Category: Uncategorized

Race by race ratings, summer writeups, social media work, Excel, Word, Photoshop. Occasionally tedious, usually fun, but all leading to these – actual rankings!

If you’ve followed me over the past seven years (!), you know the gist of these and you know I’m always changing an aspect or three.

The individual ratings, which then are sorted into team rankings, take into account all the meets listed and linked here. An individual’s rating takes their best 2/3 of their rated races (rounding to the nearest whole number, so 3 of 5, 5 of 7, etc.). The races are weighed based on recency, field size, and competitiveness. The team rankings are compiled by combining all teams in a division into a hypothetical meet based on those individual ratings.

There are a few changes from last year:

• Coming back to rating weekday meets
  • Believe it or not, I’m still learning and I’ve figured out some ways to do these faster
  • I will be judicious in how many of these are performed
• Using the top 67% instead of last year’s 75%
  • More meets = a comparatively lower % that a runner will truly race all out
• Actual Upper Peninsula/Home School/other rankings
  • These more efficient methods mean I actually have data now and can post
• Writeups focused on the overall state of the division
  • Always a struggle here finding how much to write! Last year, I took up wayyy too much time writing about teams (who deserved the attention, but effort must be managed over here).  
  • I think this fall, I’ll briefly sum up how it’s looking like for the state title contenders, plus anything that catches my eye.

Similar to previous years:

• No more individual rankings posted to social media
  • Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
• One division at a time
  • I know I’d get lost sifting through every division in one post. Focusing on the smaller ones first gives attention to the divisions who might not receive as recognition as the more populated ones.

These contain races through Saturday.

These are for fun. And I do this for free. I’m positive toward every runner in the state. Abiding by that golden rule, you should reciprocate. Capisce? Enjoy.

Recap

Same old story as previous years. Northville’s depth is overwhelming folks. In Tuesday’s Tri Meet of the Year (facing #2 Brighton and #5 Canton), the Mustangs asserted their presence on the second loop through the north side of Cass Benton, putting six boys in front of either team’s two. At Bath, all of their varsity runners were under 16:50, at Lamplighter’s season opener, the same was true, but now 16:30.

Looking Forward

Concentrating on two races: Ottawa Hills and Spartan Elite. I anticipate some great movement in the rankings when we come out of Riverside Park, between 6^th and 15^th contain six teams that will be where their feet are. Earlier in the afternoon, at Spartan’s Elite race, we’ll get to see the top-3 teams face off. Jenison will try their hand at Northville. Upsets are possible here, if you remember correctly, Brighton won on the 6^th runner here last fall.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.
1	Northville	88	6	202.3
2	Brighton	157	4	198.5
3	Jenison	221	1	197.6
4	Clarkston	327	8	193.9
5	Canton	338	6	194.0
6	Traverse City Central	357	2	192.5
7	Saline	375	5	191.2
8	Livonia Churchill	446	6	191.2
9	Grand Haven	486	1	190.1
10	Portage Central	498	3	188.0
11	Rockford	508	1	187.8
12	East Kentwood	514	3	189.9
13	Kalamazoo Central	583	3	186.5
14	Midland	680	2	183.9
15	Traverse City West	689	2	184.6
16	Ann Arbor Pioneer	692	5	185.7
17	Okemos	703	2	184.2
18	Highland-Milford	735	7	186.8
19	Grand Ledge	782	2	182.5
20	Macomb Dakota	803	9	181.6
21	Lowell	804	3	183.0
22	Utica	808	9	182.6
23	White Lake Lakeland	827	7	180.8
24	Temperance Bedford	839	5	182.5
25	Oxford	876	8	182.9
26	Salem	891	6	179.5
27	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	919	3	181.0

Recap

Once again, appearing as the same setup as last year. Romeo’s got a pack and they’re deep. The Bulldogs have even added to their amazing top-5, Ella Goodsell and Reese Rosbolt learning as they go, varsity runners on 99% of the other teams but competing for a spot in the top-7 over on Jewell Road. The field behind them HAS gotten stronger however, Holland West Ottawa throwing out 10+ girls capable of running sub-20’s and Saline’s freshmen giving the Hornets a boost to their already impactful pack.

Looking Forward

Again, a mix of Ottawa Hills and Spartan. I’m glad Ottawa Hills has become a viable option this weekend. Spartan is a massive meet, but perhaps too much going on for some. The quiet, fast, and local race on the banks of the Grand River can be ideal, too. Anyhow, five top-10 teams at Spartan (#4 Brighton, #5 Ann Arbor Pioneer, #8 Northville, #9 Okemos, and #10 Grand Haven). Coming down from Up North are both Traverse City West and Central, hoping to knock off Portage Central or Rockford.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.
1	Romeo	86	9	144.8
2	Holland West Ottawa	150	1	143.3
3	Saline	165	5	134.2
4	Brighton	254	4	133.7
5	Ann Arbor Pioneer	266	5	136.8
6	Traverse City West	283	2	131.7
7	Rockford	329	1	129.3
8	Northville	407	6	125.7
9	Okemos	410	2	129.4
10	Grand Haven	450	1	125.2
11	Utica	510	9	121.7
12	White Lake Lakeland	579	7	118.3
13	Portage Central	589	3	117.9
14	Jenison	643	1	115.9
15	Rochester Adams	663	8	115.9
16	Traverse City Central	696	2	113.3
17	Hartland	702	4	113.2
18	Macomb Dakota	716	9	113.2
19	Ann Arbor Skyline	730	4	112.9
20	Midland Dow	750	2	116.8
21	Hudsonville	805	1	109.7
22	Salem	806	6	112.8
23	Rochester	815	8	109.9
24	Dexter	819	4	110.0
25	Farmington	834	6	110.6
26	Grandville	908	1	108.0
27	Fraser	915	9	107.0

Individual Rankings

Recap

You just don’t break 16:00 at Possum Hollow this early in the year. At Averill, only three have: James Gedris, Jack Spamer, and Kyle O’Rourke. Heading away from the crowds, KOR put a gap on the field, then emerging towards the double hill, had opened up a significant lead that became a 25 sec. victory. He now sits 3^rd in Milford history on the famed course. He’s looking like the early favorite in Division 1, but we also haven’t seen the record-breaking freshmen compete just yet.

Looking Forward

Finally, a little attention toward Holly. Aidan Pengelly and Jack MacGregor have each shown themselves to be tough racers, Pengelly giving Ethan Powell everything he could handle at both Lamplighter and the Tri of the Year, MacGregor won’t back down either. Powell will find Seth Conner in the elite race at Spartan. Milford races sparingly through September, but it looks like we’ll see them on Jackson’s fast course in a week.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	11	Kyle O’Rourke	Highland-Milford	217.6	7
2	11	Aiden Pengelly	Canton	210.1	6
3	10	Jack MacGregor	Howell	209.5	4
4	12	Ethan Powell	Northville	209.4	6
5	12	Seth Conner	Jenison	207.3	1
6	11	Beckett Crooks	Ann Arbor Pioneer	207.3	5
7	11	Ryan Barnes	Clarkston	205.6	8
8	12	Alexander McArthur	Oxford	205.1	8
9	11	Jackson Lam	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	205.0	3
10	12	Evan Nickoles	East Kentwood	205.0	3
11	11	Ben Hartigan	Northville	204.3	6
12	12	Tyler Brock	Brighton	203.2	4
13	12	Joseph Rohmfeld	Livonia Churchill	203.1	6
14	12	Taye Levenson	Bloomfield Hills	202.8	8
15	12	Parker Strelecki	Jenison	202.3	1
16	12	Andrew Kaczmarczyk	Bay City Western	202.0	2
17	11	Jack Steen	Traverse City Central	202.0	2
18	12	Ben Eisnor	Grand Haven	201.7	1
19	10	Luka Hammond	Grand Haven	200.5	1
20	10	Liam Wierzba	Traverse City West	200.4	2
21	11	Benjamin Rottier	Grand Ledge	200.3	2
22	12	Ishaan Kundapur	Northville	200.0	6
23	11	Ian Morgan	Okemos	199.9	2
24	10	Brandon Cloud	Northville	199.1	6
25	12	Jaxson Nowik	Clarkston	198.6	8
26	10	Cameron Varner	Temperance Bedford	198.6	5
27	12	Nick Barretto	Northville	198.6	6
28	12	Chase Wolters	Livonia Churchill	198.4	6
29	11	Cooper Byrne	Lowell	198.4	3
30	10	Blake Kulesza	Brighton	198.0	4

Recap

Back. Better. Breathtaking. Hitting sub-17 in your opener is an affirmative statement by Helen Sachs. In the previous three years that the Under the Lights Invite has taken place, the best time was 17:11, set by her former teammate Arianne Olson. A few weeks in, she’s already daring others to match. Of course, going to the well isn’t needed in every single race, and she’s held back in her past two wins. It’s a long season.

Looking Forward

The best of both worlds will be taking place at Holly. Romeo’s girls will look to assert their attitude at the front of the race, girls such as Emilia Garces, Mallory Bigelow, and Kaelin Hughes will be hoping to split up that sea of red. Over at Spartan, the Pioneer freshmen will get some big race experience, Leah Corby has been waiting for this day to etch her name in the state conversation.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	Helen Sachs	Holland West Ottawa	166.9	1
2	9	Emilia Garces	Midland Dow	159.3	2
3	9	Natasza Dudek	Ann Arbor Pioneer	157.5	5
4	11	Leah Corby	Rochester Hills Stoney Creek	154.9	8
5	12	Kaelin Hughes	Livonia Stevenson	153.6	6
6	11	Lydia LaMarra	Brighton	151.7	4
7	12	Valerie Beeck	Grand Haven	150.7	1
8	12	Mallory Bigelow	Oxford	149.9	8
9	9	Sienna Klemmer	Ann Arbor Pioneer	149.8	5
10	10	Annabeth Hazlewood	Salem	149.8	6
11	9	Rachel Smith	Okemos	149.5	2
12	10	Daisy Cox	Rockford	148.8	1
13	11	Natalia Guaresimo	Romeo	147.8	9
14	9	Savannah Staton	Saline	147.8	5
15	12	Violet Hrabovsky	Romeo	146.2	9
16	10	Annie Hrabovsky	Romeo	144.9	9
17	12	Lucinda Paliani	Ann Arbor Huron	144.0	6
18	12	Grace Tykocki	Grand Blanc	143.9	4
19	12	Lillian Deskins	Romeo	143.2	9
20	11	Hana Boggess	Ann Arbor Pioneer	143.1	5
21	11	Ava Porras	Holland West Ottawa	142.6	1
22	11	Abby Veit	Traverse City West	142.1	2
23	12	Olivia Purdy	Romeo	141.7	9
24	11	October Harns	Okemos	141.7	2
25	10	Tessa Mascari	Traverse City West	141.5	2
26	12	Emma Gunnett	Holland West Ottawa	141.0	1
27	10	Gabriella Fugazzi	Okemos	140.9	2
28	12	Catherine Steele	Farmington	140.8	6
29	12	Annie Alkema	Kalamazoo Central	139.2	3
30	12	Cassie Garcia	Northville	139.0	6

Race by race ratings, summer writeups, social media work, Excel, Word, Photoshop. Occasionally tedious, usually fun, but all leading to these – actual rankings!

If you’ve followed me over the past seven years (!), you know the gist of these and you know I’m always changing an aspect or three.

The individual ratings, which then are sorted into team rankings, take into account all the meets listed and linked here. An individual’s rating takes their best 2/3 of their rated races (rounding to the nearest whole number, so 3 of 5, 5 of 7, etc.). The races are weighed based on recency, field size, and competitiveness. The team rankings are compiled by combining all teams in a division into a hypothetical meet based on those individual ratings.

There are a few changes from last year:

• Coming back to rating weekday meets
  • Believe it or not, I’m still learning and I’ve figured out some ways to do these faster
  • I will be judicious in how many of these are performed
• Using the top 67% instead of last year’s 75%
  • More meets = a comparatively lower % that a runner will truly race all out
• Actual Upper Peninsula/Home School/other rankings
  • These more efficient methods mean I actually have data now and can post
• Writeups focused on the overall state of the division
  • Always a struggle here finding how much to write! Last year, I took up wayyy too much time writing about teams (who deserved the attention, but effort must be managed over here).  
  • I think this fall, I’ll briefly sum up how it’s looking like for the state title contenders, plus anything that catches my eye.

Similar to previous years:

• No more individual rankings posted to social media
  • Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
• One division at a time
  • I know I’d get lost sifting through every division in one post. Focusing on the smaller ones first gives attention to the divisions who might not receive as recognition as the more populated ones.

These are through Saturday’s meets.

These are for fun. And I do this for free. I’m positive toward every runner in the state. Abiding by that golden rule, you should reciprocate. Capisce? Enjoy.

Recap

Early on, Grand Rapids Christian has put their stamp on the top D2 spot. Five under 16:45 at Pete Moss, which allowed the Eagles to hang right there with Jenison, one of the better D1 teams. They were overwhelmingly dominant at Christian Schools, with 4 boys in the top-5 spots. Just reloading over here. Their Christian brothers down the road at Holland Christian have been pretty darn successful as well, racking up wins in D1-centric fields at Bredeweg and Under the Lights.

Looking Forward

Two races in particular are loaded: the D2 race at Spartan, which features five teams in the top-14 (#3 Alma, #6 Allendale, #8 Otsego, #11 Three Rivers, #14 DeWitt) and an early morning sesh at Riverside Park that only has #1 and #2 toeing the white line together.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.
1	Grand Rapids Christian	225	12	192.2
2	Holland Christian	282	11	188.9
3	Alma	339	14	190.0
4	Forest Hills Eastern	347	12	189.2
5	East Grand Rapids	364	12	185.9
6	Allendale	413	11	184.9
7	Frankenmuth	431	15	182.3
8	Otsego	462	13	181.1
9	Marshall	469	13	186.8
10	Gladwin	524	10	183.0
11	Three Rivers	551	13	179.8
12	Shepherd	572	15	180.5
13	Cedar Springs	583	10	178.0
14	DeWitt	614	14	175.9
15	Flint Powers Catholic	627	15	179.4
16	Pinckney	640	16	176.4
17	Sparta	699	10	175.1
18	New Boston Huron	746	18	173.9
19	Freeland	756	15	178.1
20	Plainwell	799	12	171.1
21	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	832	11	173.0
22	Corunna	843	14	168.9
23	Zeeland East	857	11	169.0
24	Edwardsburg	863	13	168.7
25	Hudsonville Unity Christian	897	11	167.2
26	Parma Western	901	14	169.1
27	Adrian	950	18	167.0

Recap

I expected Goodrich and Grand Rapids Christian to be in the mix, Zeeland East is a bit of a surprise. Megan Kuzma and Meredith Cook both matched or hit their personal bests at Under the Lights, helping the Chix win the Starlight Division. Missing Kuzma at Bredeweg, ZE still picked up a 3^rd place finish in the D1-filled field. At Benzie, we already received a little preview of GRC and Goodrich, the Eagles claiming a little 3-point victory. This race is gonna be tight.

Looking Forward

Similar to the boys, the D2 elites will be concentrated around Ottawa Hills and Spartan. Although it’s not the highly anticipated top-2 matchup, #1 and #4 ain’t too bad. Early morning XC spectators and athletic.net viewers will be able to see how Grand Rapids Christian and Holland Christian relate to one another. Spartan will be split into the D2 race (#6 Otsego and #7 DeWitt) and the Elite (#2 Goodrich and #11 Frankenmuth). Coming back to Ottawa Hills, Zeeland East and Unity Christian will be in the evening session. A fun-filled day.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.
1	Grand Rapids Christian	184	12	127.7
2	Goodrich	191	15	126.2
3	Zeeland East	198	11	128.2
4	Holland Christian	239	11	122.0
5	East Grand Rapids	269	12	121.6
6	Otsego	301	13	124.6
7	DeWitt	306	14	118.9
8	Adrian	381	18	119.2
9	Freeland	397	15	115.4
10	Hudsonville Unity Christian	461	11	111.2
11	Frankenmuth	522	15	110.9
12	Linden	536	16	107.0
13	Ludington	600	10	107.7
14	Spring Lake	645	10	100.9
15	Cadillac	725	10	100.1
16	St. Joseph	726	13	104.9
17	Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard	737	18	98.5
18	Grand Rapids South Christian	765	12	95.4
19	Owosso	839	14	93.0
20	Dearborn Divine Child	847	16	92.5
21	Sturgis	850	13	98.4
22	Shepherd	886	15	92.7
23	Forest Hills Eastern	911	12	90.8
24	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	913	16	92.1
25	Coopersville	925	11	91.4
26	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	934	12	93.1
27	Plainwell	955	12	88.8

Individual Rankings

Recap

4:43, 4:47, 5:18 (4:47 pace). TJ Hansen in his opener did his best to affirmatively shut the door on any doubts concerning his senior year. Last year, we were in awe of his win at Bluejay when pushed, last week at John Bruder contained a 10+ second gap at the mile, 30+ seconds at two. In any normal year, Henry Dixon and Jack Bidwell would be dueling for the win. Both have had wow-inducing moments, Bidwell laying down a dominant win at Bath and Dixon the same at Under the Lights.

Looking Forward

Both TJ Hansen and Bidwell will be elites on the line at Spartan. Usually, you’ll see some of the better teams in Ohio bring their ringers, and it appears Ohio’s D1 4^th place finisher in the 1600m will be there. I expect Michigan to hold the home court, adding in the fact that we have D2 standouts such as Colin Murray and Seth Mead in that section as well.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	TJ Hansen	Freeland	227.2	15
2	12	Henry Dixon	Forest Hills Eastern	214.5	12
3	12	Jack Bidwell	Marshall	214.3	13
4	12	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child	210.7	16
5	11	Thomas Larson	Alma	208.3	14
6	12	Sullivan Zietlow	Three Rivers	206.3	13
7	10	Ezekiel Baltierra	Alma	206.0	14
8	12	Dominic Lowrie	Battle Creek Harper Creek	205.4	13
9	11	Bryce Gross	Flint Powers Catholic	205.1	15
10	12	Elijah Christensen	Gladwin	205.0	10
11	10	Bryce Cahoon	Shepherd	204.1	15
12	12	Will Engbers	Holland Christian	203.0	11
13	9	Lennox Naswell	Flint Powers Catholic	202.5	15
14	12	Jeb Hillary	Grand Rapids Catholic Central	202.4	11
15	12	Simon Triezenberg	Grand Rapids Christian	201.8	12
16	11	Ronnie Silveira	Allendale	201.4	11
17	11	Vincent Pattison	Goodrich	200.8	15
18	12	Seth Mead	Gladwin	200.5	10
19	11	Jonah Workman	East Grand Rapids	200.5	12
20	12	Lucas Kuhn	New Boston Huron	199.7	18
21	11	Edison Lopeman	Parma Western	199.3	14
22	11	Sean Ryan	Grand Rapids Christian	198.9	12
23	12	Alex Doneth	Mason	197.9	14
24	12	Reece Davis	Marshall	197.9	13
25	12	Nolan Longuski	Shepherd	197.8	15
26	12	Jack Lillywhite	Flint Kearsley	196.7	15
27	12	Abatu Dykstra	Hamilton	196.6	11
28	10	Abraham McHugh	Marshall	196.6	13
29	12	Zachary Newman	Pinckney	196.1	16
30	12	Simon Erfourth	Owosso	195.7	14

Recap

Emma Hoffman has been the story of the season thus far. The Otsego junior had already operated at a high level, racking up All-States on the grass and around the oval. She’s seemingly hit a new level, extending her school record well into the 17’s. Ava Schafer is up there too, under 18:00 in a much quicker fashion than her wildly successful freshman year. Elena Figueroa has been a bit more judicious in her efforts, cruising to two victories, though truly pushing it in her Under the Lights opener.

Looking Forward

The Redwings are traveling over to Ottawa Hills, so we’ll get to see Schafer experience that lightning quick course. We’ll get a little rematch of the D2 finals (Elena Figueroa placing 3^rd and Ava 4^th) and an early look into the fitness of the two. Hoffman’s world tour of outstanding performances will be taking a stop at Forest Akers, where she’ll be at the front, hopefully leading her top-10 Bulldogs to success.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	11	Emma Hoffman	Otsego	167.9	13
2	10	Ava Schafer	St. Johns	163.6	14
3	11	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord	155.9	10
4	10	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney	150.6	16
5	12	Elena Figueroa	St. Joseph	150.4	13
6	12	Emma Drnek	Zeeland East	148.3	11
7	12	Courtney Bovair	Carleton Airport	147.6	18
8	11	Natalie Foltz	Frankenmuth	146.6	15
9	10	Clara Kaczor	Freeland	146.5	15
10	12	Ayla Holben	DeWitt	145.6	14
11	11	Berkley Holtz	Sturgis	145.4	13
12	12	Mea D’Agostino	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	145.1	16
13	10	Adeline Armstrong	East Grand Rapids	143.4	12
14	12	Sophy Skeels	Adrian	143.1	18
15	11	Ellie Scholma	Grand Rapids Christian	141.9	12
16	10	Johanna Mulder	Holland	141.4	11
17	11	Marie Gates	Hudsonville Unity Christian	140.8	11
18	10	Ayda Skeels	Adrian	137.9	18
19	12	Ava Crews	Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg	137.4	12
20	11	Meredith Cook	Zeeland East	135.9	11
21	10	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington	135.8	10
22	10	Lane Isom	Richland Gull Lake	134.7	12
23	10	Alivia Ottinger	Goodrich	134.6	15
24	12	Grace Evanoff	Flint Powers Catholic	134.1	15
25	10	Mia May	Sparta	133.0	10
26	12	Joy Evans	Alma	132.0	14
27	12	Nadia Grierson	Ludington	131.7	10
28	11	Brooklynn Brown	Cadillac	130.2	10
29	11	Lilah Poel	Grand Rapids Christian	129.9	12
30	12	Layla Jordan	Goodrich	129.4	15

Race by race ratings, summer writeups, social media work, Excel, Word, Photoshop. Occasionally tedious, usually fun, but all leading to these – actual rankings!

If you’ve followed me over the past seven years (!), you know the gist of these and you know I’m always changing an aspect or three.

The individual ratings, which then are sorted into team rankings, take into account all the meets listed and linked here. An individual’s rating takes their best 2/3 of their rated races (rounding to the nearest whole number, so 3 of 5, 5 of 7, etc.). The races are weighed based on recency, field size, and competitiveness. The team rankings are compiled by combining all teams in a division into a hypothetical meet based on those individual ratings.

There are a few changes from last year:

• Coming back to rating weekday meets
  • Believe it or not, I’m still learning and I’ve figured out some ways to do these faster
  • I will be judicious in how many of these are performed
• Using the top 67% instead of last year’s 75%
  • More meets = a comparatively lower % that a runner will truly race all out
• Actual Upper Peninsula/Home School/other rankings
  • These more efficient methods mean I actually have data now and can post
• Writeups focused on the overall state of the division
  • Always a struggle here finding how much to write! Last year, I took up wayyy too much time writing about teams (who deserved the attention, but effort must be managed over here).  
  • I think this fall, I’ll briefly sum up how it’s looking like for the state title contenders, plus anything that catches my eye.

Similar to previous years:

• No more individual rankings posted to social media
  • Why? I hate instances where a runner stagnates or falls back over the course of the season and it’s posted for the world to see. I recognize people want to know where they’re ranked, so just having it on the website is a happy medium.
• One division at a time
  • I know I’d get lost sifting through every division in one post. Focusing on the smaller ones first gives attention to the divisions who might not receive as recognition as the more populated ones.

The below rankings are through Saturday’s meets.

These are for fun. And I do this for free. I’m positive toward every runner in the state. Abiding by that golden rule, you should reciprocate. Capisce? Enjoy.

Recap

Traverse City St. Francis is as good as advertised, perhaps even better. Benzie is probably the truest test of their abilities, where the Gladiators raced in the big division. Traverse City West, Frankenmuth, and Gladwin are all top teams in D1 and D2, TCSF was comfortably ahead of all three in their 3^rd place finish. Super low-sticks and the best depth.

But Ithaca and Jackson Lumen Christi are closer than I had anticipated. At John Bruder, the Yellowjackets had a massive 200+ point win in the small school division. The Titans are unbeaten on the team side, winning the small school division at Lakeview and besting all other Catholic teams at Michigan Catholic.

Looking Forward

A gigantic 40-team field in the D3/D4 race at Spartan. Top-27 D3 teams include: #2 Ithaca, #3 Lumen Christi, #9 Buchanan, #12 Hanover-Horton, #16 Benzie Central, and #22 Onsted.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.
1	Traverse City St. Francis	125	19	187.3
2	Ithaca	210	25	183.6
3	Jackson Lumen Christi	235	23	180.6
4	Saugatuck	266	22	175.2
5	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	316	21	174.7
6	Charlevoix	331	19	176.7
7	Pewamo-Westphalia	354	24	172.0
8	Lansing Catholic	377	26	170.0
9	Buchanan	390	22	169.7
10	Stanton Central Montcalm	424	24	173.0
11	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	489	21	166.7
12	Hanover-Horton	512	23	166.3
13	Jonesville	512	23	166.8
14	Reed City	512	20	168.7
15	Flat Rock	532	27	168.9
16	Benzie Central	552	20	162.3
17	Hart	554	20	161.9
18	Leslie	586	26	161.0
19	Holland Black River	725	21	157.6
20	Bath	729	24	158.8
21	Union City	754	22	157.4
22	Onsted	767	23	158.3
23	Montague	840	21	153.5
24	Ann Arbor Greenhills	853	26	151.9
25	Lake City	858	20	153.3
26	Blissfield	906	27	151.9
27	Sanford-Meridian	908	25	152.7

Recap

Lansing Catholic’s girls have been attacking the hills early on. First, a hoisting of the Bishop’s Cup in their Michigan Catholic win. Then, a trip down 96 to Kensington, placing an admirable 3^rd in the large school division (hint: they were the smallest school in that division). Pewamo-Westphalia and Traverse City St. Francis have stuck to their areas, the former dominatingly winning at Happy Acres, Marauder, and Yellowjacket. The Glads took to a little tougher competition at Pete Moss, though they still stuck their nose in to the tune of a 5^th place big school finish.

Looking Forward

Just as the boys, you have another great Spartan lineup. #6 Ithaca, #7 Benzie Central, #11 Chippewa Hills, #17 Onsted, #24 Grass Lake, and #27 Buchanan.Sadly, but understandably, LC, TCSF, and P-W will not face one another this time around.

Top 27

Rank	Team	Score	Region	Top 5 Avg.
1	Lansing Catholic	197	26	113.2
2	Traverse City St. Francis	230	19	111.9
3	Pewamo-Westphalia	230	24	113.7
4	Stanton Central Montcalm	273	24	116.1
5	Jackson Lumen Christi	279	23	105.0
6	Ithaca	319	25	101.7
7	Benzie Central	382	20	99.0
8	Leslie	394	26	98.0
9	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	497	21	89.7
10	Hart	543	20	84.0
11	Remus Chippewa Hills	560	20	83.3
12	McBain	593	20	83.8
13	Blissfield	599	27	89.7
14	Clare	608	19	82.6
15	Midland Bullock Creek	651	25	81.4
16	Ann Arbor Greenhills	732	26	75.0
17	Onsted	780	23	77.9
18	Saugatuck	781	22	73.4
19	Lake City	830	20	70.8
20	Boyne City	842	19	67.8
21	Grandville Calvin Christian	852	21	68.9
22	Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian	869	21	67.2
23	Laingsburg	883	24	65.6
24	Grass Lake	903	27	65.3
25	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	914	21	65.9
26	Union City	923	22	65.8
27	Buchanan	950	22	63.3

Individual Rankings

Recap

A little surprise there at the top. Gage Hoffman has been a name we’ve known for awhile, hitting top-10’s at State each of the past two years. But this unbeaten level is a new stratum. His 15:40 opener was his first sub-16 ever. Josh Slocum has the fastest time in the division, which means something even if the Buckley course is a little *suspect* (in last year’s regionals, runners that competed both there and MIS ran 30-40 seconds faster at Buckley). Gus Rohde has been a bit inconsistent, but one steady theme is that he’s better than last year, 15 seconds on average in comparable invites.

Looking Forward

Hoffman really trying his hand, this time in the elite field at Spartan. There will be Hansens and Murrays and Conners to chase after, amongst many other elite runners.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	11	Gage Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	203.8	24
2	12	August Rohde	Reed City	202.9	20
3	12	Josh Slocum	Traverse City St. Francis	202.6	19
4	11	Landen Styka	Ithaca	201.4	25
5	12	Miingen Bertrand	Ithaca	199.5	25
6	12	Isaiah Dinverno	Jackson Lumen Christi	197.5	23
7	11	Jacob Stanislawski	Flat Rock	196.8	27
8	12	Mitchell Hiatt	Onsted	196.0	23
9	12	Levi Kamps	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	194.2	21
10	11	Noah Devereaux	Laingsburg	193.8	24
11	10	Hunter Eaton	Charlevoix	193.6	19
12	11	Robert Dykhouse	Manton	193.0	20
13	12	Matthias Morse	Muskegon Western Michigan Christian	193.0	21
14	12	Landon Pestrue	St. Louis	192.0	25
15	10	William Ready	Traverse City St. Francis	191.6	19
16	12	Leo Swager	Jackson Lumen Christi	191.1	23
17	12	Tyler Heal	Sanford-Meridian	189.7	25
18	10	Caleb Blonde	Jonesville	189.4	23
19	12	Landen Boulis	Hanover-Horton	188.1	23
20	10	Ryder Hopkins	Charlevoix	187.7	19
21	9	Owen Poppema	Bath	186.3	24
22	12	Nathan Vargo	Flat Rock	185.5	27
23	11	Jayden Fox	Saginaw Valley Lutheran	185.0	25
24	11	Tyler Leach	Otisville LakeVille	184.8	24
25	10	Logan Youngman	Hillsdale	184.6	23
26	11	Jacob Mankey	Ithaca	183.8	25
27	9	Nole Lorenzen	Rochester Hills Lutheran NW	182.7	26
28	12	Robby Myler	Traverse City St. Francis	182.4	19
29	12	Ian Waddell	Blissfield	182.3	27
30	11	Lucas Gates	Lansing Catholic	182.1	26

Recap

Let’s be honest, the loss of Jessie Jazwinski really opened things up here. A number of names here were in the 50 Tickets, each girls’ odds of a title have increased. Kyah Hoffman probably has the early lead, with three consecutive low-18 wins to open things up. Betsy Skendzel has the quickest time in the division, but of course Buckley caveats apply. Eliza Bush patiently let others do the work early at Rambling Rock before pulling away in the final miles. And of course, Emmry Ross who’s nailed two top-5 finishes these past two years and a sub-18 already this fall.

Looking Forward

May be one of the rare instances where these two are in the same race, yet in a pack of girls. Both Eliza Bush and Kyah Hoffman will don their singlets for Spartan Elite. Where many will be paying attention to the bigger team picture, I’ll be seeing how these two stack up.

Top 30

Rank	Grade	Name	Team	Rating	Region
1	12	Kyah Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm	158.6	24
2	12	Eliza Bush	Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory	153.9	27
3	12	Betsy Skendzel	Traverse City St. Francis	151.7	19
4	12	Emmry Ross	Onsted	151.6	23
5	12	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia	147.9	24
6	10	Kamryn Salladay	Lakeview	147.0	20
7	12	Lila Volkers	Kent City	145.0	21
8	11	Hope Miller	Blissfield	142.6	27
9	11	Bella LaFountain	Monroe St. Mary CC	141.6	27
10	11	Hailey Creisher	Leslie	138.9	26
11	10	Alyssa Kramer	Pewamo-Westphalia	137.7	24
12	12	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm	135.9	24
13	9	Elliana Max	Kent City	133.4	21
14	10	Isabelle Sliter	Fennville	132.2	22
15	10	Samantha Schroeder	Jackson Lumen Christi	128.4	23
16	10	Grace Wonch	Lansing Catholic	126.7	26
17	11	Mattie Gagne	Midland Bullock Creek	125.5	25
18	12	Ava Hathaway	Bronson	125.4	23
19	12	Kaya Vrable	Caro	125.3	25
20	12	Chloe Stalhood	Hillsdale	125.3	23
21	9	Isabelle Currie	Lansing Catholic	125.0	26
22	9	Caelyn Torry	McBain	124.9	20
23	10	Shelby Kuiper	Grand Rapids Covenant Christian	124.6	21
24	9	Avery Kelly	Benzie Central	124.3	20
25	11	Grace Coston	Stanton Central Montcalm	123.2	24
26	10	Sophia Buzzelli	Clare	122.4	19
27	12	Nora Grossnickle	Benzie Central	122.1	20
28	10	Makinna Foglesong	Ithaca	120.4	25
29	9	Josie Bishop	Lansing Catholic	120.2	26
30	12	Mary Masserant	Traverse City St. Francis	119.2	19