I’m sure you know his brother, Garrett, but William is slowly beginning to make a name for himself
The process kickstarted during his sophomore year, where after a solid 9th grade campaign, he was able to attain top-50 at State then peak hard at the end of track, running 2:08/4:42
He was able to break 17:00 for the first time in September, then come October, he was Mr. Consistent, in the 16:30 range or lower in every race
His season culminated in a race where he greatly outperformed expectations, finishing 24th at MIS (I had him projected to be 45th)
During this spring season, William was able to capitalize on the progress made in the previous seasons, especially in the mid-distance races
The 2:08 became a 2:00, the 4:42 became a 4:27, and he was able to qualify for State in both, setting himself up for a senior year where he’ll be able to handle faster speeds
I for one am happy that those blonde boys of Parchment have another year tearing through our courses
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
11
William Winter
17:21.9
181.0
Portage EB
Portage West MS
20-Aug
11
William Winter
17:38.4
173.5
Harper Creek Optimist
Harper Creek HS
28-Aug
11
William Winter
17:01.0
173.0
SW Rustbuster
Warner Camp
1-Sep
11
William Winter
17:11.4
174.5
Delton-Kellogg
Gilmore Car Museum
9-Sep
11
William Winter
16:39.2
180.6
SAC 1
Fenn Valley Winery
15-Sep
11
William Winter
17:06.5
185.8
Spartan
Forest Akers
17-Sep
11
William Winter
16:59.9
175.4
Parchment Classic
Parchment HS
22-Sep
11
William Winter
16:37.4
178.9
Autumn Sunrise
Heritage Christian School
25-Sep
11
William Winter
17:59.2
190.9
SAC 2
Galesburg-August MS
29-Sep
11
William Winter
16:22.8
191.1
Otsego Bulldog
Otsego HS
2-Oct
11
William Winter
16:26.6
193.8
Portage
Portage West MS
9-Oct
11
William Winter
16:31.4
182.2
SAC Champ
Kalamazoo Christian Elemantary
14-Oct
11
William Winter
16:30.5
184.5
Little Guys
Gobles HS
23-Oct
11
William Winter
16:27.0
185.3
13 Portage
Portage West MS
30-Oct
11
William Winter
16:05.8
195.4
D2 State
MIS
6-Nov
11
William Winter
16:08.9
196.0
MMOC
Shepherd HS
13-Nov
Grade
Name
Team
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
William Winter
Parchment
166.7
Fowlerville/LC/Parchment Tri
St. Francis Retreat Center
9-Sep
10
William Winter
Parchment
165.1
Gilmore Quad
Gilmore Car Museum
10-Sep
10
William Winter
Parchment
163.5
SAC Conference
Gilmore Car Museum
15-Oct
10
William Winter
Parchment
167.5
Ottawa Hills
Riverside Park
18-Sep
10
William Winter
Parchment
164.6
Schoolcraft Tri
Schoolcraft HS
23-Sep
10
William Winter
Parchment
169.1
KC/RGL
Gilmore Car Museum
6-Oct
10
William Winter
Parchment
170.7
Highlander
Howell HS
10-Oct
10
William Winter
Parchment
160.0
PR 44
Centreville HS
24-Oct
10
William Winter
Parchment
173.2
D3 Reg 22
Portage West MS
31-Oct
10
William Winter
Parchment
176.4
D3 State
MIS
7-Nov
Grade
Name
Team
Rating
Meet
Course
9
William Winter
Parchment
148.7
Portage EB
Portage West MS
9
William Winter
Parchment
170.0
Optimist
Harper Creek HS
9
William Winter
Parchment
149.3
Spartan
Forest Akers
9
William Winter
Parchment
165.1
Otsego Bulldog
Otsego HS
9
William Winter
Parchment
170.9
Portage
Portage West MS
9
William Winter
Parchment
175.8
Little Guys
Gobles HS
9
William Winter
Parchment
170.9
22
Centreville HS
9
William Winter
Parchment
173.0
D3 State
MIS
Had anyone heard of Jordyn before this past season? I certainly hadn’t.
She raced only twice in middle school, and although her times were good, they did not foretell the freshman success she had
Jordyn excels on the soccer field and joined the team last year as sort of an afterthought, a method of staying in shape during the offseason
Um yeah about that, she stayed in shape for sure
OK Green Conference Champion, freshman record at Zeeland West (beating out a Rachele Schulist if that rings a bell), All-State
I hope she sticks with our great sport, as she’s clearly got the talent to accomplish incredible feats
4th Place – Kent Ottawa 2nd Place – Region 21 7th Place – D3 State
2020
2nd Place – Pre-Region 41 2nd Place – Region 21 11th Place – D3 State
2019
9th Place – Kent Ottawa 2nd Place – Region 21 14th Place – D3 State
Anything in Track?
Mason Schimmel
52.7/2:10
4th Place – Region 23 400m
Levi Kamps
5:10/10:31
7th Place – Region 23 3200m
Connor Lubbers
2:19/5:28
The Past Three Years
2021
2nd Place – Kent Ottawa 1st Place – CSAA Silver 1st Place – Region 21 2nd Place – D3 State
2020
1st Place – CSAA Silver 1st Place – Pre-Region 41 3rd Place – Region 21 12th Place – D3 State
2019
1st Place – CSAA Silver 2nd Place – Region 21 14th Place – D3 State
Anything in Track?
Lila Volkers
2:28/5:16
12th Place – D3 State 1600m 2nd Place – Region 23 1600m 3rd Place – Region 23 800m CSAA Silver 800m/1600m Champion 2nd Place – CSAA Silver 3200m
Now we’re getting to the fun part! In previous years, what I’ve done is list the top teams, top individuals. Prior to last summer, I’d write and write and write, then never finish my writings before the season started. In 2021, I made the decision to just list the top teams and not add any creative input. I’m going to bridge that gap this year. The best of the best are covered in the 50 Tickets, the fastest runners on the best teams will be covered in their Top 10s. In these previews, I want to write just a tiny bit about everyone else. Maybe it’s only a sentence, but y’all deserve even the tiniest bit of recognition.
These projections include incoming freshmen. This is a necessary step in the previews, however there are some unknown areas. Many of the schools in this region have identifiable feeder schools, but I’ll always miss someone that didn’t run 8th grade XC or add someone that ran 8th grade XC and won’t run in HS. There’s really no other way to do it other than make it a guessing game or to ask every coach individually, which would take years. As always, if you’re reading here, have an upcoming region with an odd case, reach out!
Where: The traditional home on the shores of Lake Huron, Wagener County Park. I haven’t been out there, but I’ve been to county parks near the water in the area, they’re all flat unless you’re going down to the lake. Last year, the adjustments tended to rate the course as very fast, +30 or more.
Once again, we have a course map with great detail:
(As stated earlier, the shoutouts and anecdotes here will be anyone in the Top 15 isn’t on a top 10 team. Top incoming freshmen will get their due at the end of summer or throughout their career 🙂 )
Ethan Green – The defending regional champ. Ran a PB here, breaking 17:00, then went onto win another regional title in the 3200m in track.
Aiden Fitchett – Two years, two top-10 regional finishes. Peaked hard to close the season, two straight sub-18’s. Then did the same in track, running a 4+ sec. PB at State.
Connor Rouse – Don’t be fooled if he starts the season slow. Each of the past two years, he’s been above 19:00 throughout much of September, but like Fitchett, always in the top-10 come late October.
John Schoen – Went from 30th here in 2020 to 7th in 2021, knocked more than a minute off his best too. Trajectory continued into track, where he placed 10th in the 800m at D4 State.
Colin Beck – As a freshman, stepped onto Deckerville’s varsity squad with 6 sub-19:00 efforts.
Gavin Helgeson – Similar story to Schoen, improving from 31st to 11th in one year.
Kendall Dumaw – Has broken 18:00 late in each of the past two years.
Wynn Blake – Brown City moves down from Division 3 this year. No matter, Wynn has championship experience with two consecutive qualifiers. He’s an excellent vaulter too, getting higher than 11’ both in 2021 and 2022.
Turlough Bennett – Freshman peaked at the right time, his first venture into the 18:00’s was a 18:41 here, backed up with a 10 sec. improvement the following week.
Joel Enos – Freshman year similar to many others above. Slow start culminating in a State Meet berth and a few mid-18’s.
Christopher Gonzales – Four minute improvement from the season’s start to the season’s end.
Devin Dudley – Ran the race of his life last year in Brooklyn, a 30+ second personal best.
Maze Gusa – The tradition continues. Ubly, the Gusa clan, and so many awards. Two consecutive regional titles and All-State honors.
Reece Wruble – We like the steady progression throughout her freshman campaign. Performed admirably at championship meets and almost pulled off an All-State (38th).
Sophia Sanford – None of those boys match the massive leap from Sophia. 52nd here as a sophomore, 8th as a junior.
Erica Klee – One of the bigger surprises in November, where she ran a 36 sec. personal best en route to a 29th place finish at MIS.
Kyra Beemer – Showed some mid-D prowess in track, where she ran multiple 2:30’s in the 800m, winning the GTC East League in the process.
Gabriella Reinbold – First season as a harrier for the Patriots was highlighted by a 2nd place finish here. Could be very underrated based on that finish.
Isabella Yeoman – Didn’t even make it to regionals as a freshman, stepped up as a sophomore with a 9th place result. Carried that momentum into track where she busted through 6:00 in the 1600m at season’s end.
Sarah Nimtz – Many years in the USA middle school program led to a freshman led to a freshman season where she was able to break 22:00 late and help the Patriots to a top-10 finish at State.
Shelby Bowers – Dropped a minute from her personal best and 30 places at Regionals.
