Turned in one of the better freshmen seasons in 2018 and continued that with considerable drops in times
PR “only” fell from 16:41 to 16:21, but the races were much faster early and the accomplishments much more notable
Among those: wins at Saranac, Holly, Linden, and Regionals, 3rd at State, 2nd at Class D
Finishing 3rd last year, keeping on that same improvement track, should be in contention for the D4 crown
38. Briana Vojinov, Brownstown-Woodhaven
Part of a young Woodhaven team that looks to shake up the paradigm a bit this fall
Once again, consistent, but improving to some solid performances late
18:44 at Wayne County was obviously her best finish, but most impressive might be back to back performances at Regional and State
The improvement really stands out, consider she didn’t break 20 at all as a freshman and in her first race of the year, a warm and fair course at the Meadows, sub-20
Olivia is a great runner and friend. She loves the quick speed, and she sure is good at it. She always strives for more and has high goals that we all believe one day she could reach. She’s super funny and always down for an adventure. She is truly an amazing person.
REAGAN JUSTICE, SALEM
Olivia is a girl I’d term a true racer, she’s fairly good early in the season, and pretty darn good late
2019 and 2018 have taken a similar pattern, times in the 19’s early (ratings in the high 130’s), then gradually speeding up late
Twice All-Region and two victories at Gabriel Richard
In a Salem team that looks to finally put it all together, we know Olivia will be there in October/November
39. Connor Joyce, Hartland
Much love for Ryan Kachnowski, too
Connor is another example of that improvement track
From his freshman year to now, he’s steadily dropped more than 2:00 from his season averages
2019 was especially special, spending much of the fall in the 16’s after not reaching that level at all in previous years
No real stand out race, but an All-Region finish after finishi… NOT EVEN RUNNING VARSITY the previous two years had to feel incredible
Connor battled some minor injuries during what would’ve been his indoor season, but has been putting in major strength work the past few months
Gary is one of the most hard working guys on the team. He’s one of the guys you would want on your team because he holds the team together and he provides a level of support and commitment you’d expect from one of the fastest guys on the team. He’s also one of the smartest trainers and racers on the team; he really understands the ins-and-outs of training and preparing for races.
GAVIN RAY, SALEM
An additional factor I added in this summer was tracking individual improvement, and if a kid has improved, I feel they’re likely to show that again
Gary is the perfect embodiment of that factor, both between seasons and during seasons
As a freshman, he started out in the high 21’s and dropped into the 18’s by the end of the year
This past fall, a similar track, with races above 17:00 and even approaching 18:00, but finishing the year with multiple low 16:00 efforts
The ratings reflect his rise as well, showing nearly a 4 MINUTE improvement in two years
40. Alyson Enns, Hart
Our first freshman! (but definitely not the last)
Always tough to project middle schoolers, but the times speak for themselves, multiple sub-12 efforts
A common thread with successful MS athletes is running a competitive race at Portage, Alyson’s 8:45 there is faster than a few State Champions and FootLocker finalists
