Last track season, Cros-Lex’s Connor Pepin saw huge gains in his performance, going from a 2:14 to a 2:02 in the 800, a 4:46 to 4:31 mile, he won the Thumb Meet of Champs 3200 in 10:15, a 17-second PR, and also helped his 4x800 and 4x400 relays qualify for the state finals: the 4x800 won the Bluewater Meet of Champs (as did the 4x400), the BWAC Title, Marysville Invitational, and Regionals. Connor then opened his senior cross country season with a big statement, running his first sub-17 minute race in 16:48 to take second, over a minute improvement from the 18:03 he opened with last fall on his home course at the Mike Jackson Invitational. That was faster than any time he ran last season and his overall PR by 16 seconds. He doubled down on that Wednesday, dropping another six seconds and running 16:38, winning the Cass City Invite. This was Pepin’s first career victory individually, and his low-stick scoring was enough to push the Pioneers to the team win as well, edging out EPBP Laker by eight points.

For his efforts, Pepin earned the first Blue Water Running Athlete of the Week nomination for the 2026 cross country season. Join us as we chat about the season, Connor’s goals for the future, and get to know him personally as a Blue Water Area athlete.

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