Team-wise, the qualifiers went as projected. The boys’ race was so open, that I expected one would be incorrect. Midland, the most consistent team in the state, held serve close to home. Milford handled the trek north and continued their late-season run of county and league titles with a state qualifier. And Traverse City West bounced back from a rough BNC Championship to find their early-season form. The girls’ race was projected to be a bit calmer, though Traverse City Central could’ve been beaten from their 3rd projected spot. Kelly Comfort didn’t let that happen, as the sophomore dropped a 15+ sec. personal best, her first sub-19 ever in her first regional ever. Which will lead to her first State Final ever.
Another one making their maiden voyage to Brooklyn is Connor O’Reilly of Davison. The junior has dropped time every year – slightly on the high side of 18 as a freshman, just above 17 as a sophomore, and now kicking on the door of the 15’s as a junior. His personal best on Saturday was one of many on the year and the most consequential, as he has a great shot at moving past another barrier this upcoming weekend.
All the team qualifier projections were correct, save for one: the Rogers City Girls. Commonly, it’s Avery Langlois defying the numbers, this time her teammates joined her. Don’t get it twisted – Langlois still performed well, earning her third straight All-Region honor. Reese Brege had one of the larger moves from her projection (12th), placing 7th. Her 20:53 was a 30+ second personal best, with those 5 points necessary as the Hurons left Mancelona with a 4-point margin over 4th.
Despite the teams going as projected, a few individuals require mentioning:
Alaina Civinskas, Roscommon – projected 7th, placed 2nd. That’s a common surname in Roscommon distance lore, but surnames don’t advance to state, tough freshmen do. Alaina had been running in the low-20’s for the previous few meets, then ripped the bandaid off with a 19:14, nearly a minute personal best.
Liam Mahaffy, Grayling – projected 12th, placed 10th. As a sophomore, Mahaffy competed at the State Finals and if the past two meets are any indication, he made it his mission to return. A 9th place finish at the Northern Shores Championship was a return to the 17’s and his 10-spot here was a lifetime best, 17:06.
Paxton Downing, Hale – projected 20th, placed 10th. The Hale senior will be making his first ever trip to MIS. What a comparison to last year, where Downing was 55th here, >21 minutes his time. In potentially the final race of his career, Downing busted out a 17:37, a lifetime best.
The first qualifier since 2020 for the SMCC boys5 in a row for the SMCC girls
Race
Boys Adj.
Girls Adj.
Region 27
+15
+18
Region 6
+15
+16
Average
+15
+17
MIXC vs. REALITY
The projections were fairly accurate, correct on all of the qualifying teams (and pretty much correct on all of the D3 boys’ qualifiers). But that of course doesn’t tell the whole tale of the day, as there are those that had a memorable performance, such as:
Sarah Wazne, Dearborn Heights Crestwood – projected 15th, placed 12th. The Charger is making a return trip to the State Finals, having qualified two years ago as a sophomore. Her 20:23 from Saturday was the quickest time she’s had since that sophomore year, a return jaunt into the low-20’s.
Grace Farrell, Clinton – projected 15th, placed 12th. The Redwolves are a team that always defies regional expectation and Grace is learning that in her young career. This is the sophomore’s first year of running high school cross and the progress is immediate. She opened above 26:00 at Lamplighter and has dropped nearly 5 minutes, breaking 22:00 in the past two races.
Xisco Dura, Ann Arbor Huron – projected 33rd, placed 20th. He had found his way into the 16’s last year, but was unable to compete at the regional level. This year, he hit that mark AND did it on the most important day of the year. As a point of comparison, Huron always hosts the River Rat Open two weeks prior – Dura dropped 20 seconds in that two-week time span.
Max Foldvary, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central – projected 25th, placed 5th. Max was part of the SMCC team that advanced, and boy was this region close, 2nd-4th place separated by 7 points. Coming into Saturday, Max had run on the Willow course twice, crossing the line in 17:37 and 17:39. If he had equaled those performances, SMCC would be sitting at home this upcoming weekend.
Michigan XC Speed Ratings 