Michigan XC Commitments
Not sure if any of you follow the men and women cross country teams throughout the season, but there were a few recent commitments:
The men's team just picked up 2 huge (not in physical stature) commitments from twins Anthony and Michael Hancock from Dearborn Divine Child. Anthony recently ran 14:59.1 with Michael finishing close behind in 14:59.4 which places them top 50 nationally on the season. On the track last year, Anthony was the Division 2 champion in the 3200 meter (2 mile) and Michael was 2nd in the 1600 meter (1 mile). Both of them will be contending for the Division 2 Cross Country State title on Saturday. Hoping the wet weather holds off so we can see them break the Division 2 meet record of 15:02. Also of note, both of them recently had an in-home visit with MSU for a full-ride which they turned down for a partial scholarship with the good guys. The men's team is about to be loaded with young talent for the next few years, particularly with the top kids in the state (Nick Foster - AA Pioneer, James Gedris - Grosse Ile, Ben Jacobs - Corunna, Cole Johnson - Rockford, etc). The men are currently ranked #17 nationally.
Link to an article on them: Sorry about offending those of you who dislike MLive.
The women's team received a commitment from the #4 ranked high school female in Katelynne Hart. She is a 10x state champion in Illinois with PRs of 2:10.81 in the 800m, 4:39.57 in the full mile, and 9:56.13 for two miles. She's a two-time runner-up at Foot Locker Nationals and a three-time Nike Cross Nationals All-American, with PRs of 15:59.82 for 3-miles and 17:01.00 for 5K. She is a 3x state champion in cross country and will be running for her 4th straight in their upcoming state meet. Hart will not only seek to become the fourth girl in history to win four state titles in cross country. This track season she will attempt a four-year sweep of the 1600m and 3200m. That will make her the first four-time distance-racing Triple Crown champion in state history. The women's squad is also set up pretty nicely for the future. They are currently ranked #8 nationally and are led by freshman standout, Ericka VanderLende (Rockford) and a host of underclassmen.
Link with the story on Katelynne:
The men and women both race Big Tens this coming Sunday in Columbus. Men are projected to place 4th while the women are considered the likely runner up. Should be fun to watch!
October 31st, 2019 at 11:59 PM ^
We like 5 stars in all sports! Thanks for the first cross country recruiting update many of us have ever received. Best wishes and congrats to these new recruits!
November 1st, 2019 at 4:03 AM ^
What about #5 Dudek from AA Pioneer. Gotta be related? Can't let her get away!
November 1st, 2019 at 12:07 AM ^
Thanks WD!
November 1st, 2019 at 9:39 PM ^
WD is now Prison Mike?
November 1st, 2019 at 12:26 AM ^
Can they play DL?
November 1st, 2019 at 7:22 AM ^
....or corner, qb, OL, etc.
November 1st, 2019 at 12:29 AM ^
4:40 mile. That’s insane
November 1st, 2019 at 10:56 AM ^
Not really.
Sincerely, Alan Webb
November 1st, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
She could go to Oregon/Nike, train under Alberto Salazar after graduation and probably get her time down to the 4:00 range. /s
November 1st, 2019 at 1:48 AM ^
Thanks for posting this Prison Mike. My son is an assistant HS X-Country coach in Colorado, and he says the Katelynne Hart commitment is a big deal. She is in the shadow of Katelyn Touhy, who is a generational talent looking to compete in the 2020 US Olympic trials as a senior in high school.
According to DyeStat rankings, our Katelynne, is #2 in the country behind the other Katelyn. This is a huge recruiting win for Michigan
November 1st, 2019 at 8:39 AM ^
Touhy is amazing. That UM got Hart is a meet changer, since they don’t play games.
November 1st, 2019 at 8:54 AM ^
Tuohy was at Michigan for a visit last weekend as well.
November 1st, 2019 at 4:35 AM ^
Any ideas on where the two Brighton boys are planning on running next year?
November 1st, 2019 at 4:45 AM ^
Hmm.... my son just finished his first XC season and earned captain honors. We weren't thinking of it as a potential scholarship opportunity in a few years but you never know.
November 1st, 2019 at 5:41 AM ^
When my daughter was in 6th grade, Luke Yaklich's daughter was in 8th grade. That season she destroyed everybody. I don't think she came close to losing a race. I believe she would be a junior this year. I was hoping they would stick around because I wanted to see where she would end up as a senior in HS.
November 1st, 2019 at 5:50 AM ^
I didn’t think there was such things as “partial scholarships?”
November 1st, 2019 at 6:23 AM ^
Outside of football, men’s basketball and a few of the women’s teams sports most sports operate on partial scholarships. For example, baseball is given around 15 full scholarships to spread throughout the team how they see fit.
November 1st, 2019 at 6:39 AM ^
I think it's 11 which is very antiquated. Thanks NCAA! As a father with zippo saved for college with two very talented boys that play baseball, I'm hoping they up that number in the next few years before they are off to college. I remember they brought that issue up during the College World Series. A lot of the kids will get like a 1/3 scholarship or something.
November 1st, 2019 at 9:34 AM ^
Yep--baseball gets 11.7 scholarships to distribute in just about any way they want. People say that there isn't a single college baseball player anywhere in the NCAA who is on a full scholarship, unless they are multi-sport athletes on a football scholarship.
There are also baseball players on what is called a "book scholarship," which is exactly what it sounds like--they pay for your books.
November 1st, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Thanks Alton! You are like a walking encyclopedia on certain topics. I appreciate your contributions here man!
November 1st, 2019 at 9:42 PM ^
Thank goodness NIL benefits are coming!
/s
November 1st, 2019 at 8:50 AM ^
That’s what happens in other sports that aren’t revenue generators. This is one reason why the whole argument about colleges paying athletes is illogically simplified. Many D1 athletes in non-major sports are paying part of their way through their degrees. My wife was on only partial scholarship as D1 XC runner.
I like the idea that students get money for their likeness, each season then the colleges that aren’t rich like UM aren’t left in the dust because the “employer” is from outside the college, like a summer job. Then the whole idea of who deserves how much money is moot—based on the outside world’s value to individuals.
The win-win for colleges and student athletes. Depending on how it works out, some of those fringe draftable b-ball players may opt to stay in college a little longer instead of chasing their dreams prematurely. Plus, future stars in smaller sports, like Touhy and Hart, could theoretically end up getting money to pay for their college degrees if only on partial but folks set up autograph signings or ads.
Let’s just hope the NCAA makes that kind of scenario feasible for said student athletes.
November 1st, 2019 at 7:14 AM ^
Not sure how closely you guys follow international track and field but how good is recently turned 19, Jakob Ingebritsen? I mean, he’s from another planet. And this is not a sarcastic post.
November 1st, 2019 at 8:52 AM ^
The young man is a beast. Must be nice to have such a talented family and then be the youngest and best!
November 1st, 2019 at 7:21 AM ^
When I saw 'XC' in the title, I thought hmmm, cross country? Noooo, has to be something else I'm missing. Surely, nobody is following cross country so much!
I WAS WRONG!!!!
A great update on an (somewhat) obscure sport! Thanks, PM, and Go BLUE!!!
November 1st, 2019 at 7:38 AM ^
Thank you, sir!
November 1st, 2019 at 8:38 AM ^
I’ve seen Katelynne Hart a number of times in XC and track meets. What makes her accomplishments all the more impressive, is that she is usually doing them while running far in front of the pack with nobody challenging her.
Glad to hear she will be representing Michigan.
November 1st, 2019 at 8:43 AM ^
Thanks for the crootin’ updates. It sounds like some talented distance runners are coming to help strengthen the XC/Track programs. They need that to get to the upper echelon of the Big Ten and to complete nationally.
November 1st, 2019 at 8:43 AM ^
Prison Mike, thanks for the XC info. (I'd smuggle you a file in a cake but I'm not sure what good a nail file would do you in the slammer.)
November 1st, 2019 at 8:48 AM ^
I always respect the cross country runners. They are tough kids.
November 1st, 2019 at 8:49 AM ^
Well done. Thank you. Go Blue
November 1st, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
Dang, those kids are fast. I was one of the kids on our "no cut" XC team in HS. Not a very fast runner, could only manage a 5k in about 18:30. The one year I ran track (freshman year), I managed a 5:08 mile.
We had a kid one year who was #1 in the nation in mile at 4:03 and ran in the Kinney Nationals (now Foot Locker). He was a scholarship kid and I remember just being in awe at how fast and smoothly and easily he ran. I'm sure it's like that with these kids.
Happy to hear the news and GO BLUE!
November 1st, 2019 at 9:46 PM ^
5 minute mile = top .001% of population = pretty damn good
November 1st, 2019 at 9:38 AM ^
This is awesome. I wish the athletics program had the ability to offer a full ride to more athletes. That seems like a good place to put at least some of our cash.
November 1st, 2019 at 9:52 AM ^
Are M XC broadcasts done by Kenny Blankenship and Vic Romano?
November 1st, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
Local friends son also committed to the XC team this week. Joe Myers from Loy Norrix. Won regionals last week with a time of 15:39 in the 5000m race. His Dad has been a solid Cyclist here in the midwest for 20yrs.
November 1st, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
Thanks. Article in one of today's Detroit papers about a girl cross-country runner who is the best in the state and dad teaches at UM
November 6th, 2019 at 11:15 PM ^
That would be Zofia Dudek from Ann Arbor Pioneer (and Poland). She just ran a 17:00.4 5k in the MHSAA Finals this past weekend. Really Strong Runner. Has she signed with anyone yet?
November 6th, 2019 at 11:35 PM ^
Here's a good article about Zofia I just came across:
https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=44531&do=news&news_id=586891
And yes, the Pioneer Grils XC team did indeed win the State Final in Brooklyn last Saturday.
November 19th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Zofia is special and just figuring out how good she can be. My son runs track for Pioneer so I have watched her many times. She simply destroys her fellow runners. Her times could be better but she frequently runs alone - winning most of the XC races by over a minute. She is also a very polite, humble and intelligent young lady.
Just last week, she beat top Michigan recruit Katelynn Hart at the tape at the Nike Midwest XC championships - both besting third place by 20 seconds.
What a one-two freshman punch they would be at Michigan.
November 1st, 2019 at 1:46 PM ^
The top Michigan high school men's XC runner in Michigan (Carter Solomon) committed to Notre Dame. I saw him run a 17:42 at regionals last weekend. He actually passed the golf cart that normally leads the runners.
November 1st, 2019 at 6:30 PM ^
I think Jack Spamer from Brighton is the best in the State. Guess we find out tomorrow. lol
November 6th, 2019 at 11:17 PM ^
Good Move in passing the golf cart. A lot of those carts spew a bunch of exhaust which the lead runner(s) get to suck into their lungs. Yuck.
November 2nd, 2019 at 3:24 PM ^
Both Men's and Women's program will coach these athletes up. They all will improve and will be exciting to watch or follow.
November 6th, 2019 at 11:25 PM ^
Katelynne Hart is a class act through and through. She lost a heartbreaking race down the final stretch last year in the Footlocker National Championship and was incredibly gracious in the interview right afterward. A positive, intelligent, top-tier human being. She's going to bring a ton more than just running talent to Michigan.