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The Top Tens: Division 2 Girls & Boys #2

Oooh, the rare combined post. But given the opportunity to celebrate both genders of this excellent Eagle program, I had to do it.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

MeetDivisionPlace
Pete MossBig1st of 11
Christian Schools1st of 7
Ottawa HillsSession 11st of 17
Cougar FalconCougar3rd of 9
Otsego BulldogD22nd of 26
PortageD22nd of 42
Division 2 State3rd of 27
Girls

MeetDivisionPlace
Pete MossBig1st of 13
Christian Schools1st of 7
Ottawa HillsSession 11st of 19
Cougar FalconCougar3rd of 11
Otsego BulldogD29th of 30
PortageD24th of 43
Region 111st of 13
Division 2 State8th of 27
Boys



Top Returners

Natalie VanOtteren

Her track state was a part of season of smashing through barriers, as Natalie busted through 2:20, 5:00, and 11:00.

Naomi Nelson

2022 season featured her first breakthroughs into the 18’s, getting there first at Portage and then the final OK White Jamboree.

Lilah Poel

Immediate contributor to the Eagle squad, picking up top-10’s throughout most of the season, from the conference to the invitational to the regional scene.

Payton Holtz

Likely the most unheralded runner out there that’s achieved two consecutive All-States in cross, having gone 30th and 27th in the past two years.

Ellie Scholma

Although Ellie didn’t get to compete at the State level, her patience paid off a week later at Shepherd, where she closed her freshman year with a 19:29 personal best.

Annika TerBeek

Came into her own during track, her 11:57 in the 3200m ranking 8th amongst D2 freshmen.

Adia Sikkema

A 19:54 at Allendale’s post regional meet gave Adia her first 19 min. result since October of ’20.

Simon Triezenberg

That big improvement didn’t just come on the grass, track results show the same numbers. 10:00 to 9:33 in the 3200m, ranking him 9th across all the state’s sophomores.

Keegan Hoekstra

Used the disappointment of not qualifying in this spring’s 3200m as motivation for the week after. His 9:48 at Distance Night ranks 15th amongst D2’s 9th and 10th graders.

Joe Waalkes

It’s been steady progress for this dedicated athlete. His initial sub-17 of his career came at Portage, crushing a 16:37, which then led to his best MIS placing of his career.

Dylan Clark

Exuded his greatest improvement at the Regional level, where he’s been halving his place each time out. From 22nd in Region 13 as a freshman to 9th as a sophomore, ending upon a 5th place finish at Allendale.

Peter Kuperus

Another one of those cases where you must compare the significance of his races. His freshman and sophomore ends were void of varsity spots at Regionals; his junior year ended stepping on the line at Region 11 and State. Peter made the most of his opportunities, finishing in the top-15 in Allendale and top-100 at MIS.

Jonathan Koetje

Compare his last two seasons to his freshman one. During that 2020 season, he was largely above 22:00, these past two years closing with streaks of sub-18’s.

Sean Ryan

Slipped under 18:00 in the fall, a solid mark, but nothing like his track success where he reached down to 10:19.

Potential Newcomers

Micah Small

The GR Christian boys think they’ve got a secret, but I always sniff ‘em out. I’m not too well-versed on South Carolina XC, but 4:46 (especially as a freshman) typically equates to someone that skirts the 17-flat mark.

Uncategorized

50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Boys #13

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

  • OAA White Champion (XC)
  • 2nd Place – Oakland County (XC)
  • 5th Place – Division 1 State 3200m
  • 2nd Place – OAA Red/White 3200m
  • 2nd Place – Region 8 3200m



Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDate
11Sebastian Ramirez16:30.1Royal Oak200.0Lamplighter19-Aug
11Sebastian Ramirez16:38.4Royal Oak203.9Mustang30-Aug
11Sebastian Ramirez16:15.0Royal Oak196.0OAA White 113-Sep
11Sebastian Ramirez16:28.9Royal Oak194.7Holly17-Sep
11Sebastian Ramirez15:47.0Royal Oak200.0Jackson24-Sep
11Sebastian Ramirez16:29.2Royal Oak189.6OAA White 227-Sep
11Sebastian Ramirez16:10.1Royal Oak203.0Oakland County8-Oct
11Sebastian Ramirez16:38.9Royal Oak186.0OAA White Championship20-Oct
11Sebastian Ramirez16:46.2Royal Oak185.6Region 829-Oct
11Sebastian Ramirez16:56.5Royal Oak180.9Division 1 State5-Nov
11Sebastian Ramirez15:56.3Royal Oak193.9MITCA12-Nov
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDate
10Sebastian Ramirez17:03.4Royal Oak189.9Lamplighter20-Aug
10Sebastian Ramirez17:28.1Royal Oak186.6Mustang31-Aug
10Sebastian Ramirez17:07.8Royal Oak188.7OAA White 114-Sep
10Sebastian Ramirez16:35.8Royal Oak194.7Holly18-Sep
10Sebastian Ramirez16:45.3Royal Oak187.6Jackson25-Sep
10Sebastian Ramirez17:02.1Royal Oak177.0OAA White 228-Sep
10Sebastian Ramirez17:02.1Royal Oak192.0Oakland County9-Oct
10Sebastian Ramirez17:09.8Royal Oak178.4OAA White 322-Oct
10Sebastian Ramirez17:40.6Royal Oak174.5Region 829-Oct
10Sebastian Ramirez16:56.9Royal Oak179.0Division 1 State6-Nov
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDate
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak151.7Royal Oak/Stoney Creek9-Sep
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak151.7Rochester/Royal Oak15-Sep
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak159.7Brother Rice/Royal Oak19-Sep
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak152.3BH/RO25-Sep
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak160.3Athens/Royal Oak30-Sep
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak168.6Hansons3-Oct
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak160.8Farmington/Royal Oak6-Oct
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak171.9Oakland County9-Oct
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak165.5Pre-Region 1621-Oct
9Sebastian RamirezRoyal Oak168.7Region 830-Oct

The Rundown

Up close and personal, I’ve been witness to Sebas’s growth through the years. Summer before his freshman year, he came into the store to buy gear and shoes, and you knew there was something different about him. An air of confidence so to speak, an aggression to prove his worth in the running scene.

That attitude paid off on multiple occasions early, whether it was at the Freshman County meet, where a 4:40 and 10:47 both earned 2nd place, or earlier in the year where a 10:20 established him as the best Royal Oak 9th grader since Ben Hill. During the fall, he had grown from a kid running in the mid-17’s as a freshman to one that was sub-17 on a few occasions as a sophomore, but the real jump came during track of that sophomore year, where a clutch 9:32 at Regionals led to a 13th place finish at Division 1 State.

As with anyone, there have been valleys before the peaks, and his 2022 championship season was a bit of a valley. There were a few factors, not excuses, just reasons that his State Finals weren’t up to the level of his 2nd place Oakland County performance. Those lumps were taken, lessons learned, as he primed himself for a run at All-State on the track. A confidence booster at Farmington let him know that he could run in the 9:1x’s, then he fueled the tank for what was about to be a scorcher at State. Coaches handing out water, elite athletes dropping out, yet Sebastian was still there, grinding through it all on the way to a 5th place finish. The road towards a similar spot in cross country will be rough, but this grinder is 100% ready for it.

Uncategorized

50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Girls #13

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

  • 4th Place – Division 3 State (XC)
  • 3x All-State (XC)
  • 2020 Regional Champion (XC)
  • 2x WMC Champion (XC)
  • 2x Team State Champion (XC)
  • 3rd Place – Division 3 3200m
  • 6th Place – Division 3 1600m
  • 8x All-State (Track)



Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDate
11Alyson Enns18:41.3Hart149.9Pete Moss27-Aug
11Alyson Enns19:00.1Hart145.6Bredeweg10-Sep
11Alyson Enns19:14.4Hart141.5Spartan16-Sep
11Alyson Enns18:00.9Hart153.4Cougar Falcon24-Sep
11Alyson Enns17:49.9Hart159.0Bluejay1-Oct
11Alyson Enns18:32.6Hart145.5Portage8-Oct
11Alyson Enns19:29.6Hart149.1WMC Mega Jamboree18-Oct
11Alyson Enns18:41.9Hart149.7Mel Hall22-Oct
11Alyson Enns18:27.4Hart149.2Region 2028-Oct
11Alyson Enns18:28.5Hart151.5Division 3 State5-Nov
11Alyson Enns18:00.7Hart151.1MITCA12-Nov
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDate
10Alyson Enns18:15.3Hart158.6Pete Moss28-Aug
10Alyson Enns18:23.9Hart151.7Leanne Wolf Geers9-Sep
10Alyson Enns19:04.4Hart151.9WMD 114-Sep
10Alyson Enns18:33.4Hart158.9Spartan17-Sep
10Alyson Enns18:30.1Hart145.3WMC 221-Sep
10Alyson Enns18:08.2Hart158.6Cougar Falcon25-Sep
10Alyson Enns17:53.8Hart161.1Bluejay2-Oct
10Alyson Enns18:20.1Hart152.3WMC 35-Oct
10Alyson Enns18:18.5Hart157.8Portage9-Oct
10Alyson Enns19:12.5Hart131.2Hart & Sole16-Oct
10Alyson Enns17:55.8Hart146.7Region 2030-Oct
10Alyson Enns17:59.7Hart152.1Division 3 State6-Nov
10Alyson Enns18:37.5Hart145.2MITCA13-Nov
GradeNameTeamRatingMeetDate
9Alyson EnnsHart146.9Pete Moss29-Aug
9Alyson EnnsHart149.6Wolf Geers10-Sep
9Alyson EnnsHart149.4Ludington19-Sep
9Alyson EnnsHart150.8WMC Oakridge22-Sep
9Alyson EnnsHart142.1Cougar Falcon26-Sep
9Alyson EnnsHart164.1Allendale Falcon3-Oct
9Alyson EnnsHart151.2Pentwater Falcon10-Oct
9Alyson EnnsHart142.4WMC Conference13-Oct
9Alyson EnnsHart145.0Pre-Region 4023-Oct
9Alyson EnnsHart149.2Region 2031-Oct
9Alyson EnnsHart160.7Division 3 State7-Nov

The Rundown

There’s a certain magnificence in someone quietly going about their business, yet still elite at their craft. Alyson is extremely elite at this sport without much of the fanfare of others. Each and every year, she’s been in the top-4 at Division 3 State, the first two of those years contributing to a Pirate team title. She’s reached the 17’s in all of those seasons and at different venues too – Shepherd, Benzie, Freeland. There have been plenty of wins, such as Cougar Falcon, Allendale Falcon, Portage, the WMC, Region 20. One aspect of her career that stands out is the proclivity of bringing a solid performance when the stakes are highest. That’s what championship teams rely upon, and that’ll be what’s needed as Hart readies for another state title run.