Category: Uncategorized

Last Year

SUMMER PREVIEW

MID-SEASON

REGIONAL PROJECTIONS

THE RESULT

Girls

1. Lowell (20^th)
2. Portage Central (25^th)
3. Forest Hills Central (22^nd)

Boys

1. Kalamazoo Central (10^th)
2. Portage Central (16^th)
3. Forest Hills Central (12^th)

Top 27 Teams

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

Forest Hills Central (15^th), Portage Northern (24^th)

Boys

Kalamazoo Central (3^rd), Forest Hills Central (8^th), Portage Central (10^th)

(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	Forest Hills Central	67
2	Portage Central	94
3	Portage Northern	105
4	Byron Center	106
5	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	162
6	Kalamazoo Central	170
7	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	194
8	Caledonia	202
9	East Kentwood	222
10	Battle Creek Lakeview	235
11	Forest Hills Northern	241
12	Lowell	257
13	Mattawan	363

Place	Boys Team	Score
1	Kalamazoo Central	61
2	Forest Hills Central	76
3	Portage Central	84
4	Byron Center	149
5	Battle Creek Lakeview	159
6	Forest Hills Northern	171
7	Caledonia	171
8	Kalamazoo Loy Norrix	181
9	East Kentwood	185
10	Portage Northern	278
11	Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills	288
12	Lowell	317
13	Mattawan	334

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 Thursday for those.

Olivia Stacy, Portage Northern

Truly hit her stride come October, notching four PB’s to close her final five races. Among those were a 5^th place SMAC finish and an 8^th place here.

Sydney Law, Byron Center

After not getting a chance to race at the regional or stage in ’21, Sydney made the most of her opportunity – knocking down a 10 spot and a personal best of 19:18 (over a minute quicker than her freshman era).

Ava Lawrence, East Kentwood

Nine of her final ten freshman races were of the sub-20 variety, including top-15 performances here and in the OK Red.

Anna Sybenga, Forest Hills Central

A few months back, tried her hand at the 3200m, which I’m sure will help her fall. Her spring endeavors included a 4^th place in the OK White in the event.

Amanda Williams, Portage Central

Has spent all three of her high school seasons in the 19’s. But the most important of her sub-20’s was likely last fall’s regional, grabbing 16^th place, and helping her Mustangs live another week.

Andrew Wright, Kalamazoo Central

Past his quickly progressing fall, Andrew turned into quite the eight-lapper come spring. His fastest effort was his last one, a 9:25 for the full 2 miles at NBON, winning the freshman heat.

Evan Nickoles, East Kentwood

In the OK Red Championship, moved up from 44^th to 12^th (!). His 40 spot drop at the regional level sadly wasn’t enough to extend his season, but after his freshman year, I’m sure he cherished having a fighting chance.

Isaac Tanis, East Kentwood

Whatever work was done last summer needs to be bottled up and stored in a museum, studied for centuries. Isaac graduated from a 10:30 3200m runner to a kid nearly breaking 16:00. That 16:12 in the OK Red earned him a 6^th place finish in one of the tougher conferences in the state.

Jackson Lam, Kalamazoo Loy Norrix

The Kalamazoo area is filled to the brim with young talent, Jackson the last of which to mention. His 4:25 at Region 3 was just on the outside of a qualifying spot, but it did earn him the 2^nd fastest four lap time of any 9^th grader in the state.

Levi Green, Byron Center

Has always operated as a longer distance guy, though this spring, he expanded his repertoire. Getting that 800m down to 2:03 undoubtedly helped his 1600m (4:29, nearly 30 sec. drop) and 3200m (9:41, almost a minute drop).

Oooh, the rare combined post. But given the opportunity to celebrate both genders of this excellent Eagle program, I had to do it.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

Meet	Division	Place
Pete Moss	Big	1st of 11
Christian Schools		1st of 7
Ottawa Hills	Session 1	1st of 17
Cougar Falcon	Cougar	3rd of 9
Otsego Bulldog	D2	2nd of 26
Portage	D2	2nd of 42
Division 2 State		3rd of 27

Meet	Division	Place
Pete Moss	Big	1st of 13
Christian Schools		1st of 7
Ottawa Hills	Session 1	1st of 19
Cougar Falcon	Cougar	3rd of 11
Otsego Bulldog	D2	9th of 30
Portage	D2	4th of 43
Region 11		1st of 13
Division 2 State		8th of 27



Top Returners

Natalie VanOtteren

Her track state was a part of season of smashing through barriers, as Natalie busted through 2:20, 5:00, and 11:00.

Naomi Nelson

2022 season featured her first breakthroughs into the 18’s, getting there first at Portage and then the final OK White Jamboree.

Lilah Poel

Immediate contributor to the Eagle squad, picking up top-10’s throughout most of the season, from the conference to the invitational to the regional scene.

Payton Holtz

Likely the most unheralded runner out there that’s achieved two consecutive All-States in cross, having gone 30^th and 27^th in the past two years.

Ellie Scholma

Although Ellie didn’t get to compete at the State level, her patience paid off a week later at Shepherd, where she closed her freshman year with a 19:29 personal best.

Annika TerBeek

Came into her own during track, her 11:57 in the 3200m ranking 8^th amongst D2 freshmen.

Adia Sikkema

A 19:54 at Allendale’s post regional meet gave Adia her first 19 min. result since October of ’20.

Simon Triezenberg

That big improvement didn’t just come on the grass, track results show the same numbers. 10:00 to 9:33 in the 3200m, ranking him 9^th across all the state’s sophomores.

Keegan Hoekstra

Used the disappointment of not qualifying in this spring’s 3200m as motivation for the week after. His 9:48 at Distance Night ranks 15^th amongst D2’s 9^th and 10^th graders.

Joe Waalkes

It’s been steady progress for this dedicated athlete. His initial sub-17 of his career came at Portage, crushing a 16:37, which then led to his best MIS placing of his career.

Dylan Clark

Exuded his greatest improvement at the Regional level, where he’s been halving his place each time out. From 22^nd in Region 13 as a freshman to 9^th as a sophomore, ending upon a 5^th place finish at Allendale.

Peter Kuperus

Another one of those cases where you must compare the significance of his races. His freshman and sophomore ends were void of varsity spots at Regionals; his junior year ended stepping on the line at Region 11 and State. Peter made the most of his opportunities, finishing in the top-15 in Allendale and top-100 at MIS.

Jonathan Koetje

Compare his last two seasons to his freshman one. During that 2020 season, he was largely above 22:00, these past two years closing with streaks of sub-18’s.

Sean Ryan

Slipped under 18:00 in the fall, a solid mark, but nothing like his track success where he reached down to 10:19.

Potential Newcomers

Micah Small

The GR Christian boys think they’ve got a secret, but I always sniff ‘em out. I’m not too well-versed on South Carolina XC, but 4:46 (especially as a freshman) typically equates to someone that skirts the 17-flat mark.

SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• OAA White Champion (XC)
• 2^nd Place – Oakland County (XC)
• 5^th Place – Division 1 State 3200m
• 2^nd Place – OAA Red/White 3200m
• 2^nd Place – Region 8 3200m



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:30.1	Royal Oak	200.0	Lamplighter	19-Aug
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:38.4	Royal Oak	203.9	Mustang	30-Aug
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:15.0	Royal Oak	196.0	OAA White 1	13-Sep
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:28.9	Royal Oak	194.7	Holly	17-Sep
11	Sebastian Ramirez	15:47.0	Royal Oak	200.0	Jackson	24-Sep
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:29.2	Royal Oak	189.6	OAA White 2	27-Sep
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:10.1	Royal Oak	203.0	Oakland County	8-Oct
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:38.9	Royal Oak	186.0	OAA White Championship	20-Oct
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:46.2	Royal Oak	185.6	Region 8	29-Oct
11	Sebastian Ramirez	16:56.5	Royal Oak	180.9	Division 1 State	5-Nov
11	Sebastian Ramirez	15:56.3	Royal Oak	193.9	MITCA	12-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:03.4	Royal Oak	189.9	Lamplighter	20-Aug
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:28.1	Royal Oak	186.6	Mustang	31-Aug
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:07.8	Royal Oak	188.7	OAA White 1	14-Sep
10	Sebastian Ramirez	16:35.8	Royal Oak	194.7	Holly	18-Sep
10	Sebastian Ramirez	16:45.3	Royal Oak	187.6	Jackson	25-Sep
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:02.1	Royal Oak	177.0	OAA White 2	28-Sep
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:02.1	Royal Oak	192.0	Oakland County	9-Oct
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:09.8	Royal Oak	178.4	OAA White 3	22-Oct
10	Sebastian Ramirez	17:40.6	Royal Oak	174.5	Region 8	29-Oct
10	Sebastian Ramirez	16:56.9	Royal Oak	179.0	Division 1 State	6-Nov
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	151.7	Royal Oak/Stoney Creek	9-Sep
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	151.7	Rochester/Royal Oak	15-Sep
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	159.7	Brother Rice/Royal Oak	19-Sep
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	152.3	BH/RO	25-Sep
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	160.3	Athens/Royal Oak	30-Sep
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	168.6	Hansons	3-Oct
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	160.8	Farmington/Royal Oak	6-Oct
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	171.9	Oakland County	9-Oct
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	165.5	Pre-Region 16	21-Oct
9	Sebastian Ramirez		Royal Oak	168.7	Region 8	30-Oct

The Rundown

Up close and personal, I’ve been witness to Sebas’s growth through the years. Summer before his freshman year, he came into the store to buy gear and shoes, and you knew there was something different about him. An air of confidence so to speak, an aggression to prove his worth in the running scene.

That attitude paid off on multiple occasions early, whether it was at the Freshman County meet, where a 4:40 and 10:47 both earned 2^nd place, or earlier in the year where a 10:20 established him as the best Royal Oak 9^th grader since Ben Hill. During the fall, he had grown from a kid running in the mid-17’s as a freshman to one that was sub-17 on a few occasions as a sophomore, but the real jump came during track of that sophomore year, where a clutch 9:32 at Regionals led to a 13^th place finish at Division 1 State.

As with anyone, there have been valleys before the peaks, and his 2022 championship season was a bit of a valley. There were a few factors, not excuses, just reasons that his State Finals weren’t up to the level of his 2^nd place Oakland County performance. Those lumps were taken, lessons learned, as he primed himself for a run at All-State on the track. A confidence booster at Farmington let him know that he could run in the 9:1x’s, then he fueled the tank for what was about to be a scorcher at State. Coaches handing out water, elite athletes dropping out, yet Sebastian was still there, grinding through it all on the way to a 5^th place finish. The road towards a similar spot in cross country will be rough, but this grinder is 100% ready for it.