This past weekend at Ledge Meadows Golf Course in Grand
Ledge Howell, senior Jack MacGregor added to his Greater Lansing Championship
legacy by winning for the second straight year. He also tied the all-time
course and meet record of 14:58, held by Lansing Area legend Maverick
Darling from Ovid-Elsie, who won
three in a row from 2005 to 2007. It has been 19 years since anyone touched
his course record. (Darling went on to earn All-American status and an NCAA team
championship at Wisconsin.)
MacGregor’s
winning time of 15:11 last year was the 3rd fastest winning time in
the 38-year history of the event at Ledge Meadows, a course he counts as his favorite, along with Holly. MacGregor finished 3rd as a
freshman in 2023 and 4th as a sophomore in 2024. Two wins and tying
the record, along with being the only boy to ever finish in the top
four for four years, cement him as one of the Lansing area's best ever.
MacGregor has only lost one race this season season—he got beat by Ann
Arbor Pioneer and recent Duke commit Kamari Ronfeldt at the Jackson Invite. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, MacGregor finished
sixth at the D1 State Finals. It’s an impressive career but one that has maybe
flown under the radar a little in talent-rich Michigan. Howell sits just 30
miles north of Ann Arbor and 37 miles from Lansing, and neighboring Brighton has the boys' top ranked team in the state currently, all leading to
possibly less media coverage for MacGregor than he deserves.
But he certainly deserves his flowers! He also finished second in the
D1 track state meet 3200 in 9:02, just .28 seconds behind Northville’s Brandon
Cloud. MacGregor’s 14:58 currently is the 4th fastest in D1 and 5th
fastest overall in Michigan.
Howell sits squarely between Michigan State University and
the University of Michigan, both of which boast highly competitive cross-country
programs. Last week, shortly before the Greater Lansing Championship, MacGregor
announced his commitment to the Spartans of Michigan State.
MacGregor acknowledges that there have been a lot of great
runners from Michigan, including three Brooks/Footlocker/Kinney National Champions
from very close to Howell in Riley Hough from conference-rival Hartland, Grant
Fisher from Grand Blanc, and Brian Grosso from Walled lake Western. But he says
that he is really out to make his own name and hopes to qualify for Nationals himself
and run his own race at Balboa Park. “I
have a lot of respect for those athletes, but I wouldn’t necessarily say
they’re my primary inspiration," he says. "My motivation comes more from what I want to
accomplish.”
Hough and MacGregor will now become teammates at Michigan
State University. MacGregor acknowledges that he also looked at Michigan but that in
the end he has spent much of his life going to MSU sporting events, both
parents and a sister all are Spartans, and he said he feels that MSU is
ultimately the best fit for him.
His motivation and mindset have spurred him to increase his
mileage and intensity each year starting from 45ish miles per week as a
freshman to the 70ish and double thresholds he is currently doing as a senior. Another
look into his mindset is how he describes Holly as his favorite course: “Holly
is definitely my favorite course. The course finishes with that big hill, which
I’ve always enjoyed kicking up and passing people on.”
MacGregor has been great since his freshman year where
his 3rd place finish at Greater Lansing opened eyes. He followed it
up with a 38th place finish in the D1 state meet where he ran a PR
of 15:54. As a sophomore he moved all the way up to 6th at the state
finals and dropped his PR to 15:20. He repeated the 6th place finish
as a junior but ran a considerably faster 15:06. It’s never easy in D1 in
Michigan. MacGregor says of the current D1 contenders: “I honestly feel like I’m
part of history in what could be one of the fastest classes Michigan has ever
had. There are guys who are faster than me, but on any given day, I believe I
can win.”
The group includes Rondeldt, Michigan commit Luka
Hammond, Grand Valley commit Caden Livermore, fellow MSU commit Samuel Baker, as well as reigning D1 3200 champ Brandon Cloud.
“I think the state meet is going to be anyone’s day, and I
hope it’s a fast one,” says MacGregor.
This past weekend at Ledge Meadows Golf Course in Grand
Ledge Howell, senior Jack MacGregor added to his Greater Lansing Championship
legacy by winning for the second straight year. He also tied the all-time
course and meet record of 14:58, held by Lansing Area legend Maverick
Darling from Ovid-Elsie, who won
three in a row from 2005 to 2007. It has been 19 years since anyone touched
his course record. (Darling went on to earn All-American status and an NCAA team
championship at Wisconsin.)
MacGregor’s
winning time of 15:11 last year was the 3rd fastest winning time in
the 38-year history of the event at Ledge Meadows, a course he counts as his favorite, along with Holly. MacGregor finished 3rd as a
freshman in 2023 and 4th as a sophomore in 2024. Two wins and tying
the record, along with being the only boy to ever finish in the top
four for four years, cement him as one of the Lansing area's best ever.
MacGregor has only lost one race this season season—he got beat by Ann
Arbor Pioneer and recent Duke commit Kamari Ronfeldt at the Jackson Invite. In both his sophomore and junior seasons, MacGregor finished
sixth at the D1 State Finals. It’s an impressive career but one that has maybe
flown under the radar a little in talent-rich Michigan. Howell sits just 30
miles north of Ann Arbor and 37 miles from Lansing, and neighboring Brighton has the boys' top ranked team in the state currently, all leading to
possibly less media coverage for MacGregor than he deserves.