At the end of September, Michael Nivala Jr. competed against a field that primarily consisted of NCAA Division II and Division III competition at Roberts Wesleyan University's Harry F. Anderson Invitational in Rochester, NY. Michael ran a 25:19.2, clearing his previous 8K PR by 51 seconds. This time was good for third overall in the NCAA DII and DIII field and helped lead the Monarchs to a strong showing overall, taking sixth as a team.

The No. 8-ranked Macomb Community College Monarchs captured their third consecutive MCCAA Eastern Conference Championship on Oct. 2 after posting a team score of 17. Highlighted by a 1-2-3-4 individual finish, they just missed out on a perfect score of 15, putting all five scoring runners inside the top seven places.

Michael led the 8K race with a time of 26:17.8. Named NJCAA National Runner of the Week, he earned All-Eastern Conference honors and MCCAA Eastern Conference Runner of the Year. During the season, Michael also earned back-to-back MCCAA Runner of the Week honors.

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Caleb McBride of Marysville High School is the fastest underclassman currently in the Blue Water Area. Caleb earned a trip to the state meet last fall as a freshman, placing 11th at regionals, and ran close to his ninth-grade best of 17:04 at MIS in 17:16. Starting this year out as a sophomore, he opened the season with 17 flat Aug. 20 at the Mike Jackson Invitational, and has stayed under that mark ever since, running consistently in the 16s, with his current PR of 16:39, run at the Hanson’s Invitational on Sept. 26. Caleb also won the MAC Gold champs in track in the 3200, and has a PR of 10:24 in that event. We will also get the backstory on last fall's meet at Algonac, when Caleb finished with just one shoe...

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“Never Lose Again” - Coach Chad Mannlein

Haley Sharp runs for Port Huron Northern and recently placed third at the Mid-Season Spectacular, just a few seconds off her PR, running 19:56. She competed at the Shepherd Invitational on Saturday, crushing that best by another 20+ seconds, running 19:32. After overcoming major medical hurdles and setbacks, Haley is now the third runner on our area's top-30 list. She's looking to continue this trajectory through October and make a second appearance at the state finals, which she did as a sophomore.

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Grant Davis of Port Huron Northern has seen a fantastic start to his senior year, but his progress really began in earnest last year as a junior in track, when he dropped from a 4:50 to a 4:39 mile and won the MAC White, Marysville Invitational, and Blue Water Meet of Champions. He also dropped his 3200 from a 10:38 to a 9:58 at the MITCA Meet of Champions. This fall in cross country, he’s already bested his 5K time by over 25 seconds, running a personal best of 16:21 to take second at the Brooks’ Mid-Season Spectacular. With the Shepherd and Portage Invitationals ahead on the Huskies’ calendar, that PR will likely fall again.

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Our episode today is with senior Emma Reimer from New Haven High School.

After a busy winter running indoor track for Breen Track Club, where she was seventh in the sprint medley relay and eighth in the 4x800 at the MITCA Indoor Championships, Emma turned her sights to outdoor track, where she won the MAC Bronze 800 and 1600 in the spring, along with the high jump, in which she was also regional champ. She ran her PR of 2:26 at the D3 state finals to place 15th. Emma’s season-best cross country time last fall was 22:02, and she opened this season in 22:07, which quickly fell to a 20:58 when she won the first MAC Blue Jamboree on Sept. 15, then a 20:25 at the Hanson’s Invitational on Sept. 26. Named a “dark horse/fast riser” by Michigan XC Speed Ratings in the pre-season, Emma has delivered thus far on that prediction.

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"Running is 80% mental and 20% physical. The only thing that can restrict you is yourself." -Kipchoge

Today’s guest is junior Chloe Boright of Macomb Lutheran North High School. After an abbreviated season due to injury last year, Chloe didn’t race from Aug. 15 to Oct. 25, 2025, but when she returned, she ran a 19:58 PR to take third at regionals and help her team qualify for the state finals. She has had a great September, running consistently in the front of the pack at her meets so far this season. She was third at the BWAC Jamboree after teammate Samantha Whitlam, then won her first individual victory at the Autumn Classic at Stony Creek Metropark on Sept. 19 in a PR of 19:44. She then reset that mark to a 19:19 by finishing third at the Hanson’s Invitational on Sept. 26. Chloe currently tops the Blue Water Area times list as we enter week 6 of cross country coverage.

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Welcome back to the Blue Water Running podcast, where we get to know the mindset, miles, and moments behind the high school and collegiate cross country and track and field athletes from the Blue Water Area of Michigan. Today’s guest is Ethan Kreger, a senior from St. Clair High School. Ethan recently had his very first cross country win at the Algonac Classic on Sept. 12, winning in his PR of 16:41, then went on to take 12th at the highly competitive Holly Invitational. Coming from a long culture of distance excellence at St. Clair High School, Ethan is currently third on the Blue Water Area top times list and isn’t satisfied with just a win; he wants to continually seek to better himself and his racing.

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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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