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THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 800m – 1:58
• 1600m – 4:20
• 5k (XC) – 15:58

• 8^th Place – OK Red
• 8^th Place – Region 1
• 4^th Place – D1 State 4×8
• 25^th Place – D1 State 1600m
• 2^nd Place – Region 2 1600m
• 3^rd Place – OK Red 800m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Luka Hammond	16:04.3	Grand Haven	191.6	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
9	Luka Hammond	15:58.7	Grand Haven	194.8	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:16.2	Grand Haven	188.3	Region 1	28-Oct	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:08.2	Grand Haven	190.9	OK Red Conference	19-Oct	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:01.9	Grand Haven	196.4	Portage	7-Oct	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:16.4	Grand Haven	191.2	Allendale Falcon	30-Sep	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:20.1	Grand Haven	196.0	Spartan	15-Sep	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:39.2	Grand Haven	189.3	Bredeweg	9-Sep	2023
9	Luka Hammond	16:29.9	Grand Haven	193.4	Under the Lights v2	25-Aug	2023

The Rundown

Freshman year that ended with a few runs in the 16’s? Track season with a concentration on the 16, ending in a top-3 time amongst 9^th graders? Running under the careful tutelage of the Grand Haven coaches?

Comparison is the thief of joy, but it’s really hard not to see the similarities between Seth Norder and Luka Hammond.

Enough about that though, let’s concentrate on Luka. He caught many of our eyes early on in his running life, winning meet after meet at the middle school level, even reaching into the 9’s on the 8^th grade XC circuit. We were privy to a 5k as well, a 16:50 at Allendale’s PROM. So there was no doubt he could handle the distance.

A sub-16:30 effort to commence his HS career wasn’t mind-blowing given his past. The impressive part is how he was able to perform race after race, always in the mid to low-16’s. Then on the biggest stage of the year, Luka summoned a 15:58 at MIS.

Come track, it was more of that, and I might argue at an even higher level. With a concentration on the 8’s and 16’s, Luka stayed primarily in the 2:0x’s and 4:3x’s before peaking. Come season’s end, Hammond had summoned a 1:58.3 at the West Michigan All-Star Meet, then a 4:20 to make it out of Region 2.

Let’s see what the next three years bring. I’m sure they’ll be special.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Last Year

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Boys

1. Pinckney (2^nd)
2. Divine Child (24^th)
3. Cranbrook-Kingswood (23^rd)

Girls

1. Linden (15^th)
2. Divine Child (16^th)
3. Pontiac Notre Dame Prep (24^th)

Whew, Divine Child’s boys were much better than their projected 6^th. 5/6 tho.

Top 27 Teams

Boys

#16 – Pinckney

Girls

Top Ten – Linden
#22 – Divine Child
#23 – Pontiac Notre Dame Prep

Projected Scores

(Oak Park has apparently asked to move up to Division 1, but that hasn’t been reflected on the MHSAA website)

Boys

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Pinckney	42
2	Dearborn Divine Child	73
3	Detroit Country Day	89
4	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	108
5	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	109
6	Lake Fenton	158
7	Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood	161
8	Redford Union	200
9	Linden	213
10	Detroit Henry Ford	328
11	Detroit Cody	359

Girls

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Linden	47
2	Dearborn Divine Child	87
3	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep	94
4	Detroit Country Day	109
5	Pinckney	115
6	Lake Fenton	146
7	Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood	177
8	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s	191
9	Bloomfield Hills Marian	196
10	Garden City	333
11	Canton Preparatory	377
12	Detroit Cody	385

Top Runners

Boys

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	12	Colin Murray	Dearborn Divine Child
2	10	Cole McCraw	Pinckney
3	12	Jacob Hopkins	Detroit Country Day
4	12	Isaak Brook	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
5	12	Zach Newman	Pinckney
6	10	Omar Elbashir	Detroit Country Day
7	12	Kyle Osborne	Pinckney
8	11	Cole Wisniewski	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
9	10	Cooper Steckroth	Lake Fenton
10	12	Gabe Maciag	Pinckney
11	12	Tamer Zahr	Dearborn Divine Child
12	12	Nicholas Nakic	Dearborn Divine Child
13	12	Ethan VandenHaute	Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
14	11	Jake Yono	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
15	11	Bela Matyus	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
16	12	Ryan Wojichowski	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
17	11	Brodie Licata	Lake Fenton
18	11	Nate Sandula	Pinckney
19	11	Wyatt Larson	Pinckney
20	11	Andrew Hagerty	Pinckney
21	9	Andrew Nunning	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
22	12	Blaise Gooding	Linden
23	9	Alexander Dirlea	Detroit Country Day
24	10	Grant Goodwin	Dearborn Divine Child
25	12	Maximiliano Juarez	Dearborn Divine Child

Colin Murray

Individually, how tough was this region last year? Tough enough that Colin placed 5^th… and then 9^th in the entire State. More words to come later!

Cole McCraw

Tough courses early led to fast times late. The young freshman broke 17:00 in four of his final five races, including a 16:27 at MITCA and a 7^th place finish here.

Jacob Hopkins

As a freshman, never strayed under 20:00. As a junior, with the exception of a hilly Mustang Invite, stayed under 18:00.

Isaak Brook

If the 4:27 1600m and Region 19 win are any indication, Brook has a real good chance of sneaking onto the MIS podium.

Girls

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	10	Jaelyn Ray	Pinckney
2	12	Mea D’Agostino	Orchard Lake St. Mary’s
3	12	Chloe Josephson	Linden
4	12	Maria Nunning	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
5	10	Melody Meckstroth	Linden
6	12	Nell Stover	Detroit Country Day
7	10	Addison Josephson	Linden
8	10	Elliana Hufton	Lake Fenton
9	12	Kathryn Kurtinaitis	Dearborn Divine Child
10	10	Diya Goyal	Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood
11	12	Claire Heller	Detroit Country Day
12	9	Ana Lovell	Lake Fenton
13	12	Kayla Slade	Dearborn Divine Child
14	9	Eastynn Charder	Pinckney
15	10	Sidney Shepard	Linden
16	11	Anna Kujansuu	Dearborn Divine Child
17	9	Courtney Floeter	Linden
18	12	Skylar Vanhecke	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
19	10	Claire Dunn	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
20	9	Molly Roberts	Linden
21	10	Paige Willman	Lake Fenton
22	10	Lucille Clark	Bloomfield Hills Marian
23	12	Mary Larocca	Pontiac Notre Dame Prep
24	12	Kate Paluszewski	Dearborn Divine Child
25	12	Tess Scicluna	Dearborn Divine Child

Jaelyn Ray

Mea D’Agostino

Altitude plus an outstanding track season will lead to cross country success. Mea posted huge improvements, 5:29 to 5:08 and 11:45 to 11:12, the latter of which earned her an 11^th place finish at State.

Maria Nunning

All three years, Maria has been in the top-10 here. And with another track season consisting of a 1600m state qualifier, I don’t see her streak changing.

Melody Meckstroth

Seem to recall a recent Linden star with a similar surname. Melody is on the path to becoming one of her own, ending her freshman year with four straight 19:xx performances.

Nell Stover

Candidate to really surprise at the state level, her 5:23 regional 1600m win a show of great promise.

Addison Josephson

Sub-20 at Shepherd may have given a boost of confidence heading into track. Addison’s 11:55 in the 32 ended up as the #8 time amongst D2 freshmen.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 1600m – 5:02
• 3200m – 10:53
• 5k (XC) – 18:34

• 36^th Place – D1 State
• 7^th Place – Region 6
• 9^th Place – KLAA
• Region 6 3200m Champion
• 18^th Place – D1 State 1600m & 3200m
• 5^th Place – KLAA 1600m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
11	Kaelin Hughes	18:34.1	Livonia Stevenson	140.6	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	18:46.5	Livonia Stevenson	139.2	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	19:20.1	Livonia Stevenson	127.0	Region 6	28-Oct	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	19:53.8	Livonia Stevenson	129.1	KLAA Conference	20-Oct	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	19:36.8	Livonia Stevenson	125.7	Wayne County	7-Oct	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	20:51.1	Livonia Stevenson	111.6	Mott Fall Classic	22-Sep	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	20:44.7	Livonia Stevenson	110.8	Holly	16-Sep	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	19:47.8	Livonia Stevenson	128.4	Ramblin’ Rock	9-Sep	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	20:42.1	Livonia Stevenson	117.0	Mustang	29-Aug	2023
11	Kaelin Hughes	20:05.2	Livonia Stevenson	128.9	Lamplighter	18-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Kaelin Hughes	19:19.4	Livonia Stevenson	124.9	MITCA	12-Nov	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	20:07.7	Livonia Stevenson	116.4	Division 1 State	5-Nov	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	19:15.7	Livonia Stevenson	126.8	Region 6	29-Oct	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	19:56.2	Livonia Stevenson	122.9	KLAA	22-Oct	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	19:32.5	Livonia Stevenson	119.8	Wayne County	8-Oct	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	20:37.3	Livonia Stevenson	109.6	Mott Fall Classic	23-Sep	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	21:08.5	Livonia Stevenson	101.2	Holly	17-Sep	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	21:19.9	Livonia Stevenson	94.7	Bath	10-Sep	2022
10	Kaelin Hughes	21:05.2	Livonia Stevenson	109.6	Lamplighter	19-Aug	2022
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Kaelin Hughes	21:46.5	Livonia Stevenson	90.2	Region 6	30-Oct	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	21:12.9	Livonia Stevenson	93.4	KLAA Championship	21-Oct	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	22:01.3	Livonia Stevenson	83.6	Wayne County	9-Oct	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	22:10.6	Livonia Stevenson	75.1	DeWitt	2-Oct	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	22:32.8	Livonia Stevenson	83.4	Cleverley Friday Night	24-Sep	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	22:11.6	Livonia Stevenson	84.5	Holly	18-Sep	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	21:46.4	Livonia Stevenson	83.2	Ramblin’ Rock	11-Sep	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	23:41.9	Livonia Stevenson	66.0	Mustang	31-Aug	2021
9	Kaelin Hughes	23:03.4	Livonia Stevenson	69.9	Lamplighter	20-Aug	2021

The Rundown

This summer, I felt like I’ve had a good mix of those growing gradually and those doing it more exponentially. Watching Kaelin move through this sport, she 100% falls into that latter category.

2023 represented the greatest change, both from the starting point and in how she peaked. Lamplighter has been a consistent meet on the Spartans schedule and in that opener, Kaelin has moved from 23+ minutes, to just over 21 as a sophomore, to barely above 20 this past fall. Minute time jumps, not seconds. We already knew the season was off to a good start, her closing statements validated that. Top-10 finishes at Wayne County, KLAA, and Regionals matched efforts from 2022. However, her State Finals results drastically changed, moving from 133^rd to 36^th, racing into the 18’s for the first time ever.

You think she was done? Those end-season heroics were duplicated during track, with a double win in the 16 and 32 at Regionals, her 1600 version being a personal best. A week later, the 11-min. mark in the 32 was toast.

One year left and I definitely don’t think she’s done.