Payton’s spring track season is a major reason for her inclusion in this list
She made some massive late season strides, especially in the 800m, capturing the Downriver League title (a competitive field rarely seen in our area) in 2:15 over Luecke and Cost
Her opening leg of the 4×800 at D1 State gave the Warriors an early lead and helped them along to a 4th place finish
There isn’t an official split out there, but let’s say this – she had a measurable lead on the field at the handoff
Along with the 800m prowess, she’s also one of the top returners at the 1600m, one of the many Michiganders to break 5:00 a few weekends ago
Her cross times don’t match the track success, but I know those will come in time with additional strength, experience, and miles on those legs
But those times notwithstanding, she’s qualified out of Region 5 (annually one of the tougher regions in the State) twice and finished in the Top-10 at the Downriver League twice as well
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
Payton Scheffler
21:25.7
107.4
A2 Fall Preview
Huron Meadows
26-Aug
10
Payton Scheffler
20:41.2
110.6
Warrior Classic
Lake Erie
10-Sep
10
Payton Scheffler
21:05.2
108.3
Spartan
Forest Akers
17-Sep
10
Payton Scheffler
20:51.1
108.0
Jefferson
Sterling State Park
25-Sep
10
Payton Scheffler
21:10.1
101.6
Downriver 1
Lake Erie
30-Sep
10
Payton Scheffler
20:32.1
111.0
Downriver League 2
Council Point Park
5-Oct
10
Payton Scheffler
20:06.4
121.9
Portage
Portage West MS
9-Oct
10
Payton Scheffler
21:18.7
116.1
News Herald
Patriots Park
16-Oct
10
Payton Scheffler
20:37.2
114.9
Downriver League Championship
Lake Erie
21-Oct
10
Payton Scheffler
20:56.0
127.0
5 Lake Erie
Lake Erie
30-Oct
10
Payton Scheffler
19:19.5
130.5
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
9
Payton Scheffler
70.6
Woodhaven/Wyandotte
Patriots Park
3-Sep
9
Payton Scheffler
91.5
LP/Southgate/Trenton/Woodhaven
Council Point Park
15-Sep
9
Payton Scheffler
98.8
Jefferson
Jefferson HS
24-Sep
9
Payton Scheffler
121.0
Allendale Falcon
Allendale HS
3-Oct
9
Payton Scheffler
105.3
Highlander
Howell HS
10-Oct
9
Payton Scheffler
97.9
Downriver League
Lake Erie
15-Oct
9
Payton Scheffler
101.8
PR 10
Lake Erie
22-Oct
9
Payton Scheffler
108.1
D1 Reg 5
Lake Erie
31-Oct
9
Payton Scheffler
116.9
D1 State
MIS
6-Nov
Seth is the true encapsulation of #TheSkrollEffect
In times, ratings, and accomplishments, he underwent precipitous drops from his sophomore to junior years
He lowered his personal best from 16:53 to 16:21
And it wasn’t just a one-off performance in the 16:20s, he reached below 16:30 on five occasions in the fall
In the rating sense, he improved by more than a minute, the consistency and steadiness of his performances a major improvement from 2020
Seth was a key factor in Churchill’s resurgence as a program, running as their 1st/2nd runner for much of the championship season
During track, he established himself as a 3200m specialist, breaking 10:00 early in the season
Ohhh, we’re back up and running on these. The title is influenced from the guys at MGoBlog, who use it to sift through the various players projected to start for Michigan. Here, I’m using it to count down whom I project to be the top 50 returners heading into the 2022 season.
This is partially a ranking, but partially not. Yes, there are measurables for how much the typical runner improves from year to year and the same for what ratings a runner can achieve given their track season. Both are factored in here. The runners are ranked from whom I project to be the 50th fastest returner to the fastest.
These posts are about much more than rankings. Consider them a celebration of the sport and a celebration of our great athletes. When August rolls around, it ain’t gonna matter who was ranked where. On the other hand, I can’t let a summer speed by without mentioning the outstanding runners that make up our sport. If you’re not included in the top 50, there’s a very good chance I’ll give you a shoutout in either the regional previews or top teams.
One in the line of many Mellings who have taken on the sport
Brothers Garrett and Landon are Hanover-Horton legends, All-Staters, Garrett running for Davenport now and Landon making a name for himself in the announcing realm
As a freshman, he was a key contributor, the 3rd runner, on their State Title squad
Rogan has been extremely consistent throughout his career, you’ll notice very few poor performances in big races, almost all championship races are a season best or close to one
His cross times have slowly been trending downwards, reaching his lowest time in the last official race of the 2021 season, a 16:14 at State
A similar trend occurred in track by an even greater margin, his 9:42 victory at the Selby Classic was nearly a 20 sec. personal best
Throughout The Years
(Ratings throughout time. You’ll notice that I track more data as the years have gone on, date and actual race time weren’t a thing on the MIXCSR sheets back in the day.)
Grade
Name
Time
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
11
Rogan Melling
16:50.6
189.5
Harper Creek Optimist
Harper Creek HS
28-Aug
11
Rogan Melling
16:39.6
182.8
Hillsdale
Owen Memorial Park
1-Sep
11
Rogan Melling
16:48.3
186.2
Bath
Bath HS
11-Sep
11
Rogan Melling
16:33.6
196.8
Spartan
Forest Akers
17-Sep
11
Rogan Melling
16:36.1
190.6
Jackson
Sharp Park
25-Sep
11
Rogan Melling
16:18.4
192.9
Bluejay
Shepherd HS
2-Oct
11
Rogan Melling
16:22.1
195.3
Portage
Portage West MS
9-Oct
11
Rogan Melling
16:44.3
184.6
Chris Jensen
Sharp Park
16-Oct
11
Rogan Melling
16:52.6
186.5
Cascades Conference
Sharp Park
20-Oct
11
Rogan Melling
16:37.5
188.8
23 Sharp Park
Sharp Park
29-Oct
11
Rogan Melling
16:14.6
189.8
D3 State
MIS
6-Nov
11
Rogan Melling
16:27.7
189.8
MMOC
Shepherd HS
13-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
Date
10
Rogan Melling
171.2
Hillsdale Academy
Hayden Park
11-Sep
10
Rogan Melling
177.9
Harriers for Hope
Peacock Tree Farm
19-Sep
10
Rogan Melling
171.0
Grass Lake/Hanover Horton
Grass Lake HS
22-Sep
10
Rogan Melling
175.3
Jackson Friendly
Sharp Park
26-Sep
10
Rogan Melling
169.3
Sand Creek
Sand Creek HS
10-Oct
10
Rogan Melling
179.3
PR 45
Hudson HS
24-Oct
10
Rogan Melling
178.1
D3 Reg 23
Sharp Park
30-Oct
10
Rogan Melling
190.0
D3 State
MIS
7-Nov
Grade
Name
Rating
Meet
Course
9
Rogan Melling
189.3
Optimist
Harper Creek HS
9
Rogan Melling
186.3
Springport
Springport HS
9
Rogan Melling
175.7
Bath
Bath HS
9
Rogan Melling
166.9
Spartan
Forest Akers
9
Rogan Melling
175.3
Jackson
Sharp Park
9
Rogan Melling
186.3
BlueJay
Shepherd HS
9
Rogan Melling
183.7
Portage
Portage West MS
9
Rogan Melling
184.7
J Chris Jensen
Sharp Park
9
Rogan Melling
181.8
23
Sharp Park
9
Rogan Melling
177.7
D3 State
MIS
Inconspicuous to some (but noticed by me), Mariah burst onto the Macomb County scene as a freshman on the Dakota track squad, hitting marks such as 2:28 and 5:25
She’s had great upperclassmen to look to: the Harveys, Slone, Myziuk and she’s got a pretty good classmate as well
Her introduction to HS cross country came last fall and she was able to back up that track prowess, gaining accolades and hitting times that matched the potential shown earlier
Among those, dipping under 19:00 on four occasions and nabbing top-5 at both the MAC Division Meet and Macomb County Championship
She’s a selfless teammate, part of multiple championship and All-State relay squads, both in the 4×4 and 4×8
