2026 Blue Water Area XC Season Preview

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.