Week Two - 2009 MichiganTrackandField.com Prep Track and Field Rankings - Upper and Lower Peninsula
Update: Please note a correction in D2 Girls from the original press release. Crosswell-Lexington was mistakenly placed in honorable mention and Cheboygan was inserted mistakenly at 10th (they are in fact eighth). That has been corrected.
PORTAGE, Mich., April 21, 2009 — Attached is the second 2009 MichiganTrackandField.com Prep Ranking. This is the first week this year that we include the Upper Peninsula rankings as they swing into action.
This is the only ranking of the boy’s and girl’s high school track and field teams for the entire state of Michigan. The rankings are released weekly during the high school season. It covers both the Lower and Upper Peninsula for all school divisions.
The MichiganTrackandField.com rankings are compiled for each high school division by a vote of a panel of high school coaches who review all meet results available to him/her within their respective division in an effort to provide the most accurate ranking possible. (All panelists are listed below.)
The criteria utilized for ranking by the panel is projected finish at the MHSAA Finals scheduled for May 30, 2009.
MichiganTrackandField.com Prep Ranking
(Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula)
Week of April 20, 2009
MichiganTrackandField.com Lower Peninsula Prep Rankings
Division 1 LP Boys:
1 Ann Arbor Pioneer
2 Detroit-Mumford
3 East Kentwood
4 Romulus
5 Detroit-Cass Technical
6 Portage Northern
7 Pinckney
8 Lansing Eastern
9 Flint-Carman-Ainsworth
10 Rochester-Adams
HM Midland-HH Dow
Division 1 LP Girls:
1 Ann Arbor Pioneer
2 Detroit-Mumford
3 Grand Haven
4 Flint Southwestern Academy
5 Lathrup Village-Southfield-Lathrup
6 Rockford
7 Waterford Mott
8 Rochester Hills-Rochester
9 Saline
10 Troy
HM Jackson
Division 2 LP Boys:
1 Sparta
2 Zeeland West
3 East Lansing
4 Williamston
5 Otsego
6 Ypsilanti
7 Hamilton
8 Fenton
9 Linden
10 Lansing-JW Sexton
HM Eaton Rapids
Division 2 LP Girls:
1 East Lansing
2 Chelsea
3 Detroit-Renaissance
4T Ypsilanti
4T Yale
6 Parma-Western
7 Holland Christian
8 Cheboygan Area
9 Grand Rapids-Forest Hills Northern
10 Croswell-Lexington
Division 3 LP Boys:
1 Albion
2 Vermontville-Maple Valley
3 Allendale
4 Grand Rapids-West Catholic
5 Grandville-Calvin Christian
6 Michigan Center
7 Perry
8 Hopkins
9 Montrose-Hill Mc Cloy
10 Reese
HM Wyoming-Godwin Heights
Division 3 LP Girls:
1 Albion
2T Frankenmuth
2T Flint-Hamady
4 Benzonia-Benzie Central
5 Grand Rapids-West Catholic
6 Monroe-St Mary Catholic Central
7 Schoolcraft
8 Ann Arbor-Gabriel Richard
9 Leroy-Pine River Area
10 Stockbridge
HM Shepherd
Division 4 LP Boys
1 Potterville
2 White Pigeon
3 Sand Creek
4 Hillsdale Academy
5T Manton
5T Harbor Springs
7 Hesperia Community
8 Auburn Hills-Oakland Christian
9T Webberville Community
9T Pewamo-Westphalia
Division 4 LP Girls:
1 Potterville
2 Harbor Beach Community
3 Pewamo-Westphalia
4 Mt Pleasant-Beal City
5 Reading
6T Mt Pleasant-Sacred Heart Academy
6T Athens
8 Rochester Hills-Lutheran Northwest
9 Southfield Christian
10T Traverse City-St Francis
10T Morrice
MichiganTrackandField.com Upper Peninsula Prep Rankings:
Division 1 UP Boys
Gladstone
Marquette
Escanaba
Negaunee
Soo
Division 2 UP Boys
Munising
Ironwood
Ishpeming
Norway
Ish.Westwood
Division 3 UP Boys
Iron Mtn
No. Dickinson
Rapid River
Lk. Linden-Hubbell
Cedarville
Crystal Falls-Forest Park
Upper Peninsula Girls
Division 1 UP Girls
Marquette
Iron Mountain
Negaunee
Kingsford
Houghton
Division 2 UP Girls
Munising
Norway
L’Anse
Ishpeming
Ish. Westwood
Division 3 UP Girls
North Central
Bark-River
Lake Linden-Hubbell
Superior Central
Rapid River & Pickford
For more information about the “MichiganTrackandField.com Prep Track and Field Ranking” contact Dan Wytko at phone 269.806.7001, Don Passenger at phone 616.821.3156, or at email: forum@michigancrosscountry.com.
2009 Divisional Track and Field Ranking Panel:
John Carlson, Belding
Amy Coughlin, Waterford Mott
Scott Banghart, Mattawan
Dave Emeott, East Kentwood
Jeff Harding, Manton
Mike Holik, Chelsea
Asa Kelley, Benzie Central
Grant Lofdahl, Allendale
Chinney McGee, Flint SWA
Kyle McKown, Shepherd High School
Mike Nesbitt, Bay City Western
Mike Northhuis, Portage Central
John Osler, Ishpeming
Don Passenger, West Catholic
Josh Powers, Adrian Madison
Brian Salyers, Milford
Tim Simpson, Lansing Catholic Central
Scott Werner, Pewamo-Westphalia Track
Dan Wytko, Portage Central
Scott Werner, Pewamo-Westphalia Track
Note: Rankers do not participate in every division or gender.
MichiganTrackandField.com was formed in 2007 by Dan Wytko and Don Passenger to bring recognition to the sport by accurately ranking Michigan teams and to provide a venue for discussion of track and field and cross country issues.
Dan Wytko has coached track & field and cross country at Portage Central High School since 1994. He is a founder and co-meet director of the Portage Invitational; one of the nation’s premier high school cross country invitationals (http://portageinvite.com). His women’s cross country teams have won eleven division/conference titles, four regional titles, made eleven trips to the state finals, including four top ten finishes.
During Wytko’s tenure as Portage Central track and field coach, his women’s teams have won eight division/conference titles and one regional championship. His men’s teams have won two division/conference titles and one regional championship. His 2006 men’s team finished as MHSAA Division 1 State Finals Runner-up. Dan has also been a member of the Team Michigan Midwest Meet of Champions coaching staff since 2001 and he is a member of the MHSAA Rules and Regulations Committee for cross country and track and field. Dan ran competitively in high school at Battle Creek Lakeview, and he then concentrated on road runs during his collegiate years at Western Michigan University.
Don Passenger has been involved in Michigan track and field since the mid-1970s when he competed at Caledonia High School for coach John Soderman. He ran at Saginaw Valley State (NAIA) and Grand Rapids Community College (NJCAA) earning seven All American honors in events ranging in distance from the 800 meters to the marathon. He went on to compete for the University of Kentucky where he set the school record in the 1500-meter run and completed his athletic career at the University of Michigan. During his time at UM he was a varsity member of the Cross Country team that finished sixth in the NCAA Cross Country Championship (1982) and a scoring member of the team that won the Big Ten Outdoor Track title (1983). From 1998 to 2003 Don coached at the middle school level in Grand Rapids. Don is a registered MHSAA Track and Cross Country Official. From 2003 to present Passenger has coached the Grand Rapids West Catholic girls cross country team and the girls distance program in track and field. His track team has placed in the top three the past three years in the Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association (MITCA) Team State Track Championships (2nd 2006, 3rd 2007, 1st 2008).
On the web: http://michigantrackandfield.com
April 27th, 2009 at 6:57 am
I don’t understand how Hamilton could be ranked out of the top 5. They have beat Zeeland West already, and beat Sparta at the Coopersville Bronco Classic. Although the Bronco’s classic was just based on grouped grade levels, 7th and 8th, 9th and 10th, 11th and 12th, sparta’s best atheletes are from their junior and senior class. Now without Vandriel Sparta is going to have a tough season, and will be hard for them to be able to compete. These rankings should be altered slightly to what has been done already.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Vandriel is expected to be back … but his absence or presence has a lot to do with Sparta, no question. Remember that this is all about the MHSAA meet in June, so it is not uncommon for a team to win a dual and still be ranked lower.
The other thing that is hurting the rankers right now is the complete lack of quality results. Hopefully more teams/coaches/spectators will post results over in the forum.
Here are current state leaders from those three schools:
10.91 Brandon VanDriel (Sparta)12 Cedar Springs/dual ………………………………….. 4/15/2009
2:00.49 Nate Dahlgren (Sparta) Grand Rapids/Big Cat Inv …………………………. 4/25/2009
6-6i Zach Heerspink (Hamilton) Allendale/LMCU Challenge 1-2 …………………. 3/23/2009
6-5i Joshua Patterson (Sparta)12 Grand Rapids/MITS …………………………………. 2/17/2009
14-0 Josh Patterson (Sparta)12 Coopersville/11-12 Classic ……………………….. 4/18/2009
22-1i Zach Heerspink (Hamilton) Allendale/LMCU Challenge 1-2 …………………. 3/23/2009
49-9.75 Villanueva (Zeeland West) Zeeland/dual …………………………………………… 4/14/2009
I think a good argument can be made that ZW is way too high. I am not a D2 ranker, so I don’t know what they are seeing that you aren’t.
Thanks for your comment.
April 27th, 2009 at 9:39 pm
Regarding Boys D1 rankings.
Check out the results of the Jackson Invite from Last Friday. Catholic Central beat Port. Northern and Lansing Eastern straight up, even though CC was missing their top sprinter, and placed a distant 2nd overall to East Kentwood who really should be Number 1 in your rankings. . CC just posted the number one 4×400 in the state at 3:21.25, (without one of their top 4). Their 4×800m hasn’t lost this year, and hasn’t been pushed at all so don’t be fooled by the times. That team will run in the low 7:5x’s by end May. A top 110 m hurdler, and a deep mid-distance, distance team, with a group of young sprinters just rounding into form and solid group of throwers. I haven’t seen all the teams on the list - but I’d put CC in the 2nd middle of that pack of top 10.
I’ve seen Kentwood and I’ve seen Pioneer each twice. Pioneer is strong across the board, but Kentwood is A LOT better in the 100, 200, 4×100, 4×200, 4×400 events and have a strong 800/miler. I see East Kentwood as clear #1. I honestly don’t see Pioneer scoring well at States unless they have some individuals begin to really pop.
Keep an eye on Rochester Adams!
Pinkney? Not this year.
April 28th, 2009 at 5:32 am
I will agree fully on EK. We’ll see what the panelists do this week.
May 3rd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Sleepers!
D1 Girls Arthur Hill looks strong! I’ve seen them run neck and neck and beat just about everyone. The mile, discus, 2 mile, and pole vault is their weakness. If it wasn’t for a bad handoffd they would have beaten SW Academy and Pioneer in the 4X1 and 4X200 relay at Kalamazoo. They simply botched the baton. Also, their 300H beat SW Hurdlers and came in second to Pioneer. They have several times that will should get them through regionals. Last week they had two 100 meter dashers at 12.5 and 12.6. One girl ran neck and neck with McGehee in the 200. I clocked her at 25.5. 2-18 plus L Jumpers. They have two decent 800 meter runners that run under 2:30. The jumper is a 9th grader I saw on Michtrack.org. Douglas at 58.6 400 meter dasher and a 4:10 in 4X4. 1.47, 4X2 and 50.4, 4X1. I looked at their schedule. SW Academy and A Hill run this week. It’s a drive but I think it will be a good meet.