Blog

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• Bay County Champion (XC)
• 2021 SVL Champion (XC)
• 6^th Place – Region 2 (XC)
• SVL 800m Champion
• Division 1 State Qualifier – 3200m
• 2^nd Place – SVL 1600m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
10	Isabelle Becker	20:14.0	Bay City Western	134.7	Milford	1-Sep
10	Isabelle Becker	19:37.1	Bay City Western	127.3	SVL North 1	13-Sep
10	Isabelle Becker	19:19.9	Bay City Western	139.7	Spartan	16-Sep
10	Isabelle Becker	19:15.4	Bay City Western	133.9	SVL North 2	27-Sep
10	Isabelle Becker	18:49.8	Bay City Western	139.7	Portage	8-Oct
10	Isabelle Becker	18:43.6	Bay City Western	137.1	SVL Championship	19-Oct
10	Isabelle Becker	18:48.6	Bay City Western	135.8	Region 2	28-Oct
10	Isabelle Becker	19:35.4	Bay City Western	127.2	Division 1 State	5-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Isabelle Becker	20:20.1	Bay City Western	131.6	Milford	2-Sep
9	Isabelle Becker	20:59.0	Bay City Western	113.3	SVL North 1	14-Sep
9	Isabelle Becker	19:37.1	Bay City Western	137.6	Spartan	17-Sep
9	Isabelle Becker	18:48.7	Bay City Western	138.1	SVL North 2	28-Sep
9	Isabelle Becker	20:06.6	Bay City Western	120.1	Bay County	15-Oct
9	Isabelle Becker	19:02.5	Bay City Western	144.2	SVL Championship	20-Oct
9	Isabelle Becker	19:52.0	Bay City Western	137.7	Region 2	30-Oct
9	Isabelle Becker	18:51.8	Bay City Western	139.8	Division 1 State	6-Nov
9	Isabelle Becker	18:46.0	Bay City Western	142.3	MITCA	13-Nov

The Rundown

Bay City Western shares the same scheduling philosophy I’d have as a coach. Light racing on tough courses early in order to run fast late during championship season. Isabelle has opened both her seasons at Milford, conquering the dreaded double hill at Possum Hollow, both 20 min+ efforts. She’s ended both her seasons in the 18’s and championships in hand. As a freshman, that was the SVL title. This past year, being the best in her county. Each year, it’s been top-10 in one of the tougher regions you’ll find, Region 2. She even added a bit more strength during track, taking her personal best down in the 3200m from 11:28 to 11:14. Never be fooled by Coach Nesbitt’s runners, you know by October they’ll be sticking their nose in it with the best of ‘em, Isabelle being no different.

Last Year

Summer Preview
Mid-Season
Regional Projections
The Result

Girls

1. Kalamazoo Hackett (13^th)
2. Concord (26^th)
3. Mendon (23^rd)

Boys

1. Concord (11^th)
2. Kalamazoo Hackett (17^th)
3. Battle Creek St. Philip (23^rd)

It was pretty much chalk over here, the same top 3 projected in summer and the week prior ended up making it to State. Mendon’s girls did outperform their projected score, and who could’ve foreseen the impact of the Irish’s freshmen boys?

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

Concord (14^th), Kalamazoo Hackett (15^th), Mendon (27^th)

Boys

Three Oaks River Valley (Top 8), Kalamazoo Hackett (10^th), Battle Creek St. Philip (20^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	Kalamazoo Hackett	45
2	Concord	46
3	Mendon	93
4	Centreville	112
5	White Pigeon	146
6	Three Oaks River Valley	163
7	New Buffalo	184
8	Athens	184
9	Battle Creek St. Philip	206

Place	Boys Team	Score
1	Three Oaks River Valley	44
2	Kalamazoo Hackett	67
3	Battle Creek St. Philip	97
4	Concord	136
5	Centreville	150
6	New Buffalo	159
7	Mendon	181
8	Colon	213
9	White Pigeon	241
10	Eau Claire	253
11	Athens	273
12	Decatur	339

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 gonna be in the 50 Tickets, you’ll get a full writeup there. If you’re on a top team (River Valley, Hackett already) 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.

Presley Allen, Mendon

Junior has had an exceptional career to date, winning this Region twice and placing All-State as a freshman. Last November, her experience at MIS wasn’t the greatest, but I’m confident that’ll spur her forward in the next few months.

Rowan Allen, Mendon

Freshman year may have commenced with inauspicious beginnings, but ended with her name known far and wide across the D4 scene. 11^th place at Class D and 9^th at D4 State.

Cieara Barrett, Concord

The times dropped last fall, Cieara turning into a mid-20 girl by the end of the season. The championships came this spring, where she doubled up victories in the Big 8 800m & 1600m to go along with her Regional championship in the 800m.

Marek Butkiewicz, Kalamazoo Hackett

Mentioned his track season in the earlier Hackett post, but his grass racin’ wasn’t bad either. Of Marek’s 11 races, 9 were sub-18, and at the end of the year, he could be counted on to show up when it matters.

Landon Rogers, Three Oaks River Valley

Turned into a beast in championship season, getting under 17:00 at Allendale, then the first freshman to cross the line at D4 State, where he was 17^th.

Gavin Sehy, Kalamazoo Hackett

Advancements didn’t just come across on the grass, they occurred on the cinders as well. 5:11 > 4:38 and 11:31 > 10:26.

Luke Sprague, Battle Creek St. Philip

Top-10 in this here Region 32 the past two years, 2^nd in 2021 and 8^th in 2022. I’m not sure if moving down a few spots was motivation, but lets just roll with it – the following week, Luke had one of the better races of his career to place 25^th in Division 4.

Charlie Gibson, Three Oaks River Valley

Freshman showed incredible progress over the course of the year, from the 20’s early to the 17’s late. And he didn’t just break 18:00 once, he was consistently there from late-September onward.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

2022 Results

Meet	Division	Place
Birch Run Early		9th of 21
Marauder	Small School	5th of 11
Holly	D5	2nd of 13
New Balance	Red	13th of 32
Stockbridge		6th of 22
Apples 2 Apples	Small School	1st of 6
Novi Christian		1st of 15
River Rat Open		6th of 8
MIAC Championship		1st of 8
Larry Steeb		4th of 8
Region 33		1st of 10
Division 4 State		6th of 27

Top Returners

Landen Livingston

Those track efforts aren’t just impressive in terms of time, they showed he can hang with the big dogs. 21^st at Division 4 State and barely 2^nd in the MIAC.

Cameron Griffin

Griffin’s late season rise was so significant that he outperformed the Division 4 State Projections by a mile. Projected 68^th, finished 31^st.

Reily Henderson

A necessary teammate that delivers when it matters. He’s been top-15 each of the past two years in Region 33, sub-18 both of those years as well.

Ronaldo Rivas

Has shown a penchant for busting out spectacular races, such as his 18:20 at last fall’s regional. If he can bring that effort each week, this Trojan team becomes a bit scarier.

Potential Newcomers

Benjamin Fox

Up and coming 9^th grader steps onto an already experienced squad. And he has experience in the 5k, jumping in at River Rat, running 19:55. A great place to start, one that already might have an impact.