Blog

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 21^st Place – Division 1 State (XC)
• Calhoun County Champion (XC)
• 2^nd Place – SMAC (XC)
• 3^rd Place – Region 3 (XC)
• 22^nd Place – Division 1 State 1600m
• SMAC 1600m Champion
• 2^nd Place – Region 4 1600m
• Region 4 4x800m Champion



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
11	Aiden Moore	16:15.6	Battle Creek Lakeview	200.5	Portage Early Bird	19-Aug
11	Aiden Moore	16:29.3	Battle Creek Lakeview	199.9	St. Joseph	23-Aug
11	Aiden Moore	15:55.7	Battle Creek Lakeview	197.4	Lakeview	10-Sep
11	Aiden Moore	16:24.8	Battle Creek Lakeview	196.7	Spartan	16-Sep
11	Aiden Moore	15:45.0	Battle Creek Lakeview	200.7	Jackson	24-Sep
11	Aiden Moore	15:58.8	Battle Creek Lakeview	196.4	Otsego Bulldog	1-Oct
11	Aiden Moore	16:31.9	Battle Creek Lakeview	192.4	SMAC East 2	4-Oct
11	Aiden Moore	15:56.8	Battle Creek Lakeview	191.1	Calhoun County	8-Oct
11	Aiden Moore	15:49.0	Battle Creek Lakeview	201.0	SMAC Championship	22-Oct
11	Aiden Moore	15:41.4	Battle Creek Lakeview	200.2	Region 3	28-Oct
11	Aiden Moore	16:04.1	Battle Creek Lakeview	198.3	Division 1 State	5-Nov
11	Aiden Moore	15:38.8	Battle Creek Lakeview	199.7	MITCA	12-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
10	Aiden Moore	17:23.8	Battle Creek Lakeview	180.4	Portage EB	20-Aug
10	Aiden Moore	18:28.6	Battle Creek Lakeview	167.1	St. Joseph	24-Aug
10	Aiden Moore	17:13.6	Battle Creek Lakeview	183.5	Spartan	17-Sep
10	Aiden Moore	16:56.1	Battle Creek Lakeview	178.3	SMAC East 1	21-Sep
10	Aiden Moore	17:03.7	Battle Creek Lakeview	181.4	Jackson	25-Sep
10	Aiden Moore	16:34.8	Battle Creek Lakeview	187.1	Otsego Bulldog	2-Oct
10	Aiden Moore	16:36.4	Battle Creek Lakeview	188.2	SMAC East 2	5-Oct
10	Aiden Moore	17:18.9	Battle Creek Lakeview	173.7	SMAC Championship	23-Oct
10	Aiden Moore	16:39.6	Battle Creek Lakeview	183.8	Region 3	29-Oct
10	Aiden Moore	16:52.4	Battle Creek Lakeview	180.5	Division 1 State	6-Nov
10	Aiden Moore	17:00.1	Battle Creek Lakeview	179.0	MITCA	13-Nov
Grade	Name		Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	167.4	BC Lakeview/K Central	9-Sep
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	164.9	Bridgman/Lakeview/St Joseph	19-Sep
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	167.3	BCL/RGL	22-Sep
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	170.1	Battle Creek All City	28-Sep
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	164.9	Calhoun County	10-Oct
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	174.7	SMAC Championship	17-Oct
9	Aiden Moore		Battle Creek Lakeview	178.1	Region 4	31-Oct

The Rundown

You won’t find many competitors more dedicated to their craft and their community. Aiden found success early in his career, one of those sub-12 eighth graders that I often write about. He used that young talent and turned it into a freshman year where he was an immediate contributor on the Lakeview squad, during championship season manning the 3^rd spot behind Caleb Bost and Parker LaGro. Continued growth through the winter with Project 131 and his sophomore fall (featuring many 16-min. efforts) paved the way for a record-breaking junior year.

The first record to truly fall was one of his own, a 16:15 at Portage’s Early Bird (three days away!), which was quickly vanquished by a sub-16 at his home invite. Coming through with a 15:45 on the long, rolling downhills of Sharp Park, Aiden was finally able to capture the Spartans’ school record, which he reset on two more occasions. All this time and talk about records, well, he can get it done in terms of competition too, placing top-3 in the SMAC and Region 3, winning in Calhoun County, and stepping on the podium at MIS.

I truly believe that records and medals and success are aided by a person’s contributions to their community. If you give to your team, are grateful towards those in sport, accomplishments seem to come your way. I have no doubt that Aiden has benefitted from his genuine love for others, to the tune of All-States, another school record in the spring, and more honors in the future.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 11^th Place – Division 1 State (XC)
• 2x All-State (XC)
• Region 3 Champion (XC)
• 24^th Place – Division 1 State 3200m
• 5^th Place – Region 3 3200m



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
11	Clara James-Heer	19:31.8	Forest Hills Central	138.1	OK White 1	7-Sep
11	Clara James-Heer	19:07.2	Forest Hills Central	135.6	Ottawa Hills	16-Sep
11	Clara James-Heer	18:44.6	Forest Hills Central	143.5	OK White 2	21-Sep
11	Clara James-Heer	18:41.2	Forest Hills Central	139.9	Cougar Falcon	24-Sep
11	Clara James-Heer	18:04.5	Forest Hills Central	154.2	Bluejay	1-Oct
11	Clara James-Heer	19:33.8	Forest Hills Central	144.1	OK White 3	5-Oct
11	Clara James-Heer	18:41.6	Forest Hills Central	142.5	Portage	8-Oct
11	Clara James-Heer	17:49.8	Forest Hills Central	155.1	OK White 4	19-Oct
11	Clara James-Heer	18:07.9	Forest Hills Central	150.7	Region 3	28-Oct
11	Clara James-Heer	18:29.8	Forest Hills Central	149.1	Division 1 State	5-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
10	Clara James-Heer	18:59.7	Forest Hills Central	146.4	Ottawa Hills	17-Sep
10	Clara James-Heer	18:32.8	Forest Hills Central	143.1	OK White 2	22-Sep
10	Clara James-Heer	18:37.2	Forest Hills Central	148.9	Cougar Falcon	25-Sep
10	Clara James-Heer	18:31.9	Forest Hills Central	148.4	Bluejay	2-Oct
10	Clara James-Heer	19:21.2	Forest Hills Central	136.9	Portage	9-Oct
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	152.4	OK White (GF)	16-Sep
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	154.6	Ottawa Hills	18-Sep
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	154.3	OK White 2	23-Sep
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	158.8	Cougar Falcon	26-Sep
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	159.3	Allendale Falcon	3-Oct
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	154.9	Bengals	9-Oct
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	149.4	OK White Championship	14-Oct
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	149.0	Pre-Region 2	24-Oct
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	152.2	Region 1	31-Oct
9	Clara James-Heer		Forest Hills Central	157.7	Division 1 State	6-Nov

The Rundown

It’s getting to be that time of the year where I recite Clara’s triathlon accomplishments without much of a clue what they mean. What I gather from social media and news articles is that she’s again one of the better juniors in the United States, placing top-3 at USA Juniors and 40^th in the Junior World Championships.

What I’m more well-versed in is running and I was happy to see her on the comeback trail during her junior year. After her 10^th grade season was cut short in early October, I wondered if elite level running had perhaps taken a back seat to the triathlon. Clara has answered that with a resounding NO. Her cross season elicited her first sub-18 at the high school level, speeding to 17:49 with her OK White friends. Weeks later, an 11^th place finish at State was her best at MIS in her two appearances. Come track, she was able to run her fastest 3200m in three years.

And given the summer in the saddle, in the water, and burning up the roads, we know she’s fit and ready to crack that top-10 in Division 1.

Last Year

SUMMER PREVIEW

MID-SEASON

REGIONAL PROJECTIONS

THE RESULT

Girls

1. Lowell (20^th)
2. Portage Central (25^th)
3. Forest Hills Central (22^nd)

Boys

1. Kalamazoo Central (10^th)
2. Portage Central (16^th)
3. Forest Hills Central (12^th)

Top 27 Teams

Previous years had top-25 teams, but there’s 27 (and sometimes more) team qualifiers and what does it hurt to add another two?

Girls

Forest Hills Central (15^th), Portage Northern (24^th)

Boys

Kalamazoo Central (3^rd), Forest Hills Central (8^th), Portage Central (10^th)

(If your team isn’t listed in the images above or the scores below, you probably don’t have five returners, at least on ol’ athletic.net. I’m sure many of these teams will fill out their rosters by late October)

Projected Scores

Place	Girls Team	Score
1	Forest Hills Central	67
2	Portage Central	94
3	Portage Northern	105
4	Byron Center	106
5	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	162
6	Kalamazoo Central	170
7	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	194
8	Caledonia	202
9	East Kentwood	222
10	Battle Creek Lakeview	235
11	Forest Hills Northern	241
12	Lowell	257
13	Mattawan	363

Place	Boys Team	Score
1	Kalamazoo Central	61
2	Forest Hills Central	76
3	Portage Central	84
4	Byron Center	149
5	Battle Creek Lakeview	159
6	Forest Hills Northern	171
7	Caledonia	171
8	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	181
9	East Kentwood	185
10	Portage Northern	278
11	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	288
12	Lowell	317
13	Mattawan	334

Top Runners

I’m making a slight change for the Division 1 folks. Previous regional writeups had the top finishers, even if they were mentioned in the Top 10’s or 50 Tickets. Because so many Division 1 kids make up the top 50 returners (which makes sense, since D1 covers about 60% of the state), I’ll write about a few returners beyond those 50. This will hopefully extend a bit more coverage towards more deserving athletes. Some of the 50 have been covered, others will get their own post. Check the Summer Preview page or keep checking back until Thursday for those.

Olivia Stacy, Portage Northern

Truly hit her stride come October, notching four PB’s to close her final five races. Among those were a 5^th place SMAC finish and an 8^th place here.

Sydney Law, Byron Center

After not getting a chance to race at the regional or stage in ’21, Sydney made the most of her opportunity – knocking down a 10 spot and a personal best of 19:18 (over a minute quicker than her freshman era).

Ava Lawrence, East Kentwood

Nine of her final ten freshman races were of the sub-20 variety, including top-15 performances here and in the OK Red.

Anna Sybenga, Forest Hills Central

A few months back, tried her hand at the 3200m, which I’m sure will help her fall. Her spring endeavors included a 4^th place in the OK White in the event.

Amanda Williams, Portage Central

Has spent all three of her high school seasons in the 19’s. But the most important of her sub-20’s was likely last fall’s regional, grabbing 16^th place, and helping her Mustangs live another week.

Andrew Wright, Kalamazoo Central

Past his quickly progressing fall, Andrew turned into quite the eight-lapper come spring. His fastest effort was his last one, a 9:25 for the full 2 miles at NBON, winning the freshman heat.

Evan Nickoles, East Kentwood

In the OK Red Championship, moved up from 44^th to 12^th (!). His 40 spot drop at the regional level sadly wasn’t enough to extend his season, but after his freshman year, I’m sure he cherished having a fighting chance.

Isaac Tanis, East Kentwood

Whatever work was done last summer needs to be bottled up and stored in a museum, studied for centuries. Isaac graduated from a 10:30 3200m runner to a kid nearly breaking 16:00. That 16:12 in the OK Red earned him a 6^th place finish in one of the tougher conferences in the state.

Jackson Lam, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix

The Kalamazoo area is filled to the brim with young talent, Jackson the last of which to mention. His 4:25 at Region 3 was just on the outside of a qualifying spot, but it did earn him the 2^nd fastest four lap time of any 9^th grader in the state.

Levi Green, Byron Center

Has always operated as a longer distance guy, though this spring, he expanded his repertoire. Getting that 800m down to 2:03 undoubtedly helped his 1600m (4:29, nearly 30 sec. drop) and 3200m (9:41, almost a minute drop).