Category: 2020 Previews

Teams

Athens
Cassopolis Ross Beatty
Climax-Scotts
Colon
Decatur
Eau Claire
Grace Christian
Heritage Christian Academy
Howardsville Christian
Kalamazoo Christian
Kalamazoo Hackett
Lawrence
Marcellus
Mendon
St Philip Catholic Central
Tekonsha
White Pigeon

Boys

Team Projections

Individual Projections

Ranked Teams

Kalamazoo Christian (15), Mendon (20), Lawrence (22)

Highest Rated Seniors

• Charlie Newburry, Mendon

4^th place at this regional last year, but his final two races showed why he’s the favorite this year.  19^th at State and St. Joseph County Champ, both on the verge of breaking 17:00.

• Colin Steinberger, Mendon

In championship season, it finally came together for Colin.  Broke into the low 18’s at regional, a 10^th place finish.  Which turned into 14^th in St. Joseph County and 18:03 at MIS, a PR.

• Nathan Koetje, Kalamazoo Christian

Experienced some major improvement in 2019, especially late into October.  Went from 20:07 to 18:23 at Portage and 20:14 to 18:42 at State, amongst others.  Finished 17^th at a regional where he had failed to finish in the top-30 the previous two years.

Career Achievement

• Isaiah Beiter, Lawrence

Two straight years in the top-10 at Regional and top-100 at States.  After a freshman year that was consistently in the lower 18’s, broke that barrier in early August.  Ended up running 17:30 to finish 18^th in his division at Portage.

Anyone Else?

• Isaac Bos, Kalamazoo Christian

Two consecutive top-3 finishes at this regional.  Isaac had a real surprise performance here in 2018, with an almost 20 sec. PR to finish 2^nd. 

• Cole Millirans, Cassopolis Ross Beatty

Following a freshman track season where he showed some mid-distance potential (55 in the 400), Cole ran XC for the first time.  Started strong in the low 18’s, ended up as the regional champ and All-State.

• Espn Ultz, White Pigeon

We’ve had Espen Lehnst, Espen Wood, but I don’t think we’ve had an Espn.  Anyhow, young Espn ran times all over the board in middle school, but some impressive times and finishes as well.  11:42 for 2 miles, 4^th place in St. Joseph County.

Girls

Team Projections

Individual Projections

Ranked Teams

Kalamazoo Christian (2), St. Philip Catholic Central (4)

Highest Rated Seniors

• Ericka Lopez, Eau Claire

Steady improvement has been Ericka’s forte.  20-40 seconds each year, with a clutch regional performance each time.  She’s been a 3-time State qualifier, this past year finishing 2^nd here. 

• Ellie Tone, Marcellus

Like Ericka, Ellie has shown that progress each year, maybe even more so.  Portage seems to be her course, running 22:23 there to a lifetime PR, then almost matching that time to a 17^th place regional finish. 

Career Achievement

• Giada Pontoni, St. Philip Catholic Central

St. Philip runs a number of high-profile meets late in the season, and Giada has been a top performer at these.  This past season, 5^th at Gabriel Richard, 13^th at Class D, 5^th in the region, and 26^th in the state.  A major reason that they finished 6^th last year and look to improve upon that.

• Lauren Anderson, Cassopolis Ross Beatty

Unreal improvement from her freshman year.  In most cases, almost 2:00.  Regional champ here, along with a 34^th place finish at MIS. 

Anyone Else?

• Aubrey Herder, Kalamazoo Christian

Aubrey’s freshman year started slow but ended with a vicious finish.  Early results in the 24’s turned into a surprising 20:47 at State (33^rd place).  3^rd in the region, 9^th at Portage as well. 

• Lily Offringa, Kalamazoo Christian

I may have Lily underrated here.  She had some middling mid-season results, but turned it on for big meets.  21:19 at Portage, 7^th place at this regional, and then 21:22 at State (likely the highest rated of the three).

Teams

Ann Arbor Rudolf Steiner
Ashley
Bellevue
Carson City-Crystal
East Jackson
Fowler
Frankel Jewish Academy
Fulton
Lansing Christian
Livingston Christian
Morrice
Novi Christian Academy
Portland St. Patrick
Webberville
Whitmore Lake

Boys

Top Three Last Year

Dansville

Morrice

Webberville

Team Projections

Place	Team	Score
1	Carson City-Crystal	36
2	Webberville	44
3	Morrice	70
4	Whitmore Lake	108
5	East Jackson	128
6	Fowler	140
7	Fulton	187
8	Lansing Christian	205

Individual Projections

Individual	Team	Grade	Name	Team
1	1	11	Nathan Lott	Webberville
2	2	12	Coleman Clark	Carson City-Crystal
3	3	11	Ashton Keiffer	Carson City-Crystal
4	4	12	Caleb Rivers	Morrice
5	5	10	Caleb Howard	Webberville
6	6	10	Braylan Majesky	Whitmore Lake
7	7	12	Calvin Clark	Carson City-Crystal
8	8	12	Owen Doerner	Morrice
9	9	11	Garrett Goodwin	Webberville
10	10	11	Cole Rinna	Whitmore Lake
11	11	10	Brayden Clark	Carson City-Crystal
12	12	12	Lucas Bliesner	Webberville
13	13	12	Jared Shepler	Carson City-Crystal
14	14	11	Donovan Cook	East Jackson
15	15	12	Aiden Campbell	Morrice
16	16	9	Michael Allen	East Jackson
17	17	9	Liam Wilder	Webberville
18	18	11	Wade Hufnagel	Fowler
19	19	11	Jacob Radamacher	Fowler
20	20	12	Brendan Peckens	Webberville

Ranked Teams

Carson City-Crystal (3), Webberville (5), Morrice (13)

Highest Rated Seniors

• Coleman Clark, Carson City-Crystal

Coleman has been on the precipice of breaking 16:00 the past two years and I’m betting this is the year he breaks through.  Two-time regional champ at Shepherd, finished 5^th and 2^nd at State the past two years.

• Caleb Rivers, Morrice

Has been top-10 at this regional all three years of HS.  Finished 2^nd last year.  The 2019 season was full of improvements, including a 16:45 PR and first All-State honor.

• Calvin Clark, Carson City Crystal

Steady improvement has been the formula for Calvin.  Each year, he’s improved by 30-40 seconds on average.  This past season, that culminated in multiple high-17:00 efforts, including an 8^th place regional finish.

Career Achievement

• Owen Doerner, Morrice

Pretty amazing how far Owen has come, even in the course of a season.  For his first two years in HS, Owen flirted with the 20 min. barrier, this past year he broke 18:00.  That regional race led to a 12^th place and his first trip to MIS.

Anyone Else?

• Nathan Lott, Webberville

Profile.

• Braylan Majesky, Whitmore Lake

Followed the same path many freshmen take, starting slow and kicking hard to finish the year.  Still notable, no matter which way you shake it.  Broke 18:00 on a fast day at Gabriel Richard, then repeated that effort in a 15^th place regional finish.

• Liam Wilder, Webberville

One of the faster 8^th graders last year, especially at bigger meets.  4^th at both Carson City and Kayla O’Mara, both in sub-12 fashion.  Freshmen are hard to predict, he could bolt Webberville into the top-3 at State.

Girls

Top Three Last Year

Fowler

Saranac

Morrice

Team Projections

Place	Team	Score
1	Lansing Christian	21
2	Fowler	57
3	Whitmore Lake	82
4	Carson City-Crystal	84
5	Livingston Christian	116
6	Morrice	126

Individual Projections

Individual	Team	Grade	Name	Team
1	1	12	Madison Volz	Lansing Christian
2	2	12	Natalie Tebben	Lansing Christian
3	3	10	Ashlyn Kephart	Lansing Christian
4	4	10	Brooke Craven	Whitmore Lake
5	5	10	Rachel Epkey	Fowler
6		10	Cozette Brown	Portland St. Patrick
7	6	10	Anna Meyer	Lansing Christian
8	7	12	Molly Dailey	Carson City-Crystal
9	8	11	Lauren Price	Whitmore Lake
10	9	9	Hope Tebben	Lansing Christian
11	10	9	Natalie Meadows	Whitmore Lake
12	11	11	Olivia Datema	Fowler
13	12	12	Leah Wieber	Fowler
14	13	9	Grace O’Hare	Fowler
15	14	10	Lillie Corbat	Morrice
16		9	Rebecca Klisiak	Bellevue
17	15	9	Mary Beth Hyatt	Carson City-Crystal
18	16	11	Reva Lance	Fowler
19		11	Brynn Mericle	East Jackson
20	17	9	Lillian Stiles	Livingston Christian

Ranked Teams

Lansing Christian (1), Fowler (11)

Highest Rated Seniors

• Madison Volz, Lansing Christian

Three straight top 5 finishes at MIS.  Two straight Regional Titles.  Three consecutive years breaking 19:00.  Madison is the best runner on the best team in Division 4 and has a great chance to repeat her already astounding success.

• Natalie Tebben, Lansing Christian

Natalie showed some incredible improvement in her junior year.  Greater than a minute drops at Greater Lansing and MIS, also her highest regional finish yet (3^rd).

• Molly Dailey, Carson City-Crystal

Although she’s ran at States with her team, last year was her first as an individual qualifier.  Her 21:25 PR at Scottie Classic was almost repeated by her 21:29 (6^th place) regional finish.

Career Achievement

• Leah Wieber, Fowler

Fowler has been a consistent team at the D4 level and runners like Leah are undoubtedly a reason why.  Consistently been in the low 20’s over the 50 races she’s run in their uniform.  Two All-Region performances too.

Anyone Else?

• Ashlyn Kephart, Lansing Christian

As a freshman, progressed down to a 19:54 to end the year.  Dramatic improvement was seen even into late October, where she set a massive PR at the GLAC Championships, that sub-20 at Regionals (2^nd place), and then an All-State performance the following week.

• Brooke Craven, Whitmore Lake

Brooke took almost the identical path to Ashlyn.  She broke into the 20’s at Stockbridge in late September, and put together identically impressive performances to close the season. 4^th at this region and then 28^th at State.

• Hope Tebben, Lansing Christian

Could be the 5^th runner that Lansing Christian needs.  Has been consistently in the 14’s at the middle school level, but always turns it up for Greater Lansing, running under 13:30 the past two years.

Teams

Addison
Adrian Lenawee Christian
Britton Deerfield
Camden-Frontier
Concord
Hillsdale Academy
Hillsdale Will Carleton
Jackson Christian
Jackson Preparatory
Litchfield
Morenci
Ottawa Lake

Boys

Top 3 Last Year

Concord

Hillsdale Academy

Sand Creek

Team Projections

Place	Team	Score
1	Concord	44
2	Petersburg-Summerfield	96
3	Hillsdale Academy	107
4	Jackson Preparatory	126
5	Reading	142
6	Pittsford	144
7	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford	154
8	Morenci	167
9	Addison	167

Individual Projections

Individual	Team	Grade	Name	Team
1	1	11	Jonathan Mikovits	Concord
2	2	10	Brandon Thompson	Petersburg-Summerfield
3	3	10	Kade Spahr	Pittsford
4	4	10	Conner Welden	Hillsdale Academy
5	5	12	Kody Smith	Pittsford
6	6	12	Daniel Casey	Jackson Preparatory
7		9	Joshua Green	Adrian Lenawee Christian
8	7	10	Tyler Bays	Reading
9	8	11	Joe Bulko	Concord
10		10	Grant Long	Adrian Lenawee Christian
11	9	10	Evan Suydam	Petersburg-Summerfield
12	10	10	Adair Artis	Concord
13	11	12	Cole Thompson	Concord
14		11	Joe Paniagua	Camden-Frontier
15	12	11	Luke Murphy	Ottawa Lake-Whiteford
16	13	12	Robbie Michalowski	Addison
17		12	Gabe Gadwood	Hillsdale Will Carleton
18	14	12	Cody Hellard	Concord
19	15	12	Logan Barrett	Concord
20	16	10	Bryson Bachelder	Morenci

Ranked Teams

Concord (8)

Highest Rated Seniors

• Kody Smith, Pittsford

Kody showed glimpses of his potential in 2018, then fully expanded upon it in 2019.  Don’t let a slower State Meet take away from his awards (4^th in Region, 1^st in SCAA, 14^th at Class D).  If he keeps up his trajectory, he’ll be in the 16’s this fall.

• Daniel Casey, Jackson Preparatory

Steady racer throughout his career at Jackson Prep.  Each season he’s been in the 17’s, each season he’s been top-15 at Regional, but 2019 was his best finish yet (6^th)

• Cole Thompson, Concord

Hit two goals at this regional last year – first individual qualifier and first sub-18 performance. 

Career Achievement

• Jonathan Mikovits, Concord

Finished 4^th in the State last year and will be in contention again.  Ran his best race of the year at MIS, exceeding expectations.

Anyone Else?

• Brandon Thompson, Petersburg-Summerfield

The talent is there, it’s just a question of when he puts it together.  Showed signs of it late, with a 2^nd place regional finish and the equivalent of a sub-17 race at MIS, where he finished 21^st.

• Kade Spahr, Pittsford

Kade came on strong at the end of his freshman year.  Broke into the 17’s at Stockbridge and didn’t look back, finishing 3^rd in the region and 15^th at Class D.

• Joshua Green, Adrian Lenawee Christian

Rising freshman with times and accomplishments to boot.  2^nd at Lenawee County, SCAA Champion, and multiple sub-12 performances.

Girls

Top 3 Last Year

Hillsdale Academy

Adrian Lenawee Christian

Hudson

Team Projections

Place	Team	Score
1	Hillsdale Academy	69
2	Morenci	71
3	Concord	90
4	Adrian Lenawee Christian	93
5	Pittsford	102
6	Jackson Preparatory	147
7	Britton Deerfield	160
8	Addison	181
9	Petersburg-Summerfield	221
10	Vandercook Lake	265

Individual Projections

Individual	Team	Grade	Name	Team
1	1	9	Brooke Smith	Pittsford
2	2	12	Skylar Thompson	Concord
3	3	10	Megan Roberts	Hillsdale Academy
4	4	12	Alexandria Ausmus	Petersburg-Summerfield
5	5	11	Libby Rorick	Morenci
6	6	11	Trinity Kaufman	Morenci
7	7	11	Elizabeth Scharer	Adrian Lenawee Christian
8	8	10	Zoey Breznik	Adrian Lenawee Christian
9	9	9	Neili Pike	Morenci
10	10	11	Sara Bower	Britton Deerfield
11	11	12	Brooke Hildebrandt	Adrian Lenawee Christian
12	12	9	Angela Alvarez	Hillsdale Academy
13	13	12	Sofia Matsukova-Kratt	Hillsdale Academy
14	14	12	Karrie Belcher	Pittsford
15	15	9	Kariana Carpenter	Jackson Preparatory
16	16	12	Gabby Richards	Pittsford
17	17	9	Gwen Bulko	Concord
18	18	12	Claire Walton	Hillsdale Academy
19		12	Margaret Steele	Reading
20	19	9	Sayra Hernandez	Addison

Ranked Teams

Hillsdale Academy (7), Morenci (10), Concord (12), Adrian Lenawee Christian (15), Pittsford (18)

Highest Rated Seniors

• Skylar Thompson, Concord

Three time All-State with her highest finish (5^th) last year.  Has shaved off time every year, getting down to 19:11 at Portage.  Finished 3^rd in the 3200m in 2019 as well.

• Alexandria Ausmus, Petersburg-Summerfield

After two years knocking on the door of sub-21, finally broke through at the Jefferson Invite.  Continued that with multiple mid-20 performances, including a 3^rd place regional finish.

• Brooke Hildebrandt, Adrian Lenawee Christian

Three time All-Region, top-15 in Lenawee County the past two years.  Her senior leadership will be needed in this tough regional battle.

Career Achievement

• Libby Rorick, Morenci

Libby has just narrowly missed out on All-State honors in her first two years (31^st and 35^th).  Will this be the year she breaks through?

Anyone Else?

• Brooke Smith, Pittsford

One of the more accomplished incoming freshmen.  Only suffered one defeat in MS last season and racked up multiple low-12:00 races.

• Megan Roberts, Hillsdale Academy

Came onto the scene as an 8^th grader, helping Hillsdale field a full team.  All-Region and All-State twice.

• Sara Bower, Britton Deerfield

Showed progress in late October with a 10^th place finish at Class D and 8^th place finish in the region.  Capable of All-State status, but didn’t come to fruition at MIS.