The gloves are great, competing at MIS is even better
Race
Boys Adj.
Girls Adj.
Region 8
+26
+23
MIXC vs. REALITY
On the quick Clintonwood course, the girls’ qualifiers went as expected, at least in terms of the teams. What was unexpected were the Rochester Adams Highlanders pulling off a victory, clinching the regional title on the sixth runner. That sixth girl was Maddie Deering, who has been coming into her own at the tail end of her freshman fall. She’s been sub-21 in her past three races, her improvement the key in Adams taking home a trophy.
The surprise was in the race expected to be exciting. Three teams were thought to be in contention for two spots, separated by a single point. Both the Oxford and Rochester boys had runners come in clutch. For the Wildcats, you can point to Matthew Buchanan, a senior who has dropped significant margins in each season of his career. He’s had a progression from the 22’s in 2022 to a 16:20 here in 2025. For the Falcons, their 5th guy was the necessary closer. Alonso San Vicente Lugo wasn’t on Rochester’s varsity lineup for the 2024 regional, but his PROM race showed someone who can perform on the Clintonwood course, a personal best of 18:11. A year later, he laid down another PR, dropped 25 seconds from his previous PB.
Another region where the projected qualifiers matched the output heading to MIS. Still, there were doubts heading into the weekend. The Macomb Dakota Girls needed a quality effort and a few boys teams were in the advancement conversation.
The Utica Eisenhower Boys came through in a major way. The depth pieces clinched it for the Eagles, with Alexander Perry attaining a lifetime best and the freshman, Joseph Habib dropping over 45 sec. from his best time in this 9th grade year.
People can say what they want about the Macomb County course, but Gabriella Mercer made an argument that it was legit. Her 18:38 (and 5th place finish) was a 5 second improvement from two Saturdays ago, her second sub-19 of her career, and over two minutes faster than she ran as a freshman. With all that improvement, she gets the payoff of an MIS run with her fellow Cougars.
Team-wise, the qualifiers went as projected. The boys’ race was so open, that I expected one would be incorrect. Midland, the most consistent team in the state, held serve close to home. Milford handled the trek north and continued their late-season run of county and league titles with a state qualifier. And Traverse City West bounced back from a rough BNC Championship to find their early-season form. The girls’ race was projected to be a bit calmer, though Traverse City Central could’ve been beaten from their 3rd projected spot. Kelly Comfort didn’t let that happen, as the sophomore dropped a 15+ sec. personal best, her first sub-19 ever in her first regional ever. Which will lead to her first State Final ever.
Another one making their maiden voyage to Brooklyn is Connor O’Reilly of Davison. The junior has dropped time every year – slightly on the high side of 18 as a freshman, just above 17 as a sophomore, and now kicking on the door of the 15’s as a junior. His personal best on Saturday was one of many on the year and the most consequential, as he has a great shot at moving past another barrier this upcoming weekend.