Blog

Last Year

SUMMER
MID-SEASON
FINAL PROJECTIONS
THE RESULT

Girls

1. Otsego (State Champions)
2. St. Joseph (4^th)
3. Vicksburg (23^rd)

Boys

1. Otsego (6^th)
2. St. Joseph (23^rd)
3. Plainwell (24^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

Otsego (Top 4), St. Joseph (Top 4), Stevensville Lakeshore (24^th)

Boys

Otsego (13^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	Otsego	25
2	St. Joseph	47
3	Stevensville Lakeshore	109
4	Sturgis	144
5	Three Rivers	162
6	Plainwell	179
7	Vicksburg	180
8	Paw Paw	184
9	Coldwater	240
10	Niles	284
11	Edwardsburg	295
12	Berrien Springs	324

Place	Boys Team	Score
1	Otsego	45
2	Plainwell	102
3	St. Joseph	114
4	Vicksburg	118
5	Niles	144
6	Paw Paw	145
7	Edwardsburg	156
8	Three Rivers	191
9	Sturgis	220
10	Berrien Springs	286
11	Allegan	308
12	Stevensville Lakeshore	347
13	Coldwater	379
14	Dowagiac Union	384
15	South Haven	396

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.

Elena Figueroa, St. Joseph

16^th place at Region 3 as a freshman, then 16^th place at Division 2 STATE as a sophomore. Elena may have run in the 18’s both years, but closed her sophomore year in a much better place.

Megan Germain, Otsego

Has alternated between Regions 12 & 13, but the results are all the same – top-10’s in all three years.

Gail Vaikutis, St. Joseph

On top of her excellent performance at Cougar Falcon, Gail was just a reliable figure come late season. Sub-19’s at the SMAC, Region 13, and Division 2 State. She won the SMAC, placed 3^rd in the Region, and 12^th in the State.

Emma Hoffman, Otsego

There were a few precursors to that State Finals appearance. One was an 18:34 at Cougar Falcon, assertively finding her way into the 18’s. Another one at Portage, an 18:40. And the final, a regional championship.

Logan Brazee, Otsego

More like Logan Blazee. Blazed her way into six sub-19’s, the most important of which was likely her 18:43 and 7^th place finish at Division Two State.

Taylor Mitchell, Otsego

As with many of these Otsego girls, broke into the 18’s at the most opportune time. Cougar Falcon, here at Portage, then a tough 18:57 to finish 14^th in Division 2.

Berkley Holtz, Sturgis

Unafraid of the stage, she had great runs to close her 9^th grade track season. First, a sixth place finish up at FHE for Division 2 State, then a personal best two weeks later at Franklin Field.

Caleb Wesseldyk, Otsego

Fairly stunning the change between his 9^th and 10^th grade years. Let’s put it in this light – as a freshman, he was a respective 134^th at MIS, as a sophomore a very respectable 34^th.

Kenny Sheffer, Otsego

Closed his track season with some of the better work of his freshman year. His 10:01 at Distance Night ranked 8^th across all Division 2’s freshmen.

Aiden Kruger, Niles

Well equipped to roll at this Portage course, having run his personal best (16:40) here back in October. By the way, that 16:40 was a full 80 seconds faster than what he ran as a sophomore.

Owen Saylor, Dowagiac Union

I’m not sure what occurred over the winter, but it worked. Went from a mid-17 kid to one that ripped a 4:30 at Distance Night and qualified for State in the 800m.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

Meet	Division	Place
Red Devil	Small	3rd of 7
Inland Lakes		1st of 6
Harbor Springs		2nd of 5
LMC Championship		3rd of 7
Northern Michigan	Small	3rd of 8
Region 28		3rd of 6
Division 4 State		9th of 27



Top Returners

Henry Kruzel

Began to shine late in his freshman year, picking up top-15’s and sub-18’s at both Northern Michigan and Region 28.

Logan Kihnke

Compare the one race between his sophomore and junior years. 21:36 to 18:47 at Charlevoix’s Mud Run. Maybe there was less mud on the course in 2022? Or maybe Logan was in much better shape. I’m going with the latter, evidenced by his 17:58 in early October.

Trevor Clarke

Harbor Springs changed divisions, moving from 3 to 4 in 2022. But against similar competition in the LMC, Trevor has moved up each year, from 38^th to 27^th to 19^th. Is a top-10 now in the cards? Coming off his first track season, perhaps…

Teddy Krieger

Based on his spring, a candidate for improvement. Slipped under 18:00 late in the fall, then ran a 10:47 during track, placing 5^th in the LMC.

Adam Ferguson

Dramatic drops were the theme in 2022, Adam going from a mid-19 opener at East Jordan to two months later, nearly sneaking into the 17’s.

Max Vroman

Super steady in the close of his 9^th grade year, almost always in the low-19’s, regardless of course.

Potential Newcomers

Aaron Baughman

Only two races dot his 8^th grade resume, but both were near the 13-flat mark.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

Meet	Division	Place
Hillsdale		2nd of 10
Holly	D5	1st of 10
Jackson	Red	3rd of 11
Portage	D4	5th of 16
SCAA Championship		1st of 7
Class D		1st of 16
Region 34		1st of 6
Division 4 State		2nd of 27



Top Returners

Ruth Brownlee

Along with closing both of her seasons in the mid-20’s, she’s also placed top-6 in Region 34 twice.

Ella Walton

Ella is coming off her best track season to date, especially when concentrating on the longer stuff. She placed in the top-5 in the SCAA in both the 1600m and 3200m. Four days prior, her 12:32 (30 sec. faster than in 2022) qualified her for Division 4 State.

Abby Brownlee

She offered us a peek at Jackson of what she was capable of. Then a month later, doubled back and improved upon that mark. Her 21:24 at Region 34 placed 11^th.

Caroline Roberts

She’s been top-15 in Region 34 for all three of her years competing for the Colts.

Madison Sallows

Does XC give you hurdle strength or do the hurdles prepare you for adversity on the course? Either way, she excels at both – All-State in the 300s and sub-22 on the grass.

Potential Newcomers

Allie Miller

Ran a multitude of distances at the middle school level, but there’s one fact we can lock in on – she placed 2^nd in the SCAA Championship.

Grace Brownlee

A 14-flat figure during middle school cross, now getting to compete with her sisters at the HS level.