SUMMER PREVIEW
Last Year
Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result
Boys
- Pewamo-Westphalia (7th in D3)
- Stanton Central Montcalm (5th)
- Bath (14th)
Girls
- Pewamo-Westphalia (4th)
- Stanton Central Montcalm (8th)
- Laingsburg (25th)
Missed the order on the boys, but the summer preview nabbed all the teams. Kinda surprised that I was correct on the Laingsburg girls.
Top 27 Teams
Boys
Top Ten – Pewamo-Westphalia
Top Ten – Bath
#11 – Stanton Central Montcalm
Girls
Top Ten – Pewamo-Westphalia
Top Ten – Stanton Central Montcalm
#22 – Laingsburg
#24 – Bath
Projected Scores
Boys
| Place | Team | Projected Score |
| 1 | Pewamo-Westphalia | 39 |
| 2 | Bath | 63 |
| 3 | Stanton Central Montcalm | 63 |
| 4 | Laingsburg | 120 |
| 5 | Otisville LakeVille | 156 |
| 6 | Ovid-Elsie | 173 |
| 7 | New Lothrop | 184 |
| 8 | Montrose | 194 |
| 9 | Chesaning | 198 |
| 10 | Perry | 242 |
Girls
| Place | Team | Projected Score |
| 1 | Pewamo-Westphalia | 31 |
| 2 | Stanton Central Montcalm | 50 |
| 3 | Bath | 89 |
| 4 | Laingsburg | 96 |
| 5 | Ovid-Elsie | 150 |
| 6 | Chesaning | 158 |
| 7 | New Lothrop | 170 |
| 8 | Perry | 219 |
| 9 | Montrose | 233 |
Top Runners
Boys
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 11 | Gage Hoffman | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 2 | 11 | Noah Devereaux | Laingsburg |
| 3 | 9 | Owen Poppema | Bath |
| 4 | 10 | Wyatt Werner | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 5 | 11 | Sylus Wilson | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 6 | 10 | John Kowatch | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 7 | 11 | Tyler Leach | Otisville LakeVille |
| 8 | 12 | Sam Muirhead | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 9 | 10 | River Fox | Bath |
| 10 | 12 | Allan George | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 11 | 10 | Nolan Mitchell | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 12 | 12 | Luke Skidmore | Bath |
| 13 | 12 | Clay Powell | Ovid-Elsie |
| 14 | 9 | Tate Smith | Bath |
| 15 | 10 | Charlie George | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 16 | 11 | Kyler Fertig | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 17 | 9 | Wyatt Roberts | Otisville LakeVille |
| 18 | 9 | Johnny Coston | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 19 | 11 | Reed Schroeder | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 20 | 12 | Connor Kennedy | Otisville LakeVille |
| 21 | 9 | Eli Hobson | Montrose |
| 22 | 9 | Austin Hodges | Laingsburg |
| 23 | 11 | Evan Rolston | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 24 | 12 | Lieu Vincke | New Lothrop |
| 25 | 9 | Mario Baker | Bath |
Two years of cross country competing and Gage has been on it all the time. Two straight top-10 finishes in the D3 finals. Two more top-3 regional placings. Top-5 in the CSAA each time. And he’s right on the cusp of sub-16.
Sub-10 was no fluke. Hit that personal best at Shepherd, a 9:44, then raced to four more 9:xx efforts. Clearly had a great State Finals relative to the competition, as you don’t see many 8th place finishers at Regionals go onto finish 10th at State.
On the cross course, the lead runner of the vaunted Pirate freshman attack. Hovered around the 17-min mark early and also when it mattered most. At State, placed 7th amongst all 9th graders.
All but two of his 10th grade races were above 17:00. Two exceptions to that, one at Shepherd with a 16:52, the other (and best one), a 16:32 at State. Projected 50th, placed 34th. We call that showing up.
When running in ovals, the lead runner of the vaunted Pirate freshman attack. Concentrated on the 800m, placing 3rd in the CMAC. But I’m more intrigued by the one 1600m, a 4:37 at Bluejay. 5th on the list of D3 freshmen and only running it once. That’s some potential.
Girls
| Place | Grade | Name | Team |
| 1 | 12 | Kyah Hoffman | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 2 | 12 | Whitney Werner | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 3 | 10 | Alyssa Kramer | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 4 | 9 | Madison Wils | Bath |
| 5 | 12 | Ashley Choponis | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 6 | 11 | Grace Coston | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 7 | 9 | Adelyn Thelen | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 8 | 11 | Anna Poppema | Bath |
| 9 | 11 | Abbie Schneider | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 10 | 10 | Jenna Keilen | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 11 | 9 | Courtney Lawhorne | Bath |
| 12 | 12 | Emily Rathka | Laingsburg |
| 13 | 11 | Lilly Rooks | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 14 | 10 | Andrea Rolston | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 15 | 11 | Clarissa Baese | Ovid-Elsie |
| 16 | 10 | Charlotte Simon | Pewamo-Westphalia |
| 17 | 9 | KiKi Rusz | Laingsburg |
| 18 | 9 | Alonna Schack | Chesaning |
| 19 | 9 | Leah Theile | Chesaning |
| 20 | 12 | Evelyn Logghe | Laingsburg |
| 21 | 12 | Piper White | Ovid-Elsie |
| 22 | 11 | Hazel Burley | Laingsburg |
| 23 | 12 | Lexy Andres | New Lothrop |
| 24 | 11 | Braelyn Bunting | Stanton Central Montcalm |
| 25 | 10 | Samantha Gutzman | Laingsburg |
More words to come later! In the meantime, Kyah gracefully and dominantly handled the move from Region 21 to 24, crushing the field en route to a 1:30+ victory.
More words to come as well, but I marvel at her ability to run 18’s in her final races and attain top-10 regional finishes each time out.
Whew, she was laying down some times early in track season. Was among D3’s best freshmen girls, especially in the 1600m and 3200m, ranking 2nd in each. Unfortunately, May 10th was the end of her season, so we’ll have to wait for cross to see her unfinished business.
Now her fourth year on the scene and a front-running figure for her first three. Always runs her best at the end of the year, last year being no different, two 18:5x’s to end her season. The first one was a 18:55 personal best that gave Choponis two consecutive 12th place D3 finishes.
Freshman experience at State paid off as a sophomore, where Grace may have run the best race of her young career, a 19:18 that let her step on the podium. Normal kids might end their season after a State Finals PB, she just had to drop a few more seconds at Shepherd.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 