Blog

(The only “hill” in Wayne County outside of Cass Benton.)

GIRLS

Recovering from a long day (long run this morning and XC day at our stores) and there’s no better way to wind down the night than with another preview.  This girls’ side is pretty straight forward.  You have three dominant top-10 teams that should easily qualify.  The battle for first should be intriguing, both Plymouth and Salem have the front-runners to compete, but can they develop the rest of their team?

Ranked Teams: Northville (3), Salem (6), Plymouth (10)

Highest Rated

• Lauren Kiley, Plymouth

Profile.

• Yasmine Mansi, Northville

Profile.

• Londyn Swenson, Plymouth

For anyone running as well as Londyn did last year, it’s unreal that she didn’t finish first in any single race.  2^nd at Jefferson, Warrior Classic, Wayne County.  But in spite of all that, she did manage to go 18:20 and finish 6^th in this region.  She moves up here mainly because of a solid track season, where she was able to drop her 3200m PB to 11:17.

• Reagan Justice, Salem

Salem really has a way of having their best runners peak and peak hard.  Throughout much of the season, Reagan was in the 19’s.  Which is solid, but in no way could one tell she’d run 18:17 at this region.  She narrowly missed out on All-State, but I think she’ll get there this year.

• Olivia Millen, Salem

Olivia made some great improvements last year to become one of the better runners in the region.  She was definitely above average as a freshman, running sub-20 as the season wound down.  But in 2018, she started from a much faster place, then continued that same time drop.  That ended with a win at Gabriel Richard, a 5^th place finish here, and a PR of 18:30.

Career achievement/improvement

• Sierra Greener, Livonia Churchill

Sierra has had some ups and downs the past two years, but at the end of it all, she’s gotten better.  Among her better races have been a 19:27 at Ramblin’ Rock, 19:48 at Coaching Legends, and a 19:20 at the KLAA finals.  She finished 26^th here last year, if she can establish some consistency, she has a good chance to make it out to MIS.

Darkhorse

• Marissa Henry, Salem

Freshman had a solid debut in XC last fall.  20^th at this region with multiple sub-20 performances.  Showed some mid-distance ability this spring, going 2:28/5:30.

BOYS

Okay, this is where the region gets interesting.  Let’s just say it – Plymouth is a major question mark.  Their top three are among the best top three you’ll find, but there’s a search for four other runners to round out their varsity.  In certain regions, that would be enough, but there are so many quality runners here that it may too great a margin to make up.  Catholic Central may face the same predicament.  Perelli is a favorite to make All-State, but their depth doesn’t match up as well as Northville, Salem, or Canton.  What may be the most incredible thing about this region is the sheer number of above average athletes.  Of the 84 runners in the team race, I have 56 of them rated above 160 (around 18:00 on a Willow Metropark).

Ranked Teams: Plymouth (9), Detroit Catholic Central (15), Salem (17), Canton (18), Northville (21)

Highest Rated

• Carter Solomon, Plymouth

Profile.  TullyRunners.

• Patrick Byrnes, Plymouth

Profile.

• Luke Perelli, Detroit Catholic Central

Profile.

• Talha Syed, Salem

It seems that if you want to be anything in this region, you have to start out as a sub-18:00 freshman.  Talha was that, he even got down to 16:49 at Gibraltar’s Marauder Invite.  He was running around the same times this year, but busted out a 16:20 at Gabriel Richard.  Talha has two things going for him.  One, he’s heading into his junior year.  I’m not aware of every single runner, but typically, juniors have less miles on their legs, and thus more room for improvement.  Two, he ran a 9:28 out of nowhere at regionals in track.

• Matt Whyte, Novi

Matt is here mainly because of his steadiness.  There are no real outstanding performances, save a 16:53 on a wet day at Oakland County, but no real disappointing performances either.  Spartan Invitational was its typical conditions – hot and annoying, he ran 16:45.  State was a mudbath, he ran 16:37.  Given his gradual improvement throughout the years, he’s a safe bet to do the same thing, albeit a bit faster.

• Tyler Mussen, Plymouth

The last of Plymouth’s great trio.  Tyler was one of the main reasons Plymouth rose to the occasion last year.  Carter Solomon was always going to be in the top-5, but runners like Tyler needed to step up.  Early in the season, it looked like that may not happen, but once Coaching Legends came around, he turned it on.  A 16:22 there (13^th) led to even more drops, including breaking 16:00 at the KLAA finals.

Career achievement/improvement

• Colin Sheahan, Livonia Stevenson

Livonia Stevenson was once a school that consistently made it to States, now as the population has shifted further north and west, they’ve fallen a bit behind.  Colin should be able to stem that tide this year.  Toward the end of last year, he was well into the 16’s, a few examples being his 16:44 at Wayne County and 16:21 at KLAA.  He’s dropped some serious time too, as a freshman he barely broke 18:00.

Darkhorse

• Luke Nelson, Salem

Luke had an unreal reliability for Salem last year, especially for a freshman.  Where you’ll usually see high variance on a week to week basis, Luke stayed right around that 17:30 range all year.  The reason he’s a darkhorse are his times on the track.  As we moved forward into May, he ran 10:04, 10:00, 10:09, and 10:25 in consecutive races.  Times like those lead one to believe he’ll be in contention for a top-15 spot.

 

Seven regions in seven days.  That’s all we’ve got left.  I had a great day at the XC Mini Clinic, learned quite a bit for when I eventually coach, but also thought up some things and stats I want to bring forth to promote the sport this season.  But in order to do that, I have to follow through on my promise to preview all regions.  And that involves posting one on a Friday night.  Hopefully some of you stat geeks out there will find this interesting.

GIRLS

The Saugatuck team in general is just a great operation.  Both boys and girls have had recent success.  They move back up to Division 3 this time around after a two-year stint in Division 4.  Their girls have had four straight top-5 finishes in either division.  I don’t think that streak will last, but the program is set up for success.  High participation and a track record of improvement give stability, and of course pressure to live up to previous years should fuel their entire season.  Galesburg-Augusta should be tough to crack.  Their top three can compete with anyone, but it’s not as if it ends there, their 4^th-7^th should place higher than many respective runners from other teams.

Ranked Teams: Galesburg-Augusta (13), Bloomingdale (22), Saugatuck (24)

Highest Rated

• Lauryn Coleman, Galesburg-Augusta

Lauryn’s October was extremely consistent.  Starting at Portage and going through States, her times never deviated more than 20 seconds.  That kind of consistency moves you up in these ratings, it’s much valued as a coach and fellow teammate as well.  She ended up 3^rd here and 40^th at States.  Her 11:57 on the track lends thought to the belief that she’ll be well into the 19’s this time around.

• Abigail Schlabach, Centreville

Abigail and Lauryn may as well be 1a and 1b.  The separating factor seems to be Lauryn’s track season, but don’t discount head to head battles either.  Abigail was 2^nd in this region and 35^th in the State.

• Aubree Sedore, Galesburg-Augusta

At her best, Aubree can be right there with Abigail and Lauryn.  Her 20:00 at Mendon an example of that, as she beat both of them.  The remainder of the year, it’s not as if she ran poorly or inconsistently.  33^rd at Portage, 5^th at regionals, times mainly in the mid to high 20’s.  I’m excited to see if she can build on that Mendon performance this year.

Career achievement/improvement

• Aimee Sustaita, Bloomingdale

Aimee is only a junior, but she’s had a little improvement thus far in her career.  She began her freshman year a tad late, debuting in 25:02.  She ended up dropping almost 3.5 minutes from that time, all in all, a successful start for any freshman girl.  Those drops didn’t stop there, as a sophomore she was able to dip into the 20’s, both at Otsego Bulldog and two SW10 Jamborees.  If course conditions had been a bit drier, that would’ve happened at MIS as well.

Darkhorse

• Jillian Vera, Saugatuck

Another rare case of a senior being a darkhorse.  Jillian had a similar track season in 2019 to her 2017 season, especially in the 1600m.  Following that (freshman) season, she went on to run 19:55 in XC.  Saugatuck will need her to be that kind of frontrunner that she’s capable of becoming.

BOYS

Once again, Saugatuck.  But you have trophies, results, and returning studs, you’ll end up being rated or ranked high.  On the state level, it will likely be between them and Hanover-Horton (the Charlevoix kids are confident they’ll be in the mix too).  As you’ve noticed, I’m scoring it out as I go, but my gut tells me H-H will have a slight edge based on the strength of their 3^rd-5^th.  But the other factor is Saugatuck’s ability to develop runners that are deep into their career.  Through his junior year, was Corey Gorgas NAU material?  Maybe, maybe not.  He answered that with a resounding yes during this past season.  Many of their kids could step up and likely will.

Ranked Teams: Saugatuck (1), Bloomingdale (12)

Highest Rated

• Nik Pettinga, Saugatuck

Profile.

• Max Sharnas, Saugatuck

An unfortunate aspect of Saugatuck moving up is we don’t get to see Max and Mason Sumner duel for the next three years.  Going into the season, there was a debate over who was the better runner.  In cross, I believe Sumner won the debate.  In track, the argument could go either way.  Max’s string of performances near or under 17:00 in XC were great, but going 4:34/9:47 on the track shows he’s got more coming.

• Alvaro Martinez, Bangor

With Ashton Sheline and Berrien Springs moving on to the tougher pastures of D2, Alvaro is the highest returning runner here.  His 16:47, a PR, was good for 2^nd here.  He nearly matched that at MIS, a 16:52, good for 26^th.

• Walker Barz, Buchanan

Although he lacked the early season times that Sharnas had, Walker ended at nearly the same level.  Buchanan ran many races last year and it’s impressive that a freshman was able to peak, that peak being very dramatic as well.  After eight early season races near 18:00, Barz ran a 17:33 at Berrien County, not a course that runs particularly fast.  By season’s end, he was at 17:04.  Should also mention his 10:07 on the track.  I have all four of these boys as All-Staters.

Career achievement/improvement

• Zach Trainor, Bangor

It should be very apparent; I love when kids drop serious time.  Maybe it’s realizing talent, could be having no talent other than the ability to work hard.  I’m not sure what happened between Zach’s freshman and sophomore year, but I’d love to find out.  More than 1:30 was subtracted from his previous best.  He ran 17:47 twice, most importantly at this regional, where he placed 13^th.

Darkhorse

• Joe Furlan, Bloomingdale

Joe made some serious leaps on the track this spring.  2:14 to 2:04, 4:45 to 4:36, and 11:22 to 10:29.  The 16 and 32 suggest he’s capable of running into the mid-16’s.  His best last year was 17:04 at Otsego.

Looking forward to the mini clinic tomorrow.  Hope to see some of you there!

GIRLS

Not often you see a team battle that may score out this way, but it’ll likely be a unique competition between Marshall and Plainwell.  Plainwell has an outstanding top three, it might even be the best top three in the entire state (if Dudek is truly not coming back).  Marshall likely won’t dent into that, but they can put their next five in front of Plainwell’s fourth.  Of course, there are other teams involved that will impact the scoring.  But both teams are impressive in their own way, Marshall will likely be better in larger meets, Plainwell in smaller meets, relatively speaking.  They’re both great and are the class of this region.

Ranked Teams: Plainwell (3), Marshall (14), Parma Western (19)

Highest Rated

• Makenna Veen, Plainwell

Profile.

• Elka Machan, Coldwater

Elka returns from an outstanding outdoor campaign where she set some major PRs.  Hard to pick an event that stands out so I’ll list them all.  2:29 > 2:20, 5:23 > 5:03, 11:39 > 11:06.  Her transformation really started to take part during cross last year, as she dropped nearly two minutes from her best time.  That improvement led to a 2^nd place finish here and 17^th at MIS.

• Grace Pettit, Plainwell

Another impactful incoming freshman, Grace was defeated only once last year.  She hovered around that 12:00 mark, but threw in a few 11:40ish performances.  She ran similar times during track, but her one indoor performance stands out, a 3200m at Grand Valley where she hung with the likes of Lani Bloom and Maddy Malczewski.

• Mackenzie Hill, Plainwell

Mackenzie really came on strong as last season went on.  She spent much of September running over 20:00, then busted out a 19:22 at Otsego Bulldog.  She finished at 18:59, which was good for 16^th at MIS.  Mackenzie showed some mid-distance ability on the track, going 2:22/5:11

Career achievement/improvement

• Kayla Eklund, Richland Gull Lake

For the past two seasons, Kayla has been an individual qualifier over at Gull Lake.  2018 produced her highest regional finish, a 5^th place.  Her race there was also a PR, 19:15.  She’s another one that threw out some major PRs on the track, 5:47 > 5:24 and 13:31 > 12:01.

Darkhorse

• Alyna Lewis, Parma Western

I feel obliged to include a girl from Parma.  They’re a top-20 team, likely to make it out of here.  Alyna stepped in as a freshman last year and went 19:21. She was 7^th here, but really stood out in the 800m, where she ran 2:17.

BOYS

Admittedly, I know very little about Hastings.  They’ve not been a traditional power, at least as far back as I can remember.  One should love their experience, their top seven are all seniors.  And thus, this team race shouldn’t be too much of a competition.  Hastings has both depth and the frontrunners.  Charlotte has a chance to pull into that 3^rd spot if they can find a fifth runner, but I believe GR South Christian and Marshall are pretty impenetrable, they both have enough backup in case one of their top 5 has a bad day.

Ranked Teams: Hastings (13), Grand Rapids South Christian (25)

Highest Rated

• Koby Fraaza, Richland Gull Lake

Profile.

• Todd Henley, Hopkins

Gotta love Todd’s gradual progression into a great runner.  He’s steadily dropped time, 17:45 to sub-17 to almost breaking 16:00.  His PR of 16:03 came in a 2^nd place performance at Allendale Falcon.  Times slowed a bit as the season went on, but he did secure another 2^nd place at this regional.

• Kobe Blanco, Charlotte

One thing for sure, Kobe is putting in work this summer.  He’s been Charlotte’s stud for the past two years, with multiple performances in the 16’s.  He may have had better times in 2017, but he was able to finish the season in 2018 with an individual qualifier and an 82^nd place at States.  Like many others, he made a major leap in track, dropping down to 4:29.

• Micah VanderKooi, Grand Rapids South Christian

Micah is an 800m sensation that’s also shown some cross ability.  His best season arguably came as a sophomore, where he went 15:56.  The track is where he really shines, for much of the season, he was in the top 5 in the state.  He finished his season with three straight 1:56.x races and a 4^th place at States.

Career achievement/improvement

• Aidan Makled, Hastings

For the past two seasons, Aidan has finished top-6 at this regional.  Both years, he’s spent the end of the season consistently running in the 16’s.  He should be at the head of the Hastings group this time around.

Darkhorse

• Kyle Foulk, Coldwater

Kyle’s inconsistency last year ended up hurting him when it came to his ratings.  He definitely showed some potential, a 16:42 at Otsego Bulldog being an example.  Some steps were taken in track, starting at Golden Triangle.  A 9:56 there led to a 9:48 at regionals and a 9:51 at States.  If he’s in that form, he’s contending with Henley, Blanco, and VanderKooi for that 2^nd spot.