There was a time not too long ago that breaking 15 minutes for five-kilometer cross country seemed like a pipe dream for Livingston County runners.
Until 2019, the fastest performance by a county runner was Sean Pengelly’s time of 15 minutes, 23.9 seconds at the 2012 Portage Invitational.
My, have times (literally) changed.
Three county runners have broken 15 minutes since 2019, with Howell senior Jack MacGregor poised to join that club this fall. Pengelly now sits eighth on the county’s list of fastest runners.
It’s incredible to think that the runners who produced three straight state Division 1 championships for Pinckney from 2005-07 have fallen so far down this list.
As part of a series on Livingston County sports records, here are the fastest boys cross country runners. I don’t want these records to get lost now that I’m retiring. Each runner is listed only once, even though he may have multiple times faster than other runners on the list.
This list doesn’t include times run in meets in which a runner doesn’t represent his school. Some schools include those times, some don’t. I fall in the camp of leaving them out.
That leaves out the amazing 14:10.6 run by Hartland’s Riley Hough at the insanely fast 2021 RunningLane Cross Country Championships in Alabama or the top time of Evan Loughridge’s Pinckney career, which was run the week after the 2023 state meet.
Riley Hough, Hartland, 14:37.1, Oct. 9, 2021, Portage Invitational
Jack Spamer, Brighton, 14:48.1, Oct. 12, 2019, Gabriel Richard Invitational at Hudson Mills
Caleb Jarema, Pinckney, 14:57.5, Oct. 9, 2021, Portage Invitational
Jack MacGregor, Howell, 15:04.1, Oct. 16, 2025, KLAA meet at Manly Bennett Park
Zach Stewart, Brighton, 15:07.1, Oct. 5, 2019, Portage Invitational
Paul Moore, Pinckney, 15:13.5, Nov. 4, 2023, state Division 2 meet
Evan Loughridge, Pinckney, 15:17.3, Oct. 7, 2023, Portage Invitational
Sean Pengelly, Hartland, 15:23.9, Oct. 6, 2012, Portage Invitational
Tyler Langley, Brighton, 15:25.5, Nov. 4, 2023, state meet at MIS
Brian Hankins, Pinckney, 15:26.9, Nov. 3, 2007, state meet at MIS
Zach Wyderko, Brighton, 15:27.9, Nov. 1, 2025, state meet at MIS
Matt Wines, Pinckney, 15:31.9, Nov. 1, 2008, state meet at MIS
Tyler Brock, Brighton, 15:32.5, Oct. 17, 2025, KLAA meet at Manly Bennett Park
Tanner Pesonen, Pinckney, 15:33.0, Oct. 31, 2009, regional at Huron Meadows
Jareb Duggan, Hartland, 15:33.2, Oct. 26, 2012, regional at Huron Meadows
David Emery, Pinckney, 15:34.8, Nov. 4, 2006 state meet at MIS
Nick Katsefaras, Pinckney, 15:36, Sept. 25, 2004 Tortoise & Hare at Pinckney
Cole McCraw, Pinckney, 15:36.7, Oct. 11, 2025, Gabriel Richard Invitational at Hudson Mills
Kevin Gienapp, Brighton, 15:37.0, Nov. 2, 2002, state meet at MIS
Ian Boyle, Pinckney, 15:37.9, Nov. 1, 2003 state meet at MIS
Contact Bill Khan at billkhan35@gmail.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Record book: Livingston County’s fastest boys cross country runners
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
