Out of the multitudes of Northville pack poised for greatness, Brendan was not someone I had on my radar
I called this out over in the Region 6 preview, but Coach Dalton’s squad really began to turn heads in 2020 with a quick youth movement
Brendan’s first year of cross was 2021
He did run track in that 2020-2021 school year, his freshman year, and if you’ve been around the sport long enough, you know any boy breaking 2:15 and 5:00 at a young age is impressive, if developed right, can be a varsity runner or more
Yep, he’s been more than just a varsity runner
His debut XC season contained a solid, consistent mid-season, running with previously mentioned standouts Ethan Powell, Brady Heron, and whomever else Northville can throw at you
In late October, we started to see him kick it up a notch
First a 16:01, good for 4th at KLAA
Then at State, his first jaunt into the 15’s, a 15:51, good for 18th
Like a few guys mentioned earlier, Brendan pushed boundaries during indoor, then broke though all those boundaries during outdoor
A 4:18 at the MITS 1600m gained him a 6th place finish
After running in the 4:20s and grinding through some 3200ms for the early part of the year, Brendan threw down a 1:57 against Howell, then threw down a 4:14 for an important dual against Brighton
Those efforts set the stage for a tremendous state meet, where he was a part of the Mustangs’ dominant 4×8 quartet, came back with a 4:10 for the 1600m (if not for Seth Norder, this is a Michigan sophomore record – yep, better than Ritz, Fisher, Brazier), then even after all that, a 1:55 in the 800m
And the scary part is he doesn’t have to do it all alone, that mean pack of Northville boys are right on his tail, a great support system for which will be a blazing next two years
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
Brendan Herger
16:59.2
191.3
Lamplighter
Ford Field
20-Aug
10
Brendan Herger
16:28.4
192.9
Bath
Bath HS
11-Sep
10
Brendan Herger
16:34.0
196.7
Spartan
Forest Akers
17-Sep
10
Brendan Herger
16:45.1
196.6
Cleverley Friday Night
Anchor Bay HS
24-Sep
10
Brendan Herger
16:19.6
198.1
Wayne County
Willow
9-Oct
10
Brendan Herger
16:01.8
197.4
KLAA Championship
Huron Meadows
21-Oct
10
Brendan Herger
16:23.7
197.1
6 Hudson Mills
Hudson Mills (North)
30-Oct
10
Brendan Herger
15:51.3
200.9
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
From afar, Rochester does things the right way, and a girl such as Lucy is much better off for it
We didn’t see her in any elite miles, 3200s, tripling/quadrupling at any meet this spring, in the fall, she ran ten races total
As a result, she might be underrated by these ratings and rankings, her cross season taking awhile to get cranking
But when it did, damn did she ever move
On a slow day at Possum Hollow, she put away the field in the last half of the race, claiming her first championship crown by almost 20 seconds
At State in the first few miles, she left people confused, questioning “who’s that Rochester girl?”, but those of us in the awards room knew what she was up to
Her splits on that giant stage – 5:42, 5:50, 5:49, a patient race with a speedy close
That patience paid off this past track season, both in her racing and the planning of her season
Like I mentioned earlier, the Falcons kept it close to the vest for much of the spring, but when it was time to roll, she repeated her cross country breakout
Come late May, she captured titles in the 800 and 1600m at Oakland County, a 3200m at the Lapeer Regional, the 3200m at OAA Red/White
Although blessed with some of the best closing speed in the state, she saved herself for the 3200m, where she patiently hung in a pack of three until the last lap, where she comfortably kicked into 2nd place
We might not see much come October, but that’s fine, when titles are on the line, we know Lucy will be there
A personal favorite of mine growing up. Downriver, we don’t get much in terms of greenery or parks, having an expansive area close by was a god send. The course can fly, for the most part there are gradual turns, save for the one just after the sledding hill. That sledding hill is a steep up, but gradual down, plus you’ve got tightly-packed grass and a downhill finish. Expect a +10 to +15 on the ratings.
2021 Girls: Plymouth (9th), Northville (4th), Salem (23rd)
To appreciate this regional, you must love the void. The void? What is he rambling about? Beyond Northville on the girls side, beyond Northville and Plymouth when evaluating the boys. Three spots up for grabs, and a host of teams in contention to steal a Brooklyn berth. Canton, Salem, Churchill, Huron, perhaps even a Franklin, Stevenson, or another Plymouth.
Northville’s girls bring a wide mix of ability and ages, brought together by the common bond of a committed lifestyle and culture. Talented freshmen arrive, transfers from California too. Those new faces mix with Ella Christensen and Cassie Garcia, two that are young, but have big race experience. And then you have seniors such as Anna Gdowski, who closed the year at State with a personal best.
Depth gives you great liability and insurance. Training insurance, if one boy goes down with injury, another is ready to take his place. Race insurance, if a top-5 boy has a difficult day, the 6th and 7th men won’t let the team take too much of a hit. Most importantly, it gives a team the ability to believe. If your training partners have hit 16:30 and you’re stuck at 17:00, yet you’re still hanging with them in practice, you have to believe 16:30 is in the cards for you as well. I’m fully confident all those factors have brought the Northville Mustang boys to the point they are today. We saw signs in 2020, where thirteen boys were sub-17 (not counting the Saline Reserve Invite, which ran curiously fast). More signs in 2021, with their 4th place finish at State. The signs were jammed into our face with the dominating 4×800 at 2022 State. Now, they’re the hunted team for this fall season.
A young outfit in 2021, by time, Plymouth returns their twelve fastest boys. Based on solely returners, done after the season, the Wildcats were ranked 5th. Now add in projected improvements and an outstanding track season, now our western suburbs consist of both of the Top-2 squads. Plymouth now is what Northville was 1.5 years ago. Nine boys sub-4:50, five boys under 10:20. Northville will set a high standard, but these Wildcats are eager to return to the title days of 2018. After all, those Byrnes, Mussen, and Solomon boys gotta keep the family tradition alive.
Top 25 Boys Teams: Northville (Top 2), Plymouth (Top 2)
Top 25 Girls Teams: Northville (4th)
Here, I’m writing at least a little anecdote about kids that are in the top-15 but aren’t freshman (Annabelle), in the 50 Tickets (Seth, Morgan, Brady, Isabell, Ethan, Cassie, Sean, Ella, and perhaps Brendan’s will be posted when this comes up?), or on Top 10 teams (Northville and two more to come). Want to spread love but also not overwork myself. All in all, my estimation is through all these previews, I’ll be writing at least a sentence about 1000+ kids.
Alex Bobak, Plymouth: Although he’s been in the 16’s all three years, 2021 featured his best close to a season yet. Three of his final four races were sub-17 and he crossed the line at Regionals in the best position thus far in his career.
Elliot Carey, Salem: It’s his spring for me. Sub-2 in the 800m, 4:26 for the 1600m. He even threw in a 9:52 early that we know would be considerably lower come late May. *edit* Earlier I said he’s looking for his first state qualifier, that was incorrect. Elliot made it as an individual, now he gets to prove he can make it back.
Sam Roberts, Dearborn: Like a metronome when he makes it to MIS. 16:15 as a sophomore, 16:16 as a junior. Sam and his Pioneer teammates move over from Region 5, coming from a top-heavy region to one that’s… gonna be just as top-heavy. That plus his progress from track (4:42 to 4:35) make him a great candidate to exhibit that low-16 speed at MIS.
Rene Vazquez, Wayne Memorial: We’ve been seeing the work over the summer. Hit a 9:55 in Wayne Memorial’s summer time trial, the best the school has seen in years. Over in Region 5, he placed 10th last year, then concentrated on the shorter distance events this spring, claiming the Wayne County 1600m victory.
Lucinda Paliani, Ann Arbor Huron: Snuck under 19:00 early, then nearly matched it late. That 19:12 at MIS ranked 11th among D1 freshmen girls.
Cara Newman, Canton: If there’s a race anywhere, anytime, Cara is sticking her nose in there with the best. Three-time for all of these: Top-10 at Wayne County, KLAA, and Regionals.
Layla Krayem, Livonia Stevenson: Races with a ton of maturity for how young she is in her career. At the Farmington Regional 3200m, she let the race come to her early, then sealed it late, comfortably grabbing a state qualifier.
Aliya Kurian, Plymouth: Last fall, the Wildcats were projected to come in 2nd here, 37 points behind first. Sure, there were other factors that contributed to their upset, but it didn’t hurt that Aliya placed 5 spots better than what was predicted.
Emerson Nordbeck, Livonia Franklin: April and May were her best months of running yet, at least in the mid-distance events. Her 2:20 at Farmington’s regional wasn’t a qualifier, but it may have been the best individual improvement of the day.
Sonya Shelgikar, Ann Arbor Huron: Take a peek at her 2021 track season and you’ll notice why Sonya skipped from 20:49 to 19:36. Check her 2022 season out and you know more is in store.
Alexis Pickerel, Canton: Key figure for the 2020 Chiefs, placing 15th here on the way to a Brooklyn berth.
Elaina Braunscheidel, Livonia Stevenson: Mustang and Lamplighter were great openers for Elaina. Lamplighter purposely long, Mustang disgustingly tough. The two races were in the high-21’s, but laid the groundwork for a season spent in the 20’s.
Team Champions – SCAA, Class D, D4 State 2nd Place – Region 34
2020
Team Champions – SCAA, Pre-Region 67 4th Place – Region 34
2019
Team Champions – SCAA 6th Place – Class D 2nd Place – Region 34 21st Place – D4 State
Anything in Track?
4×800
8:20
1st Place – Region 35 1st Place – SCAA 3rd Place – Hillsdale County 2nd Place – D4 State
Grayson Rorick
2:19/4:46/10:54
3rd Place – Region 35 1600/3200m 3rd Place – SCAA 1600/3200m 4th Place – Hillsdale County 1600m
Thomas Holm
2:14/4:45/10:21
2nd Place – Region 35 3200m 4th Place – Region 35 1600m 2nd Place – SCAA 3200m 4th Place – SCAA 1600m 3rd Place – Hillsdale County 1600m 12th Place – D4 State 3200m
Vincent Reagle
58.2/2:12
7th Place – Region 35 800m 8th Place – SCAA 800m 5th Place – Hillsdale County 800m
Reece Poole
2:23/5:36
Alex Richards
46.6 (300h)
7th Place – Region 35 300h 5th Place – SCAA 300h
Ike Lindley
2:39
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – Region 33 2nd Place – MIAC 9th Place – D4 State
2020
3rd Place – MIAC 4th Place – Pre-Region 65 4th Place – Region 33
2019
3rd Place – MIAC 4th Place – Region 33
Anything in Track?
Natalie Meadows
2:45/5:49/12:571st Place – Region 36 3200m 2nd Place – Region 36 1600m 1st Place – MIAC 3200m 8th Place – MIAC 1600m 20th Place – D4 State 1600m 25th Place – D4 State 3200m
Savannah Pomorski
2:46/6:32
3rd Place – Region 36 800m 6th Place – MIAC 800m
Ciara Parsons
20.2 (100h)/59.0 (300h)
4th Place – Region 36 100h 6th Place – Region 36 300h 5th Place – MIAC 100h
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – TVC West, TVC Overall, Region 25, D3 State 5th Place – Greater Lansing
2020
Team Champions – TVC West, D3 Greater Lansing, Pre-Region 48, Region 24, D3 State 2nd Place – TVC Overall
2019
Team Champions – TVC West, TVC Overall, Region 24 6th Place – Greater Lansing 6th Place – D3 State
Anything in Track?
4×800
8:19
2nd Place – Region 30 2nd Place – TVC 10 1st Place – Mid Michigan MoC 6th Place – D3 State
Ben March
2:09/4:44/9:46
4th Place – Region 30 3200m 5th Place – Region 30 1600m 3rd Place – TVC 10 3200m 5th Place – TVC 10 1600m 8th Place – Mid Michigan MoC 800m 9th Place – D3 State 3200m Dylan Marr
55.3/2:06
7th Place – TVC 10 400m 5th Place – Mid Michigan MoC 800m Landon Pestrue
2:16/4:57/10:34
6th Place – Region 30 3200m 4th Place – TVC 10 3200m
Alex Hardy
2:27/5:48
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – CAAC White, Region 24 3rd Place – Greater Lansing 4th Place – D3 State
2020
Team Champions – CAAC White, D2 Greater Lansing 2nd Place – Pre-Region 27 2nd Place – Region 14 10th Place – D2 State
2019
Team Champions – CAAC White 12th Place – Greater Lansing 6th Place – Region 14
Anything in Track?
4×800
9:55
2nd Place – Region 29 1st Place – CAAC White 2nd Place – Greater Lansing 9th Place – D3 StateCC Jones
2:25/4:59/10:49
2nd Place – Region 29 1600/3200m 1st Place – CAAC White 1600/3200m 1st Place – Greater Lansing 1600m 5th Place – D3 State 3200m
Hannah Pricco
27.2/58.5/2:21
1st Place – Region 29 400m 2nd Place – Region 29 800m 1st Place – CAAC White 400/800m 1st Place – Greater Lansing 400m 3rd Place – D3 State 400m 9th Place – D3 State 800m
Tessa Roe
2:20/5:13
3rd Place – Region 29 800/1600m 2nd Place – CAAC White 800/1600m 4th Place – Greater Lansing 800m 8th Place – D3 State 800m 9th Place – D3 State 1600m
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – Region 16 2nd Place – SEC White 5th Place – D2 State
2020
Team Champions – SEC White, Pre-Region 31, Region 16 5th Place – D2 State
2019
2nd Place – SEC White 4th Place – Region 4
Anything in Track?
Evan Loughridge
4:31/10:04
5th Place – SEC White 1600m 6th Place – Region 2 3200m
Ethan Sandula
4:36/9:53
7th Place – Region 16 3200m
Ben Richards
2:02/4:32
6th Place – SEC White 1600m 5th Place – Region 16 1600m 8th Place – Region 16 800m
Zach Debeauclair
2:01/4:37
5th Place – Region 16 800m
Zach Newman
54.9/2:02/4:35
4th Place – Region 16 800m
Thomas Lepper
2:15/4:52/10:51
Colten Lumadue
24.1/51.7
3rd Place – SEC White 400m 5th Place – Region 16 400m
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – Region 11 2nd Place – OK White 2nd Place – D2 State
2020
Team Champions – Pre-Region 26, Region 13 2nd Place – OK White 3rd Place – D2 State
2019
Team Champions – Region 11 2nd Place – OK Gold 12th Place – D2 State
Anything in Track?
4×800
9:32
3rd Place – OK White 2nd Place – Region 13 2nd Place – D2 State
Natalie VanOtteren
5:10/11:04
5th Place – OK White 3200m 7th Place – OK White 1600m 3rd Place – Region 13 3200m 7th Place – D2 State 3200m
Naomi Nelson
2:29/5:43/12:12
Payton Holtz
2:27/5:32
6th Place – OK White 800m 4th Place – Region 13 800m Sarah Timmer
2:48/5:56/12:59 Adia Sikkema
5:58 Anna Triezenberg
2:37/5:53 Lily Teitsma
2:46/6:00
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – KLAA, Region 4, D1 State
2020
Team Champions – Pre-Region 8, Region 4 4th Place – KLAA 13th Place – D1 State
2019
Team Champions – KLAA, Region 4, D1 State
Anything in Track?
Tyler Langley
2:08/4:35/9:40
8th Place – KLAA 3200m
Brady Matuszewski
2:00/4:28/9:33
5th Place – Region 8 3200m
Luke Campbell
2:08/4:29/9:35
7th Place – Region 8 3200m
Dylan White
2:15/4:46/10:53
Bode Cooper
53.2/2:00/4:41
8th Place – KLAA 800m 7th Place – Region 8 800m Nathan Moskal
2:08/4:43/10:47
Elijah Forbord
2:16/4:52
Ian Cox
2:07/4:51/10:27
Brayden Morris
2:03
Tyler Brock
4:56/10:36
The Past Three Years
2021
Team Champions – Big North, Northern Michigan, Region 2 3rd Place – D1 State
2020
Team Champions – Big North, Pre-Region 1, Region 1 2nd Place – D1 State
2019
Team Champions – Northern Michigan, Region 1 2nd Place – Big North 2nd Place – D1 State
Anything in Track?
4×800
9:30
2nd Place – Region 1 1st Place – Big North 10th Place – D1 State
Alexis Ball
2:26/5:19/11:18
5th Place – Region 1 3200m 4th Place – Big North 3200m 5th Place – Big North 1600m 3rd Place – Record Eagle 1600m
Ella Kirkwood
2:20/5:26/12:06
4th Place – Region 1 800m 5th Place – Big North 3200m 6th Place – Big North 1600m
Kathleen Venhuizen
60.1/2:17/5:26/12:09
2nd Place – Region 1 800m 3rd Place – Big North 400m 4th Place – Big North 800m 2nd Place – Record Eagle 400m 10th Place – D1 State 800m Lola Reimers
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 