Photo: MileSplit
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Michigan's leaderboards continued to take shape this past weekend, with strong performances from Ann Arbor to Grand Rapids to Whitehall.
Take a look at three of the top boys and three of the top girls from the weekend.
Keira Von Blon (Ann Arbor Pioneer): The sophomore has been one of the most consistent runners in the state all season, and her 17:17.00 win at the Holly-Duane Raffin Festival of Races was her best performance since opening the season in 17:05.55 at the Benzie Pete Moss Invite. Von Blon has now won four of her five races this fall and sits second in Michigan, making her one of the state's most dangerous runners heading into the postseason.
Robert Jazwinski III (Whitehall): The senior pulled away from the field at the WMC Invitational, winning in 14:37.00 in what was his third sub-14:40 performance of the season. Jazwinski sits first in Michigan and first in the country, and with a SB of 14:23.85 from the Benzie Pete Moss Invite already on the books, he is in a class of his own at the top of the state leaderboard. Until anyone comes close to taking him down, Jazwinski is the most lethal runner in the nation.
Rachel Smith (Okemos): Three races, three wins, and Smith has looked sharp every time out. The junior opened her season with a 17:52.40 at the Marauder Invitational before dropping to 17:20.25 at the Chesaning XC Invitational last week, winning by over a minute. She owns a 5K PB of 16:59.10 from last fall, and her early-season results suggest she is on track to challenge that mark before November.
Matii Tarekegn (East Kentwood): A commanding wire-to-wire win at the Ottawa Hills XC Invitational in 14:59.11 was Tarekegn's best performance of the season, edging out Lowell's Marshall Huhn by less than half a second in one of the closer finishes of the weekend. The senior sits third in Michigan and inside the top-70 in the country and looks like a legitimate threat to Jazwinski's hold on the top spot as the season progresses.
Adalyn Raab (Zeeland East): Raab has been one of the state's best this fall, and her 17:28.30 win at the Ottawa Hills XC Invitational was her best 5K performance of the season. The junior sits fifth in Michigan and is one of the top runners in the country and has won three of her four races this fall, with her only "blemish" a fourth-place finish at the Spartan Invitational.
Marshall Huhn (Lowell): Runner-up at the Ottawa Hills XC Invitational in 14:59.43, Huhn finished just a third of a second behind Tarekegn in what was the best race of his fall. The senior sits fourth in Michigan and has been a model of consistency through five races, never finishing outside the top two and dropping time in three of his last four outings.
Photo: MileSplit
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