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Where: Shepherd HS

Michigan’s Premier Cross Country Course^TM

Single loop, never doubling back, never running the same part twice, never crossing over the path. The simplest of cross country experiences. Mostly flat, with an ever so slightly gradual hill at the 2-mile mark. Ran a little fast last year, usually a +10 to 20 adjustment.

Coach Hammel set a record by viewing one of his runners 11 times during a race and never running a step in the process. As a spectator, can you beat that? Hell, is there a course in Michigan that even gives you that possibility?

2021 Boys: St. Louis (1^st), Caro (9^th), Sanford-Meridian (23^rd)

2021 Girls: St. Louis (6^th), Caro (14^th), Sandusky (13^th), Reese (16^th)

This region generally remains unchanged from its 2021 iteration, the only real difference being the location. Shepherd has always been a great host, with a changing of the guard over at Heritage (who hosted this last year), it makes sense that the Hawks aren’t hosting a regional.

St. Louis’s Sharks are again the defending State Champs. That’s right, they can handle the pressure and expectations that come with winning a title, using it as motivation to hoist that trophy once again. Although they lose the mustache man, Aaron Bowerman and Nate March, the remainder of their top 7 were underclassmen. They’ll be at the forefront of Division 3 and contending once again. Caro has been a traditional power, winning a title recently, continually placing high in November, but they find themselves in an interesting spot. The Tigers return 3 runners capable of placing in the top-20 here, their incoming freshman should be in the mix to do that as well. It then becomes a recruiting question. If they find someone else, they’ll likely advance out of here. Sanford held down the fort in the third spot last year, projected there in the pre-season, mid-season, and regional week. They return 4 of their top 5 runners and should comfortably move on from here again.

Two years ago, Caro brought in a tremendous class of girls, we’re just now beginning to see the accomplishments they’ll achieve. Walch, Swenor, Heron, Long, add in a Kaya Vrable and surprise, a top-10 outfit. Reese’s girls follow the same pattern as Caro’s boys. They’ll almost certainly have four girls in the top-20, and it appears they’ll have the numbers as well. A bit of added insurance in a competitive region and one that helped them gain a state entry last fall. Sandusky narrowly defeated Reese, by one single point, spurred by big efforts from Brookelynn Jansen and Helena Long, those two are back and you know they can perform on the regional stage. The defending champs, St. Louis, lose a ton. Munderloh, Mikenna Borie, Delgado. But it seems they’re always a contender. Can they spoil the party?

Top 25 Boys Teams: St. Louis (Top 10), Sanford-Meridian (22^nd)

Top 25 Girls Teams: Caro (Top 10), Reese (14^th), Sandusky (23^rd), St. Louis (25^th)

Just a little rundown of those in the top-15 that haven’t been mentioned in the 50 Tickets), the Top Tens (Caro girls and St. Louis boys, and aren’t freshmen (you’ll get your day, Braylee, Logan, Alexandra). Many of these are just scouring athleticnet (note – if you have a kid you want to brag about, reach out, tell me their story), but it’s more attention paid than many publications, it helps me learn names, and most of all – GETS ATTENTION TOWARDS KIDS THAT DESERVE IT.

Matthew Pattullo, Caro: Twice top-5 here, moving into a spot where many upperclassmen have graduated. Can he add a regional trophy to his collection? Given the improvement between his 9^th and 10^th grade years, it’s not out of the question.

Connor Stefanovsky, Caro: ­Connor will be right there too. He showed some tremendous strength and tenacity this past track season, continually running the 3200m in the low-10s.

Jonah Shephard, Sanford-Meridian: Penchant for running his best to end the year. 17:54 for his season best as a sophomore, 17:14 for his personal best as a junior. Both were at MIS. I guess that means 16:34 this year?

Cade Truemner, Pigeon-Laker: After those St. Louis boys roll through, these state qualifying spots will be up for grabs. We saw a sign in cross, an 18:01 at Ubly, more in track, where he ended at 2:20/5:06.

Ethan Wetzel, Sanford-Meridian: Broke 19:00 once as a freshman, then kept under (except in the mud) that mark during his sophomore championship season.

Wheatley Roddammer, Saginaw Valley Lutheran: Cross season was cut short after one race, in track it appears he was fully healthy, running 4:59/11:02.

Elliot Noyes, Sanford-Meridian: Projected 23^rd here last year, finished 18^th. His 19:44 in the treacherous conditions might not mean much, but his 18:24 personal best the following week speaks volumes.

Wyatt Wojdula, Reese: Has dropped nearly a minute in each year, from 20:16 as a freshman to 18:28 as a junior.

Kyle Baldwin, Mt. Morris: Mt. Morris does move over here from Region 24, a move that makes geographical sense. He placed 4^th in the MMAC 1600m this past spring.

Jaiden Dickman, St. Louis: Top-10 here each of the past two years, with a changing of the guard, now in contention for that top spot. Had her best track season yet, running 5:16/11:30 this past spring.

Makenzie Kreger, Sandusky: I had her tabbed as a top freshman last year and that took a bit of time to come to fruition. But when it did – WOW. 19:15 at State was good enough for an All-State certificate.

Jenna Sweeney, Reese: All-State as a freshman, narrowly missed as a sophomore. Spring saw personal bests in the 800m through 3200m, perhaps a return back to that freshman form?

Ellymae McCoy, Reese: Huge, absolutely huge track season. Region 28 Champ in the 1600m and top-20 at State in that same event, where she finished the year at a 5:24.

Maddie Huysentruyt, Sandusky: 9^th grade year started above 22:00, ended nearly breaking 20:00.

Lauren Brawt, Sanford-Meridian: Basketball star brings it for other sports as well. She’s qualified for State and finished in the top-10 in the JPC during each of the past two years.

Ashley Shindorf, Vassar: Each spring, she doubles as a mid-distance star. Back to back champion in the 800m over in Region 28.

Claire Neumann, Saginaw Valley Lutheran: Despite getting into the 20’s each of the past two years, has not gotten a chance to run at State. I think this is the season that changes.

Allysen Jansen, Sandusky: Important third runner for Sandusky, two straight top-15 placings here are a helpful bit of reliability.

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• I’ll just say this: having Northville’s depth is intimidating enough, pairing that depth with two young, yet experienced frontrunners will be devastating to much of their competition
• The numbers here have Ella and Cassie right next to each other, less than a second apart, and their accomplishments bear that out
• During championship cross country races, their times were nearly identical
  • Wayne County: 19:20 for Ella, 19:24 for Cassie
  • KLAA: 18:51.8 for each
  • State: 18:52 for Cassie, 18:54 for Ella
  • Meet of Champions: 19:03 for Ella, 19:05 for Cassie
• Ella didn’t show up in high school an absolute superstar, it’s taken some work to get there
  • Prior to October of her freshman year, she hadn’t broken 20:00 in a race
  • Since then, over 75% of her races have been sub-20
• During track, she was able to show off some mid-distance ability, breaking 5:00 in the 1600m (which in our insane state environment, “only” placed 15^th), and sprinting to a 2:19.5 in the 800m
• Despite the above talk of her teammates, don’t ignore her individual accomplishments, they will be plenty in the coming years

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Ella Christensen	20:23.9	123.0	Lamplighter	Ford Field	20-Aug
10	Ella Christensen	19:45.3	128.6	Pete Moss	Benzie Central HS	28-Aug
10	Ella Christensen	19:12.9	134.4	Ramblin’ Rock	Willow	11-Sep
10	Ella Christensen	19:58.2	130.6	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
10	Ella Christensen	19:25.0	138.7	Mott Fall Classic	Hess Hathaway	24-Sep
10	Ella Christensen	19:07.6	136.1	DeWitt	DeWitt HS	2-Oct
10	Ella Christensen	19:20.4	137.2	Wayne County	Willow	9-Oct
10	Ella Christensen	19:36.8	144.1	Freeland Falcon	Freeland	16-Oct
10	Ella Christensen	18:51.8	140.4	KLAA Championship	Huron Meadows	21-Oct
10	Ella Christensen	19:32.6	134.8	6 Hudson Mills	Hudson Mills (North)	30-Oct
10	Ella Christensen	18:54.0	139.0	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov
10	Ella Christensen	19:03.3	136.6	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Ella Christensen	105.9	Northville/Salem	Willow	12-Sep
9	Ella Christensen	110.0	Canton/Northville	Cass Benton	16-Sep
9	Ella Christensen	102.4	Northville/Pioneer	Pioneer HS	23-Sep
9	Ella Christensen	116.0	Northville/Plymouth	Cass Benton	29-Sep
9	Ella Christensen	118.6	Hansons	Freedom Hill	3-Oct
9	Ella Christensen	113.0	Brighton/Northville	Huron Meadows	6-Oct
9	Ella Christensen	120.0	West Ottawa	Riverside Park	10-Oct
9	Ella Christensen	123.7	KLAA	Huron Meadows	17-Oct
9	Ella Christensen	114.3	PR 15	Novi HS	24-Oct
9	Ella Christensen	115.0	D1 Reg 8	Chandler Park	30-Oct
9	Ella Christensen	122.3	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

• You could see the inklings during the 2021 track season, Braylon’s freshman year
  • His 1600m ranked 6^th amongst all 9^th graders, his 3200, 12^th      
• Those rankings don’t mean squat when a new season comes along, unless you’re Mr. Petty, then they’re just an obvious part of the story
• His coming out party on the cross course came at Huron Meadows in late August, where he ran 16:32, nearly a 20 second PR
• That early season breakout gave way to a season where he was sub-17 in the rest of his races (after being below that mark once as a freshman)
  • Those fast times led to numerous honors, top-10’s at every single race, up there in high-profile meets such as Cougar Falcon, Otsego Bulldog, along with all the championship competitions
• And as he always does, cross was built on into track, where his 9:39 ranks 12^th for anyone that was a sophomore and younger
• Just as Ella and Cassie for Northville, Braylon will join Aidan Smith as another pair of teammates as low sticks in the D2 ranks

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Braylon Petty	17:13.6	196.1	Lenawee County Preview	Tecumseh HS	21-Aug
10	Braylon Petty	18:04.0	174.7	Bert Cebulski	Heritage Park (Adrian)	26-Aug
10	Braylon Petty	16:32.2	195.3	A2 Early Bird	Huron Meadows	2-Sep
10	Braylon Petty	16:25.2	197.9	SEC 1	Hudson Mills (South)	14-Sep
10	Braylon Petty	16:18.8	197.7	Huron	Willow	18-Sep
10	Braylon Petty	16:19.3	195.6	Cougar Falcon	Gainey Fields	25-Sep
10	Braylon Petty	16:57.9	199.0	SEC White 2	Bennett Park	28-Sep
10	Braylon Petty	16:06.8	196.4	Otsego Bulldog	Otsego HS	2-Oct
10	Braylon Petty	16:43.1	187.6	Lenawee County	Gerber Hill Park	16-Oct
10	Braylon Petty	16:28.6	190.1	SEC Championship	Hudson Mills (North)	21-Oct
10	Braylon Petty	16:17.5	191.5	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov
10	Braylon Petty	16:12.7	194.8	MMOC	Shepherd HS	13-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
9	Braylon Petty	155.8	Adrian/Chelsea/Tecumseh Tri	Heritage Park (Adrian)	26-Aug
9	Braylon Petty	155.8	Adrian/Dexter/Tecumseh Tri	Heritage Park (Adrian)	4-Sep
9	Braylon Petty	160.5	Adrian/Hudson/Skyline/Tecumseh	Heritage Park (Adrian)	12-Sep
9	Braylon Petty	176.1	Jackson	Sharp Park	19-Sep
9	Braylon Petty	164.8	Adrian/Pinckney/Tecumseh	Heritage Park	26-Sep
9	Braylon Petty	168.6	Adrian/Bedford	Indian Creek Park	3-Oct
9	Braylon Petty	174.4	PR 35	Heritage Park (Adrian)	24-Oct
9	Braylon Petty	178.5	D2 Reg 18	Lake Erie	31-Oct
9	Braylon Petty	181.8	D2 State	MIS	6-Nov

Regional Previews

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Where: Huron Meadows, aka “The Meadows”

During the latter half of last October, rainy day after rainy day swamped many courses around Southeast Michigan. The North Course at Hudson Mills had mudpits in the woods, the swampy Algonac and Anchor Bay areas were swampy, Willow couldn’t even host, and Huron Meadows ran as fair as it normally runs.

Is it the higher ground? Firm footing? Good drainage? Magic evaporation of the Brighton area? Who knows, but what one can expect as a runner is a flat track in the open areas and a bit of rolling terrain in the woods. As a spectator or coach, one can expect to see their favorite athletes at least 5 times if not more. Just be sure to get there early with only one entrance to the park.

Expect to see times consistent with what one would run at State.

2021 Boys: Madison Heights Bishop Foley (24^th), University Liggett (27^th), Memphis (29^th), Almont (28^th)

2021 Girls: University Liggett (23^rd), Madison Heights Bishop Foley (28^th), Clawson (26^th)

This has historically been one of the “weaker” regions. But as someone who works in the area of many schools up this way, let me explain. Schools comprising Region 26 are usually in a concrete jungle, nowhere near any hills, and aren’t of affluence. You generally need at least 2 of those attributes for cross country success. Add in soccer’s influence on many Oakland/Macomb County schools, and you’ll see low numbers for those in Division 3. Is that an excuse? No, just a reality.

Anyhow, it’s been a weaker regional and to balance that out, Stockbridge and Dansville were added into the mix. Stockbridge’s boys were 13th in Division 3 last year, their girls were qualifiers in 2020. Dansville has been all over the place, switching Divisions each of the past three years. Down in D4 last year, their boys were 15th and they return their top three from that squad.

Top 25 Boys Teams: Dansville (25^th)

Top 25 Girls Teams: None

Theodore Davis, Dansville: Under the radar as one of the better freshmen in the State last year. His 10:07 in track was the 11^th fastest amongst 9^th graders.

Micah Bolton, Stockbridge: Top runner on a Stockbridge team that finished 13^th last year. Made a tremendous leap late in the track season, running a 20 second PR in the 3200 to close the year.

Collin Cook, Stockbridge: The other top returner from Stockbridge, has finished top-10 at Regionals twice.

Max Mader, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Found his groove this past spring in the mid-distances, eventually reaching down to 2:03 in the 800m come State time.

Joseph Kadluboski, Dansville: Each of his three XC seasons he’s been in the 17’s. Is this primed to be his best season yet? Looking at that 1600m from this spring, it could be.

Michael Darlington, University Liggett: Over 50% of his races during his freshman year were sub-19.

Damian DeFeyter, Dansville: As with Joe Kadluboski, has found a way to be sub-18 in each of his three seasons.

Ethan Wright, Stockbridge: Set a 7 second PR in the 800m this spring, that time drop good enough for 6^th at the GLAC Championship.

Calvin Vanhartesvelt, Dansville: Dropped 15+ seconds on his personal best from 2020 to 2021, but more importantly, qualified for State with his fellow Dansville harriers.

Anthony Urbaniak, Charyl Stockwell Academy: Race after race in May was just a personal best after personal best, finally ending up at 2:18/11:09.

Kolbe Martino, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Was able to sneak under 19:00 in his first year of high school cross.

Ray Shumaker, Charyl Stockwell Academy: Has knocked 2+ minutes off his bests from his freshman year.

Sebastian Beskow, Charyl Stockwell Academy: Stayed on the high side of 19:00 but was able to improve by a minute from his freshman year.

Kerith Short, University Liggett: Very successful freshman year included top-3 finishes at Regionals and CHSL C/D.

Penelope Griffoen, University Liggett: Has been All-Region in each of her three seasons.

Anna Ransom, Stockbridge: Went from 25:29 as an opener to 21:47 as a closer.

Josephine Malysz, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Freshman year included an 11^th place regional finish and a few sub-23’s.

Carmellina Biafora, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Two consecutive appearances at MIS for Carmellina, but 2021’s was 35 seconds quicker.

Kelsey Beckett, University Liggett: Improved from 12^th here as a freshman to 9^th as a sophomore.

Charlie Harms, Algonac: Dropped 3.5 minutes from her first meet to her last.

Savannah Ricketts, Charyl Stockwell Academy: Closed out her sophomore year with 6 straight races in the 23’s.

Fiona Sierens, University Liggett: All-Region as a freshman.

Julia Serra, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Halved her place from Regionals as a freshman. 25^th two years ago, 12^th last year, this year…?

Haylee Byerly, Algonac: Another one on that gradual improvement curve. 26:00+ in her opener at Anchor Bay, sub-24 in her closer at MIS.

Emily Mandziuk, Madison Heights Bishop Foley: Championship experience, Emily has plenty of it. Top-25 in all three of her Regional races and two appearances in Brooklyn to go along with it.