Category: Regional Previews

(We’re less than 3 days out from GLR!  The girls’ race in this region is similar to the Graveyard, one of the easier parts pictured above)

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GIRLS

The region from Hell.

4 teams in the top 7.  7 teams in the top 23.  At least 4 deserving teams will end their season on a fateful Saturday in Hudson.

Adrian Lenawee Christian, although only one spot ahead of Hillsdale Academy, is definitely the class of the field.  Last year, they sat behind the likes of Pittsford, Hillsdale, Hudson, now the addition of potentially 3 freshmen into their top 7 gives them back end depth.  Hillsdale Academy and Hudson are given the upper hand here because of the strength of their 4^th/5^th runners relative to the other ranked teams.  Pittsford may have a chance to put 4 in the top 20.  And poor Concord, Sand Creek, and Morenci.  In any other region, these girls would make it out.

Highest Rated

• Skylar Thompson, Concord

Skylar moves over from Region 33, where she placed 2^nd last year.  She really had some outstanding efforts last year.  19:17 at Stockbridge (a fast course, but nothing out of the ordinary), 6^th at Portage on a less than optimal day.  She’s more of a distance girl, evidenced by her track times.  That 11:46 (good for 3^rd at States) indicates the ability to run consistently in the low 19’s.

• Trinity Kaufman, Morenci

Trinity came on the scene as a 9^th grader and showed steady progression throughout the year.  Her breakout performance came at Lenawee County, where she finished 4^th (6 spots ahead of her place at the Lenawee Preview) in 20:28.  She ran at that peak for the next month, where she ended up 3^rd here and 34^th at States.

• Megan Roberts, Hillsdale Academy

Megan sure helped Hillsdale Academy as an 8^th grader last year.  I marvel at the endurance base and genetics that must take at such a young age.  Also, the well-being of a program for parents to permit their middle schoolers to run high school distances.  Anyhow, Megan had some great finishes.  2^nd here, 7^th at Class D, and 27^th at States.  In track, she seems to be more of a mid-distance girl, as she placed 3^rd in the 400 at States.

Career achievement/improvement

• Gabrielle McCumber, Pittsford

Improvements such as Gabrielle’s give hope for Pittsford in this team battle.  For the most part, she improved by a minute or more in her races from 2017 to 2018.  Perhaps the most impressive was again, Stockbridge, where we saw a drop of over 2 minutes.  She was 13^th here last year, can that trajectory follow for her or another Pittsford runner?

Darkhorse

• Alexandria Ausmus, Petersburg-Summerfield

Alexandria has always flashed some mid-distance ability, but never to the extent that she did this spring.  She had a personal best of 5:26 in the 1600m, good for 9^th at State Finals.

BOYS

The boys’ side is a little more straight-forward and likely not as tough.  Still, 4 teams in the top 25.  Concord is the clear favorite, they’re coming off a 13^th place finish last year.  Petersburg-Summerfield adds two real freshmen studs, and Jackson Prep is a mainstay.

Highest Rated

• Jonathan Mikovits, Concord

Jonathan was easily one of the top 25 freshmen in the state last year.  He had two 18:00+ performance, coming in his first two weeks of the season.  From then on, he went on to run 16:34 at Stockbridge and then 24^th place at States.

• Brandon Thompson, Petersburg-Summerfield

Brandon went undefeated up until the big Mid Michigan MEGASTAR meet in track, where he ran 4:46, losing to the infamous Hunter Jones.  As always with incoming freshmen, the question is his ability to handle the distance and the long season.  He’s had multiple efforts around 11:00 or under, so the distance shouldn’t be a huge setback.

• Daniel Casey, Jackson Preparatory

Daniel was 11^th here last year and had a slew of great efforts throughout the season.  Notable examples include a 3^rd place at Kuenner and 2^nd at Pittsford.

Career achievement/improvement

• Dillon Donihue, Hillsdale Academy

Dillon has gone from running over 20:00 at this regional as a freshman to going 18:01 last year and finishing 6^th.  The next week at MIS, he was able to set a PR by running 17:48.  He showed some major improvements on the track as well, cutting 38 seconds from his 3200m best.

Darkhorse

• Kade Spahr, Pittsford

Kade spent much of his 8^th grade track season handily winning races.  When faced with competition at the Sand Creek Invite, he stepped up, running 5:14/11:26.  Not on Thompson’s level, but should make an impact this season.

(This was the first google image result for Bear Lake.  Doesn’t it appear idyllic?)

GIRLS

In the upper reaches of the Lower Peninsula’s Division 4 regionals, one is hard pressed to find schools that field cross country runners, let alone a full team.  More power to those schools listed here, especially those in the top three.  The girls’ side here is fairly straightforward, Leland and Frankfort are two ranked teams.  Maple City-Glen Lake is just outside the top 25, but Leelanau has such a strong top 4, when you combine that with the lack of runners in the team race, their 5^th doesn’t penalize them.

Ranked Teams: Frankfort, Leland

Highest Rated

• Makenna Scott, Maple City Glen Lake

Makenna came onto the scene as a freshman and stole the show, winning regionals.  The next week, she managed to go All-State.  Continuing onto track, she showed some 1600m ability, running under 5:30 multiple times.

• Shelby Cade, Buckley

Two straight top-5 regional performances for this girl.  She’s had a few sub-21 performances, probably the most impressive coming at Class D last year, where she finished 12^th.  She’s another one with some mid-distance strength, running 2:23/5:25 this year.  That strength propelled her to 4^th in the 800 and 5^th in the 1600 at State Finals.

• Adrianna Malburg, Mason County Eastern

Adrianna is another girl that saved her best races for last.  8^th at Class D, 2^nd here, and then 26^th at State.  She could also qualify for that career achievement and improvement, gradual drops from slightly over 21 as a freshman to coming close to 20 last year.

Career achievement/improvement

• Janey Turner, Frankfort

Frankfort had made it in 2017, but Janey’s 10^th place here last year was her first time qualifying as an individual.  She really came on strong at the end of the year, which she has in her career, but with lower times this time around.  Her 21:29 at regionals was a 0:25 improvement from last year.

Darkhorse

• Karrigan LaCross, Maple City Glen Lake

Karrigan busted out some decent mid-distance times this spring, 2:40 and 6:03.  Both of those were PRs by 7 and 14 seconds, respectively.

BOYS

There are not any ranked boys’ teams in this region, but that doesn’t mean the team battle isn’t interesting.  Maple City Glen Lake should get by on the strength of their top three.  Between Bear Lake and Frankfort, it comes down to a few battles.  In order for Frankfort to pull off the slight upset, William O’Dwyer will need to stay close to Sam Corey.  Bear Lake also has some depth, and the ability to put their 6^th runner in front of Frankfort’s 5^th.  In terms of overall ratings, Bear Lake is 1.3 points ahead, but Frankfort’s Quincy Thayer and Logan Foster really help to make this a duel.

Ranked Teams: None

Highest Rated

• Shane Achterhof, Walkerville

Shane has had an outstanding two-year stretch.  Back to back Class D champion, back to back regional champion, back to back top-10 at States.  He also finished 4^th in the 3200m this spring.  Barring a catastrophe, he’ll repeat his winning performances here.

• Alex Sheehy, Walkerville

I’d love to see Alex’s work ethic and training logs.  Though competing as an 11^th grader, he’s already had three years of running for Walkerville.  His first year, he ran 20:00+.  Last year, multiple 17:00 performances.  He capped off this dramatic improvement with a 29^th place in Brooklyn.

• Caleb Henderson, Maple City Glen Lake

Caleb continues with the theme of saving his best for last.  His 17:39 (10^th place) was a PR, and only the third time he’s broken 18 in his career.

Career achievement/improvement

• Mason Staggs, Maple City Glen Lake

Mason makes it here because of his 9^th to 10^th grade drop.  He ran 24:08 at the first NWC Jamboree in 2017, I’m sure it was a point of personal pride when he ran 18:28 there this year.  He finished 5^th at regionals in a personal best of 17:33. During track, he’s shown himself to be more of an 800 runner, where he’s gone 2:09.

Darkhorse

• Nathan Wing, Mason County Eastern

Nathan didn’t have an XC race last year where he finished outside the top 5.  He picked up wins at Ludington and Mason County’s Cardinal Classic.  Carried that over to track, where he ran 5:11/11:14.

 

 

GIRLS

A minor upset that I didn’t see potentially occurring in the 3^rd place battle.  I will say Royal Oak’s girls had a decent track season, both their 4×8 team and in the longer distances.  Troy had an excellent track season.  XC last year went south as the season went on, but had some excellent performances from unexpected girls during track.  Seaholm is obviously led by DaDamio, but adds some freshmen and the Deighan’s get a year older.

Birmingham Seaholm

• Rank: 15

Last year was somewhat of down year by Seaholm’s standards, they should be slightly better this time around.  They finished 2^nd here and 25^th in the state.  I like how selective they are in their race schedule.  Keeps kids fresh by the end of the year.

• Highest Rated: Audrey DaDamio

Audrey already had a pretty good freshman year, but made another leap.  She’s the defending regional champ, running 18:06 here, a personal best.  The next week, she was 11^th at State Finals.  Most of her performances were in that 18:05-18:15 range.  She took another leap in track, showing range and 3200m ability.

• Career achievement/improvement: Amanda Smith

Amanda saved her best race of 2018 for last.  Her 20:52 would have placed her fifth on their team (but didn’t race at State Finals?).  It appears last year was her first in track, her 5:56 shows she can improve as well.

• Darkhorse: Haley Deighan

Haley had a pretty solid freshman XC campaign, but really showed some potential in track.  5:37 and 11:49 are equally impressive and show a girl who could place top 5 here.

Troy

• Rank: 25

Coming off a state title, Troy was hit by injuries, graduation, and some other unfortunate circumstances.  Their group really showed some potential in track, especially in the 3200m.

• Highest Rated: Lauren Monaghan

Lauren has steadily progressed through her three years.  20:32 to 19:53 to 19:07.  She should be able to improve on her 7^th place finish last year.

• Career achievement/improvement: Caitlin Henning

Caitlin really made a quantum leap during track, going 5:42/12:16.  Those times are indicative of someone who can flirt with the 20 minute barrier, which I think she has a real shot of doing.

• Darkhorse: Paige Anderson

Knee injuries derailed Paige’s 2018 XC season, but she recovered to run some nice 3200m’s in track.  11:47 was her best.  She’s probably not all the way back, but a good bit of summer training and she should be form similar to her freshman year.

Troy Athens

• Rank: N/R

A surprise team here, but they were young and solid last year.  They were 7^th here last year, 5 points away from 5^th, and return their entire top 5.

• Highest Rated: Erin Swartz

Erin had a nice freshman year, running 19:27 and finishing 8^th here.  Other notable accomplishments include 5^th at the Mott Fall Classic and 11^th at Averill.

• Career achievement/improvement: emily teh

As with jett li before her, the non-capitalized name.  Why are names capitalized anyway?  As with swartz, emily had good races at regionals and Mott Fall Classic, her regional performance was a 21:23, a 25 second PR.

• Darkhorse: Maline Dumitracscu

Maria put forth some nice efforts in track.  Hard to tell what’s more impressive between her 2:37 and 5:51. Her 3200m time was a little off, but still shows ability to run longer distances.  Expecting drops of over a minute for her this fall.

Others to Watch

• Nicole Morehouse, Royal Oak

Another one with some major improvements, Nicole barely broke 22 as a freshman, then went on to smash the 21-minute barrier last year.  Her best race came at Jackson, a 20:22 effort.

• Elyssa Beiderman, Beverly Hills Groves

Elyssa progressed well as last year’s season went on.  20:15 on what I believe is a tough course at Bloomer.

• Elise Nyquist

Like her brother, Elise came out of nowhere at the end of last year.  She showed potential on a fast Algonac course, but laid low until a 20:08 at the MAC Championship.  Her 5:48 in track shows that was no fluke.

BOYS

Really another three team race.  Troy and Royal Oak should be an intense battle.  Royal Oak has the depth, even beyond varsity.  Troy has the front-runners.  Grosse Pointe South has been young for a few years, and this should be the first of a few year stretch where they have a good chance of making it back to MIS.   I wouldn’t sleep on GPN or Seaholm, either.

Troy

• Rank: N/R

Troy was probably favored to make it out of regionals last year, but fell short in an upset to Brother Rice and Royal Oak.  They lose O’Keefe, but return almost everyone else, many of which ran in the low 17s last year.  Worth noting they finished 7^th in Oakland County last year, beating Royal Oak and others that made it to MIS.

• Highest Rated: Jack Falk

Jack was consistently Troy’s second man last year.  He didn’t set any personal bests, but performances like his 25^th at Oakland County on a rainy day stand out.  In track, he was able to set a personal best in the 3200m, dropping 30 seconds down to 9:58.

• Career achievement/improvement: Lucas Van Houten

Lucas dropped a considerable amount of time from his freshman to sophomore campaign, 18:23 to 17:06.  In track this spring, he was able to show some 800m ability, running a 2:05, which placed him 6^th at the Mott regional.

• Darkhorse: Liam Kelly

Hard to call a senior a darkhorse, but I’ve always felt Liam Kelly has some low 16’s in him.  He flashed that potential in track, going 1:59.5 and 4:36.  We’ll see if it translates to the XC course.

Royal Oak

• Rank: N/R

This program has tremendous depth and patience.  Drew Meinecke bought in, kept putting work in, kept grinding, he ended up running under 9:35 last track season.  They also might put in upwards of 13 boys under 18:00.  You do that and you increase the odds of finding someone with a breakout season.

• Highest Rated: Adam Hill

Adam is cut in the same vein as Meinecke.  He’s been a consistent low 17/high 16 performer, but really took a leap in track season.  Sub-10 multiple times and I believe he had 4:34 time trial.

• Career achievement/improvement: Ethan Sneary

Ethan has both been in the program for three years and shown improvement while doing so.  For comparison sake, as a freshman he ran 20:56 at the Metro Beach PROM, last year he won it in 17:22.  His track season, like many others I’ve mentioned, proved that was no fluke.  4:45/10:30. Us Michiganders do a pretty amazing job of training during the cold of winter, the Royal Oaks are a good example of that.

• Darkhorse: Weston Schroeder

I would say Connor Myatt, but I’m not sure if he’s going to Royal Oak.  Weston, like many others, saved his best race for regionals.  17:35, placing 4^th in the open race.  He flashed some mid-distance ability this spring, busting out a 2:12/4:53.

Grosse Pointe South

• Rank: N/R

Finally, a year where South can beat North.  South has been young for a few years, devoid of talent on both sides, but they should break through here.

• Highest Rated: Charles Rulison

Rulison improved quite a bit between his freshman and sophomore years, dropping his best time down to 16:25.  That PR gave him a 13^th place finish here.  His 3200m isn’t on the level of Hill or Falk, but 10:09 is still very good for a rising junior.

• Career achievement/improvement: Abraham Abouljoud

Abraham took the same route as Rulison, albeit a bit slower, but still impressive.  I had heard inklings of how he was crushing summer training, it until October to see the payoff, three 17:3x performances to end the year.

• Darkhorse: Jack Hurst

Jack came out of nowhere in track, which must have been a welcome surprise.  10:35 at the MAC Red meet placed him 5^th.  He did run 18:03 at the PROM, but nothing of that nature.

Others to Watch

• Preston Navarre, Grosse Pointe North

Preston continues with the theme of kids coming on strong.  After barely breaking 18 as a freshman, he was a revelation, notching a 15:52 at regionals and an All-State performance.

• Brendan Cairney, Fraser

I’m sure Cairney is thankful that Tavalieri pushes him every day.  Brendan missed out on a qualifier last year, but his 10:13 in track puts him in the conversation to make it this time.

• Zach Jarski, Warren DeLaSalle

Zach flashed some potential this spring with a 4:38 1600m.  He never really ran a fresh 32, my guess is he had 10:15 in him.