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The MHSAA released their XC divisions today, so I had to make some adjustments.  Here they are:

DIVISION 4

RANK	BOYS	GIRLS
1	Breckenridge	Beal City
2	East Jordan	Lansing Christian
3	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
4	Unionville-Sebewaing	Adrian Lenawee Christian
5	Carson City-Crystal	Hillsdale Academy
6	Concord	Hudson
7	Sandusky	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian
8	Potterville	East Jordan
9	Beal City	Pittsford
10	Cass City	Ubly
11	Buckley	Johannesburg-Lewiston
12	Muskegon Western Mich. Christian	Breckenridge
13	Mayville	Carson City-Crystal
14	Mancelona	Sand Creek
15	Saranac	St. Philip Catholic Central
16	Kalamazoo Christian	Ellsworth
17	Montabella	Fowler
18	Petersburg-Summerfield	Morenci
19	Lawrence	Leland
20	Johannesburg-Lewiston	Concord
21	Morrice	Plymouth Christian Academy
22	Mason County Eastern	Maple City Glen Lake
23	Jackson Preparatory	Owendale-Gagetown
24	Bridgman	Clarkston Everest Collegiate
25	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	Morrice

DIVISION 3

RANK	BOYS	GIRLS
1	Saugatuck	Hart
2	Hanover-Horton	Pewamo-Westphalia
3	Pewamo-Westphalia	St. Louis
4	Charlevoix	Shepherd
5	Hart	Traverse City St. Francis
6	Caro	Clare
7	Traverse City St. Francis	Harbor Springs
8	Shepherd	Benzie Central
9	Grandville Calvin Christian	Ithaca
10	St. Louis	Stockbridge
11	Bloomingdale	Kent City
12	Benzie Central	Roscommon
13	Sanford-Meridian	Grandville Calvin Christian
14	Bronson	Charlevoix
15	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	Galesburg-Augusta
16	Onsted	Byron
17	Harbor Springs	Bad Axe
18	Kalkaska	McBain
19	Clare	Kingsley
20	New Lothrop	Blissfield
21	Madison Heights Bishop Foley	Bloomingdale
22	Erie Mason	Reese
23	Bad Axe	Holland Black River
24	Clinton	Saugatuck
25	Watervliet	Quincy

DIVISION 2

RANK	BOYS	GIRLS
1	Fremont	East Grand Rapids
2	Haslett	Petoskey
3	Chelsea	Plainwell
4	Otsego	Lansing Catholic
5	East Grand Rapids	St. Johns
6	Grand Rapids Christian	Cadillac
7	Dearborn Divine Child	Holland Christian
8	St. Johns	Otsego
9	Goodrich	Spring Lake
10	Grand Rapids South Christian	Freeland
11	Sparta	Tecumseh
12	Hastings	Allendale
13	Holland Christian	Marshall
14	Allendale	Dearborn Divine Child
15	Lansing Catholic	Haslett
16	Yale	Grosse Ile
17	Berrien Springs	Frankenmuth
18	Ionia	Flint Powers Catholic
19	Armada	Bloomfield Hills Marian
20	Flint Powers Catholic	Parma Western
21	Alma	Milan
22	Adrian	Linden
23	St. Clair	Grand Rapids Christian
24	Linden	New Boston Huron
25	Spring Lake	Chelsea

DIVISION 1

RANK	BOYS	GIRLS
1	Brighton	Ann Arbor Pioneer
2	Clarkston	Traverse City Central
3	Highland-Milford	Northville
4	Dexter	Bay City Western
5	Romeo	Saline
6	Fenton	Plymouth Salem
7	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	Brighton
8	Cedar Springs	Temperance Bedford
9	Plymouth	Plymouth
10	Saline	Traverse City West
11	Ann Arbor Skyline	Bloomfield Hills
12	Ann Arbor Pioneer	Romeo
13	Hartland	Holland West Ottawa
14	Detroit Catholic Central	Fenton
15	Pinckney	Birmingham Seaholm
16	Zeeland West	Hudsonville
17	Hudsonville	Clarkston
18	Holt	DeWitt
19	Canton	Pinckney
20	Northville	Rockford
21	Caledonia	Caledonia
22	Traverse City Central	Lake Orion
23	Rockford	Grand Blanc
24	Lake Orion	White Lake Lakeland
25	Lowell	Brownstown Woodhaven

Earlier this week, I posted some early rankings for XC.  Those were compiled using 2018’s ratings and adding in a projected improvement.  Track is (officially, at least) here, and we can use track times to further gauge improvement.  Over the summer, I aim to break down each and every regional.  I’ll use track data in some capacity, whether it be subjectively, objectively, or both.  I’ve gone through the past few years and compared athletes ratings vs. what they ran in track the previous year.

March is an extremely busy time in running shoe stores.  The weather is changing, people are more upbeat and optimistic, and a whole new batch of track athletes enter our world.  You can tell when someone has been running over the winter, they’re like a racehorse in the gate, raring to go.  As someone who was never “fast”, who had to work for every improvement, those runners hold a special place in my heart.  On a weekly basis, I want to showcase runners that are outperforming my projections.

Kate Kiefer, Birmingham Seaholm

2017 Track – 2:52/6:27

2018 XC – 23:16, 18.2 rating

2019 Track – 2:42… 10 second PR in first race of the season.

Elissa Weinrick, Okemos

2018 Track – 6:45/14:20

2018 XC – 22:04, 42.9 rating

2019 Track – 6:17/13:42… 28 second PR in the 16, 38 second PR in the 32.

Lawson Brady, Freeland

2018 Track – 3:38/7:29

2018 XC – 23:57, 26.4 rating

2019 Track – 2:56/6:23… 42 second PR in the 8, 66 second PR in the 16.

Logan Gutierrez, Millington

2018 Track – 2:21/5:16/10:50

2018 XC – 17:38, 157.9 rating

2019 Track – 10:28… 16 second PR in first race, indoors mind you.

Parker Austin, Davison

2018 XC – 18:43, 123.8 rating

2019 Track – 5:04… almost 40 second improvement from best middle school time.

Benjamin Hinkley, Perry

2018 Track – 2:32/5:51

2018 XC – 19:24, 115.1 rating

2019 Track – 2:10/5:50… 16 is nearly identical, but that 2:10, where did that come from?!

Coaches/athletes, please feel free to send me your (or another’s) story and background.  I’m probably self-critical, but I find my writing rather formulaic.  I’d love to improve by delving deeper into personal stories.  So if you’re seeing improvement, you know of someone putting work in that deserves recognition, reach out to me.

Let’s eliminate some confusion here.  These are cross country rankings for next fall, before I use track times as a factor.  These include 8th graders, ratings from last year, and projected improvements.  Enjoy!

DIVISION 4

 

Rank	Team
1	Breckenridge
2	East Jordan
3	Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart
4	Unionville-Sebewaing
5	Carson City-Crystal
6	Concord
7	Sandusky
8	Potterville
9	Beal City
10	Cass City
11	Buckley
12	Muskegon Western Mich. Christian
13	Mayville
14	Mancelona
15	Saranac
16	Kalamazoo Christian
17	Montabella
18	Petersburg-Summerfield
19	Lawrence
20	Johannesburg-Lewiston
21	Morrice
22	Mason County Eastern
23	Jackson Preparatory
24	Manton
25	Bridgman

 

Rank	Team
1	Saugatuck
2	Hanover-Horton
3	Pewamo-Westphalia
4	Charlevoix
5	Hart
6	Caro
7	Berrien Springs
8	Traverse City St. Francis
9	Shepherd
10	Grandville Calvin Christian
11	St. Louis
12	Bloomingdale
13	Benzie Central
14	Sanford-Meridian
15	Bronson
16	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian
17	Onsted
18	Harbor Springs
19	Kalkaska
20	Clare
21	New Lothrop
22	Madison Heights Bishop Foley
23	Erie Mason
24	Bad Axe
25	Clinton

DIVISION 2

Rank	Team
1	Fremont
2	Cedar Springs
3	Haslett
4	Chelsea
5	Otsego
6	East Grand Rapids
7	Grand Rapids Christian
8	Dearborn Divine Child
9	St. Johns
10	Goodrich
11	Grand Rapids South Christian
12	Sparta
13	Hastings
14	Holland Christian
15	Allendale
16	Lansing Catholic
17	Yale
18	Ionia
19	Armada
20	Flint Powers Catholic
21	Alma
22	Adrian
23	St. Clair
24	Linden
25	Spring Lake

DIVISION 1

Rank	Team
1	Brighton
2	Clarkston
3	Highland-Milford
4	Dexter
5	Romeo
6	Fenton
7	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek
8	Plymouth
9	Saline
10	Ann Arbor Skyline
11	Ann Arbor Pioneer
12	Hartland
13	Detroit Catholic Central
14	Pinckney
15	Zeeland West
16	Hudsonville
17	Holt
18	Canton
19	Northville
20	Caledonia
21	Traverse City Central
22	Rockford
23	Lake Orion
24	Lowell
25	Salem