The people have been asking, “where are the rankings???”
The world championships have meant vacation for me, and although I could work on these while I’m in Eugene, that’s not truly a vacation. But there’s been a bit of free time this morning (or afternoon out east), so you’ll get a bit of content. For real though, no one’s been asking the above question, which is fine by me!
Rewind 12 months prior, Summer ’21, I had Northville ranked #15 pre-season
In that pre-season ranking, Cassie wasn’t included (when I add an incoming freshman, they had to have run cross in their 8th grade year)
Given Northville’s finish last year, one can see Cassie’s great impact on the Mustang squad
The Mustangs finished 4th in the State, Cassie herself nearly equaling her personal best, breaking 19:00 for the second time, a freshman coming up huge
That performance was made through Northville’s consistent summer training but also a consistent season that saw sub-19:30 in seven of her final eight races
During track, she continued that late season greatness into a spring full of superb efforts
Amazing to me are the lack of races over 5:30 and 11:30, continually racing at a high level each and every time must take a supreme level of focus
Cassie, along with the rest of the Northville crew, will surely take the Mustangs to great heights in a few short months
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
9
Cassie Garcia
20:26.3
122.2
Lamplighter
Ford Field
20-Aug
9
Cassie Garcia
19:46.3
128.2
Pete Moss
Benzie Central HS
28-Aug
9
Cassie Garcia
19:14.1
134.0
Ramblin’ Rock
Willow
11-Sep
9
Cassie Garcia
20:00.0
130.0
Spartan
Forest Akers
17-Sep
9
Cassie Garcia
19:28.0
137.7
Mott Fall Classic
Hess Hathaway
24-Sep
9
Cassie Garcia
19:11.6
134.8
DeWitt
DeWitt HS
2-Oct
9
Cassie Garcia
19:24.2
135.9
Wayne County
Willow
9-Oct
9
Cassie Garcia
19:27.0
147.3
Freeland Falcon
Freeland
16-Oct
9
Cassie Garcia
18:51.8
140.4
KLAA Championship
Huron Meadows
21-Oct
9
Cassie Garcia
18:52.3
139.6
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
9
Cassie Garcia
19:05.9
135.7
MMOC
Shepherd HS
13-Nov
Joey, as Cassie, was unknown to me as the season began
He ran for Lansing Everett as a freshman, one of the better young runners in 2019, reaching into the 16’s in the late season
But he didn’t run cross in 2020, not my question to ask why or how, and thus had fallen off the radar in these here writings
But boy did Joey show up last fall, nabbing an All-State, capturing a Regional trophy, and breaking 16:00 at season’s end
A tiny analysis says he’s best when conditions are worst
St. Francis a tough course already, add in a torrential downpour in the days prior, that combination leading to a sub-17:00, victory, and his 2nd highest rating of the season
Greater Lansing wasn’t a walk in the park either, Ledge Meadows is usually a fast track but wasn’t last year, he finished 4th in a sea of accomplished athletes
During track, he was able to mix speed and endurance en route to a State Qualifier in the 1600m, then he turned around and ran a personal best at the meet
St. Johns loses a few of the studs that led to their 3rd place D2 finish, with Joey at the front of their pack, they’re sure to be in the mix yet again
1st Place – Greater Flint 1st Place – FML 2nd Place – Region 16 7th Place – D2 State
2020
5th Place – Greater Flint (Division 2) 4th Place – FML Stripes 4th Place – Pre-Region 31 4th Place – Region 16
2019
6th Place – Greater Flint 2nd Place – FML 2nd Place – Region 16 11th Place – D2 State
Anything in Track?
Kyle Eberhard
50.9/1:57/4:18/9:51
1st Place – FML 400-3200m 1st Place – Region 19 800m-3200m 5th Place – D2 800m 8th Place – D2 1600m
Hayden Bradfield
53.7/2:03/4:49
3rd Place – FML 800m 8th Place – Region 19 800m
Ryan Blackwood
2:15/4:47/10:50
6th Place – FML 1600m & 3200m
Ian Martin
2:37/5:24/11:54
Caleb Monaghan
2:25/5:17
Blaise Gooding
2:34/5:32/12:34
Davin Meckstroth
2:27/5:17
The Past Three Years
2021
5th Place – Greater Lansing 5th Place – Region 4
2020
2nd Place – CAAC Blue 3rd Place – Greater Lansing (Division 1) 1st Place – Pre-Region 7 4th Place – Region 4
2019
1st Place – Greater Lansing 1st Place – CAAC Blue 5th Place – Region 4
Anything in Track?
Autumn Thompson
2:31/5:10/11:21
4th Place – Region 8 1600m 5th Place – Region 8 3200m 2nd Place – CAAC Blue 3200m 3rd Place – CAAC Blue 1600m 4th Place – Greater Lansing 1600m
Don’t know much about this course! Seems to run pretty fast, 30-40 seconds so last year. But everyone is running the same course the same day, so fast doesn’t mean that much, it’s all about the competition. And this final D4 region may be one of the more competitive ones.
2021 Boys: Johannesburg-Lewiston (9th), Petoskey St. Michael (6th), Fairview (25th)
2021 Girls: Johannesburg-Lewiston (6th), Petoskey St. Michael (26th), Gaylord St. Mary (27th)
Last year was all Johannesburg-Lewiston. The Cardinals brought it in their first meet of the year, ravaging the small school competition at Benzie. They brought that same energy through to regionals, but unfortunate COVID news wrecked any chance at a state title. Still, both teams placed in the top 10 and that return visit to MIS is on their minds. But standing in the way are some Harbor Springs teams on the move down from D3. Petoskey St. Michael’s boys will be there, as I said earlier, watch if they can add numbers. They always do, but the five that they have should be enough to move onto the next round. The girls battle between Gaylord St. Mary and East Jordan could be a tight race. Miriam Murrell is a perennial frontrunner, the other battles between each team’s 2nd girl, 3rd girl, are all up for grabs.
Top 25 Boys Teams: Johannesburg-Lewiston (Top 7), Harbor Springs (Top 7), Petoskey St. Michael (8th)
Top 25 Girls Teams: Johannesburg-Lewiston (Top 7), Harbor Springs (8th), East Jordan (24th), Gaylord St. Mary (25th)
Just a little rundown of those in the top-15 that haven’t been mentioned in the 50 Tickets, the Top Tens (a few teams here!), and aren’t freshmen. 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.
Lars Huffman, Mackinaw City: His MIS experience in 2021 was a full minute faster than in 2020. Twenty-one places as well, earning him a 20th place spot.
Samuel Ford, Fairview: Great peak from Sam. After struggling to break 19:00 for much of the year, came through with two straight sub-18:30’s to close the season.
Arin Pyles, Fairview: Consistent mid-19:00 performer as a freshman, displayed a bit of speed during track, getting as low as 2:18 in the 800m.
Cooper Whipkey, Mackinaw City: His seventeen races before the 2021 season were all above 20:00. His eleven races in the 2021 season were all sub-20:00.
Miriam Murrell, Gaylord St. Mary: Junior is well-accustomed to this championship stage. Three-time All-State, twice regional champ. Gascho had the upper hand in 2021, but my guess is Miriam doesn’t give this up easily.
Maia Romeyn, Ellsworth: Just as Miriam, another girl who had experience running at the HS level as an 8th grader. And thus, has four consecutive top-10 regional finishes to her credit.
Jessie Ross, Fairview: Although her times didn’t improve from her freshman to sophomore year, her places did, getting from 69th to 50th at State.
Christine Whitaker, East Jordan: Each of the past two years has run a massive personal best at Regionals.
Lilian Curtis, East Jordan: Neeearly snuck under 22:00 in her final race as a freshman, but nailed a 40+ second personal best on the way there.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 