First Madison, then Connor, now Emmerson. And there’s more to come. Emmerson vows to continue the Clor legacy at Romeo and she’s doing a darn good job of it. After a few warmup races at Lamplighter and Averill, she jumped right into the fray. Her 18:43 and top-10 finish at competitive Jackson Invitational proved to the D1 world that she was ready for the moment. That late September race was one of many where she released high-18 efforts, other examples being Macomb County, Region 9, and Division 1 State. Sadly, we were only blessed with one year of the Clor sisters sharing the podium, but perhaps Emmerson can lead the Bulldogs to another honor.
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
East Grand Rapids (6th), GR West Michigan Aviation (16th), Grand Rapids South Christian (22nd), Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg (25th), Forest Hills Eastern (27th)
Boys
East Grand Rapids (Top 4), Forest Hills Eastern (Top 4), Battle Creek Harper Creek (11th), Marshall (15th)
(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
East Grand Rapids
50
2
GR West Michigan Aviation
94
3
Grand Rapids South Christian
108
4
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg
116
5
Forest Hills Eastern
117
6
Hopkins
180
7
Richland Gull Lake
190
8
Marshall
218
9
Battle Creek Harper Creek
222
10
Belding
265
11
Hastings
314
12
Lake Odessa Lakewood
359
13
Portland
369
Place
Boys Team
Score
1
East Grand Rapids
36
2
Forest Hills Eastern
48
3
Battle Creek Harper Creek
95
4
Marshall
106
5
Hastings
199
6
GR West Michigan Aviation
204
7
Wayland Union
219
8
Ionia
223
9
Grand Rapids South Christian
242
10
Richland Gull Lake
251
11
Belding
290
12
Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg
325
13
Hopkins
335
14
Portland
342
15
Lake Odessa Lakewood
452
16
Battle Creek Pennfield
478
Top Runners
Thought I’d give a review of some of the top returners in each region. Returners means no incoming freshman (you’ll get your days in the sun). If you’re on a top team or in the 50 Tickets and you’re projected highly here, you hit the jackpot! Yes, I’m writing a bit less than previous years, but I think I’ve learned my lesson in that I need to conserve energy and brainpower for all divisions and regions. Typically by August, I’m rushing to get these done. This time around, hopefully all regions get the same amount of coverage.
Watching her at Shepherd, I was enamored by her ability to relentlessly push the pace. Underrated by my numbers for sure, her 4:59 in track showing that she’s definitely capable of another great finish in D2.
Excels in the late season. Whether that’s a 17th spot at MIS or an 18:27 the following week. Whether that’s 4th place in both of the long sprints or a 2:15 at the Midwest Redemption.
The athletes that made their way over to Davison for the MITCA meet spoke volumes to me. Dedicated to their craft, trying to eke out one final great performance, running track on what could’ve been a weekend at the lake. Alex made the most of that opportunity, his 9:17 in the 3200m being a 12-second PB.
Ended his junior season on a much more satisfactory note than each of the past two years. After showing much promise as a freshman, running multiple sub-17’s, was unable to compete for much of his 10th grade year. As a junior, was Mr. 16:1x, running in that range on six occasions.
One of many in the FHE program to undergo massive growth, but it doesn’t make the cases any less impressive. Dropped a good two minutes from his freshman form, ending the year with a multitude of mid-16 efforts and an 8th place here.
Signs of his uptick came during his freshman year of track, where he ran 4:34 in the 1600m. That uptick was fully realized during cross, where a series of low-16 efforts ended in an All-State.
The three consecutive All-States might ignore the improvement along the way. In three seasons, he’s moved from 8th in Region 24 to last year’s Regional Champion. And on the track, dropped his long distance PB’s from 4:59 to 4:42 and 10:08 to 9:51.
Check out Landon’s freshman year and compare it to many of the youngsters listed below. They’re such similar profiles. Hopefully they can learn and take the path as he did, because in the year of growth, he moved from 63rd in D3 to 22nd.
Quite a contrast between the halves of his season. September and prior, a kid in the 18-19 min. range. Past October 1st, 6 of his 7 races in the 17’s, including the rare personal best at MIS.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 