Category: Uncategorized

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2026’s 50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Girls #2

mixcspeedratings

It’s baaack. A summertime tradition has returned, the 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These lists celebrate the top 50 returners – based on a concoction of the ’25 XC season, projected improvements, the ’26 Track season, and a tiny bit of my own input.

Enjoy!

2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

Many of these photos are sourced from either MLive or Miles Postema. Any others will find credit in the caption.

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
9Eliza Schwass17:28.4Ludington165.2MITCA8-Nov2025
9Eliza Schwass17:44.0Ludington158.7D2 State Finals1-Nov2025
9Eliza Schwass17:47.5Ludington150.5Region 1025-Oct2025
9Eliza Schwass19:03.8Ludington144.1Late Season Warrior18-Oct2025
9Eliza Schwass19:14.6Ludington131.1WMC Lakes 314-Oct2025
9Eliza Schwass18:25.3Ludington146.6Oiler Blue & Gold11-Oct2025
9Eliza Schwass20:11.9Ludington130.4WMC Lakes 230-Sep2025
9Eliza Schwass17:54.9Ludington154.7Otsego Bulldog27-Sep2025
9Eliza Schwass18:21.3Ludington164.9Spartan12-Sep2025
9Eliza Schwass19:30.6Ludington152.5WMC Mega9-Sep2025
9Eliza Schwass17:38.0Ludington169.0Pete Moss23-Aug2025

Personal Records

5k (XC) – 17:28
800m – 2:08
1600m – 4:40
3200m – 10:13

Accolades

XC

3rd Place – Division 2 State
WMC Lakes Champion
2nd Place – Region 10

Track

Division 2 State 800m/1600m Champion
2nd Place – Division 2 State 3200m
4th Place – Brooks PR Freshmen Mile
8th Place – New Balance Outdoor Mile
Region 11 800m/3200m Champion
WMC Lakes 800m/1600m Champion

Her Specialty

Being track fast.

Eliza’s freshman track campaign was otherworldly, on a 100% different level than what she’d accomplished in cross. Which was admirable for any freshman, with multiple sub-18’s and a 3rd place finish in Division 2. To be fair, following her middle school track exploits, we should’ve expected more of the same. Those middle school accolades were many, including a win at 2025’s MITS/MITCA Indoor State 1600m, two New Balance Outdoor MS victories, and a runner-up at Brooks PR.

Following her successful debut on the grass, Eliza wasted no time ripping up the indoor oval, running as fast as 2:09 and 4:46 before the end of 2025. By winter’s end, she’d run 4:42 in the 1600m, a perfect setup for the upcoming spring. In late April, Schwass traveled from the Lake Michigan coast to Romeo, taking on Michigan’s best at the Barnyard. For three laps, she hung on the shoulder of Natasza Dudek, biding her time before making her move. With 400m to go, Schwass made a decisive move, covering the final lap in 65 seconds, laying down a 4:40.34, the fastest time in Michigan in 2026. That may have been the highlight in terms of time, but Schwass’s talent both longer and shorter, her 2:08.6 in the 800m ranking #1 in Michigan and her 10:13 in the 3200m holding the #2 rank. In late May, Eliza further proved her greatness, winning D2 titles in the 1600m and 800m, then coming back with a tough effort in the 3200m, placing 2nd.

Smart tactically with burners for legs.

Uncategorized

2026’s 50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Boys #2

mixcspeedratings

It’s baaack. A summertime tradition has returned, the 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These lists celebrate the top 50 returners – based on a concoction of the ’25 XC season, projected improvements, the ’26 Track season, and a tiny bit of my own input.

Enjoy!

2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

Many of these photos are sourced from either MLive or Miles Postema. Any others will find credit in the caption.

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
11Robert Jazwinski III15:07.1Whitehall213.3D2 State Finals1-Nov2025
11Robert Jazwinski III14:56.6Whitehall208.5Region 1025-Oct2025
11Robert Jazwinski III15:11.3Whitehall213.2WMC Lakes 314-Oct2025
11Robert Jazwinski III15:05.5Whitehall207.5GMAA11-Oct2025
11Robert Jazwinski III15:13.3Whitehall218.2Portage4-Oct2025
11Robert Jazwinski III16:14.1Whitehall205.6WMC Lakes 230-Sep2025
11Robert Jazwinski III15:10.0Whitehall216.3Allendale Falcon27-Sep2025
11Robert Jazwinski III15:28.4Whitehall220.9Spartan12-Sep2025
11Robert Jazwinski III16:48.2Whitehall204.9WMC Mega9-Sep2025
11Robert Jazwinski III15:15.1Whitehall220.3Under the Lights v222-Aug2025
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
10Robert Jazwinski III15:58.0Unattached201.0Late Season Warrior19-Oct2024
10Robert Jazwinski III15:42.8Unattached201.4Freeland12-Oct2024
10Robert Jazwinski III15:43.5Unattached203.8Allegan5-Oct2024
10Robert Jazwinski III16:15.8Unattached202.7PC Early Bird16-Aug2024
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
9Robert Jazwinski III15:59.5Hart193.2MITCA11-Nov2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:54.0Hart194.7Division 3 State4-Nov2023
9Robert Jazwinski III16:05.9Hart194.7Mel Hall21-Oct2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:23.9Hart205.4WMC Mega17-Oct2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:34.0Hart204.7Hart & Sole14-Oct2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:51.4Hart199.9Portage7-Oct2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:30.7Hart203.8Bluejay30-Sep2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:38.0Hart205.3Cougar Falcon23-Sep2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:33.1Hart206.0Ottawa Hills15-Sep2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:50.2Hart202.6Leanna Wolf Geers7-Sep2023
9Robert Jazwinski III15:48.7Hart207.8Pete Moss26-Aug2023

Personal Records

5k (XC) – 14:56
800m – 1:59
1600m – 4:11
2 Mile – 9:03

Accolades

XC

Division 2 State Champion
2x All-State
Region 10 Champion
WMC Lakes Champion
GMAA Champion

Track

Division 2 State 3200m Champion
8th Place – Division 2 State 4×8
7th Place – MITS/MITCA Indoor State SMR
Region 12 3200m Champion
WMC Lakes 3200m Champion

His Specialty

Grit.

Grit in doing farmwork as recovery or as part of your pre-run routine.

Grit in two school transfers, sitting out your sophomore year, running on your own, but watching others enjoy moments with their teams.

Grit while being plagued by mono during the XC Finals or with SI joint issues throughout this past spring.

Grit down on MIS’s lonely final turn, with Jonah Workman pulled up on your shoulder, potentially your first defeat looming in a few short minutes.

Many of our runners go through adversity, experiencing life’s varied circumstances. Few of our state’s athletes have done so with the eyes of the running community upon them. Bobby has gritted his teeth, dealt with the downturns, and emerged on the other side as a stoic, confident, and extremely fast guy.

Donning the Whitehall jersey throughout the ’25-’26 season saw Jazwinski go undefeated on the grass, running in the low-15’s on many instances with the occasional foray into the 14’s. He held the fastest time of the day at Spartan, pulled away from the field on a hot day at Portage, and even while under the weather, held on for the D2 state title. He experienced a stunted spring, sparingly racing. With a few weeks of good health under his belt, he was able to summon a 9:07 to win the D2 3200m title, then a few weeks later, extract out a 9:03 for the full 2 miles.

Full steam ahead onto what will be a memorable senior year, with high goals and a determined mind.

Uncategorized

2026’s 50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Girls #3

mixcspeedratings

It’s baaack. A summertime tradition has returned, the 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These lists celebrate the top 50 returners – based on a concoction of the ’25 XC season, projected improvements, the ’26 Track season, and a tiny bit of my own input.

Enjoy!

2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

Many of these photos are sourced from either MLive or Miles Postema. Any others will find credit in the caption.

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
10Rachel Smith17:03.9Okemos173.4MITCA8-Nov2025
10Rachel Smith17:04.7Okemos171.4D1 State Finals1-Nov2025
10Rachel Smith16:59.1Okemos173.6Region 424-Oct2025
10Rachel Smith17:09.6Okemos174.1CAAC Blue 216-Oct2025
10Rachel Smith17:08.6Okemos171.8Greater Lansing11-Oct2025
10Rachel Smith17:22.5Okemos175.8Portage4-Oct2025
10Rachel Smith17:06.9Okemos179.4Bluejay27-Sep2025
10Rachel Smith17:54.0Okemos168.3CAAC Blue 118-Sep2025
10Rachel Smith17:35.9Okemos180.0Spartan12-Sep2025
10Rachel Smith17:43.7Okemos163.8Bath6-Sep2025
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
9Rachel Smith17:46.7Okemos158.1Division 1 State2-Nov2024
9Rachel Smith17:50.8Okemos157.4Region 225-Oct2024
9Rachel Smith18:22.8Okemos152.7CAAC Blue 217-Oct2024
9Rachel Smith17:40.3Okemos163.6Greater Lansing12-Oct2024
9Rachel Smith17:39.5Okemos166.5Bluejay28-Sep2024
9Rachel Smith18:57.1Okemos137.3CAAC Blue 119-Sep2024
9Rachel Smith18:11.4Okemos166.5Spartan13-Sep2024
9Rachel Smith18:50.6Okemos149.5Bath7-Sep2024

Personal Records

5k (XC) – 16:59
1600m – 5:00
3200m – 10:32

Accolades

XC

2nd Place – Division 1 State
2x All-State
2x CAAC Blue Champion
Region 4 Champion
Greater Lansing Champion

Track

6th Place – 2025 Division 1 State 3200m
2025 CAAC Blue 1600m/3200m Champion
2025 Region 4 1600m/3200m Champion

You Know I Dig Improvement

When I think improvement, three factors come to mind.

The least important are these speed ratings. They don’t earn you a medal, trophy, and it’s not someone’s goal to run a certain number. But they’re a tool that controls for the invariantly variable courses. Rachel’s average rating as a freshman was a 156.5, the equivalent of a 18:15-18:20. Over a greater quantity of races during her sophomore season, she averaged 173.2, or around a 17:20. Nearly a minute drop.

This bore out in terms of actual time, where Smith began her ’24 season in the high-18’s, then found her way into the 17’s towards season’s end. She brought it in the big races too, 17:40ish efforts at Greater Lansing, Bluejay, Region 2, and MIS. Coming into the ’25 season, her PB was a 17:39 from Bluejay. A year later at Shepherd, she ripped a breakthrough – 17:06. In the final month of the fall, she bested that time on three separate occasions, the fastest of which being a 16:59 to win Region 4. A 40 second reduction.

Those three occasions were Regional, State, and MITCA. Her initial foray into that scene during her first year emitted a 3rd place Regional finish, 10th spot in D1, and 11th place closer at MITCA. Rachel then grew into a Regional Champion, State runner-up, and MITCA runner-up.

Ratings, times, and most importantly, accomplishments. All three took a step forward in ’25 and we hope for the same in ’26.