Julian Kipke, Rockford No. 125
There’s a reason Rockford’s boys cross-country team has won consecutive Division 1 state titles and 21 straight OK Red conference titles.
The Rams can check off all the boxes when it comes to success.
Last year, they eked out a 101-99 victory over Northville with then-senior Isaac Harding (Michigan) finishing first with a time of 15 minutes, 10.4 seconds and then-sophomore Cole Johnson coming in second at 15:15.
“It’s been incredible,” Johnson said. “I can barely fathom how small of a margin that is. It has been so exciting the last couple of years. It really has.”
Johnson and Julian Kipke, whose 66th-place finish at the state meet didn’t factor into the final standings, are the only returnees from last year’s team.
With a mostly new cast, coach Andrew Martin and his staff have their work cut out for a three-peat.
“We have 38 boys on our team this year,” he said. “Eight freshmen, 12 sophomores, nine juniors and nine seniors. This is a solid group of guys who are all about the team. Each one of them wants to compete at his highest level and do as good as possible, but the goal is for that to help out the team as much as possible.
“We have no selfish kids on our team. Even Cole Johnson, one of the top prep runners in the country, is all about doing whatever it takes to make this team the best they can be.”
Despite being only a junior, Johnson is the leader. The top seniors on the team are Kipke, Tim Kellner, Alex Searl and Jacob Kelley. They’ve passed on their wisdom and work ethic to juniors Dayton Brown and Evan Dubey.
“Cole is the second-fastest returning runner from D1 and all other divisions this year,” Martin said. “Cole has been helping the team with his example of excellence in training and preparation. The seniors have taken the team under their leadership wings to guide and mentor the younger runners.”
Cole Johnson, Rockford
Johnson is favored to win the individual Division 1 title, but how the Rams’ other runners respond is crucial for a third team title.
“As for defending back-to-back Division 1 titles, we have a lot of work to do,” Martin said. “We won the last title on the backs of a host of quality senior athletes. Four of our top five and five of our top seven from last year graduated and went on to compete at various colleges and universities throughout the state.
“We have a host of seniors on our team who have picked up the leadership mantle and decided they want their team to be great, also. They were very dedicated to putting in the time, effort and countless miles this summer to give them a strong foundation to build upon throughout the season.”
Johnson, who took some time off because of a long national track season, has run 16:16, Brown 16:39. Kellner has run 17:03 and Dubey 17:23. Eleven runners have posted personal bests in the young season.
“It’s going good,” Johnson said. “We have a strong, dedicated, deep team still. We don’t have the same talent up front as last year, but it’s still going good.”
Don’t count the Rams out.
“Our first goals are always to have fun, stay healthy, and always continue to strive for more while being grounded and humble,” Martin said. “Our legacy goal is to continue our streak of OK Red Conference championships. After that, we would love to win another regional title. If we achieve all those, we should be in a position to contend at the state finals.”