Blog

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 4^th Place – Division 2 State (XC)
• 2x All-State (XC)
• Region 11 Champion (XC)
• Division 2 State 3200m Champion
• 5^th Place – Division 2 State 1600m
• 6x All-State



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:15.5	Grand Rapids Christian	158.5	Pete Moss	27-Aug
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:51.6	Grand Rapids Christian	151.5	OK White 1	7-Sep
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:52.3	Grand Rapids Christian	143.2	Christian Schools	10-Sep
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:39.3	Grand Rapids Christian	144.9	Ottawa Hills	16-Sep
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:13.5	Grand Rapids Christian	153.8	OK White 2	21-Sep
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:46.9	Grand Rapids Christian	138.0	Cougar Falcon	24-Sep
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:09.4	Grand Rapids Christian	152.9	Otsego Bulldog	1-Oct
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:56.5	Grand Rapids Christian	156.5	OK White 3	5-Oct
11	Natalie VanOtteren	17:55.6	Grand Rapids Christian	157.8	Portage	8-Oct
11	Natalie VanOtteren	17:37.3	Grand Rapids Christian	159.2	Northview	19-Oct
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:11.3	Grand Rapids Christian	154.2	Region 11	29-Oct
11	Natalie VanOtteren	18:38.0	Grand Rapids Christian	145.7	Division 2 State	5-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:44.7	Grand Rapids Christian	148.8	Pete Moss	28-Aug
10	Natalie VanOtteren	19:14.2	Grand Rapids Christian	138.3	OK White 1	8-Sep
10	Natalie VanOtteren	19:05.8	Grand Rapids Christian	135.7	Christian School	11-Sep
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:59.8	Grand Rapids Christian	146.4	Ottawa Hills	17-Sep
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:35.1	Grand Rapids Christian	142.3	OK White 2	22-Sep
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:46.6	Grand Rapids Christian	145.8	Cougar Falcon	25-Sep
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:24.9	Grand Rapids Christian	151.4	Otsego Bulldog	2-Oct
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:12.3	Grand Rapids Christian	148.6	OK White 3	6-Oct
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:57.1	Grand Rapids Christian	145.0	Portage	9-Oct
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:26.5	Grand Rapids Christian	151.2	OK White 4	20-Oct
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:29.3	Grand Rapids Christian	142.6	Region 11	30-Oct
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:13.5	Grand Rapids Christian	152.2	Division 2 State	6-Nov
10	Natalie VanOtteren	18:12.1	Grand Rapids Christian	153.6	MITCA	13-Nov
Grade	Name		Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	101.6	FHE GRC Dual	22-Aug
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	121.3	Pete Moss	29-Aug
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	130.7	OK White (GF)	16-Sep
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	131.7	OK White 2	23-Sep
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	134.6	Cougar Falcon	26-Sep
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	138.7	Bulldog Elite	3-Oct
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	140.7	OK White Championship	14-Oct
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	133.3	Pre-Region 26	23-Oct
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	130.2	Region 13	31-Oct
9	Natalie VanOtteren		Grand Rapids Christian	127.7	Division 2 State	6-Nov

The Rundown

These ratings can do a lot of things. They can project the future, compare against competitors, show progression throughout time. Sadly, they cannot adjust for losing your shoes. Natalie’s 4^th place finish at MIS last year featured a missing shoe for over 80% of the race, though through that adversity, the race showcased her trusty Feetures socks and her mental toughness.

What may have been frustrating in November was hopefully forgotten about by June, and I’m sure her state title on the track helped a ton. Natalie added quite a bit of speed to her repertoire, reducing her best 800m by 8 whole seconds, which undoubtedly aided her other events. I’ve always regarded her as a little more of a distance girl, but breaking into the 2:1x’s dispelled that notion. Not as if her distance events suffered, big improvements came too (5:10 to 4:58 and 11:04 to 10:40). The most noticeable jump was in her State Finals, where she doubled her individual All-State efforts, moving up in place as well. She outlasted the field in the 3200m, winning it all, her first State Title ever, showing what she can do with two shoes and a ton of heart.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

Meet	Division	Place
Lamplighter	Flight Two	1st of 16
Bath	Class 1	1st of 14
Spartan	Elite	1st of 20
Loyola Latin		1st of 19
Portage	D1	1st of 32
KLAA Championship		1st of 15
Region 6		1st of 11
Division 1 State		1st of 27



Top Returners

Brendan Herger

Has excelled in championship meets these past two years. 2^nd Place in Region 6 as a sophomore, champion this past year. He’s been All-State twice and top-5 in the KLAA twice as well.

Ethan Powell

Think he may have found a lil’ somethin’ in the 800m this spring. Only ran two of ‘em, but lowered his personal best from 2:04 to 1:58

Nicholas Yaquinto

On a deep Northville team, patience is a virtue. Nick got his first crack at the big varsity stages as a junior and made the most of them, racing to mid-16 efforts at Portage, Region 6, and at State.

Benjamin Hartigan

Soon to be sophomore concentrated on the mile in the spring, shaving time almost all the time, eventually ending at 4:31, ranking 4^th amongst all D1 9^th graders.

Vincent Filipek

Commenced his career in the middle of the ’21 season. Completed a full season in ’22, dropping his personal best by a minute.

Ishaan Kundapur

This spring, his final race in a Northville jersey was on May 8^th. But that wasn’t his closer, that was a 4:32 at MITCA’s Champions of Champions Festival. Ten seconds better than his season best, 35+ seconds faster than his freshman best.

Nick Barretto

I love those 9^th/10^th grade invites such as Bob Brown. I don’t rate them, but they’re often on fast courses that motivate kids for the future. No doubt Nick was inspired by his 16:52 there in the fall, as he was able to run 4:44 during track.

Ryan Stojov

In the spring, outperformed his freshman cross country self by a long distance, snapping off a 4:43 in early May.

Luke Schwartz

Has been in the 17’s all three years. Junior year featured his best conclusion to a segment, ending the year with eight straight sub-18’s.

Potential Newcomers

Brandon Cloud

Four races on his Meads Mill middle school docket. All four were top-10’s and two were wins, at the KLAA and in Zone 3.

Basho Muhlbauer

Not very many races on his resume, but successful in the few in which he competed. Top-5’s throughout, including a 2^nd place finish in Zone 3.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 11^th Place – Division 2 State (XC)
• 4^th Place – SEC White (XC)
• 4^th Place – Region 16 (XC)
• 2^nd Place – SEC White 3200m
• 3^rd Place – Region 16 3200m
• 6^th Place – Division 2 State 4x800m



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
11	Paul Moore	17:01.5	Pinckney	177.2	SEC 1	14-Sep
11	Paul Moore	16:50.0	Pinckney	187.7	Holly	17-Sep
11	Paul Moore	17:19.8	Pinckney	176.4	Mott Fall Classic	23-Sep
11	Paul Moore	16:53.4	Pinckney	182.9	SEC White 2	28-Sep
11	Paul Moore	16:10.1	Pinckney	192.6	Portage	8-Oct
11	Paul Moore	15:54.2	Pinckney	192.9	Gabriel Richard	15-Oct
11	Paul Moore	15:49.0	Pinckney	194.3	SEC Championship	20-Oct
11	Paul Moore	16:18.4	Pinckney	194.9	Region 16	29-Oct
11	Paul Moore	16:05.2	Pinckney	199.3	Division 2 State	5-Nov
11	Paul Moore	15:33.4	Pinckney	201.5	MITCA	12-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
10	Paul Moore	17:43.4	Pinckney	171.9	SEC 1	14-Sep
10	Paul Moore	17:32.1	Pinckney	176.0	Holly	18-Sep
10	Paul Moore	18:16.7	Pinckney	172.8	SEC White 2	28-Sep
10	Paul Moore	17:19.1	Pinckney	175.6	Coaching Legends	2-Oct
10	Paul Moore	16:47.3	Pinckney	177.2	Gabriel Richard	16-Oct
10	Paul Moore	17:25.7	Pinckney	171.1	SEC Championship	21-Oct
10	Paul Moore	18:33.2	Pinckney	182.9	Region 16	30-Oct
10	Paul Moore	16:34.7	Pinckney	185.8	Division 2 State	6-Nov
Grade	Name		Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	170.1	Dexter/Pinckney	28-Aug
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	172.5	Brighton/Pinckney	22-Sep
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	159.5	Adrian/Pinckney/Tecumseh	26-Sep
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	184.0	Bulldog Elite	3-Oct
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	169.9	Pre-Region 31	24-Oct
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	174.1	Region 16	31-Oct
9	Paul Moore		Pinckney	177.0	Division 2 State	6-Nov

The Rundown

Throughout the ’22 season, here’s how the Pirates moved up in terms of their ranking:

Week 2: 18^th
Week 3: 17^th
Week 4: 5^th
Champ. Season: 5^th
County Week: 3^rd
League Week: 3^rd

And then in the Division 2 State Finals, Pinckney placed 3^rd. Who was the main driver behind their quick descent? Paul.

What began as a season flirting with the 17-min. barrier quickly turned into one where he was capable of stepping onto the speedway podium. His 16:10 at Portage shredded his previous best (16:34 @ State the previous year) and set the stage for a championship season where he had six excellent races, culminating in an All-State spot and 15:33 at Shepherd.

During track, we saw him start at a much better place, running sub-4:30/10:00 early, which turned into someone who qualified for State in both events. He unfortunately wasn’t able to compete as an individual, but he managed to do what others ranked before him have done – right those wrongs. He did that to the tune of a 9:10 for a full two miles at New Balance.

I don’t know what the starting point will be this fall, but if he starts out quick, I don’t even wanna know where he ends up at.