Surprised herself a bit during track, especially in the longer distances. I think she’s primarily regarded herself as an 800m girl (and for good reason!), but smashed the 5:00 mark in late May, then ran a series of sub-11’s after.
Integral part of the Titan relays during the spring, contributing to podium efforts in the 4×4 and 4×8. And her individual events weren’t too shabby either, knocking down PB’s in the 800m and 1600m.
Quickly acquainted herself to the XC scene, running a 22:29 at the tough Michigan Catholic course, then spitting out a series of mid-21 efforts throughout the season. And I’m sure her 300 hurdling will aid in the mental toughness game this fall.
The ultimate teammate, Drew’s performance at the Division 2 Track Finals may be overlooked, simply because of how great she’s been. With a state title on the line, there was much pressure on EGR’s top runner. There was heat on the track, but witnesses at FHE say the heat was mostly generated by Drew setting the FHE track on fire. She anchored a State Champion 4x800m, won the 1600m (AGAIN) with a late surge, nailed a PB in the 800m, then played a critical role in the State Champion 4x400m. She’s your defending XC State Champion and deadly in the final stretches of races. There will be pressure, both externally and internally to repeat, but can you think of any candidate better adept to handle it?
Previous years had top-25 teams, but there’s 27 (and sometimes more) team qualifiers and what does it hurt to add another two?
Girls
Holland West Ottawa (5th), Grand Haven (9th), Rockford (12th), Jenison (18th)
Boys
Grand Haven (4th), Jenison (16th), Zeeland West (21st)
(If your team isn’t listed in the images above or the scores below, you probably don’t have five returners, at least on ol’ athletic.net. I’m sure many of these teams will fill out their rosters by late October)
Projected Scores
Place
Girls Team
Score
1
Holland West Ottawa
39
2
Grand Haven
62
3
Rockford
70
4
Jenison
109
5
Hudsonville
146
6
Zeeland West
177
7
Grandville
211
8
Cedar Springs
230
9
Muskegon Mona Shores
231
10
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
281
11
Grand Rapids Northview
285
12
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills
378
13
Grand Rapids Union
390
14
Muskegon
463
Place
Boys Team
Score
1
Grand Haven
43
2
Jenison
71
3
Zeeland West
84
4
Rockford
134
5
Cedar Springs
150
6
Hudsonville
156
7
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer
160
8
Holland West Ottawa
206
9
Grandville
214
10
Muskegon Mona Shores
239
11
Grand Rapids Northview
306
12
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills
371
13
Grand Rapids Union
386
14
Wyoming
439
15
Muskegon
490
Top Runners
I’m making a slight change for the Division 1 folks. Previous regional writeups had the top finishers, even if they were mentioned in the Top 10’s or 50 Tickets. Because so many Division 1 kids make up the top 50 returners (which makes sense, since D1 covers about 60% of the state), I’ll write about a few returners beyond those 50. This will hopefully extend a bit more coverage towards more deserving athletes. Some of the 50 have been covered, others will get their own post. Check the Summer Preview page or keep checking back until Friday morning for those.
Portage’s Early Bird is tomorrow and Trinity is a great reminder that your opener doesn’t make or break your season. You couldn’t have predicted her four consecutive sub-19’s and All-State finish from the 21:16 she ran at Portage West MS.
Primarily an 800m runner as a freshman, was able to move up to the 1600m as a sophomore without much issue. By season’s end, she had run 5:18, which likely helped give strength toward a 2:21 800m.
Maggie, Lily, Claudia, and Maya have all left and gone their various directions, now Maddie is holding the torch for the next generation of Wildcats. Her junior year featured the breakthroughs we knew were possible, barreling into the 19’s and ripping a 5:19 during track.
Like Trinity, you wouldn’t know much from his first race – a 20:33. You may recognize Carter from his final four. All under 16:30, including top-10 places in the OK RED and in this region.
Following in the footsteps of Klay Grant as the latest Rocket to blast toward the 15’s. His 15:59 at the GMAA Championship earned him a 3rd place finish, his third consecutive top-10 there.
Grew from a kid running mid-17’s to one knocking on the door of a sub-16. Thanks to a few late season breakthroughs, he’s right there, his 16:17 at the OK Red was a standout performance as was his 16:09 close at MITCA.
Has really established himself as a miler these past two springs. He reached a season’s best of 4:30 as a sophomore, then this May finished 7th in the ultra-competitive OK Red.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 