Category: Uncategorized

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

1600m – 4:28
3200m – 9:16
5k (XC) – 16:06

• 2^nd Place – Region 14
• 3^rd Place – I-8
  • 2x Top-10
• 5^th Place – D2 State 3200m
• 2^nd Place – Region 15 3200m
• 4^th Place – I-8 1600m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Edison Lopeman	16:06.8	Parma Western	190.7	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:18.3	Parma Western	187.9	Division 2 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:21.5	Parma Western	198.5	Region 14	27-Oct	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:15.8	Parma Western	183.7	I-8 Championship	21-Oct	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:30.3	Parma Western	186.9	Portage	7-Oct	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:39.8	Parma Western	185.7	DeWitt	30-Sep	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:49.5	Parma Western	180.5	Jackson	23-Sep	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:49.7	Parma Western	189.1	Holly	16-Sep	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:29.4	Parma Western	185.9	Lakeview	9-Sep	2023
10	Edison Lopeman	16:40.1	Parma Western	176.6	Barney Roy	29-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Edison Lopeman	17:08.9	Parma Western	169.7	MITCA	12-Nov	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:00.6	Parma Western	172.8	Region 14	29-Oct	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:07.5	Parma Western	166.8	I-8 Championship	22-Oct	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:24.4	Parma Western	165.5	J. Chris Jensen	15-Oct	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:16.5	Parma Western	170.5	Portage	8-Oct	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:19.1	Parma Western	169.6	I-8 2	4-Oct	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:31.7	Parma Western	164.8	DeWitt	1-Oct	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	17:35.5	Parma Western	163.8	Jackson	24-Sep	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	18:01.6	Parma Western	163.8	Holly	17-Sep	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	18:10.8	Parma Western	155.1	I-8 1	13-Sep	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	18:02.9	Parma Western	166.7	Springport	7-Sep	2022
9	Edison Lopeman	18:19.7	Parma Western	157.4	Barney Roy	30-Aug	2022
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
8	Edison Lopeman	18:42.3	Parma Western	144.9	MITCA	13-Nov	2021

The Rundown

When penning these writeups, I like to use three things:

1. My memory, sometimes sketchy
2. Newspaper articles, we have great young writers
3. Athletic.net, telling the tale of times and accomplishments

Though for Edison, I just needed this site.

Following last fall’s Regionals, where the Western boys were contenders for the team trophy, I had this to say about Edison:

“With the race up for grabs toward the back end of the pack, Western’s frontrunners needed to do their job to gain as much of a margin up front. Edison did more than his job, placing 2^nd (projected 6^th), dropping nearly 20 seconds from his time at DeWitt earlier in the year. Expect to see this name at the front of D2 in the coming years.”

And about the following week’s State Finals race:

“A dramatic jump was executed by Parma Western’s young Edison Lopeman. The sophomore moved from 137^th at the mile to 51^st at the line, advancing 86 whole places.”

The proof is right there, Lopeman can execute in late-season races. You can see it in the chart above, his ratings around ~185 in the races preceding Regionals (198), State (188), and even the fun environment of MITCA (191). You could see it on the track, beating the D1 stars at Golden Triangle or setting a 9:16 PR in the rain at Hamilton.

And you’ll see it at the front of D2 races this year and next.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Last Year

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Boys

1. Gladwin (5^th)
2. Petoskey (14^th)
3. Sparta (16^th)

Girls

1. Ludington (7^th)
2. Petoskey (19^th)
3. Cadillac (26^th)

Sparta’s boys snuck into the 3^rd spot, the only team to qualify and prove the summer preview wrong.

Top 27 Teams

Boys

#11 – Sparta
#12 – Cedar Springs
#15 – Spring Lake
#19 – Big Rapids
#20 – Fremont
#24 – Petoskey
#27 – Gladwin

Girls

Top Ten – Ludington
#17 – Cadillac
#19 – Cedar Springs
#21 – Spring Lake

Projected Scores

Boys

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Cedar Springs	106
2	Sparta	109
3	Spring Lake	116
4	Fremont	133
5	Big Rapids	133
6	Gladwin	138
7	Petoskey	150
8	Ludington	162
9	Whitehall	202
10	Howard City-Tri County	263
11	Fruitport	276
12	Muskegon Oakridge	289
13	Cadillac	315
14	Gaylord	376
15	Ogemaw Heights	427

Girls

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Ludington	54
2	Cedar Springs	89
3	Cadillac	89
4	Spring Lake	98
5	Gaylord	156
6	Whitehall	170
7	Gladwin	199
8	Fruitport	210
9	Petoskey	214
10	Sparta	220
11	Fremont	259
12	Howard City-Tri County	299
13	Big Rapids	306
14	Ogemaw Heights	454

Top Runners

Boys

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Owen Metzger	Sparta
2	12	Seth Mead	Gladwin
3	12	Elijah Christensen	Gladwin
4	12	Stewart Waters	Whitehall
5	11	Ethan Shoffner	Cedar Springs
6	12	Carter Sherman	Fremont
7	12	Parker Woodwyk	Spring Lake
8	12	Hayden Gould	Big Rapids
9	12	Justin Bradford	Sparta
10	11	Aiden Weller	Cedar Springs
11	12	Noah Lowman	Ludington
12	11	Lukus Mendoza	Spring Lake
13	12	Vincent Pollock	Fruitport
14	12	Peyton Ruel	Muskegon Oakridge
15	11	Ben Verellen	Gladwin
16	11	Zahar Rush	Petoskey
17	11	Hunter Parsons	Whitehall
18	11	Ryan Ladd	Cedar Springs
19	12	Austin Dalman	Big Rapids
20	11	Issac Romero	Fremont
21	10	Owen Adams	Spring Lake
22	12	Blake Taylor	Fremont
23	11	Daniel Eveland	Big Rapids
24	11	Carson Wood	Sparta
25	11	Alex Culver	Howard City-Tri County

Owen Metzger

Seth Mead

Gladwin’s been moved around – from Chip Hills to Shepherd, back to Chip Hills, now still at Region 10 but at Benzie. Regardless of all that, Seth’s been in the top-15 each time and top-5 each of the past two years.

Elijah Christensen

Saved his best for the end of his junior year, running a 16:03 PB at the MITCA meet. That wasn’t the only race of his peak, the 16:10 at State that earned the Flying G’s a 5^th place finish also counts.

Stewart Waters

Under the radar, but that’s what happens when you rise as dramatically as he has. In two years, Stewart moved from a majority 20+ minute freshman to a junior that spent significant time in the 16’s.

Ethan Shoffner

Lead runner on a junior class that’s bringing back the RedHawk tradition. Hit the ground racing fast in 2023, beginning the season with a personal best and then flirting with the 15’s.

Carter Sherman

Coming out party during track, especially in the 3200m. A 9:40 runner in the spring can definitely hit the podium in November.

Girls

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Katie Berkshire	Gaylord
2	10	Annabelle Lowman	Ludington
3	12	Summer Brower	Ludington
4	11	Brooklynn Brown	Cadillac
5	9	Morgan Sanders	Cedar Springs
6	11	Linnea Paige	Fremont
7	12	Nadia Grierson	Ludington
8	10	Mia May	Sparta
9	11	Alexis Kotkowicz	Spring Lake
10	11	Ava Pawlick	Petoskey
11	12	Cami Kraai	Whitehall
12	12	Lexie Ruffing	Spring Lake
13	10	Ella McInerney	Cadillac
14	10	Abby Noorman	Cedar Springs
15	10	Emory Smith	Cedar Springs
16	9	Ruth Hanson	Cadillac
17	9	Chloe Mazza	Cadillac
18	11	Christina Theis	Ludington
19	12	Valerie Pollock	Fruitport
20	12	Adalyn Britton	Whitehall
21	12	Abby Robinson	Gladwin
22	11	Meghan Guczwa	Spring Lake
23	12	Fiona Scott	Petoskey
24	12	Autumn Brower	Ludington
25	9	Kaleigh Clark	Spring Lake

Katie Berkshire

50 Ticket post to come!

Annabelle Lowman

Summer Brower

About as reliable and experienced as they come. Two All-States, three top-10 regional finishes, just a girl the Orioles can count on at season’s end.

Brooklynn Brown

Has always been solid, but took it to another area during track. Her 11:19 (13^th place) at D2 State ranked #15 amongst any underclassmen.

Linnea Paige

Following a cross season that sorta resembled her freshman year, Linnea’s sophomore track season presented improvement from her freshman one. 5:30 became 5:24, 11:58 turned into 11:46, and she hit her first ever individual qualifier.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

1600m – 5:02
3200m – 10:50
5k (XC) – 18:03

• 17^th Place – D2 State
  • 2^nd in 2023
• Allegan County Champion
  • 2^nd in 2023
• 6^th Place – D2 State 3200m
• 9^th Place – D2 State 1600m
• Region 14 & Wolverine Conference 1600/3200m Champion

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Emma Hoffman	18:31.3	Otsego	143.9	Division 2 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:56.6	Otsego	135.8	Region 13	28-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	19:42.3	Otsego	125.9	Allegan County	20-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:18.9	Otsego	138.7	Wolverine Conference	17-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:48.5	Otsego	141.8	Portage	7-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:03.8	Otsego	154.1	Otsego Bulldog	30-Sep	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:33.7	Otsego	144.8	Jackson	23-Sep	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	19:12.9	Otsego	146.0	BS Shamrock	5-Sep	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:31.0	Otsego	144.0	SW Rustbuster	30-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Emma Hoffman	18:27.8	Otsego	149.1	Division 2 State	5-Nov	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:38.9	Otsego	141.4	Region 13	29-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	19:11.2	Otsego	138.9	Wolverine Conference	18-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:48.0	Otsego	140.3	Portage	8-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:34.9	Otsego	144.4	Otsego Bulldog	1-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:34.7	Otsego	142.1	Cougar Falcon	24-Sep	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	19:08.4	Otsego	143.5	Spartan	16-Sep	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	19:09.6	Otsego	137.5	SW Rustbuster	31-Aug	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	20:18.9	Otsego	127.7	St. Joseph	23-Aug	2022

The Rundown

Emma’s 50 Ticket post from last year focused on her freshman State Finals race, deservedly so, that was a dang good race. Her 2023 race wasn’t quite as fast and she didn’t quite place as well. But I’ll say that her sophomore year was an improvement over her freshman year.

Why?

Well for one, the personal best and Otsego school record. Her 18:03, even while conquering Mt. Bulldog, was a 30+ second improvement from the same race in 2022 and still a 20 sec. time drop from her freshman best. During her sophomore year, she was under 19:00 on nine occasions (and would’ve been 10 if Illinois ran correct distances), three more than the previous year. The real improvement though was on the track, where Emma grabbed two top-10 finishes on a non-optimal day. Her 5:02 in the 1600m and 10:57 in the 3200m were both personal bests, each over 10 seconds better than what they were when I was writing this last summer.