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THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 1600m – 4:24
• 3200m – 9:26
• 5k (XC) – 15:55

• 4^th Place – Region 5
• 5^th Place – SEC Red
• 2^nd Place – SEC Red 3200m
• 4^th Place – Region 5 3200m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Beckett Crooks	15:55.9	Ann Arbor Pioneer	194.4	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	16:04.4	Ann Arbor Pioneer	192.9	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	16:03.1	Ann Arbor Pioneer	190.3	Region 5	28-Oct	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	16:23.7	Ann Arbor Pioneer	195.8	SEC Championship	19-Oct	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	16:54.0	Ann Arbor Pioneer	186.3	Gabriel Richard	14-Oct	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	16:11.9	Ann Arbor Pioneer	193.0	Portage	7-Oct	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	15:58.7	Ann Arbor Pioneer	188.4	SEC Red 2	27-Sep	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	16:13.2	Ann Arbor Pioneer	192.6	Jackson	23-Sep	2023
10	Beckett Crooks	17:16.9	Ann Arbor Pioneer	183.7	Mustang	29-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Beckett Crooks	17:04.9	Ann Arbor Pioneer	171.0	MITCA	12-Nov	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	16:53.2	Ann Arbor Pioneer	170.6	Region 5	29-Oct	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	17:03.5	Ann Arbor Pioneer	169.5	SEC Championship	20-Oct	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	17:23.2	Ann Arbor Pioneer	163.3	Gabriel Richard	15-Oct	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	17:38.3	Ann Arbor Pioneer	163.2	Portage	8-Oct	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	17:51.9	Ann Arbor Pioneer	161.7	SEC Red 2	28-Sep	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	17:23.8	Ann Arbor Pioneer	167.7	Jackson	24-Sep	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	18:05.7	Ann Arbor Pioneer	155.8	SEC 1	14-Sep	2022
9	Beckett Crooks	18:51.1	Ann Arbor Pioneer	161.3	Milford	1-Sep	2022

The Rundown

Not gonna lie, I don’t know much about young Beckett, so this writing will be a learning perspective. What do we know? Well, Pioneer is about as good of a place to train if you’re a young runner. You have an experienced coach who’s seen it all. You have sensational freshmen to push you and upperclassmen to lead by example. You have all the hills in Ann Arbor (and virtually any route from Stadium and Main will end on an uphill).

Taking all of that into account, you can see why he moved from a sub-17 freshman to a sub-16 sophomore. That wasn’t just a year-to-year improvement, it was in-season too. 11^th at the first SEC Jamboree to 5^th at the final two. On flat courses, hilly ones, championship ones, he hovered around the 16-flat mark, breaking it twice. At State, he was 9^th amongst all freshmen and sophomores. Track is where Beckett especially moved up in these rankings, his 9:26 ranking 5^th when similarly filtered. Secretly speedy with a great support system.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Last Year

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Boys

1. Pewamo-Westphalia (7^th in D3)
2. Stanton Central Montcalm (5^th)
3. Bath (14^th)

Girls

1. Pewamo-Westphalia (4^th)
2. Stanton Central Montcalm (8^th)
3. Laingsburg (25^th)

Missed the order on the boys, but the summer preview nabbed all the teams. Kinda surprised that I was correct on the Laingsburg girls.

Top 27 Teams

Boys

Top Ten – Pewamo-Westphalia
Top Ten – Bath
#11 – Stanton Central Montcalm

Girls

Top Ten – Pewamo-Westphalia
Top Ten – Stanton Central Montcalm
#22 – Laingsburg
#24 – Bath

Projected Scores

Boys

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Pewamo-Westphalia	39
2	Bath	63
3	Stanton Central Montcalm	63
4	Laingsburg	120
5	Otisville LakeVille	156
6	Ovid-Elsie	173
7	New Lothrop	184
8	Montrose	194
9	Chesaning	198
10	Perry	242

Girls

Place	Team	Projected Score
1	Pewamo-Westphalia	31
2	Stanton Central Montcalm	50
3	Bath	89
4	Laingsburg	96
5	Ovid-Elsie	150
6	Chesaning	158
7	New Lothrop	170
8	Perry	219
9	Montrose	233

Top Runners

Boys

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	11	Gage Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm
2	11	Noah Devereaux	Laingsburg
3	9	Owen Poppema	Bath
4	10	Wyatt Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia
5	11	Sylus Wilson	Stanton Central Montcalm
6	10	John Kowatch	Pewamo-Westphalia
7	11	Tyler Leach	Otisville LakeVille
8	12	Sam Muirhead	Pewamo-Westphalia
9	10	River Fox	Bath
10	12	Allan George	Pewamo-Westphalia
11	10	Nolan Mitchell	Pewamo-Westphalia
12	12	Luke Skidmore	Bath
13	12	Clay Powell	Ovid-Elsie
14	9	Tate Smith	Bath
15	10	Charlie George	Pewamo-Westphalia
16	11	Kyler Fertig	Stanton Central Montcalm
17	9	Wyatt Roberts	Otisville LakeVille
18	9	Johnny Coston	Stanton Central Montcalm
19	11	Reed Schroeder	Pewamo-Westphalia
20	12	Connor Kennedy	Otisville LakeVille
21	9	Eli Hobson	Montrose
22	9	Austin Hodges	Laingsburg
23	11	Evan Rolston	Stanton Central Montcalm
24	12	Lieu Vincke	New Lothrop
25	9	Mario Baker	Bath

Gage Hoffman

Two years of cross country competing and Gage has been on it all the time. Two straight top-10 finishes in the D3 finals. Two more top-3 regional placings. Top-5 in the CSAA each time. And he’s right on the cusp of sub-16.

Noah Devereaux

Sub-10 was no fluke. Hit that personal best at Shepherd, a 9:44, then raced to four more 9:xx efforts. Clearly had a great State Finals relative to the competition, as you don’t see many 8^th place finishers at Regionals go onto finish 10^th at State.

Wyatt Werner

On the cross course, the lead runner of the vaunted Pirate freshman attack. Hovered around the 17-min mark early and also when it mattered most. At State, placed 7^th amongst all 9^th graders.

Sylus Wilson

All but two of his 10^th grade races were above 17:00. Two exceptions to that, one at Shepherd with a 16:52, the other (and best one), a 16:32 at State. Projected 50^th, placed 34^th. We call that showing up.

John Kowatch

When running in ovals, the lead runner of the vaunted Pirate freshman attack. Concentrated on the 800m, placing 3^rd in the CMAC. But I’m more intrigued by the one 1600m, a 4:37 at Bluejay. 5^th on the list of D3 freshmen and only running it once. That’s some potential.

Girls

Place	Grade	Name	Team
1	12	Kyah Hoffman	Stanton Central Montcalm
2	12	Whitney Werner	Pewamo-Westphalia
3	10	Alyssa Kramer	Pewamo-Westphalia
4	9	Madison Wils	Bath
5	12	Ashley Choponis	Stanton Central Montcalm
6	11	Grace Coston	Stanton Central Montcalm
7	9	Adelyn Thelen	Pewamo-Westphalia
8	11	Anna Poppema	Bath
9	11	Abbie Schneider	Pewamo-Westphalia
10	10	Jenna Keilen	Pewamo-Westphalia
11	9	Courtney Lawhorne	Bath
12	12	Emily Rathka	Laingsburg
13	11	Lilly Rooks	Pewamo-Westphalia
14	10	Andrea Rolston	Stanton Central Montcalm
15	11	Clarissa Baese	Ovid-Elsie
16	10	Charlotte Simon	Pewamo-Westphalia
17	9	KiKi Rusz	Laingsburg
18	9	Alonna Schack	Chesaning
19	9	Leah Theile	Chesaning
20	12	Evelyn Logghe	Laingsburg
21	12	Piper White	Ovid-Elsie
22	11	Hazel Burley	Laingsburg
23	12	Lexy Andres	New Lothrop
24	11	Braelyn Bunting	Stanton Central Montcalm
25	10	Samantha Gutzman	Laingsburg

Kyah Hoffman

More words to come later! In the meantime, Kyah gracefully and dominantly handled the move from Region 21 to 24, crushing the field en route to a 1:30+ victory.

Whitney Werner

More words to come as well, but I marvel at her ability to run 18’s in her final races and attain top-10 regional finishes each time out.

Alyssa Kramer

Whew, she was laying down some times early in track season. Was among D3’s best freshmen girls, especially in the 1600m and 3200m, ranking 2^nd in each. Unfortunately, May 10^th was the end of her season, so we’ll have to wait for cross to see her unfinished business.

Ashley Choponis

Now her fourth year on the scene and a front-running figure for her first three. Always runs her best at the end of the year, last year being no different, two 18:5x’s to end her season. The first one was a 18:55 personal best that gave Choponis two consecutive 12^th place D3 finishes.

Grace Coston

Freshman experience at State paid off as a sophomore, where Grace may have run the best race of her young career, a 19:18 that let her step on the podium. Normal kids might end their season after a State Finals PB, she just had to drop a few more seconds at Shepherd.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 800m – 2:17
• Mile – 5:06
• 3200m – 10:57
• 5k (XC) – 18:08

• OK Red Champion
• 2x Top-10
• 37^th Place – D1 State
• 13^th Place – MITS 800m
• 3^rd Place – OK Red 3200m
• 5^th Place – Region 2 3200m

Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Ava Porras	18:48.4	Holland West Ottawa	138.5	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Ava Porras	19:13.3	Holland West Ottawa	128.2	Region 1	28-Oct	2023
10	Ava Porras	18:08.1	Holland West Ottawa	151.3	OK Red Conference	19-Oct	2023
10	Ava Porras	18:13.1	Holland West Ottawa	153.6	Portage	7-Oct	2023
10	Ava Porras	18:17.3	Holland West Ottawa	149.6	Otsego Bulldog	30-Sep	2023
10	Ava Porras	19:06.4	Holland West Ottawa	141.9	Spartan	15-Sep	2023
10	Ava Porras	19:44.3	Holland West Ottawa	128.6	Bredeweg	9-Sep	2023
10	Ava Porras	19:01.0	Holland West Ottawa	144.3	Under the Lights v2	25-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Ava Porras	19:25.0	Holland West Ottawa	130.7	Division 1 State	5-Nov	2022
9	Ava Porras	19:10.1	Holland West Ottawa	134.6	Region 1	29-Oct	2022
9	Ava Porras	19:00.6	Holland West Ottawa	131.1	OK Red Championship	20-Oct	2022
9	Ava Porras	19:10.7	Holland West Ottawa	132.8	Portage	8-Oct	2022
9	Ava Porras	19:46.5	Holland West Ottawa	124.5	OK Red 2	4-Oct	2022
9	Ava Porras	19:20.0	Holland West Ottawa	129.3	Otsego Bulldog	1-Oct	2022
9	Ava Porras	20:03.0	Holland West Ottawa	112.7	OK Red 1	20-Sep	2022
9	Ava Porras	20:10.8	Holland West Ottawa	122.8	Spartan	16-Sep	2022
9	Ava Porras	20:22.3	Holland West Ottawa	118.2	Bredeweg	10-Sep	2022
9	Ava Porras	20:10.9	Holland West Ottawa	118.4	Under the Lights v2	26-Aug	2022

The Rundown

Burst into a leadership role, we got to see how a young Ava responded in real time. Her freshman year took a gradual, learning the sport start, with races above 20 min. for the early part of the season before finishing 50^th in Division 1 and ripping a sub-19 in Terredise. For her sophomore year, with Helen Sachs still on the mend, Porras was thrust into a more prominent role, one that she handled quite well. By mid-September, the PRs started rolling in. An 18:50 became an 18:17, then 18:13, culminating in the masterpiece, an 18:08 victory in the OK Red Championship.

The regional and state portion of Ava’s sophomore year may have not gone as planned, but the evidence is that her sophomore season was a success. Learning the lessons on the fly as she did will yield much profit in the coming seasons.