022
6	11	Mariah Kerley	East Jackson	14th Place – 2023, Cascades & Region 36 Champion
7	12	Alyse Baughman	Kalamazoo Hackett	9th Place – 2023, Region 34 Champion
8	10	Diamond Cook	Southfield Christian	27th Place – 2023, MIAC & Region 40 Champion

Discus

Last Year: Natalie Wandrie, 128’ 11”

I’m here for the massive progress, whether that be Lyla Mullins moving above 115’ after a career full of 40-70’ discs or Eleanor Valkner, who grabbed golds in the NWC and Region 32, both of which were out of her grasp last year.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Eleanor Valkner	Maple City Glen Lake	13th Place – 2023, Region 32 & NWC Champion
2	12	Lyla Mullins	Austin Catholic	42′ improvement since junior year
3	12	McKayla Cruson	Marion	WMD Champion
4	12	Izzy Boyer	East Jordan	Nearly 16′ improvement since junior year
5	12	Maddy Biller	Brethen	8th Place – 2023, Region 33 Champion
6	11	Abbie Morris	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	7th Place – 2023, MIAC Champion
7	10	Ryleigh Ewald	Unionville-Sebewaing	Region 38 Champion
8	11	Niki McNeil	Saugatuck	Region 34 Champion

UP DIVISION ONE BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Garrett Veale, 48’ 8.5”

Whatever may occur, the Flivvers will be picking up points. Garrett Veale won this last year, this time around, Noah Johnson has taken the reigns. Thus far, Noah is the only boy north of the bridge to cross the 50’ barrier.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Noah Johnson	Kingsford	2nd Place – 2023
2	12	Evan Arbic	Sault Ste. Marie	3rd Place – 2023
3	12	Garrett Veale	Kingsford	Defending Champion
4	11	Mathew Franti	Calumet	WestPAC Champion
5	12	Zach Barron	Escanaba	7th Place – 2023
6	10	Braden Ditmeyer	Sault Ste. Marie	#9 in the UP
7	12	Tucker Welch	Marquette	#11 in the UP
8	12	Grayson Palmer	Kingsford	#22 in the UP

Discus

Last Year: Noah Johnson, 160’ 5”

Noah Johnson’s discus tosses would make him a serious candidate for medals and/or wins in every division in Michigan. No one in the UP has come close this year as he goes for his second consecutive title.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Noah Johnson	Kingsford	#19 in Michigan, Defending Champion
2	12	Grayson Palmer	Kingsford	2nd Place – 2023
3	12	Dasan Smith	Marquette	4th Place – 2023, Region 41 Champion
4	10	Talon Smith	Marquette	Almost 37′ improvement since freshman year
5	10	Nathan Cattoor	Marquette	Marquette County Champion
6	12	Garrett Veale	Kingsford	Is it me or is “Garrett Veale” an excellent throwing name?
7	11	Aaron Hughes	Gladstone	MPC Champion
8	9	Michael Solena	Houghton	#2 freshman in the UP

UP DIVISION ONE GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Hannah Maurer, 37’ 4.5”

It appears we’ll have two battles of two teammates: Danielle Lund and Gwen Brewster, Katie Anderson and Annabelle Fazzari. The latter two picked up top-five finishes last year. Lund has a near perfect track record this year, the one defeat coming from Brewster.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Danielle Lund	Manistique	D2 Champion – 2023, MPC & Region 41 Champion
2	11	Annabelle Fazzari	Sault Ste. Marie	4th Place – 2023, Straits Area Conference Champion
3	12	Katie Anderson	Sault Ste. Marie	3rd Place – 2023
4	12	Ashley Bell	Negaunee	6th Place – 2023
5	10	Gwen Brewster	Manistique	6th Place (D2) – 2023
6	11	Jackie Kiilunen	Calumet	Region 42 Champion
7	11	Allison Bjorn	Calumet	WestPAC Champion
8	9	Kate Filpus	Houghton	#3 freshman in the UP

Discus

Last Year: Eliana Jucemich, 117’ 5”

One of the benefits of the Soo’s close proximity to the bridge is the ability to come down for more competition. So when Katie Anderson throws at East Jordan, her 119’ gives her the best mark in the UP to date. That’s not to say the competition in our better peninsula is worse, cause Danielle Lund won a regional crown over Anderson. Will there be payback?

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Katie Anderson	Sault Ste. Marie	2nd Place – 2023, #1 in the UP
2	12	Danielle Lund	Manistique	3rd Place (D2) – 2023, Region 41 Champion
3	12	Ashley Bell	Negaunee	4th Place – 2023, Unbeaten in May
4	11	Annabelle Fazzari	Sault Ste. Marie	5th Place – 2023
5	12	Zoey Gillis	Gladstone	#17 in the UP
6	10	Alina Nelson	Negaunee	23′ improvement since her freshman year
7	11	Jackie Kiilunen	Calumet	#22 in the UP
8	12	Madeline Boehmer	Kingsford	#30 in the UP

UP DIVISION TWO BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Brayden Altoft, 45’ 2”

This past week, we may have gotten a preview for Saturday. At the WestPAC Conference meet, Bryce Davis and Myles Lewis faced off, Lewis placing 2^nd at 43’ 7”, Lewis 3^rd at 43’ 0”.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Myles Lewis	Hancock	2nd Place – 2023, Region 43 Champion
2	11	Bryce Davis	Iron Mountain	MPC & Region 44 Champion
3	12	Brayden Martin	Ispheming	4th Place – 2023
4	11	Carlos Perez	Ishpeming	5th Place – 2023, Marquette County Champion
5	10	Tanner Nordstrom	West Iron County	6th Place – 2023
6	11	Mason Beauchamp	Gwinn	#33 in the UP
7	12	Kaeden Sistrunk	Rudyard	#26 in the UP
8	12	Luke Wolfe	Iron Mountain	First SP state qualifier

Discus

Last Year: Brayden Martin, 136’ 1”

It appears that no one will match Brayden Martin’s 136’ from 2023, but then again, Brayden Martin showed no signs of hitting that 136. There are plenty in this field that have been bumping up in distance, so don’t be shocked when a 130-footer comes about.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Ethan Hoolsema	Rudyard	10th Place – 2023, Region 44 Champion
2	12	Kurt Bissell	Ironwood	8th Place – 2023
3	12	Brayden Martin	Ishpeming	Defending Champion, Region 43 Champion
4	11	Jack Cifelli	Rudyard	20’+ improvement since sophomore year
5	10	Tanner Nordstrom	West Iron County	4th Place – 2023
6	11	Mason Beauchamp	Gwinn	20’+ improvement since sophomore year
7	12	Kendrick Brace	Pickford	First discus qualifier
8	11	Carlos Perez	Ishpeming	First discus qualifier

UP DIVISION TWO GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Danielle Lund, 34’ 10.25”

Over multiple meets, two girls have consistently thrown over 30’: Emma Wardon and Chloe May. But with May being from Pickford and Wardon from Ironwood, we understandably haven’t seen the two face off.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Emma Wardon	Ironwood	4th Place – 2023, Region 43 Champion
2	12	Chloe May	Pickford	3rd Place – 2023, Region 44 Champion
3	11	Jadyn Negilski	Ishpeming	Marquette County Champion
4	10	Mya Hemmer	Ishpeming	2nd Place – 2023
5	11	Brooke Portice	Pickford	#19 in the UP
6	11	Nikol Kharlan	Gwinn	#30 in the UP
7	11	Sidney Storti	West Iron County	#42 in the UP
8	11	Elizabeth Wing	Munising	First ever SP qualifier

Discus

Last Year: Kadence Potoczak, 100’ 10”

The Pickford tradition looks to continue, Potoczak winning last year and Chloe May placing 2^nd. For extra added security, Junior Brooke Portice holds the best mark in the division.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Chloe May	Pickford	2nd Place – 2023, Region 44 Champion
2	11	Brooke Portice	Pickford	5th Place – 2023, #3 in the UP
3	10	Emma Wardon	Ironwood	Nearly 40′ improvement since freshman year
4	10	Mya Hemmer	Ishpeming	Region 43 Champion
5	11	Nikol Kharlan	Gwinn	#21 in the UP
6	11	Elizabeth Wing	Munising	14th Place – 2023
7	11	Journey Comment	Ishpeming	First ever Discus qualifier
8	11	Jadyn Negilski	Ishpeming	8th Place – 2023

UP DIVISION THREE BOYS

Shot Put

Last Year: Koby Goldi, 42’ 1”

This could go a thousand different ways. Ethan Pavey and Gabe Luck, the Newberry teammates, have battled back and forth all year. Neal Rand is the highest-placing returner. Kevin Giuliani and Gabe Popko both claimed conference and regional titles.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Gabe Luck	Newberry	5th Place – 2023, EUP Conference & Region 45 Champion
2	11	Ethan Pavey	Newberry	#8 in the UP
3	12	Neal Rand	Bessemer	2nd Place – 2023
4	11	Kevin Giuliani	Forest Park	Region 48 & Skyline Conference Champion
5	12	Gabe Popko	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Region 47 & Copper Mountain Champion
6	11	Ben Kaurala	Bessemer	3rd Place – 2023
7	12	Nick Halberg	St. Ignace	#15 in the UP
8	11	Spencer Willa	Powers North Central	First SP state qualifier in first season throwing

Discus

Last Year: Seth Mills, 134’ 2”

Pound for pound, the best discus competition in the UP. Three of the top four ranked throwers and kids who were all over podiums last spring.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Liam Nalette	Newberry	2nd Place – 2023, #4 in UP, Region 45 Champion
2	12	Gabe Popko	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Region 47 & Copper Mountain Champion, #2 in UP
3	12	Neal Rand	Bessemer	4th Place – 2023, #3 in the UP
4	11	Kevin Giuliani	Forest Park	5th Place – 2023, Region 48 Champion
5	12	Jax Lipnitz	St. Ignace	3rd Place (D2) – 2023
6	11	Nate Sterbenz	Baraga	#8 in the UP
7	11	Eddie Forslund	Rapid River	Region 46 Champion
8	11	Alex Drew	Lake Linden-Hubbell	11th Place 2023

UP DIVISION THREE GIRLS

Shot Put

Last Year: Grace Hill, 31’ 11.5”

All year, it’s been the two Carney-Nadeau girls. Mariska Laurila has had the upper hand thus far (and is looking to add the SP to her discus title), though Kelsie Smith is slowly trending up into the 30’s.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Mariska Laurila	Carney-Nadeau	2nd Place – 2023, Region 48 Champion
2	12	Kelsie Smith	Carney-Nadeau	7th Place – 2023, #12 in UP
3	10	Tallulah Slabosheski	Brimley	Region 45 Champion
4	10	Maddy Dudenas	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Region 47 Champion
5	11	Alayna Strahl	Stephenson	11th Place – 2023
6	11	Cadence Cullen	St. Ignace	First ever SP qualifier
7	10	Hannah Ruppert	Forest Park	5′ improvement since freshman year
8	10	Hope Brunngraeber	Rock Mid-Peninsula	Region 46 Champion

Discus

Last Year: Mariska Laurila, 102’ 3”

That 102’ toss was a huge step up for Mariska Laurila, as was Reese Holley’s 100’ 9” that helped her place second. Now the two are throwing further. And they’ve yet to face each other in 2024.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Reese Holley	Baraga	2nd Place – 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	11	Mariska Laurila	Carney-Nadeau	Defending Champion, Skyline Conference Champion
3	10	Tallulah Slabosheski	Brimley	9th Place – 2023, EUP & Region 45 Champion
4	11	Alayna Strahl	Stephenson	5th Place – 2023, Region 48 Champion
5	10	Emma Besonen	Ewen-Trout Creek	10th Place – 2023, #11 in UP
6	11	Addison Cullen	St. Ignace	#20 in the UP
7	10	Hope Brunngraeber	Rock Mid-Peninsula	6th Place – 2023, Region 46 Champion
8	10	Cleo Milkey	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Only two throws on a.net… #27 in UP

It’s that time of the year where the Best Crews get thrown aside, the numbers are tossed in the trash, and ol’ MIXCSR gets to voice his own predictions. 2022’s preview included simulations (similar to what I do in cross country), 2023’s version had stats and charts for an athlete’s average/most recent performances. Compiling all that info is easy during the fall, with 17 separate events in the spring, it’s too dang tedious.

Instead, I’ll be just rolling with my own predictions. I feel that I can do that. Cross Country is all number-based, as are the Best Crews, this is my one moment to put my thoughts out there. But before I let you know my process, know this: I appreciate everyone for competing, to those who’ve made it to June and those who haven’t, you’re awesome. To those who see this and want to prove them wrong: Go do that and tell me about it afterward. To those who see this and want to prove them right: I know you’re 100% capable of showing the world your greatness.

My general thought process for vaults is this:

• Consistency is huge, of course with the context of the competition and heights
  • I understand that winning at a lower height is a thing in the high jump, so I don’t fault someone for winning all the time, yet having swings in height
  • And I also understand that wind has a role in the long jump
• Improvement throughout the year
• Looking back to previous years, ability to rise to the occasion in important meets

So here are the predictions, with a little writing beforehand and a bit of info on who I think might the All-State finishers.

BOYS PROJECTED SCORES (THROUGH 3 EVENTS)
GIRLS PROJECTED SCORES (THROUGH 3 EVENTS)

DIVISION ONE BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: Quincy Isaac – 22’ 11”

Love that the depth is improving at the long jump level. In Division 1, from 2021-2023, six total jumpers broke through 23’. In just 2024’s D1 scene, we now have EIGHT. At the forefront is defending champion Quincy Isaac, whose 24’3 from Region 6 leads the field. But beyond him, the podium could be split up many ways. Plenty of state medalists, experience, and even a rapidly improving Jhavon Alexander.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Quincy Isaac	Canton	Defending Champion, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Davis Barr	Battle Creek Lakeview	4th Place in 2023, Region 4 Champion
3	12	Charlie Garner	Ann Arbor Huron	6th Place in 2023, Region 5 Champion
4	12	Prentice Gardner	North Farmington	Region 9 Champion
5	12	Carter Bissell	Rockford	2nd Place in 2023, Region 2 Champion
6	12	Jayden Brock	Byron Center	8th Place in 2023, Region 3 Champion
7	10	Jhavon Alexander	East Kentwood	20″ improvement from 9th to 10th grade
8	12	Dylan Lafontsee	Cedar Springs	OK Gold Champion

High Jump

Last Year: Andrew Harding, 6’ 7”

All signs point toward another showdown between Andrew Harding and Nathan Levine. Last year, the two fended off the competition at 6’5, then matched each other until Harding prevailed at 6’7. A few weeks back, we got a preview at Farmington, where the two locked heads until 6’10. I’d recommend heading to the north end of the East Kentwood track to watch these two battle once again.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Andrew Harding	Ann Arbor Huron	Defending Champion, #1 in Michigan, #21 in US
2	12	Nathan Levine	Canton	2nd Place in in 2023, Region 6 & KLAA Champion
3	12	Jayden Brock	Byron Center	11th Place in 2023, OK White Champion
4	12	Charlie Garner	Ann Arbor Huron	Ranked #6 in Michigan, #83 in US
5	12	Tayshawn Crosby	Dearborn	7th Place in 2023
6	11	Brock Fergison	Sturgis	Wolverine Conference, Region 4 Champion
7	12	Fransco Lee, Jr.	Saginaw United	7th Place in D2 in 2023
8	12	Andrew Kraft	Zeeland West	Region 2 Champion

DIVISION ONE GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Maya Anderson – 18’ 6.5”

Taking a peek at everyone’s portfolio, you see many girls peaking at the right time. Jaunts into the 18’s from Fiona Kane, Grace Moeggenberg, Natalie Formsma. Ashley Richburg is right there. And Lena Cleveland has been there, fresh off a MITS State Championship.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Lena Cleveland	Rochester	4th Place in 2023, Indoor State Champion
2	12	Zoe Zeiser	Utica	Region 10, MAC White Champion
3	12	Grace Moeggenberg	Traverse City West	Big North, Region 1 Champion
4	10	Fiona Kane	Dearborn Edsel Ford	Downriver League, Region 6 Champion
5	12	Ashley Richburg	Grand Ledge	5th Place in 2023, Region 4 Champion
6	11	Natalie Formsma	Byron Center	Region 3 Champion, Unbeaten in 2024
7	11	Greta Caprathe	Rockford	3rd Place in 2023
8	12	Avery Lahti	Traverse City West	1’+ improvement from junior year

High Jump

Last Year: Milena Chevalier, 5’ 11”

Two years in a row, we’ve had epic, down to the wire High Jump competitions. Both have featured Madison Morson, heading to Central Michigan for basketball, but leaving her mark on the all-time track lists, finishing 2^nd twice. This past year’s version contained Milena Chevallier conquering the bar at 5’11”. The future Texas A&M Aggie has been on the same road this year, hitting 5’10 earlier and winning a MITS title. Farmington again was a potential State Final preview, with Morson prevailing. The same words hold true – head to the north end of the East Kentwood track to watch the high jump.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Milena Chevallier	Farmington Hills Mercy	Defending Champion, 2x All-Stater
2	12	Madison Morson	Salem	2nd Place in 2023, 2x All-Stater
3	11	Ariyana James	East Lansing	11th Place in 2023, Region 4 Champion
4	12	Susie Schulz	Bay City Central	6th Place in 2023, Region 1 & SVL Champion
5	11	Nadia Hill	Muskegon	Region 2, OK Green, GMAA Champion
6	11	Elizabeth Wydeven	Rochester	19th Place in 2023, Region 8 Champion
7	10	Molly Heller	Beverly Hills Groves	21st Place in 2023, OAA Blue/Gold Champion
8	11	Madeline Bildeaux	Traverse City West	Big North Champion

DIVISION TWO BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: Wyatt Bower – 22’ 8.5”

The Bower bros (Wyatt and Tarick) continually rack up points to the benefit of their Cavaliers. In 2023, that was 16 points that helped lead the way toward a State Title. This year, it could be more, but I’m sure freshman sensation Kaden Griffiths, steady senior Tyler Baker, a Mason Korn who can jump with anyone, or another boy in this field will have something to say about that.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Tarick Bower	Corunna	3rd Place in 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Wyatt Bower	Corunna	Defending Champion
3	9	Kaden Griffiths	Stevensville Lakeshore	#1 freshman in Michigan
4	12	Tyler Baker	Mason	2nd Place in 2023
5	12	Jordan Rodgers	Grand Rapids Christian	Region 13 Champion
6	12	Mason Korn	Battle Creek Harper Creek	Region 15 Champion
7	11	Joseph DeCasas	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	Region 19 Champion
8	12	Caleb RuddJones	Parma Western	16th Place in 2023

High Jump

Last Year: Jacoby Dunlap, 6’ 7”

Stevensville Lakeshore sure has a class of freshmen. Declin Doroh has soared over bars all year, thanks to a 6’ 7.5” win at Region 14, he’s now ranked as the #2 freshman in the country. There are upperclassmen who’ve competed in this arena before too, such as Jacoby Dunlap, the defending champ persevering through a year of not being able to practice at his track.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Joshua Veneziano	Parma Western	9th Place in 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Jacoby Dunlap	Alma	Defending Champion
3	11	Camden Thompson	Whitehall	2nd Place in 2023, GMAA & Region 12 Champion
4	9	Declin Doroh	Stevensville Lakeshore	#1 freshman in Michigan
5	11	Jamarion Richards	Flint Kearsley	6th Place in 2023, Region 20 Champion
6	12	Tyler Baker	Mason	3rd Place in 2023
7	10	Declan Cornish	Tecumseh	SEC White Champion
8	12	Evan Minks	Forest Hills Eastern	5th Place in 2023

DIVISION TWO GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Kaitlyn Molnar – 18’ 5.75”

Division 2 is the spot where freshmen show out and experienced jumpers blast at State. Kaitlyn Molnar did just the latter in 2023, hitting a PR to capture the crown. Then freshman Sadie Dykstra was right there, as was the now junior Jayda Beene. And now we have two newcomers to the scene: Leigha Whitman and Ella Grabowski, the #1 and #2 ranked long jumpers, respectively.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Jayda Beene	Benton Harbor	Slow rise has culminated in two 18’+ leaps, including a Region 14 victory
2	12	Kaitlyn Molnar	Grosse Ile	Defending Champion, Region 16 Champion
3	10	Sadie Dykstra	Yale	4th as a freshman, Region 19 Champion
4	9	Leigha Whitman	Stevensville Lakeshore	#1 freshman in Michigan
5	12	Nyla Reed	Otsego	5th Place in 2023
6	11	Brielle Reason	Pinckney	6th Place in 2023
7	12	Grace Clemens	North Branch	18th Place in 2023
8	9	Ella Grabowski	Coldwater	#2 freshman in Michigan

High Jump

Last Year: Lyberty Brandt, 5’ 5”

SEVEN girls return from 2023’s podium. Two of the top freshmen in the State US enter the jumping. Last spring, Sarah Pippin and Riley Kerr stepped up their games to place 2^nd and 3^rd. Bella Friddle has shown no signs of letting up, hitting 5’ 5” and 5’ 7” in the past six days.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	9	Bella Friddle	Hastings	#2 freshman in Michigan, #6 in US
2	10	Sarah Pippin	Edwardsburg	2nd Place in 2023, Region 14 & Wolverine Champion
3	11	Kierra Taube	Yale	Region 19 & BWAC Champion
4	11	Riley Kerr	Grosse Ile	3rd Place in 2023, Region 16 & Huron League Champion
5	12	Kenady Smith	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	5th Place in 2023, OK Gold & Region 13 Champion
6	12	Kendell Wilcox	Shepherd	8th Place in 2023, JPC & Region 11 Champion
7	10	Ivy Roberts	Gaylord	Region 11 Champion
8	9	Camryn Siegers	Holland Christian	#3 freshman in Michigan

DIVISION THREE BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: Mitchel Harrington – 22’ 1.75”

If you want to look at a preview of what may go down, take a glance at this week’s JPC Championship. Sawyer Moloy, in his final meet on the Sanford-Meridian track hit a personal best, launching past 22’ to best his teammate Nickolas Metzger (an All-Stater in his own right) and Conan Weeks (who skipped right past the 21’s into the 22’s as a sophomore). Just a bit south, Preston Kelsey has a history of performing with everything on the line, finishing 5^th last year. He’s already been over 22’ once this year, claiming a Saginaw County crown in the process.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Preston Kelsey	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	5th Place in 2023, Region 29 and Saginaw County Champion
2	12	Sawyer Moloy	Sanford-Meridian	11th Place in 2023, JPC and Region 30 Champion
3	10	Conan Weeks	Clare	Region 21 Champion
4	12	Caiden Smith	Hartford	4th Place in 2023
5	12	DeVonta Habern	Napoleon	Region 25 Champion, Unbeaten in May
6	10	Jack Deitsch	Reed City	Region 22 and CSAA Champion
7	12	Nickolas Metzger	Sanford-Meridian	6th Place in 2023
8	11	Hayden Handy	Hillsdale	6″ improvement from 10th to 11th grade

High Jump

Last Year: Sawyer Moloy, 6’ 4”

Many on a streak rolling toward these finals. Sawyer Moloy hasn’t lost in a great while. Tayden Redding hasn’t lost all season. Quentin Lange just popped a 6’ 4” at the West Michigan All-Star Meet. DeVonta Habern and Benjamin Rodenbaugh haven’t been beaten since April. And they’ve all been over 6’ 4” at some point.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Sawyer Moloy	Sanford-Meridian	Defending Champion, Unbeaten since late April
2	11	Benjamin Rodenbaugh	McBain	4th Place in 2023, Highland Conference & Region 22 Champion
3	12	DeVonta Habern	Napoleon	7th Place in 2023, Cascades Conference & Region 25 Champion
4	11	Quentin Lange	Mason County Central	4th Place in 2023, WMC Rivers Champion
5	10	Tayden Redding	Warren Michigan Collegiate	Unbeaten in 2024, Region 27 Champion
6	10	Mason Chesser	Onsted	LCAA, Region 26 Champion
7	11	Weston Kinney	Grand Traverse Academy	Over 6′ all three years
8	10	Ashton Thornsbury	Hillsdale	2nd Place – Region 25 & LCAA Championship

DIVISION THREE GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Alyssa Budd – 17’ 11.5

15’ x, 15’ x, 15’ x, 17’4. Sohanny Gonzalez-Castillo’s D4 State Championship was a magnificent rise to the occasion on the big stage. If you look this season, you’ll find that SGC has met the levels of her previous year, excited to see what the State Finals bring. The State Finals will bring more chances for Gracee Robidou and Destiny McDaniels, both of whom stepped on the Kent City podium in 2023. And a big newcomer has found her way to the scene, Harrison’s Samantha Hopkins went from a girl who couldn’t get past 15’ to one that has been over 17’ on a few occasions in 2024.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Sohanny Gonzalez-Castillo	The Potter’s House	D4’s defending champion
2	10	Samantha Hopkins	Harrison	Has gained 2’+ in the past year
3	11	Destiny McDaniels	Bath	3rd Place in 2023, Region 30 Champion
4	12	Gracee Robidou	Stockbridge	8th Place in 2023, Unbeaten this season
5	12	Ashley Ruhlig	St. Mary CC	Region 26 Champion
6	10	Izabelle Lalone	Ithaca	TVC Blue Champion
7	10	Ryley Bowsher	Cassopolis Ross Beatty	Region 24 Champion
8	10	Sophia Tucker	Traverse City St. Francis	1′ PB led to Region 22 victory

High Jump

Last Year: Addison Hovey, 5’ 4”

What a combination of the youth, the eliteful youth. Many of the top ranks within Division 3 are taken by underclassmen, whether that be the Addison Hovey who has found herself merely an inch from a state record or a Elli VanDusen who has been raising the bar with the best in the nation.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Addison Hovey	Hart	Defending Champion, 2x All-State, Ranked #2 in Michigan
2	9	Elli VanDusen	Kalamazoo Christian	#1 freshman in Michigan, #5 in US
3	11	Sophia Pell	Olivet	Region 30 & CAAC White Champion
4	11	Beth Sweeney	Erie Mason	Undefeated in 2024
5	10	Ereni Polhamus	Comstock	5th Place in 2023, SW10 Champion
6	12	Libby McCarthy	Manistee	6th Place in 2023
7	12	Imogene Brumbaugh	Hart	10th Place in 2023, 3″ PR set last week
8	9	Ava Thomas	Kalamazoo Christian	Tied for #3 freshman in Michigan

DIVISION FOUR BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: Alex Affer, 23’ 4”

Three prominent names return from 2023’s podium: Anthony Buford, Mekhi Wingfield, and Landon Galea. Buford is unbeaten since late March and has dispensed all D4 competition. Galea and Wingfield are consistently at a higher level than in previous years, which bodes well given their proclivity to raise their game. Even more names to throw in there: Evan Brandenburg, who has bested Wingfield twice, Karsen Gonyea, winner in Region 31 over Galea, and Adrlan Smith, second fiddle to Buford, but someone capable of 21+ in the State Finals.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Anthony Buford	Detroit Frederick Douglass	3rd Place in 2023, Unbeaten since April
2	11	Landon Galea	Fairview	5th Place in 2023
3	12	Mekhi Wingfield	Concord	2nd Place in 2023, Region 36 Champion
4	10	Karsen Gonyea	Lincoln-Alcona	Region 31 Champion
5	11	Adrlan Smith	Detroit Frederick Douglass	6th Place in 2023
6	12	Evan Brandenburg	Vermontville Maple Valley	2nd Place – Region 36
7	12	Carter Lance	Fowler	Region 37 Champion
8	11	Cass Stanberry	Saugatuck	Region 34 Champion

High Jump

Last Year: Bradley Richards, 6’ 10”

A little quick math for you. As I write this in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 23^rd, Division 4 has 7 boys who have cleared 6’ 6” (of 257 that have jumped). Division 2 has 4 (of 505), Division 3 has 4 (of 358). That means that approximately 1 of every 125 kids in D2 is a 6′ 6+ jumper, 1 of every 90 D3 kids are the same, and 1 of 33 D4 kids are at that same level. I’d say these D4 folks are punching farrrr above their weight and I’ll come out and say this without looking at any other event:

Per enrollment, school, and team size, this is the best individual grouping in the state.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Braden Prielipp	Marion	2022 Champion, 2nd Place in 2023
2	11	Bradley Richards	Fruitport Calvary Christian	Defending Champion
3	12	Kaden Bruce	Kingston	6″ improvement since 2023, Region 38 Champion
4	12	Xavier Santiago	Onaway	3rd Place in 2023, Region 31 Champion
5	12	Noah Robinson	White Cloud	Region 33 & CSAA Champion
6	12	Carter Lance	Fowler	CMAC & Region 37 Champion
7	11	Jordan Pisco	White Pigeon	Region 34 & SW10 Champion
8	12	Miles Shannon	Climax-Scotts	6th Place in 2023

DIVISION FOUR GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Sohanny Gonzalez-Castillo, 17’ 4”

With six of the eight All-State spots from 2023 being underclasswomen and SGC moving to D3, this crown could go to anyone. And there’s a ton of girls with experience on these Hudsonville boards. Olivia Findlay owns the best jump of the year, BayLeigh Clapp is the highest placing returner, both Ellie Miller and Katie Spicer have recently broke through 17’.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	BayLeigh Clapp	Breckenridge	2nd Place in 2023, Region 37 Champion
2	12	Olivia Findlay	Marlette	6th Place in 2023, Unbeaten in 2024
3	11	Katie Spicer	Fowler	7th Place in 2023
4	12	Abby Kissling	Brethren	9th Place in 2023, Region 33 Champion
5	12	Ryleigh Nelson	Webberville	4th Place in 2023, Region 36 Champion
6	12	Grace Wolfe	Frankfort	5th Place in 2023, Region 32 Champion
7	10	Brooklynn Frazee	Buckley	#4 Jumper in Division 4
8	11	Ava Mustapha	Lansing Christian	2nd Place in Region 36

High Jump

Last Year: Olivia Findlay, 5’ 4”

2023’s Champion and 3x All-Stater, Olivia Findlay looks to cement her legacy as one of the division’s best all-around athletes and one of the better high jumpers to come through the area. She’s come through 2024 relatively unscathed, one lone defeat to the outstanding Susie Schulz. Despite being from the same general area of the state, she hasn’t seen freshman Macie Hafner, who has matched Findlay’s winning height of 5’ 4” and won all sorts of championships – County, League, or Regional.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Olivia Findlay	Marlette	Defending Champion, Unbeaten against D4 athletes in 2024
2	12	Macey Burgess	Colon	8th Place in 2023, SCAA & Region 35 Champion
3	9	Macie Hafner	St. Charles	MSAC & Region 37 Champion, Tied for #3 freshman in Michigan
4	10	Alecsis Gould	Kingston	6th Place in 2023
5	9	Karis Terwilliger	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	Tied for #9 freshman in Michigan
6	12	Ryleigh Nelson	Webberville	8th Place in 2023, Region 36 Champion
7	10	Leah Roberts	Centreville	Region 34 Champion
8	10	Aspen Evans	Central Lake/Ellsworth	Region 32 Champion

UP DIVISION ONE BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: Cardel Morton, 19’ 9”

The two Redmen teammates have dominated the leaderboards in ’24. Kyler Sager has won four meets, and in those four, David Williams has been right on his tail.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Kyler Sager	Marquette	#1 Rank in the UP
2	10	David Williams	Marquette	Ranked #2 in UP in one season of jumping
3	12	Brody Mattila	Houghton	Region 42 Champion
4	11	Evan Woelffer	Gladstone	7th Place in 2023
5	12	Rayce Rizzo	Sault Ste. Marie
6	9	Gaige Sorenson	Kingsford	#1 freshman in the UP
7	12	Connor Quick	Kingsford
8	12	Noah Johnson	Kingsford	Best Thrower in the UP

High Jump

Last Year: Darrent Butler, 5’ 11”

Darrent Butler, the defending champion, has locked down championship season by securing victories in his last three meets. Before then, Talon Thomas-Holm had the upper hand. At last year’s Finals, the two were consistent with the level they’d been performing at all year, now each have added a few inches.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Talon Thomas-Holm	Sault Ste. Marie	5th Place in 2023, Ranked #1 in the UP
2	10	Darrent Butler	Menominee	Defending Champion, Region 41 Champion
3	10	Mason Peltin	Gladstone	Tied for #5 in the UP
4	10	David Williams	Marquette	Tied for #5 in the UP
5	11	Brady Mager	Negaunee	6th Place in 2023, MPC Champion
6	11	Micheal Cattoor	Marquette	Tied for #7 in the UP
7	12	Connor Quick	Kingsford	4″ improvement since 2023
8	11	Trayven Lahti	Houghton	First qualifier in the High Jump

UP DIVISION ONE GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Faith Spiroff, 17’ 3”

Last spring, Faith Spiroff proved she can win, this spring, she’s proved she can handle setbacks. Eleven days past, a 5^th place at Marquette County has spawned three straight wins, all by 8” or more.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Faith Spiroff	Ishpeming Westwood	Defending Champion, #1 Rank in the UP
2	10	Nori Korsman	Negaunee	5th Place in 2023
3	12	Caitlyn Strom	Calumet	4th Place in 2023
4	11	Maggie Martin	Escanaba	#12 in the UP
5	9	Taylen Todd	Marquette	Region 41 Champion
6	10	Mackenzi Pesola	Menominee	7th Place in 2023
7	9	Mylee Kreider	Kingsford	#1 freshman in the UP
8	9	Natalie Heryman	Sault Ste. Marie	#3 freshman in the UP

High Jump

Last Year: Faith Spiroff, 5’ 4”

Faith Spiroff looks to make it three straight. The Patriot junior is undefeated in 2024 amongst D1 competition and has a full 3” on her competition.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Faith Spiroff	Ishpeming Westwood	2x Champion, MPC & Region 42 Champion
2	12	Adrianna Getzloff	Escanaba	3rd Place in 2023
3	11	Kristy Karl	Gladstone	6th Place in 2023, Region 41 Champion
4	12	Ellie Sundberg	Negaunee	Marquette County Champion
5	12	Linnea Way	Manistique	3rd Place in 2023
6	11	Lexi Olson	Ishpeming Westwood	7th Place in 2023
7	10	Emily Schuettpeltz	Menominee	#3 sophomore in the UP
8	10	Nori Korsman	Negaunee	First qualifier in the High Jump

UP DIVISION TWO BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: David Kozisek, 20’ 10”

Sadly, we didn’t get to see a matchup between Tramon Gauthier and Matthew Colavecchi in the MPC Championship Meet, hopefully that’ll come in early June. Each of the two have cleared 19’ this spring.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Tramon Gauthier	Ishpeming	2nd Place in 2023
2	12	Matthew Colavecchi	Iron Mountain	Region 44 Champion
3	10	Gunner Bennin	Pickford	#25 in the UP
4	10	Carver Day	Pickford	8″ PR at Region 44
5	11	Zack Lindquist	Munising	3′ improvement since freshman year
6	10	Landon Larson	Painesdale-Jeffers
7	10	David Graveen	Ironwood
8	12	Curtis Salisbury	Ishpeming

High Jump

Last Year: David Kozisek, 6’ 3”

Two jumpers have stood above the rest and last year, both showed they take it to a new level come State time. As a freshman, John Anderson, progressed from a 5’ 6” – 5’ 8” guy to a 5’11” guy at the State Finals. Hunter Smith added two inches to his previous 5’ 8” best. In late April, Anderson vaulted over 6’, while Smith, who doesn’t have many results to his name, hit 5’ 8”.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	John Anderson	Pickford	2nd Place in 2023, Region 44 Champion
2	12	Hunter Smith	Ishpeming	3rd Place in 2023, Region 43 Champion
3	11	Tommy Storey	Pickford	First qualifier in the High Jump
4	11	Aiden Ellis	Iron Mountain	First qualifier in the High Jump
5	10	Remington Steele	Bark River-Harris	First qualifier in the High Jump

UP DIVISION TWO GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Mya Hemmer, 16’ 3.75”

Mya Hemmer has been here before, leaping to a 16’ 3” win after a few weeks worth of 14-15’ efforts. You can’t discount that. Nor can you discount the consistency of Mckenzie Hoffmeyer, with three 16’ 3” efforts of her own this spring.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Mckenzie Hoffmeyer	Bark River-Harris	2nd Place in 2023
2	11	Bella Pickett	Iron Mountain	#11 in the UP
3	10	Mya Hemmer	Ishpeming	Defending Champion
4	11	Marissa Ives	Bark River-Harris	2nd Place – Region 44
5	9	Carli Erickson	Bark River-Harris
6	10	Mia Nordstrom	Painesdale-Jeffers
7	12	Piper Prior	West Iron County	8th Place in 2022
8	9	Brielle Anderson	Painesdale-Jeffers	#8 freshman in the UP

High Jump

Last Year: Calli Pellizzer, 4’ 10”

Danica Shamion looks to pick up her first High Jump victory. She’s been All-State twice and this year, even bested Faith Spiroff. She holds a season’s best that is 6” better than any of the other girls in the field.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Danica Shamion	West Iron County	2nd Place in 2023, 2x All-Stater
2	12	Lauren Zawada	Bark River-Harris	5th Place in 2023
3	11	Bree Delich	Ironwood	4th Place in 2023
4	11	Lyric Collins	Pickford	First qualifier in two years in the High Jump
5	9	Zahra Wicks	Iron Mountain	#1 freshman in the UP
6	11	Audra Pawlak	Ironwood	First qualifier in the High Jump
7	11	Lilly Anderson	Pickford	4″ improvement since 2023

UP DIVISION THREE BOYS

Long Jump

Last Year: Matthew Rahilly, 19’ 10.25”

Matthew Rahilly has held the crown quite well, staying in the 19’s consistently throughout the year, unbeaten as well. Young Michael Rexford is progressing though, matching his 18’ 11” PB to win in Region 46.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Matthew Rahilly	Newberry	Defending Champion
2	10	Michael Rexford	Holy Name	Region 46 Champion
3	12	Trevor Visnaw	St. Ignace	4th Place in 2023
4	9	Vic Giuliani	Forest Park	#2 freshman in the UP
5	10	Spencer Kramer	North Dickinson County	Region 48 Champion
6	10	John Wheeler	Republic-Michigamme
7	10	Greg Taylor	Rapid River
8	11	Mason Trudeau	Norway

High Jump

Last Year: Dylan Plunger, 5’ 10”

I like the mix of youth (Lewis Holmes and Vic Giuliani both hitting 5’ 10”), consistency (Shawn Kingsbury with multiple 5’ 9”+ jumps), and a tendency to turn it on late (Matthew Rahilly clearing 5’ 10” late last year and a few times recently).

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	11	Matthew Rahilly	Newberry	2nd Place in 2023, Region 45 Champion
2	12	Shawn Kingsbury	St. Ignace	2″ improvement since 2023
3	9	Vic Giuliani	Forest Park	#1 freshman in the UP
4	9	Josh Daavettila	Lake Linden-Hubbell	Copper Mountain Conference Champion
5	10	Spencer Kramer	North Dickinson County	First qualifier in the High Jump
6	10	Greg Taylor	Rapid River	Region 46 Champion
7	11	Tanner LaMaide	Wakefield-Marenisco/Bessemer	4th Place in 2023, Region 47 Champion
8	8	Lewis Holmes	Rock Mid-Peninsula	8th grader!

UP DIVISION THREE GIRLS

Long Jump

Last Year: Sarah Labs, 16’ 3”

After placing 2^nd in 2023, Samantha Kedsch has had her footprints all over the 2024 season. Wins each time out (and even a few triple jumps on her resume), the best jump in each of those wins over 16’.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	12	Samantha Kedsch	Carney-Nadeau	2nd Place last year, Unbeaten in 2024
2	12	Grace VanWormer	Big Bay de Noc	Region 46 Champion
3	10	Elsie Williams	Forest Park	2′ improvement since 2023
4	11	Mariska Laurila	Carney-Nadeau	7th Place in 2023
5	10	Lily Sarder	Forest Park
6	9	Olivia Mattila	Republic-Michigamme	14th Place in 2023
7	12	Elisa Rizzoli	Newberry
8	7	Rayne Martin	Holy Name	7th grader!

High Jump

Last Year: Alicia Cheney, 4’ 10”

Seven of last year’s top eight were underclassmen and many find their way here again. Two have stood out in this short spring season: Aubrey Applekamp and Kiera Isaacson. Isaacson is unbeaten, a majority of her wins at 5’ and above. Applekamp suffered an early defeat, but has been rolling since late April, hitting as high as 5’ 2”.

Place	Grade	Name	Team	Notes
1	10	Kiera Isaacson	Dollar Bay	Tied for 2nd Place in 2023, Undefeated in 2024
2	10	Aubrey Applekamp	North Dickinson County	Tied for 2nd Place in 2023, Region 47 Champion
3	8	Destiny Bleau	Big Bay de Noc	8th grader! Region 46 Champion
4	10	Caragan Thill	Big Bay de Noc	4th Place in 2023
5	12	Emily Johnson	Bessemer	5th Place in 2023
6	12	Jada Kuntze	Stephenson	7th Place in 2023
7	11	Jillian Fraser	St. Ignace	6th Place in 2023 (D2)
8	10	Hannah Gady	St. Ignace	8th Place in 2023 (D2)