Blog

Week 3

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4
Mid-Season Projections – Boys
Mid-Season Projections – Girls

These rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/28). If a runner has had a rated race since September 1st, they’re included (sadly, I have to account for injured athletes). These are for fun and done for free. Enjoy!

Recap

It was a rough smooth two week stretch for Northville. The Mustangs handled business on their usual trip out of Michigan. Chicago in 2022, Roy Griak in 2023, then on September 21^st, a trip to the famed Blue River XC Course. For Michigan’s top-ranked team facing the best of Indiana, 24 total points and all five scorers under 16:10.

Meanwhile on that same date, many of the top-10 boys showed up to Jackson. Following a few weeks off, rested and ready to roll, Livonia Churchill was able to put three in the 15’s and have just enough from Wojtkowicz and Morche, claiming victory in a field as close to the D1 Finals as you’ll see in September.

Looking Forward

Whereas in previous weeks, the top teams went their separate ways, in early October, they’re now all entering the fray. Clarkston looks to be the Oakland County favorite, Canton and Livonia Churchill will duel at Willow (projections for both coming tomorrow), and Portage has:

#1 Northville
#2 Brighton
#3 Jenison
#6 Saline
#8 Kalamazoo Central
#9 Grand Haven
#10 Traverse City Central

Amongst many others.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Northville	84	6	204.6	1
2	Brighton	254	4	197.4	3
3	Jenison	263	1	198.5	2
4	Canton	368	6	195.9	4
5	Livonia Churchill	391	6	194.6	7
6	Saline	412	5	192.7	6
7	Clarkston	429	8	192.9	5
8	Kalamazoo Central	456	3	192.4	21
9	Grand Haven	466	1	193.7	8
10	Traverse City Central	506	2	191.0	11
11	Ann Arbor Pioneer	541	5	193.6	NR
12	Portage Central	550	3	189.2	10
13	East Kentwood	556	3	190.8	9
14	Oxford	559	8	191.9	12
15	Forest Hills Central	609	3	189.9	17
16	Plymouth	633	6	188.9	13
17	Utica	679	9	188.3	18
18	Macomb Dakota	722	9	186.1	15
19	Rockford	742	1	185.0	14
20	Midland	775	2	185.1	16
21	Okemos	791	2	185.3	NR
22	Highland-Milford	806	7	187.9	19
23	White Lake Lakeland	811	7	183.7	20
24	Traverse City West	833	2	184.5	23
25	Caledonia	870	3	183.4	24
26	Salem	892	6	182.1	22
27	Dexter	973	4	183.5	25

Recap

It’s been all red and pink. I thought that Holland West Ottawa’s performance at FlashRock was the best of their year, the pink Panthers were able to outdo that at Otsego. Both were wins, the former against Indiana’s best, the latter containing seven WO girls under 19.

Setting the standard for the past 1.5 seasons has been Romeo, performing in this two week stretch in the same manner that the Bulldogs always have. A perfect score in the MAC Red Championship, preceded by placing six in the top-20 at Sharp Park.

Looking Forward

They’ve been flexing muscles separately all year long. Under the Lights, Holly, FlashRock, Jackson, Otsego, now a meeting. Romeo and Holland West Ottawa. This is as close to a State Final preview as you’ll find. The main question in comparing the two teams is Romeo’s 3^rd through 6^th vs. West Ottawa’s 2^nd through 6^th.  The numbers thus far have shown that Romeo’s pack is slightly ahead of West Ottawa. The race isn’t run on numbers.

Yes, there are other teams in the state. With the addition of Ella Abraham, Rochester’s Falcons have asserted themselves as the favorite in Oakland County. Everyone else in the top-10 is Portage.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Romeo	82	9	150.5	1
2	Holland West Ottawa	133	1	149.1	2
3	Saline	235	5	140.0	3
4	Ann Arbor Pioneer	272	5	143.4	5
5	Brighton	290	4	135.6	4
6	Rockford	334	1	133.7	6
7	Okemos	413	2	133.3	12
8	Traverse City West	439	2	129.2	7
9	Rochester	474	8	129.0	16
10	Grand Haven	493	1	128.0	8
11	Portage Central	524	3	125.0	10
12	Midland Dow	530	2	134.2	9
13	Northville	538	6	124.6	11
14	Jenison	584	1	122.7	15
15	Utica	592	9	123.1	13
16	White Lake Lakeland	623	7	121.4	14
17	Dexter	634	4	120.8	20
18	Hartland	652	4	120.9	17
19	Ann Arbor Skyline	669	4	120.2	19
20	Rochester Adams	688	8	119.8	18
21	Macomb Dakota	779	9	116.0	21
22	Hudsonville	791	1	115.6	22
23	Clarkston	813	8	114.5	24
24	Bay City Western	853	2	115.3	NR
25	Traverse City Central	880	2	112.7	25
26	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	915	3	110.9	23
27	Ann Arbor Huron	927	6	112.3	NR

Individual Rankings

Recap

Two weeks ago, we were heavily anticipating a Jackson Invite. Cooler early morning temps, Kyle O’Rourke traversing an easier, Aidan Pengelly assuring an honest pace. Neither of the two disappointed, neither did any of the field. Sharp Park was home to five of the six fastest D1 times in the State. O’Rourke pulled away in the second mile, creating enough of a gap to ensure a 15:08 victory. Carter Livermore has quietly been racking up outstanding races, he was 2^nd. Pengelly crushed his previous PR.

The lone man that didn’t run at Jackson and was able to break into that top-six was Seth Conner, whose 15:16 at Otsego showed that he’s a few weeks ahead of last year’s schedule.

Thankfully, we received a debut. Kamari Ronfeldt on the way back, taking no time in finding a win in the second SEC Jamboree. The Pioneer course isn’t the easiest ever, he was still able to cruise to victory in 15:46.

Looking Forward

Three separate spots for matchups: Oakland County, Wayne County, and Portage.

Kyle O’Rourke going for his first Oakland crown, hoping to use course knowledge to earn a victory.

Just as the teams will vie for points in the pack, Joey Rohmfeld and Aidan Pengelly will face off near the front. Of course, they’ll be joined by a Colin Murray. We saw Murray come back on the two at Rambling Rock, we’ll see if the D1 kids will alter their approach to attain a win.

And of course – Portage. Seth Conner riding the high of last week, perhaps Kamari Ronfeldt in the purple, Carter Livermore, Ethan Powell, and a gang of others.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Kyle O’Rourke	Highland-Milford	216.5
2	10	Jack MacGregor	Howell	212.6
3	11	Aiden Pengelly	Canton	212.4
4	10	Kamari Ronfeldt	Ann Arbor Pioneer	211.4
5	12	Carter Livermore	Grandville	210.6
6	12	Ethan Powell	Northville	210.5
7	12	Seth Conner	Jenison	210.3
8	12	Alexander McArthur	Oxford	207.8
9	12	Joseph Rohmfeld	Livonia Churchill	207.3
10	12	Taye Levenson	Bloomfield Hills	207.3
11	11	Jackson Lam	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	206.1
12	11	Ben Hartigan	Northville	206.0
13	12	Kian Schneeweis	Troy	205.6
14	11	Beckett Crooks	Ann Arbor Pioneer	205.0
15	10	Luka Hammond	Grand Haven	205.0
16	12	Nick Barretto	Northville	204.0
17	12	Tyler Brock	Brighton	203.2
18	12	Julian Linebaugh	Dexter	203.0
19	10	Ben Romero	Forest Hills Central	202.7
20	11	Ryan Barnes	Clarkston	202.5
21	11	Ian Morgan	Okemos	201.8
22	12	Ishaan Kundapur	Northville	201.7
23	12	James Cusick	Oxford	201.5
24	12	Ben Eisnor	Grand Haven	201.4
25	12	Lucas LaMilza	Macomb Dakota	201.1
26	12	Sawyer McCarthy	Forest Hills Central	200.9
27	11	Aron Gal	Grand Haven	200.8
28	10	Brandon Cloud	Northville	200.7
29	12	Parker Strelecki	Jenison	200.5
30	12	Evan Nickoles	East Kentwood	200.1

Recap

Winning wings were indeed spread, both in Indiana and Michigan. Sub-17’s at each, both contributions to a national top-10 ranking for Helen Sachs (it’s on MileSplit and you have to pay, such a racket. Just trust me).

Taking a careful approach and likely shooting for a November/December peak, Victoria Garces opened with a 17:17 at Cadillac, then followed with a 17:26 at Shepherd. Both were wins, both solidifying her status as one of Michigan’s top runners.

Always saving her best for the State Finals, Lucy Cook gave us a preview of her condition. Facing great competition from Natasza Dudek, Cook was able to summon just enough in Jackson’s finishing stretch to claim a win, 17:26.2 to 17:27.5.

Looking Forward

Going for four straight Oakland County crowns will be Lucy Cook. Finn, DaDamio, Belf, Goethals, Osika – none of those girls have won four County titles. Only one, Katie Boyles can make that claim. Lucy has always displayed patience while racing, a necessity to conquer the infamous double hill and emerge victorious. We’ll see if she can pull it off.

At Portage, Helen Sachs will be up to her usual shenanigans, laying waste to the field up front, hoping to set an example for her fellow Panthers looking to hit an upset. Freshmen that have already proved they can handle the sublime experience, Rachel Smith, McKinley Jones, and Natasza Dudek will gain even more of it on the star-studded Portage West MS grounds.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Helen Sachs	Holland West Ottawa	176.7
2	12	Victoria Garces	Midland Dow	170.5
3	9	Natasza Dudek	Ann Arbor Pioneer	167.2
4	9	Rachel Smith	Okemos	162.3
5	11	Natalia Guaresimo	Romeo	160.0
6	9	Emilia Garces	Midland Dow	159.0
7	11	Hana Boggess	Ann Arbor Pioneer	154.9
8	9	Sienna Klemmer	Ann Arbor Pioneer	154.5
9	9	McKinley Jones	Saline	154.0
10	12	Lucy Cook	Rochester	153.6
11	10	Daisy Cox	Rockford	152.9
12	12	Mallory Bigelow	Oxford	152.5
13	11	Lydia LaMarra	Brighton	152.1
14	10	Annie Hrabovsky	Romeo	151.7
15	12	Valerie Beeck	Grand Haven	151.4
16	12	Kaelin Hughes	Livonia Stevenson	150.5
17	10	Annabeth Hazlewood	Salem	149.9
18	12	Annie Alkema	Kalamazoo Central	148.9
19	9	Savannah Staton	Saline	148.8
20	12	Lillian Deskins	Romeo	148.2
21	12	Violet Hrabovsky	Romeo	146.8
22	12	Olivia Purdy	Romeo	145.8
23	10	Collette Wierks	Holland West Ottawa	144.9
24	11	Leah Corby	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	144.9
25	12	Emma Gunnett	Holland West Ottawa	144.8
26	11	Ava Porras	Holland West Ottawa	144.7
27	11	Emmerson Clor	Romeo	144.5
28	10	Tessa Mascari	Traverse City West	144.4
29	12	Isabelle Becker	Bay City Western	143.5
30	12	Corynn Gady	Saline	142.7

Week 3

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4
Mid-Season Projections – Boys
Mid-Season Projections – Girls

These rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/28). If a runner has had a rated race since September 1st, they’re included (sadly, I have to account for injured athletes). These are for fun and done for free. Enjoy!

Recap

We’ve gotten plenty of action between the GR area teams. Grand Rapids Christian has led the D2 contingent in the OK White, Forest Hills Eastern and East Grand Rapids trading places behind the Eagles. When the latter two traveled northeast to Bluejay, EGR was able to pull ahead, mainly based on the strength of their top-three, one of the better trios in the entire state.

Holland Christian locked heads with Grand Rapids Christian twice, at Otsego Bulldog and Cougar Falcon. The former produced a tiny upset, the Maroons winning by 2 points.

Following a dominant Spartan performance, Allendale went back on the grind, then emerged to hold serve on their home course.

Looking Forward

Haha, Portage:

#1 Allendale
#2 Grand Rapids Christian
#3 Holland Christian
#4 Alma
#5 East Grand Rapids
#6 Forest Hills Eastern
#9 Plainwell

But don’t forget about Greater Flint, where a rapidly improving Flint Powers Catholic will test Frankenmuth in an early preview of Region 15.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Allendale	198	11	195.0	1
2	Grand Rapids Christian	253	12	193.4	2
3	Holland Christian	326	11	190.0	4
4	Alma	328	14	191.8	3
5	East Grand Rapids	366	12	189.4	6
6	Forest Hills Eastern	378	12	189.9	5
7	Otsego	438	13	184.2	9
8	Frankenmuth	445	15	184.2	7
9	Plainwell	486	12	182.8	10
10	Flint Powers Catholic	530	15	185.4	15
11	Sparta	534	10	182.9	8
12	Cedar Springs	561	10	181.3	13
13	Marshall	561	13	187.5	11
14	Shepherd	602	15	182.5	12
15	Gladwin	632	10	182.5	14
16	DeWitt	731	14	176.1	17
17	Three Rivers	752	13	177.6	16
18	Pinckney	754	16	177.0	18
19	Freeland	771	15	180.2	19
20	New Boston Huron	787	18	176.6	20
21	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	838	11	177.0	22
22	Corunna	841	14	172.7	NR
23	Fremont	865	10	172.5	21
24	Zeeland East	896	11	171.6	23
25	Edwardsburg	925	13	171.0	24
26	Hudsonville Unity Christian	984	11	169.0	25
27	Adrian	1007	18	170.0	27

Recap

You had a couple huge performances from teams down the rankings. Up in Shepherd, Goodrich asserted their championship form, racing to their best overall performance of the season. Contributions from all scorers, five under 19:40. The Martians may not have the low sticks just yet, but their advantage in the pack could be enough.

Repeats on Mount Bulldog must’ve gained an advantage for Otsego, who defended their home course beautifully. PR/SR’s from their top six girls, all scorers under 20, a showing that they’re in contention for a podium spot. The Bulldogs beat #1 Zeeland East, who had a solid race. Otsego was just that good. No chance in the actual rankings, but check the point totals, they’re on the path forward.

Looking Forward

A bit more diversity than the boys side. DeWitt and Otsego taking the weekend off and Goodrich hoping to win amongst the D1/D2 teams at Greater Flint.

But there’s still Portage, with:

#1 Zeeland East
#3 Grand Rapids Christian
#4 Holland Christian
#7 East Grand Rapids
#8 Adrian
#10 Unity Christian

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Zeeland East	149	11	137.5	1
2	Goodrich	193	15	131.0	3
3	Grand Rapids Christian	208	12	130.4	2
4	Holland Christian	248	11	126.8	4
5	Otsego	266	13	130.4	5
6	DeWitt	306	14	123.5	6
7	East Grand Rapids	332	12	122.3	7
8	Adrian	395	18	124.8	8
9	Freeland	459	15	118.6	9
10	Hudsonville Unity Christian	495	11	115.0	10
11	Forest Hills Eastern	549	12	110.0	14
12	Linden	568	16	110.8	12
13	Spring Lake	579	10	109.5	15
14	St. Joseph	645	13	113.8	11
15	Grand Rapids South Christian	711	12	104.2	20
16	Ludington	724	10	108.0	18
17	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	725	18	105.8	17
18	Sturgis	748	13	108.7	19
19	Cadillac	752	10	106.4	16
20	Frankenmuth	773	15	107.3	13
21	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	859	16	99.9	24
22	Coopersville	885	11	99.6	21
23	Dearborn Divine Child	897	16	96.8	22
24	Plainwell	898	12	96.9	27
25	Shepherd	929	15	97.0	23
26	Owosso	933	14	95.9	26
27	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	999	12	96.8	NR

Individual Rankings

Recap

Continually running the even splits, TJ Hansen sped to another personal best. 4:39, 4:48, 5:14 (4:43 pace) all added up to a 14:41 at Shepherd. Behind him in the elite field were Henry Dixon and Jonah Workman, coming into his own.

Further establishing that D2 has the best individuals in the state, Jack Bidwell ripped a 14:56 at Stockbridge.

Another hub of D2 activity took place at Otsego, the patient Colin Murray running nearly 20 sec. faster than 2023 and holding off Will Engbers and Simon Triezenberg.

Looking Forward

TJ Hansen will be the lone Falcon representative at Nike Town’s Race of Champions. Gotta admire the competitive spirit, going out of state and sticking his nose in there with the Midwest’s best. I’m sure it’ll be a helpful experience in the championship races to come.

With Divine Child at Wayne County, Marshall at Calhoun County, TJ in Terredise, competition between the top dudes won’t take place. Thankfully, a little meet on the west side will play a role in determining D2’s best. Following a rare defeat at Shepherd, Henry Dixon will look to continue his winning ways. He’ll be chased by Thomas Larson, Zeke Baltierra, Jonah Workman, Simon Triezenberg, Will Engbers, amongst many others.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	TJ Hansen	Freeland	223.6
2	12	Jack Bidwell	Marshall	216.0
3	12	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child	211.8
4	12	Henry Dixon	Forest Hills Eastern	211.4
5	11	Thomas Larson	Alma	207.8
6	12	Simon Triezenberg	Grand Rapids Christian	206.0
7	10	Ezekiel Baltierra	Alma	205.8
8	11	Jonah Workman	East Grand Rapids	205.7
9	11	Bryce Gross	Flint Powers Catholic	205.5
10	12	Dominic Lowrie	Battle Creek Harper Creek	205.4
11	12	Will Engbers	Holland Christian	204.8
12	12	Jeb Hillary	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	204.3
13	12	Elijah Christensen	Gladwin	204.1
14	9	Lennox Naswell	Flint Powers Catholic	203.8
15	12	Sullivan Zietlow	Three Rivers	203.7
16	10	Bryce Cahoon	Shepherd	203.6
17	11	Edison Lopeman	Parma Western	201.8
18	10	Abraham McHugh	Marshall	201.5
19	11	Vincent Pattison	Goodrich	201.5
20	11	Moises Salazar	Adrian	200.4
21	11	Ronnie Silveira	Allendale	200.3
22	12	Kilian Whalen	Allendale	199.6
23	12	Seth Mead	Gladwin	199.5
24	12	Lucas Kuhn	New Boston Huron	199.4
25	11	Owen Metzger	Sparta	199.3
26	12	Ben Gross	Allendale	198.9
27	12	Alex Doneth	Mason	198.8
28	10	Cole McCraw	Pinckney	198.7
29	12	Jack Lillywhite	Flint Kearsley	198.6
30	12	Abatu Dykstra	Hamilton	198.3

Recap

The tour of vast improvements and stunning results has only continued for Emma Hoffman. She traveled to the land of Spotted Cow to show those Wisconsin folks one of her many sub-18’s. Then blew away the D2 field on her home course, further lowering the Otsego school record to 17:22.

Other than Emma, not too much movement in the individual rankings. Ava Schafer quietly running her 17:40’s and winning in the CAAC Red, Emma Drnek and Courtney Bovair continually lowering their school records, Elena Figueroa dominatingly winning in the SMAC West, back-to-back sub-18’s for Katie Berkshire. Normally, any one of these would result in a drastic move, however, these girls just match each other in great performances.

Looking Forward

Again, a separating of the top folks. Emma and her Bulldog girls having the weekend off, Ava preparing for Greater Lansing. Portage again saves the day, with Katie Berkshire, Emma Drnek, Elena Figueroa, and Courtney Bovair all facing one another.

In championship action, perhaps Natalie Foltz in line for a Greater Flint crown? Mea D’Agostino hoping to crack the top-five against Oakland County’s best?

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	11	Emma Hoffman	Otsego	168.2
2	10	Ava Schafer	St. Johns	164.2
3	11	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord	159.9
4	12	Emma Drnek	Zeeland East	159.0
5	12	Elena Figueroa	St. Joseph	156.1
6	12	Courtney Bovair	Carleton Airport	155.8
7	10	Clara Kaczor	Freeland	153.6
8	11	Berkley Holtz	Sturgis	151.0
9	10	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney	148.7
10	12	Sophy Skeels	Adrian	147.2
11	11	Natalie Foltz	Frankenmuth	146.9
12	11	Ellie Scholma	Grand Rapids Christian	144.9
13	12	Ayla Holben	DeWitt	144.6
14	10	Adeline Armstrong	East Grand Rapids	144.2
15	11	Marie Gates	Hudsonville Unity Christian	143.8
16	10	Ayda Skeels	Adrian	143.0
17	9	Adalyn Raab	Zeeland East	142.1
18	12	Mea D’Agostino	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	141.2
19	10	Johanna Mulder	Holland	140.9
20	12	Grace Evanoff	Flint Powers Catholic	140.3
21	11	Meredith Cook	Zeeland East	139.3
22	10	Alivia Ottinger	Goodrich	138.8
23	10	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington	137.7
24	9	Remie Ellis	Eaton Rapids	137.4
25	12	Ava Crews	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	137.1
26	11	Lilah Poel	Grand Rapids Christian	137.1
27	9	Avery Engbers	Holland Christian	136.6
28	10	Mia May	Sparta	136.4
29	12	Kamryn Lauinger	Goodrich	135.5
30	10	Lane Isom	Richland Gull Lake	134.8

Week 3

The above link contains the best explanation of the year.

Week 4
Mid-Season Projections – Boys
Mid-Season Projections – Girls

These rankings contain meets through Saturday (9/28). If a runner has had a rated race since September 1st, they’re included (sadly, I have to account for injured athletes). These are for fun and done for free. Enjoy!

Recap

Skip ahead two weeks and it’s still the triumvirate of Traverse City St. Francis, Jackson Lumen Christi, and Ithaca. Neither of three faced off against one another over these past few weeks, but we did see the Glads and Yellowjackets both at Shepherd. The GladPack was still in form, placing five boys under 17:00 in the elite field, placing 10^th of 36, still ahead of many ranked teams in D1/D2. Placed in the Gold Division, Ithaca faced many ranked D3 teams (Covenant, Hart, Charlevoix, Bath), and escaped with a 9-point victory. Landen Styka and Miingen Bertrand were enough up front, quietly improving freshman Christopher Shemes pulling up in the fifth spot to secure the victory.

Lumen Christi came out ahead of ranked foes at both DeWitt and Jackson. This past weekend, a surging Lansing Catholic gave the Titans a test in the middle of the pack, but the front runnin’ of Ziggy Dinverno and Leo Swager gave enough of a gap to secure a win. Over the rolling Sharp Park hills, a similar match took place against D4’s Hillsdale Academy, the Green n’ Gold having the requisite strength through five to earn another win.

Looking Forward

There’s very little distinction between teams ranked 4^th and beyond. Luckily, there is a solution, the great separator: Portage

#1 Traverse City St. Francis
#2 Jackson Lumen Christi
#4 Saugatuck
#5 Pewamo-Westphalia
#7 Hanover-Horton
#8 Covenant Christian
#9 Central Montcalm
#10 Buchanan

Separation will occur.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Traverse City St. Francis	96	19	191.2	1
2	Jackson Lumen Christi	212	23	184.1	2
3	Ithaca	245	25	182.8	3
4	Saugatuck	326	22	173.7	4
5	Pewamo-Westphalia	347	24	173.6	7
6	Lansing Catholic	360	26	172.5	8
7	Hanover-Horton	363	23	175.3	6
8	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	383	21	173.9	5
9	Stanton Central Montcalm	412	24	175.2	9
10	Buchanan	458	22	168.6	10
11	Charlevoix	474	19	173.3	11
12	Flat Rock	530	27	172.2	14
13	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	550	21	166.9	12
14	Reed City	556	20	169.7	15
15	Jonesville	563	23	168.0	13
16	Hart	619	20	162.5	16
17	Benzie Central	674	20	162.6	17
18	Bath	700	24	162.7	19
19	Leslie	716	26	159.5	20
20	Holland Black River	723	21	161.0	18
21	Union City	735	22	160.9	21
22	The Potter’s House	836	21	156.9	NR
23	Montague	842	21	156.5	22
24	Sanford-Meridian	904	25	156.8	24
25	Erie Mason	907	27	154.8	25
26	Lake City	909	20	155.2	23
27	Ann Arbor Greenhills	920	26	153.6	NR

Recap

The Pirates are making headways. Ranked #1 in the preseason, Pewamo-Westphalia had bided their time before a big performance at Bluejay. Running against all the big schools and elite teams, the Pirates proved they belong. Up front, with Whitney Werner and Alyssa Kramer. Packed up in the middle, all seven under 21:35. The kind of performance that gets on podiums in November.

The greatest divergence between the coaches poll and the speed ratings concerns the top spot here. Coaches have ranked Lansing Catholic fifth, trending towards second. I’ve had them first the entire time. Each could be valid. There’s a certainty to their running, putting six girls under 21 at both Cougar Falcon and DeWitt is enough to result in wins.

Looking Forward

Sadly, no matchup between the Cougars and Pirates, that’ll have to wait until Greater Lansing. However, at Portage, there’s ample opportunity for P-W to move up. The Blue n’ Yellow swashbucklers will go against:

#3 Traverse City St. Francis
#4 Central Montcalm
#5 Lumen Christi
#7 Benzie Central
#9 Hart
#10 McBain

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.	Last Week
1	Lansing Catholic	182	26	117.8	1
2	Pewamo-Westphalia	205	24	121.3	3
3	Traverse City St. Francis	222	19	117.4	2
4	Stanton Central Montcalm	277	24	119.1	4
5	Jackson Lumen Christi	288	23	109.2	5
6	Ithaca	355	25	101.9	6
7	Benzie Central	370	20	103.1	7
8	Leslie	434	26	100.4	8
9	GR Covenant Christian	492	21	93.3	10
10	Hart	497	20	91.5	9
11	McBain	608	20	87.4	11
12	Clare	621	19	86.6	12
13	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	629	21	92.1	16
14	Saugatuck	637	22	86.9	14
15	Blissfield	675	27	89.7	15
16	Grass Lake	678	27	80.0	18
17	Midland Bullock Creek	686	25	84.1	13
18	Remus Chippewa Hills	734	20	79.0	17
19	Grandville Calvin Christian	738	21	79.7	21
20	Onsted	749	23	85.6	19
21	Ann Arbor Greenhills	776	26	79.3	20
22	Laingsburg	821	24	74.5	26
23	Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian	894	21	70.3	22
24	Union City	937	22	73.2	25
25	Schoolcraft	946	22	68.0	27
26	Bronson	951	23	77.5	NR
27	Lake City	975	20	70.1	23

Individual Rankings

Recap

On the right day, he potentially has the best ability. We’ve seen it at last year’s State Finals. In June and a month earlier at Bluejay, too.That potential doesn’t mean much until it comes to fruition, showing it can be proved. Gus Rohde proved he’s entering the prime time of the year in a good enough condition to be in contention. His 15:40 at Bluejay matched his time from last year, in a setting that seemed a bit tougher than twelve months ago.

As the day wore on at Sharp Park, the temps heated up and so did the racing. Two winning candidates, Mitchell Hiatt and Ziggy Dinverno raced head-to-head, Hiatt claiming a 10-sec. victory while Dinverno sped to a PR. The following week at Stockbridge, the momentum gained from that win was able to pay off to the tune of a 15:22, 15 sec. faster than 2023 and now the #2 time in Division 3.

Looking Forward

Who will be at Portage? Five of the top-10 guys:

#2 Josh Slocum
#3 Gage Hoffman
#5 Ziggy Dinverno
#8 William Ready
#9 Levi Kamps

Gus Rohde will be testing his mettle on the tough Pine River course. Jacob Stanislawski has been on the move and will face another opportunity for growth in a competitive field at Wayne County.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Gus Rohde	Reed City	205.7
2	12	Josh Slocum	Traverse City St. Francis	205.4
3	11	Gage Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	204.0
4	12	Mitchell Hiatt	Onsted	203.8
5	12	Isaiah Dinverno	Jackson Lumen Christi	203.0
6	11	Landen Styka	Ithaca	202.8
7	11	Jacob Stanislawski	Flat Rock	197.9
8	10	William Ready	Traverse City St. Francis	196.5
9	12	Levi Kamps	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	196.2
10	12	Miingen Bertrand	Ithaca	196.2
11	12	Landon Pestrue	St. Louis	195.8
12	12	Leo Swager	Jackson Lumen Christi	194.9
13	12	Landen Boulis	Hanover-Horton	194.5
14	10	Hunter Eaton	Charlevoix	194.0
15	12	Matthias Morse	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	192.3
16	11	Noah Devereaux	Laingsburg	191.3
17	10	Caleb Blonde	Jonesville	191.2
18	10	Luke Herron	Caro	190.3
19	11	Tyler Leach	Otisville LakeVille	190.2
20	9	Nole Lorenzen	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	189.6
21	12	Tyler Heal	Sanford-Meridian	189.3
22	12	Nathan Vargo	Flat Rock	188.1
23	11	Robert Dykhouse	Manton	187.9
24	9	Owen Poppema	Bath	187.9
25	12	Owen Read	Traverse City St. Francis	187.0
26	12	Robby Myler	Traverse City St. Francis	185.8
27	12	Daniel Mandujano	Watervliet	185.6
28	11	Jayden Fox	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	185.0
29	10	Ryder Hopkins	Charlevoix	184.8
30	9	Christian Craanen	Monroe St. Mary CC	184.6

Recap

The Bluejay Boost was in full effect at Shepherd, three D3 girls using the elite field as a great opportunity to move up in these rankings. Kyah Hoffman added another anecdote that proves her love of this course. She’s set personal bests there as a sophomore, junior, and now senior. Whitney Werner dropped 35+ seconds from her previous Shepherd performance. Alyssa Kramer dropped 150+ seconds. Golly, she’s a totally different runner.

Looking Forward

A rare scenario of two separate top-10 matchups!

At Portage:

#1 Kyah Hoffman
#3 Whitney Werner
#4 Betsy Skendzel
#6 Lila Volkers
#8 Alyssa Kramer

Over the fast track at Hudson:

#2 Emmry Ross
#9 Hailey Creisher
#10 Hope Miller

I’ll likely make an exception to do the math on this one, as Kamryn Salladay will attempt to conquer the State’s Toughest Course^TM, Baker Woods. Typical early season speed ratings show a 2-3 min. adjustment, though those are always volatile. I’m curious to see how the course runs on Friday.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating
1	12	Kyah Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	163.6
2	12	Emmry Ross	Onsted	157.5
3	12	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia	153.0
4	12	Betsy Skendzel	Traverse City St. Francis	150.9
5	12	Eliza Bush	Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory	148.6
6	12	Lila Volkers	Kent City	146.6
7	10	Kamryn Salladay	Lakeview	146.2
8	10	Alyssa Kramer	Pewamo-Westphalia	145.5
9	11	Hailey Creisher	Leslie	143.2
10	11	Hope Miller	Blissfield	142.5
11	11	Bella LaFountain	Monroe St. Mary CC	141.0
12	12	Grace VanderKooi	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	138.9
13	10	Samantha Schroeder	Jackson Lumen Christi	137.9
14	12	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm	137.0
15	10	Isabelle Sliter	Fennville	135.8
16	9	Elliana Max	Kent City	133.3
17	10	Shelby Kuiper	GR Covenant Christian	130.1
18	12	Ava Hathaway	Bronson	129.8
19	9	Josie Bishop	Lansing Catholic	129.4
20	11	Grace Coston	Stanton Central Montcalm	128.6
21	9	Caelyn Torry	McBain	127.6
22	11	Mattie Gagne	Midland Bullock Creek	127.2
23	12	Chloe Stalhood	Hillsdale	126.6
24	10	Grace Wonch	Lansing Catholic	126.2
25	12	Nora Grossnickle	Benzie Central	125.9
26	12	Kaya Vrable	Caro	125.7
27	10	Sophia Buzzelli	Clare	123.5
28	9	Avery Kelly	Benzie Central	123.0
29	11	Ashlynn Harris	Bronson	121.8
30	12	Mary Masserant	Traverse City St. Francis	121.5