I received a bit of pushback over the summer for ranking the Royal Oak Shrine boys so high, well look who’s still here in first
Okay, they didn’t add the great number of 8th graders as projected, but unless anyone finds a better method than assuming 8th graders running cross will run 9th grade cross, let me know
The 9th graders that have competed for the Knights, Michael Bowker and Abenezer Cerone, have made a noticeable impact on their fortunes
Bowker has run in the 18’s on a variety of courses – Holly, Goodells, Algonac
Cerone has followed the same pattern, albeit a tad faster, high-17’s at those venues
Although the top three remain the same for the boys, Lutheran Westland has moved down significantly in terms of points
Year to year, the Warriors have raced at the same places, and in those races (OCS Small School, Holly, Ramblin Rock, Whitmore Lake), Nathan Betke has finished almost 100 seconds faster on average in 2022 compared to 2021
Nathan clocks in as Westland’s 5th runner on the chart below, and as you can see, he’s the best 5th runner in the field
The Girls section remains a similar order and range of scores compared to earlier
Rochester Hills Lutheran NW has absorbed the absence of one of their key contributors, who I believe will be back soon, and heck, they’re still in first
Kendall Zaliwski has stepped up for the Crusaders, at Holly she ran 64 seconds faster than in 2021, and a 2022 season best
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian doesn’t have a few of the girls that I had anticipated joining the team, but that’s been offset by Leah Zarilli, who just placed 8th in the first MIAC Jamboree, 4 spots better than any placing last year
Junior David Clemons is back after missing his sophomore year, the new version of him better than ever
He’s broken 19:00 twice, most recently a gigantic personal best at Goodells
Two of the Muskrat freshmen – Julian Walker and Owen Benidit are performing as to expectations, Jack Reyes is right outside of the projected top-20, but the key additions are David and Griffin Melrose
The Dansville score may look similar from July until now, looking deeper, I missed a key addition
Sammy Schmidt returns, also after a year hiatus
He picks up where he left off in 2020, where he closed the season with a 17:56 at Sharp Park
In 2022, he’s been sub-18 in four of his six competitions
Since the teams match almost exactly what I had written a few months ago, let’s note two individuals that are having landmark seasons thus far
Carmellina Biafora of Bishop Foley slipped under 22:00 for the first time ever at the first CHSL Jamboree, her 4th placing there by far her best finish in a league event
Rebekah Hallock has been dropping minutes in almost every instance, starting with a 25:00 at Corunna, trending downwards to a 22:07 at that old Carson City course
Ran into a few Ann Arbor Skyline folks at Jackson and my message to them there is the same that I’m writing here – this is the best top four in the State
I don’t even care what my numbers say, four under 16:07 at Sharp Park is unreal
The question that’ll be ringing in the Eagles ears will be – can they find a fifth?
Paul MInock and Aidan Hale both have progressed throughout the year, both are capable of sub-17 on the right day
As of this writing now, Brighton’s 4th-7th loom large and will work as displacers
Watch out for Tyler Brock as one of them, he’s been near the 18:00 mark for the past few weeks, though a deeper dive reveals some gnarly courses – Mt. Brighton, Possum Hollow, Forest Akers on a hot day
Far and away, Dexter is the team of the region, at least in terms of how much they’ve surprised relative to the August writeup
A few Dreadnaughts that have stood out for these first five weeks have been Annabel O’Haver and Caleb Snyder
Caleb had a pretty darn good freshman year, one you can build upon, and that’s exactly what he’s done
Caleb’s last three races have gone 18:08, 17:37, 16:55, indicating he’s found a wave of confidence, I’m curious how far he keeps going
In Annabel’s case, you can just compare places between years
Her best SEC finish in 2021? 27th at the 2nd Jamboree. 2022? 20th at the first Jamboree
Jackson? 47th in 2021, 17th in 2022
That Jackson race was easily the best of her career, smashing through the 20:00 mark with a 19:14
A few teams that have outperformed those summer thoughts (they’re really just numbers, but I’ll take the brunt of it) are the Concord boys and Colon girls
Concord of course added Cole Bates over from Hillsdale Academy
Cole had a rough go of it at their home invite, besides that, he’s been the kid that helped spur HA to a state title last fall, with multiple mid-18 runs
For a kid that’s been through (I think), three schools, the ability to adapt and keep ticking is truly special
Newcomers have made a stunning impact on the Magi girls
That could be a freshman such as Lily Preston
Or a junior in her first year in the program, Lilli Stanzel, who’s finished top-5 in the majority of her races
Other than those two, it’s been chalk chalk chalk
Kalamazoo Hackett started a little slow, breaking in their freshman girls, they were able to get acquainted enough to the high school scene by their first SAC Jamboree, where the Irish placed 5th amongst a field of D3 teams
Battle Creek St. Philip is locked right in that boys race too, no doubt helped by Owen Nofs’s massive transformation
At this point last year, Owen was a 25:00+ kid, now he’s running in the low-19’s and is a contender for a medal. We love to see it.
So much to unpack here, I have to get to a meet. I mean, I don’t have to, but it’s my day off and there’s XC in the weather, XC on the schedule.
I thought Region 15 was a close-knit bunch, Region 3 is immediate family, quintuplets if you must
Portage Central and Byron Center have been the surprises of the bunch, Amanda Williams being her consistent, uplifting self and Sydney Law, running a number of personal bests and dipping into the 19’s
Byron Center competes in the OK White, pound for pound, one of the better divisions in the state
GR Christian and East Grand Rapids duke it out at the top, but Forest Hills Nothern, Lowell, and Forest Hills Central constitute the middle section
At the first Jamboree, the order was – Central, Northern, Lowell
At the second Jamboree, a different order – Northern, Lowell, Central
The field here should be extremely similar to the field at these, perhaps the final two jamborees will provide greater clarity
And with these teams all appreciating each other so much, the 6th and 7th girls will find their roles enhanced, in this projection, Celia Pollock is the tiebreaker
Those Ranger boys from Forest Hills Central are an underrated outfit in terms of the D1 Standings
That freshman to sophomore leap is a common one, but not always the case, Sawyer McCarthy IS the case. Sub-17 in all races, personal best in his latest one
That latest one was a great regional preview, where Portage Central cruised to another win, aided by the return of Logan Begeman, who didn’t miss a beat after a month off racin’, 16:40 to 16:46
Caledonia has laid low, a strategy that has worked for the Scots throughout recent history, Jordan Domany leading a prickly bunch of underclassmen set out to add to the novel that last year’s team created
Recently, Kalamazoo Central has locked heads with Battle Creek Lakeview at SMAC East, where Lakeview came out on top and at Ottawa Hills, where they placed ahead of Lowell and East Kentwood
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 