Nine Storylines: D3

Region 19: Jacques Among Leaders in Loaded Regional

    Kinsie Jacques is already the best female runner in Pinconning history. After taking the final all-state place in XC, Kinsie dropped big PRs in track season to qualify for states in both the 1600 and 3200, coming up one spot shy of all-state in the latter. This year, no longer an unknown, Kinsie should be in a great position to make all-state, but she'll have to make it through an incredibly deep region. At least 10 girls have a legitimate case to be listed as all-staters in the preseason, with TCSF alone boasting three such contenders.

Region 20: Chip Hills Adjusts to D3 Life

    Years of gradually slipping enrollment numbers have finally sent Chippewa Hills to D3, and though the Warriors will surely miss hanging out with Big Rapids, the new division should bring plenty of opportunities. Though Region 20 is tough (see Matt's preview here), the girls should have no trouble qualifying thanks to star freshman Quinn Hatfield, and I'd consider them a top-ten team in the division. (Matt's numbers disagree, but such is life.) The boys may not have that level of team success, but with a good season, Jake O'Neil should be able to get the first all-state medal for any Warrior boy in two decades; his 16:40 in D2 last year would've comfortably been top 30 in D3. (Incidentally, you may remember another O'Neil from Chippewa Hills from a while back...)

Region 21: Central Montcalm's Stellar Freshmen 

    Those of you who don't follow the middle school XC scene too closely (frankly, this should be all of you) may have been confused to see Central Montcalm rank as Matt's #7 boys' team. The Hornets only bring back four runners from 2021, two of whom haven't broken 19:30. But they'll bring in Gage Hoffman, who finished 2nd behind Alma phenom Thomas Larson at Shepherd last fall, and probably a couple more freshmen to round out the lineup. The girls should get a big boost, too, as Grace Coston brings her 12:18 3200 to the high school ranks to a team that finished 4th in a strong regional last year. I'm far more cautious when projecting freshmen than Matt is, but even I wouldn't be surprised to see both Central Montcalm teams make states.

Region 22: Bangor Takes Over as SW Michigan Host

    For the first time since 2003, Bangor will be hosting a D3 regional. A lot's changed since then - regional denizens Saugatuck and Bridgman have changed divisions a combined eight times. The course looks to be a bit hillier than you'd expect from the area, with notable inclines near 2400 and 3700 meters, but it should run pretty fast. (If you've raced there, let me know!) Competition-wise, things get interesting with the addition of Kalamazoo Christian from D3; the Comets should be the preseason favorites to sweep the regional titles. 

Region 23: Bronson Tries For Three Straight in a Crowded Field

    Bronson's hardly a historic XC hotbed. Though the small Branch County school has produced individual stars - MAC champ Jesse McGuire in the 80s and 2:16 marathoner Mitchell Klingler more recently - the Viking boys only had four team appearances at states prior to 2020. Some great team running earned back-to-back qualifications in 2020 and 2021, though (15th and 11th place respectively), and five of last year's top seven will be back. With perennial powerhouse Hanover-Horton likely a state-meet lock, Bronson will fight it out with a host of other teams to get its first ever three-year qualification streak.  

Region 24: Pricco, Roe, and Jones Give Lansing Catholic a Title Shot

    Despite being near the top of the sport for the last two decades, Lansing Catholic still only has two state titles (2015 D3 boys, 2017 D2 girls). With Hart's D3 hegemony finally waning, though, Tim Simpson's girls have a golden opportunity to get the school's third title. CC Jones, Hannah Pricco, and Tessa Roe form the best 1-2-3 in the division - all three finished in the top 20 last fall, and all were individual all-staters in the spring (3200, 400, and 800 respectively). If the Cougars can get a strong 4-5 to complete the lineup, they may well be the favorites this fall, though TCSF looks just as strong, diocese-mates Lumen Christi will contend, and public-school foes P-W and (of course) Hart could make a championship run.

Region 25: Will St. Louis Three-Peat? 

    For two years now, Jay Puffpaff's St. Louis Sharks have fended off tough challenges from Hart's boys to bring home the big wooden mitten. With the two teams appearing to be joint favorites heading into the fall, the word "three-peat" is surely on the minds of many a Gratiot County resident. In the Sharks' favor: five runners from the 2021 varsity lineup will be back, including three scorers. Plus, all three of those scorers, plus seventh man Colin Kuhn, set PRs at MIS - a nice skill to have when you're trying to win a close-fought title. On the other hand, Hart had a better track season than St. Louis, though much of that may be from the large group of Sharks who do wrestling over the winter. Success for St. Louis would be historic: no boys' team south of the bridge has won three in a row since 2011-13 Milford.

Region 26: Theodore Davis and Dansville Boost an Underdog Regional

    For the entire history of its current, Metro Detroit-based form, Region 26 hasn't done a whole lot at the boys' state meet. I'll skip the complex geographic and cultural reasons behind that and just tell you that the region has had two unique all-staters and one top-twenty team since it came to this general area in 2013. 2022 may provide a challenge to 2016 Almont and 2020 Tyler Carlson, though. Dansville, way out in Ingham County, moves up from D4 and joins the region. The Aggies return all of 2021's 15th-placed D4 squad, including Theodore Davis, who was one of the state's top freshmen in any division. 4:44 and 10:07 in the spring should make him at least an all-state contender in D3, and with some sophomore development, maybe even a top ten challenger.

Region 27: Bush Sets Sights on Another Top Ten

    XC talent can show up anywhere. After setting great middle school times in the Dexter system, Eliza Bush came over to Arbor Prep in Ypsi Township, thoroughly rewrote the school's record books, and finished her freshman season with a 9th-place finish at MIS. In March, Eliza got her first-ever state title - in basketball, where Arbor Prep is a consistent championship contender. A matching title in XC will be harder to come by, with runners like Jessica Jazwinski and Alyson Enns among the state's best, but a good sophomore season should result in at least a repeat of 2021's 9th place.