Category: Uncategorized

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50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Boys #38

mixcspeedratings

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

  • 800m – 1:56
  • Mile – 4:22
  • 5k (XC) – 15:48
  • 7th Place – OK Red
  • 11th Place – Region 3
  • 19th Place – D1 State 800m
  • OK Red 800m Champion
  • Team State Winner – 800m & 1600m
  • 2nd Place – Region 2 800m
  • 3rd Place – OK Red 1600m

Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
11Evan Nickoles16:33.3East Kentwood183.2Division 1 State4-Nov2023
11Evan Nickoles16:25.1East Kentwood189.6Region 327-Oct2023
11Evan Nickoles16:03.9East Kentwood192.4OK Red Conference19-Oct2023
11Evan Nickoles16:00.4East Kentwood196.9Portage7-Oct2023
11Evan Nickoles16:07.6East Kentwood194.5Jackson23-Sep2023
11Evan Nickoles15:48.2East Kentwood200.9Ottawa Hills15-Sep2023
11Evan Nickoles17:04.9East Kentwood190.0Averill9-Sep2023
11Evan Nickoles15:57.7East Kentwood204.1Under the Lights v225-Aug2023
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
10Evan Nickoles17:29.1East Kentwood163.0MITCA12-Nov2022
10Evan Nickoles16:30.4East Kentwood183.9Region 328-Oct2022
10Evan Nickoles16:34.1East Kentwood180.3OK Red Championship20-Oct2022
10Evan Nickoles16:27.1East Kentwood187.0Portage8-Oct2022
10Evan Nickoles17:05.6East Kentwood178.1OK Red 24-Oct2022
10Evan Nickoles16:34.6East Kentwood184.5Otsego Bulldog1-Oct2022
10Evan Nickoles16:20.5East Kentwood188.8Jackson24-Sep2022
10Evan Nickoles16:42.0East Kentwood182.0OK Red 120-Sep2022
10Evan Nickoles17:50.9East Kentwood162.4Ottawa Hills16-Sep2022
10Evan Nickoles17:25.3East Kentwood173.6Bath10-Sep2022
10Evan Nickoles16:48.4East Kentwood184.5Under the Lights v226-Aug2022
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
9Evan Nickoles18:06.7East Kentwood153.1Region 130-Oct2021
9Evan Nickoles18:02.3East Kentwood152.2OK Red Conference21-Oct2021
9Evan Nickoles18:41.6East Kentwood154.8Kent Ottawa16-Oct2021
9Evan Nickoles18:48.1East Kentwood146.6Portage9-Oct2021
9Evan Nickoles18:50.0East Kentwood145.0OK Red 25-Oct2021
9Evan Nickoles18:28.5East Kentwood149.2Otsego Bulldog2-Oct2021
9Evan Nickoles18:11.3East Kentwood158.9Jackson25-Sep2021
9Evan Nickoles18:24.2East Kentwood145.6OK Red 121-Sep2021
9Evan Nickoles19:11.4East Kentwood140.5Ottawa Hills17-Sep2021
9Evan Nickoles18:49.2East Kentwood145.9Bath11-Sep2021
9Evan Nickoles19:13.2East Kentwood143.6Under the Lights v227-Aug2021

The Rundown

Running for a highly competitive school such as East Kentwood, you’re placed in a number of pressurized situations. Especially so in the spring, as the Falcons pride themselves in their track tradition. And there are no off days in the OK Red.

Over the past few months, Evan responded to these situations with fast times and victories. For example, a 1:58 800m win over Grand Haven, one of the better distance crews in the state. The Rockford dual, probably the most competitive dual in the state, a 1600/800m double with two wins. Team State, the ultimate measure of track depth, where Nickoles anchored a 4×8 victory, then again won the 1600m & 800m, nearly setting a PB in the 1600m.

Sacrificing for the team paid dividends in terms of time, as Evan dropped 6 seconds from his sophomore four lap best, going from 4:29 to 4:23. For a kid that 6 times slipped under 16:15 in cross, the fall result has the potential to match his spring prowess. We know Evan can deliver on that promise.

Uncategorized

Regional Previews: Division 3, Region 25

mixcspeedratings

SUMMER PREVIEW

Last Year

Summer
Mid-Season
Final Projections
The Result

Boys

  1. St. Louis (D3 Runner-Up)
  2. Ithaca (11th)
  3. Midland Bullock Creek (21st)

Girls

  1. Caro (6th)
  2. Ithaca (9th)
  3. St. Louis (21st)

Once again, super accurate on top-two and a darkhorse sneaks in for 3rd.

Top 27 Teams

Boys

Top Ten – Ithaca
#25 – St. Louis
#26 – Pigeon-Laker

Girls

Top Ten – Ithaca
#20 – Midland Bullock Creek

Projected Scores

Boys

PlaceTeamProjected Score
1Ithaca43
2St. Louis105
3Pigeon-Laker111
4Sanford-Meridian116
5Midland Bullock Creek119
6Caro141
7Reese152
8Sandusky189
9Cass City218
10Saginaw Valley Lutheran229
11Carrollton299
12Millington313

Girls

PlaceTeamProjected Score
1Ithaca31
2Midland Bullock Creek70
3Caro86
4Sanford-Meridian90
5St. Louis107
6Saginaw Valley Lutheran155
7Cass City156
8Millington225
9Carrollton272

Top Runners

Boys

PlaceGradeNameTeam
112Landon PestrueSt. Louis
211Landen StykaIthaca
312Tyler HealSanford-Meridian
412Miingen BertrandIthaca
512Brayden SweeneyMidland Bullock Creek
612Cade TruemnerPigeon-Laker
710Luke HerronCaro
89Christopher ShemesIthaca
912Jacob MooreCaro
1011Jacob MankeyIthaca
119Remyngton ClishSanford-Meridian
1210Evan OlsonPigeon-Laker
1311Jayden FoxSaginaw Valley Lutheran
1411Hayden ShattuckSt. Louis
1511Alex RodriguezSt. Louis
1611Duane DavisMidland Bullock Creek
1712Colin KuhnSt. Louis
1810Marshall BrandtMidland Bullock Creek
1911Thad WhitmoreIthaca
2011Blake DarnellBad Axe
2111Logan BrawtSanford-Meridian
2212Brent DeSaegherIthaca
239Kale MiklovicPigeon-Laker
2410Robby SambornSaginaw Valley Lutheran
2510Evan MacLarenIthaca

Landon Pestrue

50 Tickets post didn’t even mention the ginormous improvement in the 1600m. 4:54 through two years of HS to 4:23 as a junior.

Landen Styka

From late October on, he was a new person. Coming into the all-TVC meet, Styka held a personal best of 16:42. His last four races were all faster, including a 16:10 at State. The iron was still hot during track, where he firmly established himself as one of D3’s best, placing 3rd in the 3200m.

Tyler Heal

Silently a candidate to make some major noise in November. Along with an All-State finish, had a couple jaunts into the low-16’s in the fall. The 4:24 1600m is intriguing, especially considering his sophomore best was 4:44.

Miingen Bertrand

Finishing one spot off the D3 podium may have been disheartening, but dude had a day. Six second personal best and a far cry from the mid-17’s that were present at the end of his sophomore year.

Brayden Sweeney

Wasn’t just satisfied moving past the 17’s, his 3200m track season showed more is in the cards. Placed 10th in a wild Region 30 race, his 10:02 still good enough to advance to State.

Cade Truemner

Came from the start of his career running in the 20’s to one, 30+ races later, busting through into the 16’s. One of those breakthroughs was at Laker’s home invite, another here on the regional stage.

Luke Herron

Appears to be the next Tiger that’ll figure prominently in D3. At the XC State Finals, he was 6th amongst all freshmen and his 3200m time ranks 7th when filtered the same way.

Girls

PlaceGradeNameTeam
112Kaya VrableCaro
29Khloe LehnstIthaca
39Averie StefanovskyCaro
410Pyper BraunPigeon-Laker
511Myleigh HephnerIthaca
610Makinna FoglesongIthaca
711Mattie GagneMidland Bullock Creek
810Mikenna NagelSanford-Meridian
99Isabelle StrandIthaca
1012Maddie HuysentruytSandusky
119Sarah NothstineMidland Bullock Creek
1212Abby DiceSt. Louis
1310Haley FitzgibbonSanford-Meridian
1410Olivia HooperPigeon-Laker
159Charlee MacLarenIthaca
169Lily LaFaveSanford-Meridian
1711Braylee RiceReese
1810Emily BeetheSaginaw Valley Lutheran
1911Alexis FabbroVassar
209Samantha SkymMidland Bullock Creek
219Amelia DaweIthaca
2211Aubrey ZarnkePigeon-Laker
2311Emma FisherReese
2412Autumn FransenMidland Bullock Creek
2511Makenna GwisdallaBad Axe

Kaya Vrable

In spite of a career of surgeries and setbacks, Kaya finds a way to keep coming back stronger. With two fully functional hips, she rattled off times of 5:18 and 11:17. Both were massive personal bests, setting the stage for a memorable senior year.

Pyper Braun

Cross country was a steady trickle of improvement, track was a downpour. Her 5:25 1600m ended up as the #8 time across all of D3’s freshmen girls.

Myleigh Hephner

’23 track campaign showed evidence that a coming storm was rumbling. But wow, I don’t think many could’ve predicted a move into the mid-19’s.

Makinna Foglesong

Incredibly consistent for a young freshman. All but two of her races were in the 20’s. One of the exceptions was the overall TVC meet, where Makinna juuust barely dipped her toes into the 19’s.

Mattie Gagne

Shepherd’s course must be a sweet spot for Gagne, as she PR’ed here each of the past two years and ripped off two state qualifiers as well.

Uncategorized

50 Tickets to Brooklyn: Girls #39

mixcspeedratings

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

400m – 57.9
800m – 2:07
1600m – 5:04
5k (XC) – 18:12

  • 27th Place – D2 State
  • 4th Place – FML Championship & Region 15
  • D2 State 800m Champion
    • 2nd Place – 2023
  • Unbeaten in 400m in 2024
  • 2x MITS All-State – 800m

(I probably missed something!)

Ratings Throughout the Years

GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
11Layla Jordan18:12.2Goodrich147.9MITCA11-Nov2023
11Layla Jordan18:44.7Goodrich139.4Division 2 State4-Nov2023
11Layla Jordan18:55.3Goodrich135.6Region 1527-Oct2023
11Layla Jordan18:52.2Goodrich131.9FML Championship18-Oct2023
11Layla Jordan19:45.1Goodrich133.6Kayla O’Mara14-Oct2023
11Layla Jordan18:54.0Goodrich133.7Greater Flint7-Oct2023
11Layla Jordan19:00.0Goodrich135.3Bluejay30-Sep2023
11Layla Jordan19:37.2Goodrich131.6Spartan15-Sep2023
11Layla Jordan19:09.5Goodrich138.2Northwood9-Sep2023
11Layla Jordan20:22.4Goodrich119.9Corunna Early Bird29-Aug2023
GradeNameTimeTeamRatingMeetDateYear
10Layla Jordan19:47.9Goodrich122.4Division 2 State5-Nov2022
10Layla Jordan20:12.5Goodrich117.8Region 1629-Oct2022
10Layla Jordan19:30.0Goodrich124.7FML Championship19-Oct2022
10Layla Jordan19:51.8Goodrich124.1Kayla O’Mara15-Oct2022
10Layla Jordan19:30.0Goodrich122.0Greater Flint8-Oct2022
10Layla Jordan19:36.1Goodrich123.6Bluejay1-Oct2022
10Layla Jordan19:46.4Goodrich123.5FML 228-Sep2022
10Layla Jordan20:25.1Goodrich115.6Holly17-Sep2022
10Layla Jordan20:38.8Goodrich108.4Bath10-Sep2022
10Layla Jordan21:03.7Goodrich105.8FML 17-Sep2022
10Layla Jordan20:28.6Goodrich118.5Corunna Early Bird30-Aug2022
10Layla Jordan20:36.5Goodrich119.2End of Summer/Fall Preview25-Aug2022

The Rundown

If I had to use one word to describe Layla, I’d pick this: determination. Determination to run fast, determination to win, determination to make a name and future for herself in this sport.

Running fast has been a theme from the outset. That attribute was laid down as a freshman, as a young Layla mowed down much of the field in the D2 State 800m, finishing 4th in 2:17. A year later, that 2:17 became 2:13, and in between those two times were a series of wins. The stretch between the 2:13 and now contained a cross country season where displayed increased strength, popping a 18:12 at Shepherd and earning an All-State to go along with it. This all culminated in a track season that ended in a 2:07 personal best and more importantly, a D2 800m victory.

The speed has been there, the wins have come, and her name has been made.