Five of the seven first-team all-Livingston County boys cross country runners are back, making a nice clean cutoff for the preseason top five heading into the 2026 season.
That’s not to say I wouldn’t bump up someone who had a breakout spring on the track, but it worked out that those five runners also comprise this year’s preseason top five list.
The list is headlined by Howell senior Jack MacGregor, who was the county Runner of the Year in cross country and Athlete of the Year in track and field.
MacGregor will be trying to qualify for national meets following the state finals, so he plans to pace himself to peak in late November. As a result, he may not always post his fastest times throughout the fall.
“I want to get ready for those bigger meets and not be exhausted from racing,” MacGregor said. “If I’m in really good shape heading into championship season, that will bring me a lot more confidence. I want to have a better finish at the state meet, for sure. Cross country isn’t always about time, because it’s more about racing and beating your competitors. I’d like to finally dip into the 14s officially, not on the track. I also want to get my team to states.”
1. Jack MacGregor
► School: Howell
► Class: Senior
► Accomplishments: MacGregor will go down as the best distance runner ever at Howell and one of the best in Livingston County history. He owns all of the significant distance records at Howell, breaking two records as a junior that stood since the 1970s. He ran a school-record 15:04.1 in the KLAA cross country meet before placing sixth at the Division 1 finals in 15:06.0. MacGregor has won two regional championships. He’s coming off a track season in which he set school records with times of 4:16.69 in the 1,600-meter run and 9:02.68 in the 3,200. He was the Division 1 runner-up in the 3,200 by less than a second.
2. Cole McCraw
► School: Pinckney
► Class: Senior
► Accomplishments: McCraw was trending toward a huge finish to his junior year after running a personal-best 15:36.7 in the final invitational, but he got sick late in the season. Even at less than full strength, he was sixth at regionals and 38th at the Division 2 finals. McCraw won the first two SEC White jamborees and the Coaching Legends Invitational. His time of 9:29.61 in the 3,200 ranked second in the county during track season.
3. Blake Kulesza
► School: Brighton
► Class: Senior
► Accomplishments: Kulesza has the best raw speed of any runner in the county, having run 1:53.00 for the 800 and 50.87 for the 400 on the track. He was consistently breaking 16 minutes toward the end of last cross country season, running a personal-best 15:41.7 at the Father Gabriel Richard Invitational. He was 11th in the KLAA meet in 15:51.3, sixth at regionals in 16:02.0 and 48th at the Division 1 finals in 15:55.8.
4. Roake MacArthur
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Accomplishments: MacArthur came through on the big stage, running a personal-best 15:57.3 at the state Division 1 meet to place 53rd. He was 24th in the tough KLAA in 16:35.1 and 10th at regionals in 16:08.4 after running in the 17s most of the season, his first in the varsity lineup.
5. Brendan Williams
► School: Brighton
► Class: Junior
► Accomplishments: Williams steadily improved during his first varsity season, breaking 17 minutes in his final seven meets to set himself up as a runner the Bulldogs will rely on heavily over the next two years. He ran 16:11.8 at the Father Gabriel Richard Invitational, was 20th in the KLAA meet in 16:22.8 and was 101st at the Division 1 finals in 16:18.3.
Others to watch
David DeLand, Howell, sr.; Josh Keillor-Beale, Brighton, soph.; Grant Kulesza, Brighton, soph.; Lincoln Reed, Pinckney, sr.; John Rochowiak, Pinckney, soph.; Alex Weller, Howell, jr.
Contact Bill Khan at billkhan35@gmail.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Who are the top 5 boys cross country runners in Livingston County?
Reporting by Bill Khan, Livingston Daily / Livingston Daily
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By Bill Khan, Livingston Daily | USA TODAY Network
