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A few weeks ago, I mentioned that these tickets should be thought of as a career achievement award, a celebration of sorts. Athletes such as Liliane are the reason why. She’s well-known in the metro Detroit area as a jack of all trades, a girl who can sprint, jump, and has endurance to boot. Prepping for State following her Region 8 victory in the pole vault, she tore her ACL. That tear won’t permit her to compete this fall, but she deserves mention here. I have a feeling those South Lyon East girls will band together in her absence and will be a force in the LVC and Oakland County scene.

• Some say track record as a view of someone’s past, I think we should just retire the phrase in Lili’s honor
• You can look back in time and see the seeds of greatness, a 5’1 jump in 8th grade to finish second at County, a 10’6 vault later that summer
• Fast forward to this past season, she held top-100 marks in the State in the PV, HJ, 400m, and 1600m
• One might be that accomplished, that focused toward a well-rounded track season that they’d take the fall off in prep for a grueling winter, spring, and summer – that is not the case
• From her freshman year on, she’s been a leader for the East team
  • 3rd at LVC all three years, state qualifier all three years, All-County all three years
• In the future, I hope we can look back at this season on the sidelines and see it as a minor bump in the road, for a hard-wired athlete such as Lili, that hope is almost certain to come true

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Liliane Aittama	19:44.8	136.1	Lamplighter	Ford Field	20-Aug
11	Liliane Aittama	19:42.6	131.1	A2 Early Bird	Huron Meadows	2-Sep
11	Liliane Aittama	18:49.1	146.6	Huron	Willow	18-Sep
11	Liliane Aittama	19:05.9	141.0	Jackson	Sharp Park	25-Sep
11	Liliane Aittama	19:28.7	143.4	Oakland County	Possum Hollow	9-Oct
11	Liliane Aittama	19:32.9	140.7	LVC Championship	Possum Hollow	21-Oct
11	Liliane Aittama	18:57.8	141.1	4 Meadows	Huron Meadows	29-Oct
11	Liliane Aittama	18:43.6	142.5	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Liliane Aittama	135.0	Oakland County	Kensington	10-Oct
10	Liliane Aittama	136.0	PR 8	Huron Meadows	23-Oct
10	Liliane Aittama	135.3	D1 Reg 4	DeWitt HS	31-Oct
10	Liliane Aittama	139.4	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Liliane Aittama	146.9	A2 Fall Preview	Huron Meadows
9	Liliane Aittama	142.2	Tommy Titan	Cass Benton
9	Liliane Aittama	139.7	Spartan	Forest Akers
9	Liliane Aittama	132.3	Coaching Legends	Huron Meadows
9	Liliane Aittama	140.7	Oakland County	Kensington
9	Liliane Aittama	138.8	Gabriel Richard	Hudson Mills (South)
9	Liliane Aittama	133.7	Lakes Valley	Kensington
9	Liliane Aittama	133.6	4	DeWitt HS
9	Liliane Aittama	135.5	D1 State	MIS

• With a generational talent such as Peter Baracco graduating, what are the Falcons to do?
• Just kidding, when you’ve got a coach that gets the most out of his talent and a team that buys in, you get cases such as Eddie (and Gavin Steele, along with many others)
• That buy in comes in earnest when you’re out of the game, as an IT band injury kept him from running throughout August and September, zero miles on the legs
• And should explain the “slow” start, 17:00+ efforts in three of the four races before State, where he knocked an astounding 30 seconds off his season best
• As a sophomore on the track in 2020, he established himself in the 1600m with multiple efforts in the 4:35-4:45 range
• As a junior, he was able to double the distance at nearly the same speed, topping out with a 9:33 at Oakland County, good enough to grab the victory
• Can you imagine what he’ll do on the cross course given a full buildup?

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Eddie King	17:02.6	181.1	Coaching Legends	Huron Meadows	2-Oct
11	Eddie King	17:14.0	188.0	Oakland County	Possum Hollow	9-Oct
11	Eddie King	16:47.3	185.9	OAA White 3	Hess Hathaway	22-Oct
11	Eddie King	17:03.2	189.9	7 Hess Hathaway	Hess Hathaway	30-Oct
11	Eddie King	16:17.3	192.2	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Eddie King	177.7	Farmington/Salem	Willow	29-Aug
10	Eddie King	171.7	Farmington/Rochester	Bloomer Park	11-Sep
10	Eddie King	168.7	Farmington/Stoney Creek	Bloomer Park	25-Sep
10	Eddie King	176.6	BH/Farmington	OCC	2-Oct
10	Eddie King	184.4	Oakland County	Kensington	9-Oct
10	Eddie King	181.3	PR 15	Novi HS	24-Oct
10	Eddie King	178.1	D1 Reg 8	Chandler Park	30-Oct
10	Eddie King	188.3	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Eddie King	175.3	Averill	Kensington
9	Eddie King	181.6	Holly	Springfield Oaks
9	Eddie King	186.8	BlueJay	Shepherd HS
9	Eddie King	183.0	Oakland County	Kensington
9	Eddie King	178.6	OAA White 3	Bloomer Park

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The Past Three Years

Why three? This year’s seniors were little freshmen in 2019.

2021

4^th Place – CHSL C/D
4^th Place – Region 36

2020

5^th Place – Region 36

2019

9^th Place – Region 36

Anything in Track?

Tyler Lenn

4th Place – Division 4 State 800m
8^th Place – Division 4 State 1600m
1^st Place – CHSL Cardinal 800m, 1600m
1^st Place – Region 38 800m, 1600m
3^rd Place – Region 38 3200m

Matthew Zammit Jr.

10^th Place – Division 4 State 1600m
16^th Place – Division 4 State 3200m
3^rd Place – CHSL Cardinal 1600m, 3200m
2^nd Place – Region 38 1600m
1^st Place – Region 38 3200m

Isaac Zammit

8^th Place – CHSL Cardinal 800m
7^th Place – CHSL Cardinal 1600m
6^th Place – Region 38 800m
4^th Place – Region 38 1600m

4×800

9^th Place – Division 4 State
2^nd Place – CHSL Cardinal
1^st Place – Region 38

The Past Three Years

Why three? This year’s seniors were little freshmen in 2019.

2021

2^nd Place – CHSL C/D
5^th Place – Region 36

2020

1^st Place – Pre-Regional 72
1^st Place – Region 36
7^th Place – Division 4 State

2019

2^nd Place – Catholic League D3/4
1^st Place – Region 36
10^th Place – Division 4 State

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• It’s been a consistent theme with the boys so far here, coming into their own as a junior in track
• Brighton’s Bulldogs always seem to do this, after a few seasons of heavy mileage, hard work, growing together, they reach a point where it all meshes together
• For Brady, it was most notably dropping his 800m from 2:10 to 2:00 and his 3200m from 9:47 to 9:33
• He has the experience of being there in big races, the hyped dual between Brighton and Caledonia needed many pieces to execute, and Brady was a solid 6^th man for their squad
• His times and ratings didn’t match his early season prowess, but he still snuck under 17:00 at State
• As one of a few captains, he’ll be essential in the team’s quest for more glory and I’m confident he’ll be up for the task

Also, whomever created this Brighton website should be proud of themselves. What a great way to get the captains to tell their backstory. Also loved all the info in the various tabs. Clean and well put together!

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Brady Matuszewski	17:16.7	190.4	Mustang	Cass Benton	31-Aug
11	Brady Matuszewski	17:10.2	192.9	Averill	Possum Hollow	11-Sep
11	Brady Matuszewski	16:29.7	198.1	Spartan	Forest Akers	17-Sep
11	Brady Matuszewski	16:58.7	183.1	Portage	Portage West MS	9-Oct
11	Brady Matuszewski	16:26.1	184.3	Gabriel Richard	Hudson Mills (South)	16-Oct
11	Brady Matuszewski	16:42.1	184.0	KLAA Championship	Huron Meadows	21-Oct
11	Brady Matuszewski	16:48.5	185.8	4 Meadows	Huron Meadows	29-Oct
11	Brady Matuszewski	16:59.5	178.2	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Brady Matuszewski	170.7	Brighton/Romeo	Huron Meadows	2-Sep
10	Brady Matuszewski	164.8	Brighton/Churchill	Nankin Mills	8-Sep
10	Brady Matuszewski	177.0	Brighton/Canton	Cass Benton	12-Sep
10	Brady Matuszewski	178.3	Brighton/Howell	Huron Meadows	19-Sep
10	Brady Matuszewski	164.9	Brighton/Pinckney	Hudson Mills (North)	22-Sep
10	Brady Matuszewski	166.3	Brighton/Milford	Huron Meadows	29-Sep
10	Brady Matuszewski	177.3	Brighton/Plymouth	Cass Benton	3-Oct
10	Brady Matuszewski	166.3	Brighton/Northville	Huron Meadows	10-Oct

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Brady Matuszewski	168.0	South Lyon	Island Lake
9	Brady Matuszewski	177.4	Averill	Kensington
9	Brady Matuszewski	173.6	Spartan	Forest Akers
9	Brady Matuszewski	173.7	Jefferson	Sterling State Park
9	Brady Matuszewski	174.6	Mott Fall Classic	Hess Hathaway
9	Brady Matuszewski	177.7	Portage	Portage West MS
9	Brady Matuszewski	176.7	Gabriel Richard	Hudson Mills (South)
9	Brady Matuszewski	177.4	KLAA	Huron Meadows
9	Brady Matuszewski	184.7	4	DeWitt HS
9	Brady Matuszewski	176.2	D1 State	MIS

• It’s taken awhile, but Sam is beginning to show the promise she put forth as a young runner
• But that’s not entirely her fault, as her 2020 track season was canceled and her 2021 season ended in a walking boot
• With a more careful approach by her coaches, she blossomed this past spring, especially in the mid-distances
• As mentioned in the Scheffler writeup, she was part of a trio of Downriver girls racing under 2:17 at the Downriver League Championship, where she finished 2^nd
• At season’s end, she had three sub-2:20 800s to her name, culminating in a 2:16 at State to finish 9^th
• It’s not as if the shorter races were it, she also ran 11:15 in early May, and I bet if she raced it a month later, she’d be screaming down towards the 11:00 barrier
• With all these bullet points describing her track season, it might seem as if she’s not had any cross success, that ain’t the case, she’s a 3x State Qualifier, 3x Top-10 in the Downriver League, and twice All-Wayne County
• That said, expect her to contend for the latter two crowns this coming fall

Grade	Name	Time	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
11	Samantha Cost	19:20.3	131.9	Ramblin’ Rock	Willow	11-Sep
11	Samantha Cost	19:12.2	138.9	Huron	Willow	18-Sep
11	Samantha Cost	19:46.6	129.5	Jefferson	Sterling State Park	25-Sep
11	Samantha Cost	19:28.2	135.6	Downriver 1	Lake Erie	30-Sep
11	Samantha Cost	19:21.4	133.9	Coaching Legends	Huron Meadows	2-Oct
11	Samantha Cost	19:30.9	131.4	Downriver League 2	Council Point Park	5-Oct
11	Samantha Cost	19:23.2	136.3	Wayne County	Willow	9-Oct
11	Samantha Cost	21:07.6	104.8	Downriver League Championship	Lake Erie	21-Oct
11	Samantha Cost	21:17.8	119.7	5 Lake Erie	Lake Erie	30-Oct
11	Samantha Cost	20:24.0	109.0	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course	Date
10	Samantha Cost	85.7	Woodhaven/Wyandotte	Patriots Park	3-Sep
10	Samantha Cost	69.7	Carlson/LP/Trenton/Wyandotte	Lake Erie	22-Sep
10	Samantha Cost	128.9	Carlson/Trenton/Wyandotte	Lake Erie	6-Oct
10	Samantha Cost	110.0	Highlander	Howell HS	10-Oct
10	Samantha Cost	110.0	Downriver League	Lake Erie	15-Oct
10	Samantha Cost	118.7	PR 10	Lake Erie	22-Oct
10	Samantha Cost	111.6	D1 Reg 5	Lake Erie	31-Oct
10	Samantha Cost	127.3	D1 State	MIS	6-Nov

Grade	Name	Rating	Meet	Course
9	Samantha Cost	141.6	Downriver Watermelon	Elizabeth Park
9	Samantha Cost	147.3	Warrior Classic	Lake Erie
9	Samantha Cost	136.1	Holly	Springfield Oaks
9	Samantha Cost	130.0	Jefferson	Sterling State Park
9	Samantha Cost	135.0	Coaching Legends	Huron Meadows
9	Samantha Cost	129.4	Wayne County	Willow
9	Samantha Cost	134.6	News Herald	Patriots Park
9	Samantha Cost	131.1	Region 5	Lake Erie
9	Samantha Cost	134.6	D1 State	MIS