HOWELL — Jack MacGregor already knew the former holder of a Howell track and field record he broke this spring.
David Mitter, who set the school 3,200-meter mark in 2017, is close to being a contemporary of MacGregor’s and knows him through the close-knit fraternity of fast Howell distance runners.
“David has always been a big supporter of my success and my training,” said MacGregor, a junior who has been selected Livingston County boys track and field Athlete of the Year by the Livingston Daily. “We still keep in contact. It’s been great to hear from him.”
On the other hand, it was a total shock for MacGregor to encounter the other former record holder, considering it had been 55 years since Brian Williams set the school 1,600 mark with a time of 4 minutes, 17.0 seconds converted from the mile distance that was standard at the time.
It was during the Kensington Lakes Activities Association meet May 9 in Hartland that MacGregor was approached by an older gentleman who is an assistant coach at Williamston, which didn’t have a meet that day.
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It turned out to be Williams who congratulated MacGregor on running a time of 4:16.69 two weeks earlier in Romeo.
“I was wondering how this random guy knew about that,” MacGregor said. “He said, ‘I’m Brian Williams.’ It didn’t register for a second. I said, ‘Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Jack.’ Then I was like, ‘Oh, THEE Brian Williams!’
“It was a cool moment just to put it into perspective how old that record really was, running on a cinder track and everything.”
It was one of three school records MacGregor set during the 2025-26 school year and two that dated back to the 1970s. During cross country season, MacGregor broke Dan Zemper’s 1974 time of 15:11.6.
“I’ve been chasing those records for a long time,” MacGregor said. “Honestly, I’m never really satisfied. I celebrate those wins, but I’m always looking for the next thing.”
MacGregor was hoping to add a state championship to his record-breaking résumé, and came tantalizingly close to pulling it off. MacGregor had the lead on the final stretch of the 3,200 at the Division 1 finals before being run down by Northville junior Brandon Cloud, who won by 0.28 seconds in 9:02.40. MacGregor lowered his school record to 9:02.68.
It was the best finish by a Howell boy since Matt French was second in the 3,200 in 2002.
“I’m still salty about it, but he’s such a good kid you can’t really stay mad,” MacGregor said. “It drives me even more to work harder. Every loss is more motivation.”
As MacGregor went to the next level this spring, his college options have increased. Among the schools who have been in contact with MacGregor are Duke, Michigan, Michigan State, Syracuse and Villanova.
MacGregor hasn’t taken an official visit and isn’t in a rush to finalize his college future.
“I’m pretty indecisive,” he said. “I’ll just weigh my options, visit schools, see where I can get the most money or have the best academic opportunity. I don’t know if it will be more in the winter time that I make a commitment or the spring.
“Obviously, I’m not going to be a professional runner in my future. I have to accept that, even though I would love to. I have to balance academics with a good running school.”
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@livingstondaily.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Howell’s Jack MacGregor is Livingston County’s top boys track athlete
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
