Blog

SUMMER PREVIEW

Last Year

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Boys

1. Kalamazoo Hackett (3^rd in D4)
2. Three Oaks River Valley (5^th)
3. Battle Creek St. Philip (21^st)

Girls

1. Concord (17^th)
2. Kalamazoo Hackett (23^rd)
3. White Pigeon (27^th)

Top 27 Teams

Boys

Top Ten – Kalamazoo Hackett
Top Ten – Three Oaks River Valley
#19 – Bridgman
#21 – White Pigeon

Girls

Top Ten – Bridgman
#18 – Kalamazoo Hackett

Projected Scores

Boys

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Kalamazoo Hackett	48
2	Three Oaks River Valley	59
3	Bridgman	81
4	White Pigeon	90
5	New Buffalo	154
6	Battle Creek St. Philip	159
7	Mendon	171
8	Eau Claire	178
9	Athens	184

Girls

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Bridgman	31
2	Kalamazoo Hackett	49
3	Three Oaks River Valley	107
4	White Pigeon	113
5	Mendon	114
6	New Buffalo	139
7	Athens	161

Top Runners

Boys

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Marek Butkiewicz	Kalamazoo Hackett
2	11	Landon Rogers	Three Oaks River Valley
3	11	Sean Siems	Kalamazoo Hackett
4	12	Andrew Mabry	Bridgman
5	11	Charlie Gibson	Three Oaks River Valley
6	11	Jesse Fielis	White Pigeon
7	12	Ethan O’Connor	Athens
8	12	Ben Iobe	Mendon
9	12	Adam Slavens	Three Oaks River Valley
10	12	Ryan Blankenship	Eau Claire
11	10	Kellen Siems	Kalamazoo Hackett
12	12	Teddy Ippel	Bridgman
13	10	Elias Baldwin	Decatur
14	10	Max Barron	Tekonsha
15	9	Noah Beck	Kalamazoo Hackett
16	12	Sean Driscoll	Three Oaks River Valley
17	11	David Lane	White Pigeon
18	9	Seth Crown	Heritage Christian Academy
19	12	Jerome Bastian	Battle Creek St. Philip
20	10	August Johnson	New Buffalo
21	11	Beck Ytterberg	Bridgman
22	12	Carter Ernsberger	Bridgman
23	12	Alex Dumont	Kalamazoo Hackett
24	12	Jack Williams	White Pigeon
25	10	Aiden Jackson	White Pigeon

Marek Butkiewicz

Landon Rogers

17^th and 15^th place finishes at D4 State the past two falls. Spring season showed massive gains in the 1600m (20 sec.) and 3200m (40 sec.), so be ready for Landon to move into the top-10 or even further.

Sean Siems

Twice top-10 here but kicked it up a notch on the oval. Sean’s best event was the 800m, where he placed 3^rd in D4. But the 1600m and 3200m improvements show that this fall, he can earn some serious medals as well.

Andrew Mabry

Two-time state qualifier from D3, moving to a smaller division, much potential to steal a podium spot at MIS…

Charlie Gibson

Yet another one who produced track times. Charlie came up big on regional day in the 2-lapper, knocking 4 seconds off his personal best to earn a trip to Hudsonville.

Jesse Fielis

Their girls made it to MIS last year, now their guys are ranked in the top-27. With Jesse’s steady presence in the low-18’s/high-17’s, perhaps the Chiefs can pull off a minor upset and make it as well?

Ethan O’Connor

Went from high-20’s to high-18’s in one year’s time, now his 4:40’s on the track show that the 16’s are within reach.

Girls

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	12	Clara Fast	Bridgman
2	11	Emma Riker	Kalamazoo Hackett
3	12	Presley Allen	Mendon
4	10	Gabriella Siems	Kalamazoo Hackett
5	11	Kandin Shuler	Bridgman
6	11	Rowan Allen	Mendon
7	9	Anna Howell	Bridgman
8	12	Melanie Warren	Bridgman
9	11	Katelyn Van Es	Kalamazoo Hackett
10	12	Emily Howell	Bridgman
11	10	Ella Hendrixson	Three Oaks River Valley
12	10	Harper Bowman	New Buffalo
13	9	Malia Fast	Bridgman
14	12	Jamielynn Delarye	White Pigeon
15	10	Emmy Nofs	Battle Creek St. Philip
16	12	Abigail Ulbrich	Kalamazoo Hackett
17	10	Angel VeenKant	Tekonsha
18	12	Rachel Schelstraete	White Pigeon
19	10	Helen Donner	Three Oaks River Valley
20	9	Kaylin Pinkowski	Bridgman
21	11	Bethany Carpenter	Kalamazoo Hackett
22	9	Delaney McBride	Kalamazoo Hackett
23	11	Julianne Mounce	Kalamazoo Hackett
24	11	Rachel Byler	White Pigeon
25	9	Brittney Hernandez	Three Oaks River Valley

Clara Fast

Raced to a few of her better performances of 2023 here at Portage. First, a 20:44 in early October, a season’s best at the time. Then a 5^th place finish at Region 22, another season’s best at the time. Those were both trumped by her 20:32 at MIS, a personal best and the greatest close she’s had to a fall season in her career.

Emma Riker

The Hackett girls got a youth movement of their own going too. Emma’s 5:30 in the 1600m earned her an 11^th place finish at State and was also the #5 time in D4 of anyone 10^th grade and below.

Presley Allen

Has racked up a storied career at the regional level, winning two of these Region 32 meets and finishing 3^rd last year.

Brie Siems

Model of consistency during her freshman campaign, rarely deviating from her 21-minute form. The only exceptions were to run 20:32 as a PR and follow that up with a 20:54 at Mount Bulldog.

Kandin Shuler

Really found a home in the 800m this spring, winning Region 24 and finishing 14^th in Division 3.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 16^th Place – D1 State
  • 1^st All-State PSL girl in 20 years
• Wayne County Champion
• PSL Champion
• 22^nd Place – D1 State 1600m
• 30^th Place – D1 State 800m
• Region 7 & PSL 800 & 1600m Champion
• MITS Qualifier in 60m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m, 3200m

• 400m – 56.7
• 800m – 2:16
• 1600m – 4:59
• 3200m – 11:33
• 5k (XC) – 18:26

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	A’nyla Robinson	18:26.6	Detroit Cass Tech	145.8	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
9	A’nyla Robinson	19:07.0	Detroit Cass Tech	129.0	Region 5	28-Oct	2023
9	A’nyla Robinson	18:41.9	Detroit Cass Tech	141.4	PSL Championship	17-Oct	2023
9	A’nyla Robinson	18:09.4	Detroit Cass Tech	154.9	Wayne County	7-Oct	2023
9	A’nyla Robinson	19:39.1	Detroit Cass Tech	131.3	Ramblin’ Rock	9-Sep	2023

The Rundown

The quiet storm grows louder and more fierce. After a subtle introduction onto the scene, A’nyla burst through our airwaves with a dominating Wayne County victory. 18:09, more than 10 seconds clear of a few All-Staters. Those of us that’d been keeping tabs on middle school phenoms weren’t too shocked, but yeah, it was still a surprise. That real debut set off a five week stretch where Robinson ran to a D1 podium, PSL title, and top-10 finish in the tough Region 5.

Can I just refer back to my track awards? Her third place finish in the all-around athletes category stands out to me. D1 regional qualifying times in the 200m, 400m, 800m, 1600m, and 3200m. And if it we somehow included indoor, I’m sure her 60m (8.27) would score some unofficial MIXCSR points. I know her 100m from the summer did. Maybe I should’ve included relays, ‘cause A’nyla was an integral part of Cass Tech’s 3^rd place D1 finish. I could go on for ages but let’s just look forward to the future where we’ll see Robinson’s versatility as it’s second to none.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 1600m – 4:19
• 3200m – 9:25
• 5k (XC) – 16:12
• 50k (Trail) – 4:29
• 50 Mile (Trail) – 7:47
• 100k (Trail) – 12:29
• 100 Mile (Trail) – Completed

• 6^th Place – D4 State
• Region 32 Champion
• 2^nd Place – SAC Championship
• 3200m D4 State Champion
• 4x800m D4 State Champion
• 2^nd Place – D4 State 1600m
• 6x All-State (Track & XC)

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:12.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	187.9	Division 4 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:34.3	Kalamazoo Hackett	186.6	Region 32	27-Oct	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:24.4	Kalamazoo Hackett	185.9	Christian Comet	21-Oct	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:59.4	Kalamazoo Hackett	184.5	SAC Championship	12-Oct	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:25.9	Kalamazoo Hackett	188.4	Portage	7-Oct	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:29.1	Kalamazoo Hackett	184.0	Otsego Bulldog	30-Sep	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	16:52.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	185.3	Centreville	9-Sep	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	17:13.0	Kalamazoo Hackett	185.0	Kalamazoo	30-Aug	2023
10	Marek Butkiewicz	17:02.5	Kalamazoo Hackett	188.5	Michigan Catholic	26-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:42.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	162.6	Division 4 State	5-Nov	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:34.1	Kalamazoo Hackett	162.6	Region 32	28-Oct	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:30.1	Kalamazoo Hackett	164.7	Christian Comet	22-Oct	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:55.2	Kalamazoo Hackett	158.9	SAC Championship	13-Oct	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:51.8	Kalamazoo Hackett	158.7	Portage	8-Oct	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:55.7	Kalamazoo Hackett	162.8	SAC 2	28-Sep	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:51.9	Kalamazoo Hackett	161.0	SAC 1	14-Sep	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	17:55.3	Kalamazoo Hackett	167.2	Centreville	10-Sep	2022
9	Marek Butkiewicz	18:28.3	Kalamazoo Hackett	162.6	Michigan Catholic	27-Aug	2022

The Rundown

Yeah, all the ultra and trail times are real. Don’t believe me? Just read.

And this excellent article from the MHSAA is a great background into Marek and his impact on the Hackett team.

I thought I’d approach things from a different angle, the way I know best, a good chart:

Meet	Rating Improvement	Time Improvement	Place Improvement
Division 4 State	25.3	1:20	52nd to 6th
Region 32	24.0	1:00	5th to 1st
Christian Comet	21.2	1:06	15th to 2nd
SAC Championship	25.6	0:56	7th to 2nd
Portage	29.7	1:26	29th to 7th
Centreville	18.1	1:03	Still 1st
Michigan Catholic	25.9	1:26	JV to 5th

I think this shows and proves what the MHSAA article had said, that Butkiewicz’s freshman track season was one that gave him clarity into his talents. Six races, averaging over a minute faster, racking up more wins and medals than his young self may have thought possible.

The ultra running and high mileage may point to being an endurance beast, Marek’s sophomore track season worked on another aspect – his speed. His 1600m spring consisted of a Region 34 title and a SAC Championship, along with a 4:19 that earned him a 2^nd place finish in Division Four. The real honors came in the 3200m, a win on his third event of the day, and the 4×800, where his Hackett boys, despite their enrollment ranking #493 in the State, passed the baton to the #19 time in Michigan. May future Irish boys be motivated and pushed to stardom by Butkiewicz’s grinding enthusiasm.