This year figures to be another great year in the SEC Red Division. First of all, Ann Arbor Pioneer, the 2008 D1 State Champions,  return three of the best runners in the state and should easily defend their league and state championships (unless the MHSAA bans runners whose last names begin with the letter “K”). The league becomes even stronger this year with the addition of Monroe HS. Including Monroe, 5 of the 6 teams in the league qualified for the state finals in 2008. With the current regional assignments, all five of these schools are likely to qualify once again for a trip to MIS.  Monroe brings with them Austin Whitelaw, one of the best distance runners in the country. With Whitelaw added to an already deep talent pool in the division, earning all league honors this year will be very difficult. There may very well be runners that earn All State honors that are not on the All League 1^st team.

The following previews will look at each team and also the top returning individuals in the conference. The impact of incoming freshman is not taken into account as minimal information is available on this group of runners. In addition, Skyline is in their second year of competition and will only have freshman and sophomores on their teams.

Team Previews

The six teams in the division will be reviewed in no particular order.  Before reviewing each team, some data is presented to allow some comparisons based on 2008 performances.  Strict rankings are not given but comparisons based on last year’s results of returning runners will be provided. The two meets that provide the best head to head comparisons are Portage and the State Finals as all the teams but Skyline participated in both of these meets. Departed seniors have been removed from these results. The 2008 SEC Red Division Championship results are also listed. This is the only data on Skyline available.

The first set of results are from the 2008 Portage Invitational. It is important to note the absence of Whitelaw from Monroe’s results for this meet.

Figure 1 - 2008 Portage Invitational

The second set of times are from the 2008 MHSA State Finals. What has to stand out is the three returning Pioneer runners who ran under 16:00 minutes in this race including Nathan Karr with a huge PR. Pioneer returns a five runner pack that all ran under 16:30 at MIS and clearly has the talent to repeat as champions. AA Huron appears to need some serious rebuilding with only two returning runners from last year. However, they have traditionally finished strong at the State Finals year after year. Bedford, Saline, and Monroe appear to be similar in returning strength. The team that has the most improvement in their 3-4-5 runners should place second in the league and have a chance to be in the top 5 at MIS in November.

The third set of results are from last year’s league meet.  Monroe was not part of the meet last year. Skyline did not have a full team.

Figure 2 - 2008 SEC Red Division Meet at Hudson Mills Metropark

ANN ARBOR PIONEER  (Portage)  

===================================

  2     10  Nick Kern             Ann Arbor Pioneer    11   15:51

  3     12  Adam Kern             Ann Arbor Pioneer    11   16:01

  4     18  Nathan Karr           Ann Arbor Pioneer    11   16:10

  6   ( 27) Andy Sanz-Guerrero    Ann Arbor Pioneer    11   16:19

  7   ( 74) Joe Frakes            Ann Arbor Pioneer    11   16:58

SALINE  (Portage)                

===================================

  2     16  Andrew Harper         Saline               11   16:08

  4     72  Joe Lipa              Saline               11   16:57

  5    123  Nate Martis           Saline               9    17:24

ANN ARBOR HURON  (Portage)       

===================================

  3     55  Josh Orton            Ann Arbor Huron      11   16:43

  4    104  Akshay Jetli          Ann Arbor Huron      10   17:13

  6   (111) Kevin Egedy           Ann Arbor Huron      11   17:16

  7   (143) Evan Stemmer          Ann Arbor Huron      11   17:34

BEDFORD (Portage)                

===================================

  1      3  Tom Valade            Bedford              11   15:41

  2     58  Nick Kaiser           Bedford              10   16:45

  3     85  Chad Machinski        Bedford              11   17:03

  4     96  Derek Hibbs           Bedford              11   17:10

  5     99  Troy Tidwell          Bedford              10   17:10

MONROE (Portage)                  

===================================

  2     80  Drew Sanseverino      Monroe               11   17:01

  4    114  Zachary Garman        Monroe               11   17:17

  5    126  Ian Zawacki           Monroe               11   17:26

Ann Arbor Pioneer  (State Finals)                  

====================================================

  1      5  Nathan Karr           11 15:34.8

  3     16  Nick Kern             11 15:46.2

  4     25  Adam Kern             11 15:55.3

  6   ( 57) Andres Sanz-Guerrero  11 16:26.9

  7   ( 65) Joe Frakes            11 16:30.6

Ann Arbor Huron  (State Finals)                 

====================================================

  4     51  Kevin Egedy           11 16:22.7

  6   (109) Akshay Jetli          10 16:52.5

Saline (State Finals)                              

====================================================

  2     53  Andrew Harper         11 16:26.1

  4     67  Andrew Barnett        10 16:32.1

  5     80  Nathan Martis          9 16:41.3

  6   (107) Croix Jastrow         11 16:51.3

  7   (145) David Hendrickson     10 17:15.5

Monroe  (State Finals)                              

====================================================

  1     29  Austin Whitelaw       10 16:02.7

  3     43  Drew Sanseverino      11 16:18.0

  5    112  Ian Zawacki           11 16:54.5

  6   (122) Zachary Garman        11 16:59.1

Temperance Bedford  (State Finals)                 

====================================================

  1     23  Tommy Valade          11 15:54.2

  2     59  Nick Kaiser           10 16:27.8

  4    139  Chad Machinski        11 17:11.2

  6   (150) Derek Hibbs           11 17:20.0

  7   (162) Troy Tidwell          10 17:29.1

Ann Arbor Pioneer    (SEC Meet)

     2    977  Nathan Karr                     3            4       15:50       31:36       00:04

    3    979  Adam Kern                       5            9       16:02       47:38       00:16

    5    980  Nick Kern                       8           24       16:24     1:20:10       00:38

    6    985  Andres Sanz-Guerrero            9           33       16:25     1:36:35       00:39

    7    972  Joe Frakes                     10           43       16:38     1:53:14       00:52

Huron River Rats    (SEC Meet)

     3   1012  Josh Orton                     12           27       16:43       49:23       00:43

    4    996  Kevin Egedy                    17           44       17:10     1:06:34       01:10

    5   1003  Akshay Jetli                   18           62       17:13     1:23:48       01:13

    6   1022  Evan Stemmer                   22           84       17:21     1:41:10       01:21

Saline Hornets    (SEC Meet)

   2    738  Nathan Martis                  13           19       16:50       32:55       00:45

   4    722  Andrew Harper                  15           48       17:00     1:06:52       00:54

    5    734  Joe Lipa                       19           67       17:14     1:24:06       01:09

    6    730  Croix Jastrow                  20           87       17:16     1:41:23       01:11

    7    724  David Hendrickson              21          108       17:19     1:58:43       01:14

Bedford    (SEC Meet)

    1    959  Tommy Valade                    2            2       15:48       15:48       00:00

    2    945  Chad Machinski                 16           18       17:07       32:56       01:18

    3    943  Nick Kaiser                    23           41       17:26       50:22       01:38

    6    941  Derek Hibbs                    27          118       17:52     1:43:18       02:03

    7    954  Cory Schoendorf                28          146       17:55     2:01:14       02:06

Ann Arbor Skyline   (SEC Meet)

    1   1120  Cody Gallagher              Less Than  5             19:01       19:01       00:00

    2   1121  Clayton Mayes-Burnette      Less Than  5             20:58       40:00       01:56

    3   1123  George Gray                 Less Than  5             20:58     1:00:58       01:57

Bedford Preview

Coach: Bob Masters 11^th year

2008 State Finish: 22^nd

2008 SEC Finish: 4th

Figure 3 - Bedford's Machinski, Hibbs, Tidwell at 2008 SEC Jamboree #2

The Mules have high hopes for the 2009 season. The rebuilding process is over and Bedford is led by seniors Tommy Valade, Derek Hibbs, and Chad Machinski. Juniors Nick Kaiser, Troy Tidwell, Corey Schoendorf figure to be prominent on the varsity team. Sophomores Adam Horace and Jacob Nye will also be competing for varsity spots.

Ann Arbor Pioneer Preview

Coach: Don Sleeman 42^nd year

2008 State Finish: 1st

2008 SEC Finish: 1^st

Defending State Champs, AA Pioneer will once again be formidable. Led by seniors, Nathan Karr, Nick Kern, and Adam Kern, Pioneer is the class of the league. Below is a list of runners returning with PRs under 19 minutes. With 5 runners already under 16:30, including 3 under 16:00, there are no teams in Michigan (and few in the entire USA) that can compete with Pioneer. With the top nine returning runners all seniors, the other teams in the SEC can look forward to 2010 as an opportunity to compete more evenly with this powerhouse!

Ann Arbor Huron Preview

Coach: Kent Overbey 28th

2008 State Finish: 5th

2008 SEC Finish: 3^rd

Huron loses 4 of 6 runners to graduation from last year’s 5^th place State Finals squad. Josh Orton, Kevin Egedy, Akshay Jetli are the top returning runners. Huron always seems to peak for the State Meet but have their work cut out for them in rebuilding this year. They will depend on developing younger runners to fill the void.

Ann Arbor Skyline Preview

Coach: Felix Nunley 1^st year

2008 State Finish: N/A

2008 SEC Finish: N/A

Skyline will only have freshman and sophomores this year. They will compete in the Jamborees with the other league schools but then compete in the D2 regional for the MHSAA postseason. Minimal data on last year’s team is available for review. No Skyline Eagle ran under 19 minutes at the 2008 SEC Jamboree #3. Given the strength of the league, it looks to be an uphill battle this year for the Eagles.

Saline Preview

Coach: Carl Spina 6^th year

2008 State Finish 9^th

2008 SEC Finish: 2^nd

Saline is traditionally a very strong team and this year should be no different. Injuries significantly affected the team last year yet they were able to finish 9^th at MIS. Saline looks to have a huge number of runners (60-70) competing this season. Seniors Andrew Harper and Joe Lipa lead a very deep team that does not appear to have a dominant front runner. Others expected to challenge in the SEC include Andrew Barnett, Nathan Martis, Croix Jastrow, and David Hendrickson all of whom ran in the Finals at MIS last fall.

Monroe Preview

Coach: Mark Scoles 9^th year

2008 State Finish: 10^th

2008  SEC Finish: N/A

Monroe should compete for the 2^nd spot in the league and a top 10 finish in the state meet. They are led by junior sensation Austin Whitelaw. Whitelaw finished 36^th at last year’s state meet with a time of 16:02. He then proceeded to run 15:19 indoors last winter establishing him as one of the premier runners in the state. Senior Drew Sansaverino has been solid for Monroe for his entire career and gives Monroe a good 1-2 punch up front. Zachary Garman and Ian Zawacki also return from last year’s 10^th place team at MIS. Traditionally a strong team at the end of the year, Monroe is expected to fill in the remainder of their top 7 with strong runners.

Individual Previews

The times below are the best efforts at finding results on the web and in newspapers.  Cross country PRs are subject to interpretation as they may have been set on different course at different times. Since this is a Bedford site, will start off with the Mules…

Tommy Valade – Bedford (Senior)

Figure 4 - Tommy Valade

Tommy comes off of what is arguably the best season ever by a Bedford CC runner. He was All State, Regional Champion, runner-up in the SEC league meet, 3^rd at Portage, and won the 2^nd SEC Jamboree. In addition, he tied the school record of 15:40 at Portage. Tommy led his team back to MIS for the first time since 2002. Despite these accomplishments, the season ended with disappointment as his performance at the State Finals was not what he was looking for in finishing 27^th.  Tommy had a solid track season in 2009 adding a regional championship in the 3200 (9:26.3) and making the All SEC team in the 1600.

5,000 meter Cross Country PR 15:40 (Portage)

3200 meter PR 9:26.3

CC 2007: 1^st Team All SEC (7^th), All Region (15^th)

CC 2008: 1^st Team All SEC (2^nd), All Region (1^st), All State (27^th)

Nick Kaiser – Bedford (Junior)

Figure 5 - Nick Kaiser

Nick enters this cross country season after what has to be the best track season ever at BHS. He was undefeated in the 800 meters during the regular season and won the state championship in that event. In the post season he was third at the Midwest Distance Gala and finished 2^nd in the USA at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. He lowered the school record EVERY TIME he ran the 800 except once at the Jesse Owens Classic due to 30 MPH winds. His new school record of 1:50.47 is thought to be the 4^th fastest time ever in the US for a sophomore. Nick’s 1600 time of 4:16.64 moved him to third all time on the school’s list. Nick ran 16:27.8 and finished 84^th at the State finals last year.

5,000 meter Cross Country PR 16:27 (MIS)

800 meter PR 1:50.47

1600 meter PR 4:16.24

CC 2008: All Region (12^th)

Adam Kern – AA Pioneer (Senior)

Figure 6 - Adam Kern (5th from left)

Adam is one of the Kern twins that will be a senior this year for Pioneer. As one of the three returning Pioneer runners under 16 minutes, he should help lead his team to another big year. Last CC season, he was All SEC, All Region, and All State; helping his team go undefeated and win a State Championship. He continued his strong year on the track winning the SEC 3200 meter championship last spring. Adam will be a threat to win the league championship and finish in the top 10 at MIS.

5,000 meter Cross Country PR 15:55 (MIS)

1600 meter PR 4:28.4

3200 meter PR 9:35.7

CC 2008: 1^st Team All SEC (5^th), All Region (4^th), All State (29^th)

Nick Kern – AA Pioneer (Senior)

Figure 7 - Nick Kern (1st on left)

Nick Kern, one of twins on the AA Pioneer team, returns for his senior season after three strong years. He finished 20^th last year at MIS in helping his team remain undefeated and win a State Championship. He started the year off strong in winning the first SEC Jamboree at Saline for his first HS win. He has been All SEC and All State the past two years. Nick should be considered one of the favorites to win the SEC this year and to finish in the top 10 at MIS.

5,000 meter Cross Country PR 15:46

1600 meter PR: 4:22.9

3200 meter PR: 9:39.4

CC 2007: 1^st Team All SEC (4^th), All Region (6^th), All State (23^rd)

CC 2008: 2^nd Team All SEC (8^th), All Region(7th), All State (20^th)

Nathan Karr – AA Pioneer (Senior)

Figure 8 - Nathan Karr (number 255)

Nathan has steadily improved over the past 4 years for Pioneer. He has outstanding foot speed and usually has a tremendous kick. He had a great 2008 season punctuated by an 8^th place finish at the State Finals with a huge PR of 15:34.8 and leading his team to a State Championship. Nathan continued with a strong season on the track, All SEC in the 3200 relay and 1600 meters, All State in the 1600.  He will be a force to contend with in the SEC and at MIS.

5,000 meter Cross Country PR 15:34

1600 Meter PR: 4:19

3200 meter PR: 9:37

CC 2007: All Region (8^th)

CC 2008: 1^st Team All SEC (3^rd), All Region (5th), All State (8th)

Austin Whitelaw – Monroe (Junior)

Austin is one of two juniors in this preview. He finished well at the CC State Finals in 2008 in 16:02, good for 36^th place. He was the first runner in for Monroe, and this time was a big PR for him. Nothing he did last fall would have predicted what happened over the winter. He ran the 5000 meters indoors at Nike and finished 9^th with a time of 15:19 as a SOPHOMORE. This catapulted him to a strong outdoor track season and a third place finish at the State Finals in the 3200 meter run (9:21.97). Whitelaw is expected to contend for the individual championship at MIS in November and will certainly be in the mix for an SEC crown.

5,000 meter Cross Country PR 16:02

5,000 meter track PR: 15:19

1600 meter PR: 4:20.1

3200 meter PR: 9:21.97

CC 2008: All Region (10^th)