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The Top Tens: Division 4 Boys #10

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

2022 Accomplishments

5th Place – SAC Conference
2nd Place – Region 32
17th Place – Division 4 State

Top Returners

Marek Butkiewicz

XC PB – 17:30, Christian Comet (Kalamazoo Christian Elementary)
800m – 2:07
1600m – 4:32
3200m – 9:41

7th Place – SAC Championship
5th Place – Region 32
52nd Place – Division 4 State
3rd Place – Division 4 State 3200m
12th Place – Division 4 State 1600m

Track season saw him transform into one of the state’s best freshman, his 9:41 3200m ranking 8th amongst all 9th graders.

Gavin Sehy

XC PB – 17:31, Division 4 State (MIS)
800m – 2:01
1600m – 4:38
3200m – 10:26

4th Place – Region 32
38th Place – Division 4 State
6th Place – Division 4 State 800m
15th Place – Division 4 State 1600m
20th Place – Division 4 State 3200m

Enjoyed seeing Gavin have some late season success. Although he made it to MIS as a sophomore, it wasn’t his best performance of the year. His junior edition ran nearly 2.5 minutes faster.

Sean Siems

XC PB – 17:41, Region 32 (Portage)
1600m – 4:46
3200m – 10:24

17th Place – SAC Championship
6th Place – Region 32
24th Place – Division 4 State 3200m

Another year in a Portage regional should be to his benefit, after all, his two sub-18 efforts were on the rolling fields of Portage West MS.

Sean Pierucci

XC PB – 19:12, Region 32 (Portage)
1600m – 5:42
3200m – 12:18

17th Place – Region 32

Spent the first two years and first three races of his career over 20 minutes, then sped under 20 for seven of his final nine races.

Julian Barry

XC PB – 20:01, SAC Championship (Gilmore Car Museum)
800m – 2:29

5 minute improvement at Michigan Catholic led to a season where he nearly slipped under 20:00.

Keegan Gallagher

XC PB – 20:26, Christian Comet (Kalamazoo Christian Elementary)
1600m – 5:45

Season best as a sophomore was 26:48. A junior, 20:26.

Nick Doer

XC PB – 20:58, Portage
1600m – 2:56
3200m – 6:02

20:58 at Portage was his fastest effort since 2020.

Potential Newcomers

Kellen Siems

MS PB – 13:10, Zone 1 Regional

23rd Place – SAC Championship

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The Top Tens: Division 4 Girls #10

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

2022 Accomplishments

WMD League Champions
7th Place – Class D
5th Place – Region 29

Top Returners

Lucy Shoup

XC PB – 19:38, Region 29 (Buckley)
800m – 2:27
1600m – 5:45
3200m – 12:32

WMD Champion
8th Place – Class D
4th Place – Region 29
27th Place – D4 State

Went from a girl unable to qualify for MIS (18th at Regionals in 2021) to a girl who broke 20 twice and medalled at State.

Lauren Niedzielski

XC PB – 20:10, Region 29 (Buckley)

5th Place – Region 29
26th Place – Division 4 State

Quite an October and quite a last three meets for Lauren as a freshman. Three straight sub-21’s, a victory at the Cardinal Classic, and an All-State honor.

Olivia Wing

XC PB – 20:54, Region 29 (Buckley)

3rd Place – WMD
13th Place – Region 29

Each year, Olivia brings her best at Regionals. Three straight personal bests and three straight state qualifiiers.

Elena Hopkins

XC PB – 24:08, WMD Championship (Bear Lake)
800m – 3:01
1600m – 6:40
3200m – 14:49

8th Place – WMD Championship

Freshman year was a wild roller coaster, trending downwards from a 30 min+ opener (at Baker Woods, mind you) to multiple sub-25’s at the end of the year.

Potential Newcomers

Brailyn Johnson

MS PB – 13:25, Cardinal Classic
800m – 2:50

3rd Place – WMD Championship

Ava Skocelas-Outman

MS PB  – 14:42, Cardinal Classic

6th Place – WMD Championship

Addison Malburg

MS PB – 14:07, Cardinal Classic

5th Place – WMD Championship

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50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Boys #50

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

  • 3rd Place – TVC 8
  • 6th Place – Greater Lansing & Region 15
  • #6 freshman in Division 2 XC
  • 13th Place – 2023 Division 2 3200m
  • 2nd Place – Mid Mich. MoC 800m
  • 2nd Place – Region 11 3200m
  • 3rd Place – TVC 8 1600m

Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDate
9Thomas Larson17:05.6Alma182.5Corunna Early Bird30-Aug
9Thomas Larson16:28.6Alma193.8John Bruder Classic7-Sep
9Thomas Larson16:28.9Alma195.4Spartan16-Sep
9Thomas Larson17:00.1Alma181.0TVC 8 227-Sep
9Thomas Larson16:26.4Alma186.2Bluejay1-Oct
9Thomas Larson16:17.7Alma186.1Apples 2 Apples6-Oct
9Thomas Larson16:24.2Alma189.3Greater Lansing15-Oct
9Thomas Larson16:37.3Alma181.6TVC Overall18-Oct
9Thomas Larson16:23.2Alma185.6Region 1528-Oct
9Thomas Larson16:52.8Alma183.4D2 State5-Nov
9Thomas Larson16:00.8Alma192.4MITCA12-Nov

The Rundown

Thomas came into his freshman year at Alma with lofty expectations and rightfully so. As an 8th grader, he won all of his individual races contained in the state of Michigan, then went to Nike Outdoor Nationals and placed 3rd in the 3200m. Normally, even for the ultra-talented folks such as Thomas, an adjustment period to the 5k might be needed. Nope, dude just went and jumped right into running in the mid-16’s. And when he got into those 16’s, he stayed there for almost the entire season, a rainy cold day in Frankenmuth being the only blemish. By season’s end, his youthful front running led his Panthers to a State Finals berth, and netted him the 2nd fastest freshman time in Division 2. This past spring, he one upped himself, grabbing the top freshman times for all D2 distance events.