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The Regional Previews: Division 1, Region 1

Last Year

SUMMER PREVIEW

MID-SEASON

REGIONAL PROJECTIONS

THE RESULT

Girls

  1. Holland West Ottawa (State Champions)
  2. Jenison (11th)
  3. Grand Haven (10th)

Boys

  1. Grand Haven (11th)
  2. Jenison (13th)
  3. Zeeland West (19th)

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

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

PlaceGirls TeamScore
1Holland West Ottawa39
2Grand Haven62
3Rockford70
4Jenison109
5Hudsonville146
6Zeeland West177
7Grandville211
8Cedar Springs230
9Muskegon Mona Shores231
10Muskegon Reeths-Puffer281
11Grand Rapids Northview285
12Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills378
13Grand Rapids Union390
14Muskegon463

PlaceBoys TeamScore
1Grand Haven43
2Jenison71
3Zeeland West84
4Rockford134
5Cedar Springs150
6Hudsonville156
7Muskegon Reeths-Puffer160
8Holland West Ottawa206
9Grandville214
10Muskegon Mona Shores239
11Grand Rapids Northview306
12Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills371
13Grand Rapids Union386
14Wyoming439
15Muskegon490

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.

Ava Porras, Holland West Ottawa

Successful conclusion to the cross season spilled over into track, where from the 800m to the 3200m, she ranked in the top-5 amongst all freshmen.

Jordyn Klaasen, Zeeland West

A quiet, unheralded All-Stater these past two years. Two-time OK Green Conference champion as well.

Trinity VanderWoude, Rockford

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.

Natalie Lewis, Rockford

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.

Maddie Vande Bunte, Jenison

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.

Carter Livermore, Grandville

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.

Jaxon Allen, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer

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.

Mason Lucas, Jenison

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.

Nate Fahey, Rockford

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.

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The Top Tens: Division 4 Boys #1

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

MeetDivisionPlace
Hillsdale3rd of 13
HollyD51st of 13
JacksonRed2nd of 11
PortageD43rd of 18
SCAA Championship1st of 5
Class D3rd of 16
Region 341st of 10
Division 4 State4th of 27



Top Returners

Thomas Holm

When not ripping it up at Sharp Park, Thomas is exponentially moving up at State. He dropped nearly 40 spots in a year, moving to 12th as a junior.

Grayson Rorick

Improvement abounded on the track as well, where he moved towards a freshman that placed 10th in the Division 4 1600m finals.

Reece Poole

Approximately 5% of the Division 4 boys field ran a personal best at November’s State Finals – Reece was one of them, grabbing a 16:54 and 13th place finish.

Henry Lindley

Was one of 22 D4 freshmen boys to race to a sub-5 1600m.

James Rahe

Flashed potential with a low-19 Portage effort, then enriched us with a 5:01/11:06 in the spring. Based on those track times, on pace for that massive freshmen-to-sophomore leap.

Alex Richards

Steady depth that’ll likely be displacing many runners from other D4 squads. Consistently in the low-19’s/high 18’s throughout championship season.

Potential Newcomers

Ryan Miller

Eighth grade year included a silver medal in the SCAA and multiple sub-13’s.

Uncategorized

The Top Tens: Division 4 Girls #1

THE SUMMER PREVIEW





2022 Results

MeetDivisionPlace
Birch Run Early1st of 20
MarauderSmall3rd of 9
HollyD52nd of 10
New BalanceRed4th of 24
Stockbridge3rd of 16
Apples 2 ApplesSmall1st of 6
Novi Christian1st of 10
River Rat Open6th of 10
MIAC Championship1st of 6
Larry Steeb1st of 6
Region 331st of 9
Division 4 State3rd of 27



Top Returners

Carina Burchi

Building upon her 4th place finish at XC State, Carina went on to capture conference and regional titles in the 800m and 1600m, then place All-State in each.

Natalie Meadows

Just underwent her best track season yet, erasing 45+ seconds from her 3200m and winning a MIAC title in the event.

Elodie Weaver

Tried her hand at the 5k distance at the ’21 MITCA race, displaying a form that she’d continue into high school. Top-100 at State, top-15 in Region 33, and even snuck under 21:00 once.

Sofia Robertson

Mid-distance star on the track, qualifying for State in the 400m, then a few days later, winning the MIAC. Even bumped her way up to a 2:36 in the 800m.

Ciara Parsons

Has reduced her time by at least a minute every single year. The Region 33 example was going from 23:19 and 24th to 21:52 and 15th, helping the Trojans earn another trophy.

Isabella Nelson-Daniels

Freshman year contained a precipitous drop from the 25-28 min. range to the 22’s, a level she kept at in 2022.

Potential Newcomers

Kaylie Livingston

Undefeated in the 8th grade when competing against Michiganders. Even when stepping up and racing against high schoolers, she stepped right in there, finishing 3rd in the MITS 3200m.

Abigail Watenpool

On the cusp of breaking 15:00 on many occasions.