I hope this newsletter finds you well. Not stuck in the snow, in a traffic jam, plowed into your driveway. Perhaps on a snow day? Work from home? After a long, aerobic, shoveling session?

Michigan At Millrose

The indoor track season unofficially kicked off this past Saturday at the Millrose Games.  Michiganders from the high school, college, and pro levels were able to race.  Just as last week, a chart showing their results (I live in charts):

Traveling to New York and competing on the big stage is significant enough, but I was particularly impressed by two performances.  Kaila Jackson (Detroit Renaissance, Track Life University) set the meet record in the High School Girls 60m with a 7.31.  She is definitely a queen in the starting blocks, an advantage for the short sprints.  Her 10m split is on par with the pros, and if she can gain late race stamina, expect to see her in the pro races in a few years.

Morgan Beadlescomb is one of the more slept upon collegians.  The NAU, BYU, and Oregon guys might receive more publicity, but ask me if there’s one male that’ll be there in the indoor or outdoor championships, my bet is on him.  The guy sticks his nose in every race and was every bit apart of the 3000m on Saturday.  It would have been easy to hang off the back and get pulled to a fast time.  After the first few laps, Morgan was consistently in 7th-9th place, before he pulled off a 7th place finish.

Nick Willis, aided by his Very Nice (fitting) Track Club training partner, Hobbs Kessler pulled off a milestone achievement, 20 consecutive years of sub-4:00 miles. This New York Times piece by Scott Cacciola is a worthy read. I appreciate what seems to be Nick’s future plans with the VNTC. We saw over at Hansons how Mike Morgan was a father figure to many in the group, someone who had gone through the training and could lend advice if need be. I have a feeling Nick will succeed in that role with VNTC for years to come.

Bring On the Warmth

Given the upcoming Snowmageddon, who can blame our athletes for taking their talents to the Tampa and San Diego beaches?  I love that the Otsego athletes spreading their wings far and wide, I feel placed in an unfamiliar environment far from home can bring immense growth.

Nick Cockerel (Otsego > Saint Leo)
Maggie Duba (Grand Rapids West Catholic > San Diego)
Liam LeBlanc (Utica Ford > Lourdes)
Alison Doerr (Grand Haven > Concordia)
Gavin Hamilton (Flint Powers Catholic > Lourdes)
McKenna Marsh (Manchester > Jackson College)
Katelynn Dix (Grand Traverse Academy > Cornerstone)

Or Travel North to the Cold

How long has it been since the last MITS meet in the Soo?  Four years, according to my YouTube research.  One can appreciate new coaches coming in and immediately doing work to promote the program and fitness in their area.  One thing I’ll never understand (*cough* Macomb CC *cough*) is having an indoor track, but not using it to your advantage.  But I digress, Lake State is giving opportunities for those in the northern reaches of the state for some indoor experience.  Sign up info HERE.

The Elite Mile

A few weeks back, we were hit with unfortunate news when Grand Valley/Gazelle had to cancel their Elite Mile.  With many on campus sidelined with COVID, finding enough volunteers to help produce a meet is tough.  And to be honest, I forgot the event would even occur.  But it did and wow did it speak to our depth.  NINE boys under 4:20. Keep in mind only 20 years ago, 4:17 WON the D1 State Title.  This year, 4:17 might not even get one on the podium.  FIVE girls under 5:00, with an additional three under the conversion to 1600m.  I should also mention Grand Haven’s Seth Norder now holds the sophomore class record for the mile.  RESULTS

Pay That Man His Maney

Whoever is in charge of the Ryan Shay Mile Instagram account is doing some serious work.  As I pen this on Tuesday night, a new announcement came across my feed.  PRIZE MONEY.  The image says it all.  While high school folks would be ineligible, this may be an opportunity for others. I’m not sure how it would work with the whole NIL thing, my guess is that it’s not compatible.

Awards and Records

CarLee Stimpfel nabbed GLIAC Athlete of the Week honors with his 8:07 3k at the Jets Pizza Invitational.  Alona Olshevska completed the SVSU sweep on the girls side.  She won both the 200 and 400 over the weekend and sits in the top-10 in Division 2 for both events. 

At the same meet, Northwood’s Zane Aldrich considerably dropped the Timberwolves’ school record in the 3k.  His 8:14 took nearly 10 seconds off and hit the NCAA provisional mark. 

I guess it’s just 3k day here.  Calvin’s Sadie Heeringa and Brandan Knepper each broke the Knights school record in the event.  Sadie’s 9:41.3 gives her the #2 time in the nation and Brandan’s 8:24.4 comes in at #16.

Sam Sharnas (Holland Black River) set a Citadel school record in the 5k with a time of 14:47 at the South Carolina Invitational.

Notes and Anecdotes

• Grand Rapids Distance Elite’s Kimberly Proctor (née Buskirk, Montabella-Blanchard HS) captured 1st place in the 5k at GVSU’s Bill Clinger Classic.  I found out about this group while doing my weekly research and browsing.  The group appears to be based in Grand Rapids and focuses on post-collegiate opportunities for women. Find out more about the group on their instagram page.
• Five Hansons-Brooks athletes are taking to the streets of New Orleans in this weekend’s Rock N’ Roll Half Marathon.  Jack Mastandrea, Anne-Marie Blaney, Wilkerson Given, Megan O’Neil (Chippewa Hills, CMU), and Ben Kendell (Royal Oak Shrine, Detroit-Mercy) will be looking to hit PBs and gain momentum into a spring buildup for the Ottawa Marathon.
• As with Arianne Olson last week, Riley Hough was named Gatorade’s Michigan Cross Country Player of the Year.  Sadly, I’m gonna be that guy.  Cross country runners aren’t players. 
• Port Huron hosted their annual PoHo Hot Cocoa races this past weekend.  Marysville’s Brock DenUyl exhibited a great deal of strength, winning the 10 mile in a time of 58:43.  Quite a different approach than many others, concentrating on the aerobic end of his range, hopefully setting up for some success in distance events during track. 
• Chelsea girls cross country coach Pat Clarke has stepped away after a whopping 51 years at the helm of the Bulldogs.  By my count, his teams have finished in the Top-10 at State 21 times, with a state title coming in 1989.

Womens Distance List

Mens Distance List

Okay, I wanted to put one of these out earlier this month, it just didn’t happen. But this was prime time. Michigan hosted three straight meets. On Friday, Saginaw Valley pulled in a great number of in-state teams. Small schools traveled to Defiance, Ohio Northern. Oakland’s girls set some records at IU. At this point in the season, we have a fairly good picture of who’s doing what at the collegiate level.

To recap, here’s the scoring method: “The scoring method follows the MITCA Power Rankings with a bit of my own twist. Four individual indoor distance events (800, Mile, 3k, 5k). The top 3 runners from each team score, with three events maximum for an individual. The scoring will go 90 places deep, with 90 points for the fastest mark, 1 point for the 90th fastest mark. Results come from TFRRS and are the fastest mark by an individual during this season.”

This isn’t the end all be all of distance running in college or the sole determination of which team is performing better. For example, Michigan or MSU haven’t entered anyone in a 5k. When they do, they’ll move up. It’s debatable if the 600m is a mid-distance event or a sprint, if so, they’d move up via Miles Brown, Dubem Amene, and Cole Johnson.

Anyhow, here’s how it scored out through this past weekend:

OVERALL

WOMENS

MENS

I truly appreciate those that have been supporters throughout my journey.  I’m still trying to figure out what to focus on, themes, formatting, and what not.  Events in the sport will dictate much of what I write and if you see anything of note or want your name out there, I’d love to share your story.  This is a learning experience for me, cross country season is so much calculating, so little thought given towards writing.  So if you have any feedback, let me know.  But first, get to reading…

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Season Begins in Earnest

I’ve put together a little list of athletes with Michigan connections that are competing in the Millrose Games.  The meet, held at the Armory in New York City, is the first prominent competition of the pro season, but is also a chance for some of our younger athletes to race on a national scale.  NBC will broadcast the Games at 2:30pm EST on Saturday and I’ll try to be all over Twitter throughout.

For what it’s worth, Hobbs Kessler’s 3:34.36 1500m converted to approximately a 3:51.5, putting him right in the mix of that field.

Hansons Kickoff in the Ancient City

As your Hansons insider, I feel obliged to share my intimate knowledge.  Without getting too too intimate, of course. Down in Florida, the Hansons 10k crew competed in the Matanzas 5k in St. Augustine. (Side note: I love the name of their running club that puts on the race, the Ancient City Road Runners. Historic and creative, well done.) The race is always a quick one, typical winning times in the 14:00/16:00 range. Natosha Rogers captured the womens crown in 15:50, while Zach Panning got nipped at the line by David Bett (a Kenyan who’s run 13:06 in the past) in 14:00. The race was a kickstart to a winter segment that’ll include stops at the Windy City Classic and The Ten. 

The 10k group is alternating Florida training blocks with another group that is focusing on the half-marathon and later, a full marathon. That group will set to the streets in a few weeks at the Rock N’ Roll half in New Orleans and contains Michigan HS/college alums Ben Kendell and Megan O’Neil.

Rankings Rankings Rankings

Early this week, the first batch of the USTFCCCA indoor rankings were released. Notable inclusions are both Grand Valley squads, Mens ranked #1 in the nation, Womens, #2.  The Saginaw Valley women come in at #13, Calvin women at #19, and Hillsdale women at #20. Regional-wise, Michigan teams populate many of the Great Lakes lists. It would be nice to see these rankings come to fruition in a meet, but these sort of area and regional championships are unbeknownst to colleges. That’s why I adore county and area meets in high school.  Rankings are found here.

Signings Signings Signings

Another week, another slew of college signings!  Here are some of the notable ones I’ve come upon:

Ryan O’Rourke (Milford > Spring Arbor)
Kyle Sweeney (Rockford > Taylor)
Mason Kohloff (Otsego > Grand Rapids CC)
Chase Brown (Otsego > Colorado Mesa)
Sarah Storey (Chippewa Hills > Central Michigan)
Emily Plouff (Fraser > Ferris State)
Jessica Durkee (Middleville-Thornapple Kellogg > Ferris State)

I support everyone equally and truly believe when one stacks successful training cycle after successful training cycle, the ability to attain glory at the college level is available for everyone.  But I’m especially intrigued by Storey, Brown, and Plouff.  Plouff has split her time with soccer, Storey has made a leap in the past year, and Brown completed his first full cross season since his freshman year.  I believe there’s some untapped potential with all three. 

Other Happenings and Anecdotes

• Enjoyed listening to Sue Parks (Eastern Michigan Director of T&F/XC) on the Gill Connections podcast.  I didn’t know she ran for a Downriver track club in her youth. What was especially enlightening was the different adaptations to training, logistics, and recruiting along the way. Eastern Michigan definitely adheres to a unique recruiting strategy among similar schools in the state, reaching out internationally and throughout the state.  For a school of its size, the Eagles hold their weight quite well. 

• Maddi Leigh was named Horizon League Athlete of the Week for her record-breaking performance in the 800m.  At the Gladstein Invitational at Indiana University, both Leigh and Ashley Quinn dipped under Oakland’s previous school record, running 2:12.15 and 2:12.84 respectively. Currently, the two hold the fastest times in the Horizon League. A few other Michigan athletes picked up Athlete of the Week honors, Miles Brown and Cassidy Henshaw in the Big Ten, Anna Martin (Cornerstone) in the NAIA, and Luke Pohl (Cornerstone) in the WHAC. 

• I’ve been “doing my own research”, a scary phrase in times like these, on the relationship between discus and wind direction. A few weeks ago, at the LAB, our outstanding athlete, Zane Forist (Carson City-Crystal) tossed a 207’ throw. I’ve learned that a slight headwind, not a tailwind, helps with distance and a crosswind can aid if the disc is fading or slicing. My estimate, derived from here is that we might see 10-15 feet added in ideal conditions. Looking for feedback here too, although we’ll probably see Zane pop another massive throw before we compute the math.

• Jeff Hollobaugh of michtrack.org updated his All-Time lists for alumni from our state. I enjoyed sifting through the odd events not often (or not at all) contested at the high school level. Marathon, hammer throw, 400m hurdles, you name it. Keeping track of the history is an enormous task, but beneficial to current athletes. If you see someone that’s walked in your shoes able to compete at the national and Olympic level, that adds a bit of incentive and confidence to keep with the sport and reach those heights. 

• The Traverse City Record-Eagle ran a nice piece on Kendall Schopieray’s commitment to Ball State. I love the intricate web of coaches and athletes. Angelina Ramos coached Trevor Thiebaut at SVSU, Thiebaut coaches Schopieray at Cadillac, Ramos is back in the Midwest at Ball State and signed Schopieray.

• Holland West Ottawa’s Arianne Olson was named Gatorade Cross Country Player of the Year for Michigan.

• Missed in my Houston recap last week was acknowledgment of August Pappas. The Chelsea/Michigan grad finished 48th in half-marathon with a personal best of 1:06:49.

• Mentioned on the Epic Races Instagram page, their Ann Arbor Marathon has been chosen as the RRCA State Championship Marathon. 

• Correction on last week’s newsletter. I erroneously mentioned that Parker Raymond qualified for NCAA Indoor with a 1:48.07, this should have been NCAA Outdoor.