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.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

Support the show

https://www.bluewaterrunning.org/
https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.com

• Instagram and X @bluewaterrun
• Facebook/TikTok/Youtube @BlueWaterRunning

August 19, 2026 kicks off the official MHSAA competition date for high school cross country, and it’s time for the 2026 Blue Water Running Cross Country Preview! The preview is based on last season’s performance statistics, and a survey is sent to all the area coaches, providing a brief overview of the local teams and highlighting some key athletes to watch. Whoever responds has their quotes and info added into the preview, which is why some teams’ write-ups are significantly longer than others. Unless a coach specifically mentions an incoming freshman (last year’s 8th graders) or they are relevant to roster numbers, they are not usually included in the preview, since it's more difficult to predict runner performance without any high school experience.

Blue Water Running covers Algonac, Almont, Anchor Bay, Armada, Austin Catholic, Capac, Cros-Lex, Dryden, Imlay City, Kimball New Life Christian, Kimball Landmark Academy, Macomb Lutheran North, Marine City, Marine City Cardinal Mooney, Marysville, Memphis, Michigan Athletic Club for Homeschoolers, New Haven, Port Huron High, Port Huron Northern, North Branch, Richmond, Saint Clair, Yale, and the two local area community colleges, which include SC4 and Macomb Community College.

A few interesting notes about this year’s season:

• Algonac leaves the BWAC for the MAC Blue, while Macomb Lutheran North enters the BWAC.
• BIG REGIONAL CHANGES…The majority of Blue Water Area teams race in the D2-17 regional at Columbus Park. It’s not hard to imagine that regional race times will need to be much faster this year to earn a state qualification. Why? Read on...
  • Holly High School was added to D2-17, which was in a much tougher team regional last year. The top three girls there were sub-18, and an 18:58 was 15th place. Holly’s girls were second (17:39) and eighth (18:38). For comparison, 19:40 won our regional, and 15th place was 21:04.
  • Holly’s top three boys ran 16:01 (14th), 16:17 (22nd), and 16:18 (23rd), while our boys’ regional winner ran 16:18, and 15th place was 17:27.
  • Marian (Bloomfield Hills) is an all-girls school joining our region, and they have a pack of three girls in 20:24, 20:28, 21:05, and 21:09, very comparable to the girls' teams already in our area. So does Pontiac Notre Dame Prep, with runners at 20:58, 21:02, and 21:31.
  • While one could argue that a course’s difficulty and technicality affect times across various regionals elsewhere, the Columbus course has already been notably fast: 60% of both race fields set personal bests in the regional races last fall, and almost 75% in 2024.
• Remember: This is just one perspective of potential outcomes for the season. It’s not a perfect prediction or any type of expectation; it’s just a summary of what the season might hold and helps coaches, athletes, and fans of the sport keep up to date on area teams.
  
  DISCLAIMER: After days…weeks…months of studying stats, names, and numbers, I will inevitably make a mistake in spelling or time accuracy: it is not intentional, and I apologize in advance for any errors.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

Support the show

https://www.bluewaterrunning.org/
https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.com

• Instagram and X @bluewaterrun
• Facebook/TikTok/Youtube @BlueWaterRunning

In this episode, we have Coach Matt Fecht, the head cross country and track coach at Macomb Community College. We will discuss a smorgasbord of running topics and themes, such as:

• Will Coach Fecht remain the reigning team putt-putt champion?
• What advantages does community college offer their student athletes?
• Where are some of the unique places the Monarchs will be running this season?
• How does the team build camaraderie and have fun?
• What are the team goals as they enter competition season?
• And many, many more interesting (and sometimes random) running-related items.

If you are a local coach who would like to join me for an episode to chat about your team, please reach out at bluewaterrunning.org or on our social media sites. You can also submit your input on the upcoming season for the written article, as well.

Thank you so much for listening to the podcast: please share an episode to help spread the word about Blue Water Running’s mission, which is to feature and celebrate the achievements of high school and collegiate cross country and track/field athletes from our area. You can follow Blue Water Running on Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, along with athlete and meet reports and photos on the website at bluewaterrunning.org.

Send Blue Water Running a Message

Support the show

https://www.bluewaterrunning.org/
https://bluewaterrunning.buzzsprout.com

• Instagram and X @bluewaterrun
• Facebook/TikTok/Youtube @BlueWaterRunning