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THE SUMMER PREVIEW

2022 Results

Meet	Division	Place
Portage EB		1st of 18
Bath	Class 1	3rd of 11
Spartan	Elite	3rd of 19
Cougar Falcon	Cougar	2nd of 9
Otsego Bulldog	D2	5th of 26
Portage	D2	5th of 42
Region 12		1st of 14
Division 2 State		2nd of 27

Top Returners

Drew Muller

The ultimate low stick in Division Two. Drew’s placed in the top-5 at the state level all three of her seasons, finally winning it last year. More to be written on this genuinely good person later…

Sadey Seyferth

Before her wondrous track season, let’s take a minute to brag about her cross career thus far. Twice top-10 in her region, twice All-State, and twice racing into the 18’s near the end of the season.

Sophia Lado

In her three years running for the Pioneers, she’s been sub-20 each season, with an All-State as a sophomore.

Madelyn Baar

Freshman year ended with a significant drop of time, where she raced in the 21’s for much of the year before ending with a 20:46.

Avery Hecksel

In the final OK White Jamboree, Avery obtained a personal best that was 24 races in the making.

Kennidi Kowal

Vast difference between her fall and spring segments. Whereas in the fall, Kennidi stayed on the slow side of 22, her spring ended with sub-6, sub-13, and an 8^th place in the OK White 3200m.

Quincy Stiffler

Cross country season ended prematurely, but track did not. Ended her spring on a high note, sneaking into the 2:30’s on her second to last 800m.

Mary Jane McGovern

Found some massive personal bests on the track this spring, bringing her 800m down from 2:47 to 2:35.

Potential Newcomers

Adeline Armstrong

Placed highly at a few championship XC meets, 3^rd in the WMMSC and the West Michigan Championship, then turned around and raced in the 2:20’s/5:30’s during track.

Clare Assaf

After a cross season comprised of many mid-13 efforts, found something late in track, getting into the 12’s by the end of May.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 5^th Place – LVC (XC)
• 10^th Place – Region 7 (XC)
• 19^th Place – Oakland County (XC)
• 10^th Place – Division 1 State 3200m
• 2^nd Place – LVC & Region 9 3200m
• 3^rd Place – Oakland County 3200m
• #1 ranked Michigan freshman – 1600m



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date
9	Kyle O’Rourke	17:33.6	Highland-Milford	187.1	Milford	1-Sep
9	Kyle O’Rourke	19:27.9	Highland-Milford	145.4	Averill	10-Sep
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:24.7	Highland-Milford	191.1	Ottawa Hills	16-Sep
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:57.9	Highland-Milford	187.0	Oakland County	8-Oct
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:40.4	Highland-Milford	183.9	LVC Championship	20-Oct
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:49.8	Highland-Milford	189.4	Region 7	28-Oct
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:55.2	Highland-Milford	181.3	Division 1 State	5-Nov
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:22.3	Highland-Milford	185.2	MITCA	12-Nov

The Rundown

At least twice, while creating the graphic and writing this, I wrote Ryan instead of Kyle. Kyle comes from great bloodlines, his older brother Ryan running in the low-16’s for the Maverick program. Without skipping a beat, the O’Rourke tradition has continued, Kyle establishing himself as one of the better (if not the best) young freshmen in the State. With many races on his docket at Possum Hollow, there were very little opportunities to rip a fast time, though more importantly, he contributed in terms of place, helping his team qualify for State, the only freshman to receive an All-County offer.

The speedy, flat track surface is where Kyle’s talent and Sal’s magic truly came together. Contained in his championship season were multiple sub-9:35 3200m efforts, along with a wondrous 4:23. Operating in a sea of upperclassmen, Kyle held his own in the heat at the Division 1 State Finals. One of only two freshmen (the other, Andrew Wright who won the NBON freshman 2 mile) competed, with Kyle placing 10^th. Taking that next step and holding his own with the state’s very best will pay dividends this upcoming fall.

THE SUMMER PREVIEW

Accomplishments & Accolades

• 12^th Place – Division 2 State (XC)
• SMAC Champion (XC)
• 3^rd Place – Region 13 (XC)
• Region 3 800m Champion
• SMAC 800m/1600m Champion
• 22^nd Place – Division 1 State 1600m



Ratings Throughout the Years

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet
11	Gail Vaikutis	20:15.2	St. Joseph	128.9	St. Joseph
11	Gail Vaikutis	19:37.6	St. Joseph	133.1	Harper Creek Optimist
11	Gail Vaikutis	19:22.6	St. Joseph	131.1	Lakeview
11	Gail Vaikutis	19:18.3	St. Joseph	131.9	Ottawa Hills
11	Gail Vaikutis	20:02.7	St. Joseph	127.4	SMAC West 1
11	Gail Vaikutis	18:28.8	St. Joseph	144.1	Cougar Falcon
11	Gail Vaikutis	19:05.1	St. Joseph	130.3	Berrien County
11	Gail Vaikutis	19:39.8	St. Joseph	124.4	SMAC West 2
11	Gail Vaikutis	18:39.7	St. Joseph	143.1	Portage
11	Gail Vaikutis	19:08.9	St. Joseph	132.4	Rock n Run
11	Gail Vaikutis	18:36.2	St. Joseph	145.3	SMAC Championship
11	Gail Vaikutis	18:54.5	St. Joseph	136.2	Region 13
11	Gail Vaikutis	18:56.3	St. Joseph	139.6	Division 2 State

The Rundown

Yes, all those accomplishments and times are contained within one year. After running for the 2020-21 season in Illinois, Gail moved to St. Joseph, quietly training and sitting out the year before unleashing her speed upon us Michiganders. Almost immediately she made an impact, her 18:28 at Cougar Falcon cementing that Gail would be a presence in Division Two and St. Joseph a team that could place highly in the division. By the end of the year, she racked up impressive honors at all of the championship meets, then lowered her personal best at Lavern Gibson. During the spring, Gail was more concentrated on the mid-distances, perhaps most impressively the 800m, where she won league and regional titles, then contributed to an 11^th place 4x800m (in a time that would’ve won D2, mind you). Once again, St. Joseph is quietly loaded and Gail will be a needed contributor.