Olan Welch Cross Country Classic
Kicking off our list is the Olan Welch Cross Country Classic. This race is welcoming two of the top runners in the state for boys and girls, both of which are currently ranked on the All-State list.
On the boys' side is Keegan Leverett of Saint Stanislaus High School. He recently opened up his season at the Saltillo Invitational with a respectable time of 16:41. During that race he finished 4th, just edging out Taylor Brown who had run 16:14 earlier this season. Leverett seems to just be warming up so far. Looking at last year, Leverett started off his season similarly to this one and eventually ran 16:11 at the state meet.
Jack Hewes winning the 2021 MHSAA 2A 1600m State Title
Another boy to keep your eye on at this meet is Jack Hewes of Saint Patrick High School. Hewes is an upcoming runner that had a tremendous cross country debut almost two weeks ago. The sophomore ran a 17:04 for his first-ever cross country race. Hewes will no doubt improve as he becomes more comfortable with the cross country stage. Not to mention that he is also coming off of a hot freshman track season with a PR time of 4:44 for the 1600m.
For the girls, the biggest name to keep an eye on this weekend is Brooklyn Biancamano of Long Beach High School. The last time that she has raced this season was over three weeks ago at the Mississippi College Season Opener, where she dominated the rest of the competition with a time of 19:11. That could be the same case for this weekend, as she holds the best mark of both personal best and season-best in the entire field.
