Category: Uncategorized

A summer tradition returns.

Hard to fathom that I’ve been penning these Summer Previews for now, 7 years. Just as in the past, I’ll have the 50 best returners, then as time rolls on, the Regional Previews and Top Ten Teams.

Differing from the past is the format. Individual posts for each region and ticket are a TON OF WORK. Instead, I’ll be knocking off the 50 Tickets with sets of 10 and Regional Previews by their division and gender. Hopefully with these methods, I’ll be finishing on time and actually spending effort detailing what could be some great regional battles.

Anyhow, starting with the girls (they run first this year), your 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These celebrate our top-50 returners – based on the 2024 XC season, 2025 track season, projected improvement, and a tiny bit of my own opinions.

Enjoy!

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

(Also, first time ever that I’ve included Upper Peninsula folks in these! I know they’re not running at MIS, but they’re still representatives of Michigan)

Name: Kyle O’Rourke
School: Milford
Grade: 12th

Personal Records

5k (XC) – 15:02
1600m – 4:19
3200m – 9:02

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
11	Kyle O’Rourke	15:11.1	Highland-Milford	211.0	MITCA	9-Nov	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	15:02.0	Highland-Milford	213.3	Division 1 State	2-Nov	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	15:45.7	Highland-Milford	203.1	Region 7	26-Oct	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	16:16.7	Highland-Milford	198.1	LVC Championship	17-Oct	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	15:47.8	Highland-Milford	213.4	Oakland County	5-Oct	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	15:08.7	Highland-Milford	215.1	Jackson	21-Sep	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	15:51.8	Highland-Milford	217.4	Averill	7-Sep	2024
11	Kyle O’Rourke	16:22.2	Highland-Milford	217.9	Milford	29-Aug	2024
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Kyle O’Rourke	15:17.3	Highland-Milford	207.2	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	15:22.4	Highland-Milford	206.9	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	16:10.3	Highland-Milford	206.9	Region 7	27-Oct	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	15:57.5	Highland-Milford	203.2	LVC Championship	19-Oct	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	16:07.4	Highland-Milford	205.5	Oakland County	7-Oct	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	16:13.1	Highland-Milford	201.3	Linden Classic	23-Sep	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	16:00.4	Highland-Milford	211.5	Averill	9-Sep	2023
10	Kyle O’Rourke	16:29.8	Highland-Milford	205.7	Milford	31-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:22.3	Highland-Milford	185.2	MITCA	12-Nov	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:55.2	Highland-Milford	181.3	D1 State	5-Nov	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:49.8	Highland-Milford	189.4	Region 7	28-Oct	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:40.4	Highland-Milford	183.9	LVC Championship	20-Oct	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:57.9	Highland-Milford	187.0	Oakland County	8-Oct	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	16:24.7	Highland-Milford	191.1	Ottawa Hills	16-Sep	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	19:27.9	Highland-Milford	145.4	Averill	10-Sep	2022
9	Kyle O’Rourke	17:33.6	Highland-Milford	187.1	Milford	1-Sep	2022

Accolades

XC

3^rd Place – 2024 Division 1 State
10^th Place – 2023 Division 1 State
2023 & 2024 LVC & Region 7 Champion
2024 Oakland County Champion

Track

2^nd Place – 2025 Division 1 State 3200m
6^th Place – 2024 Division 1 State 3200m
2023 & 2024 LVC & Region 9 3200m Champion
2024 LVC 1600m Champion

His Specialty

His toughness.

Oakland County folks know it well, the rugged Possum Hollow track, with its famed double hill in the final stages of the race. Many dread the course, Kyle has made it his home. And it’s a perfect encapsulation of his abilities as a runner. Over the past two years, Milford has raced seven times (at least on athletic.net, the LVC doesn’t always put meets on there and I don’t blame them) on the hallowed grounds, and Kyle has usually thrown out an impressive performance.

Following a freshman spring where he established himself as one of the better runners in the ’26 class, Kyle spent his first two meets lowering his course PR (16:49). He shaved nearly 50 sec. off by his 2^nd meet, a typically hot affair at Averill, earning wins in both races. At Oakland County, he was 2^nd behind Solomon Kwartowitz, then redeemed himself with a win in Region 7.

As a junior, he was able to lower things even further, breaking 16:00 at Averill, then ripping a 15:47 for an Oakland County win. Only two notable losses on the course over two years, a record that goes hand in hand with what he’s accomplished on less gruesome layouts. Two All-State finishes, including a 3^rd place finish in 2024. A personal best of 15:02. Back-to-back wins in both conference and regional meets.

2025 will feature a strong diet of possum and Kyle will be stronger for it.

A summer tradition returns.

Hard to fathom that I’ve been penning these Summer Previews for now, 7 years. Just as in the past, I’ll have the 50 best returners, then as time rolls on, the Regional Previews and Top Ten Teams.

Differing from the past is the format. Individual posts for each region and ticket are a TON OF WORK. Instead, I’ll be knocking off the 50 Tickets with sets of 10 and Regional Previews by their division and gender. Hopefully with these methods, I’ll be finishing on time and actually spending effort detailing what could be some great regional battles.

Anyhow, starting with the girls (they run first this year), your 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These celebrate our top-50 returners – based on the 2024 XC season, 2025 track season, projected improvement, and a tiny bit of my own opinions.

Enjoy!

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

(Also, first time ever that I’ve included Upper Peninsula folks in these! I know they’re not running at MIS, but they’re still representatives of Michigan)

Name: Emma Hoffman
School: Otsego
Grade: 12th

Personal Records

5k (XC) – 17:22
1600m – 4:52
3200m – 10:17
5000m – 16:42

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
11	Emma Hoffman	17:31.0	Otsego	163.3	Division 2 State	2-Nov	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	17:51.7	Otsego	159.1	Region 13	26-Oct	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	19:22.7	Otsego	130.8	Allegan County	18-Oct	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	17:25.3	Otsego	165.9	Wolverine Conference	15-Oct	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	17:22.5	Otsego	167.8	Otsego Bulldog	28-Sep	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	18:11.5	Otsego	166.5	Spartan	13-Sep	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	17:45.0	Otsego	166.7	Shamrock	3-Sep	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	17:53.4	Otsego	170.2	SW Rustbuster	28-Aug	2024
11	Emma Hoffman	18:18.8	Otsego	166.7	St. Joseph	20-Aug	2024
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Emma Hoffman	18:31.3	Otsego	143.9	Division 2 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:56.6	Otsego	135.8	Region 13	28-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	19:42.3	Otsego	125.9	Allegan County	20-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:18.9	Otsego	138.7	Wolverine Conference	17-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:48.5	Otsego	141.8	Portage	7-Oct	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:03.8	Otsego	154.1	Otsego Bulldog	30-Sep	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:33.7	Otsego	144.8	Jackson	23-Sep	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	19:12.9	Otsego	146.0	BS Shamrock	5-Sep	2023
10	Emma Hoffman	18:31.0	Otsego	144.0	SW Rustbuster	30-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Emma Hoffman	18:27.8	Otsego	149.1	D2 State	5-Nov	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:38.9	Otsego	141.4	Region 13	29-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	19:11.2	Otsego	138.9	Wolverine Conference	18-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:48.0	Otsego	140.3	Portage	8-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:34.9	Otsego	144.4	Otsego Bulldog	1-Oct	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	18:34.7	Otsego	142.1	Cougar Falcon	24-Sep	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	19:08.4	Otsego	143.5	Spartan	16-Sep	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	19:09.6	Otsego	137.5	SW Rustbuster	31-Aug	2022
9	Emma Hoffman	20:18.9	Otsego	127.7	St. Joseph	23-Aug	2022

Accolades

XC

2^nd Place – 2023 & 2025 Division 2 State
17^th Place – 2024 Division 2 State
2023 & 2024 Allegan County Champion
2024 Wolverine Conference Champion
2024 Region 13 Champion

Track

2025 Division 2 State 1600m & 3200m Champion
Unbeaten Outdoor Season
3^rd Place – 2025 MITS 3200m
4^th Place – 2025 MITS 1600m
6^th Place – 2024 Division 2 State 1600m

You Know I Dig Her Improvement

And between her sophomore and junior years, the improvement was out of this world. Between the track and the grass, she left hardly a stone unturned, setting PRs and winning titles.

Embracing an uptick in training during her junior summer, Hoffman sped out of the gate with a win at St. Joseph, her fastest opener yet. The next race was another first, a sub-18, one of many she’d put together over the course of the year. More wins throughout September paved the path towards her biggest breakthrough, 17:22 at her home invite, a massive 20+ second personal best. She’d match that level a few more times over the course of the year – most notably a 17:31 finish at State, a venue where she’s always performed her best.

Digging into the nitty gritty of the times, the track is where we can objectively see the development. Concentrating mainly on the longer distances, Hoffman was able to slip under 5 min. for the first time ever (5:02 to 4:52) and rip through her 3200m best (10:50 to 10:17). Both led to a new, rarely seen, level of competition, a season where Emma didn’t face a single defeat. Not at the GR Elite Challenge, Distance Night, regional or conference, and lastly, not at D2 State.

Your defending D2 1600m and 3200m champion, improving by leaps and bounds, seeking more.

A summer tradition returns.

Hard to fathom that I’ve been penning these Summer Previews for now, 7 years. Just as in the past, I’ll have the 50 best returners, then as time rolls on, the Regional Previews and Top Ten Teams.

Differing from the past is the format. Individual posts for each region and ticket are a TON OF WORK. Instead, I’ll be knocking off the 50 Tickets with sets of 10 and Regional Previews by their division and gender. Hopefully with these methods, I’ll be finishing on time and actually spending effort detailing what could be some great regional battles.

Anyhow, starting with the girls (they run first this year), your 50 Tickets to Brooklyn. These celebrate our top-50 returners – based on the 2024 XC season, 2025 track season, projected improvement, and a tiny bit of my own opinions.

Enjoy!

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020

(Also, first time ever that I’ve included Upper Peninsula folks in these! I know they’re not running at MIS, but they’re still representatives of Michigan)

Name: Aiden Pengelly
School: Canton
Grade: 12th

Personal Records

5k (XC) – 14:59
1600m – 4:22
3200m – 9:33

Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
11	Aiden Pengelly	14:59.6	Canton	214.8	MITCA	9-Nov	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:01.0	Canton	213.7	Division 1 State	2-Nov	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:17.6	Canton	211.1	Region 6	26-Oct	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:13.0	Canton	214.7	KLAA Championship	17-Oct	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:21.8	Canton	214.4	River Rat Open	10-Oct	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:19.9	Canton	212.0	Wayne County	5-Oct	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:24.4	Canton	210.2	Hansons	28-Sep	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:16.1	Canton	212.6	Jackson	21-Sep	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:45.8	Canton	215.1	Holly	14-Sep	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:51.0	Canton	209.3	Tri of the Year	10-Sep	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	16:16.2	Canton	209.3	Averill	7-Sep	2024
11	Aiden Pengelly	15:44.0	Canton	211.0	Lamplighter	23-Aug	2024
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
10	Aiden Pengelly	15:39.6	Canton	199.8	MITCA	11-Nov	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	15:31.6	Canton	203.8	Division 1 State	4-Nov	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	15:34.7	Canton	202.1	Region 6	28-Oct	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	16:14.4	Canton	203.5	KLAA Conference	20-Oct	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	15:42.0	Canton	200.7	River Rat Open	13-Oct	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	15:58.1	Canton	197.3	Wayne County	7-Oct	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	15:54.6	Canton	203.1	Hansons	30-Sep	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	16:21.5	Canton	195.5	Spartan	15-Sep	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	16:02.0	Canton	197.3	Northwood	9-Sep	2023
10	Aiden Pengelly	16:36.1	Canton	197.3	Mustang	29-Aug	2023
Grade	Name	Time	Team	Rating	Meet	Date	Year
9	Aiden Pengelly	16:36.9	Canton	181.4	Region 6	29-Oct	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	17:10.8	Canton	175.7	KLAA	22-Oct	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	17:12.5	Canton	169.8	River Rat Open	14-Oct	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	17:15.5	Canton	166.8	Wayne County	8-Oct	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	17:17.2	Canton	166.3	Marauder	1-Oct	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	17:36.5	Canton	161.2	Jefferson	24-Sep	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	18:17.1	Canton	159.3	Spartan	16-Sep	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	17:53.0	Canton	163.0	Northwood	10-Sep	2022
9	Aiden Pengelly	19:37.1	Canton	146.0	Milford	1-Sep	2022

Accolades

XC

2^nd Place – 2024 Division 1 State
18^th Place – 2023 Division 1 State
2024 KLAA, Wayne County, & Region 6 Champion

Track

5^th Place – 2024 KLAA Championship 3200m

You Know I Dig His Improvement

From year to year, fall to fall, it just keeps coming in droves.

From 2022 to 2023, it was impressive enough. Working way back to his freshman season, Aiden spent much of his races on the high side of 18. An admirable mark, but not often that in a short month that one progresses from there all the way down to the 16:30’s, which Pengelly was able to accomplish in his season closer at Region 6.

Following his freshman fall, it’s been a steady string of time drops. As a sophomore, he wasted zero time busting rust, Aiden opened with a mid-16 on the tough Cass Benton track, a harbinger for greater marks to come. Unshockingly, they did – 15’s were on tap for a good chunk of the year, the fastest of which being a 15:31, good for 18^th place in D1.

You won’t be surprised that more reductions came as a junior. Jackson is often the first opportunity to really roll, which Aiden was able to do, finding a 15:16 on the quick Sharp Park course. That fast race led to many similar ones, 15:1x’s in wins at Wayne County, Region 6, and in the KLAA. Not satisfied with a minor improvement, Pengelly ripped a 15:01 at State and was one of six Michiganders to break 15:00 on the year, which went down at MITCA.

Here’s to another relentless season.