Solgot Realizes Championship Potential, Working to Become Michigan's Best
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 30, 2026
MACOMB — For Macomb L’Anse Creuse North junior Xavier Solgot, last year’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Cross Country Finals were about more than just where he finished.
Sure, Solgot was thrilled to nearly crack the top 10, placing 11th and finishing as the top underclassman at the meet.
But more than the result, his performance was a personal revelation revealing what kind of runner he can become.
“It gave me a lot of confidence and just showed I can stick with those top guys,” Solgot said. “Last year, I came in and I didn’t think I was going to be up there that much. I feel like my goal was just to get all-state. Getting 11th was more than I expected. Going into this year, it showed me that I can push through what my expectations are for myself.”
Solgot has certainly pushed to even better things so far this fall. Last month, Solgot broke his own school record, clocking a time of 15.02. He also repeated as champion at the Macomb County meet on Oct. 17, finishing nearly a full minute ahead of the second-place finisher with a time of 15:22.9.
Barring anything unforeseen at the Regional on Friday at Algonac, Solgot should qualify for next week’s Finals and enter on the short list of individual Division 1 title contenders.
“I’m not as worried about place this year as I was last year,” Solgot said. “I think that I just want to push myself as much as I can. Just give it everything and just stay with the top guys as long as I can. Last year, I think I was third at the mile (marker). This year, I think I can stick with them longer.”
Solgot said he first got into cross country when he was in sixth grade after being “peer pressured” by friends to get into the sport, but said a turning point came when he was running a meet during eighth grade.
“In eighth grade, we had a Regional meet and I took my (2-mile) PR from 12:00 to an 11:31, and then I realized I could be pretty good at this and I should start training more in the offseason,” he said.
This season, Solgot looks to be in even better form, and for more reasons than just being a year older and stronger.
For one, he said he prioritizes being fresh each day.
“I’m always getting about 10 hours of sleep every night and making sure I’m well-rested before starting to train,” he said.
Two, Solgot said he has remedied an issue that plagued him during track season when he ran the 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
“I found out at the beginning of cross season that I was very deficient on iron,” he said. “That is kind of why I did so bad at the end of the season of my track year. I’ve been taking iron supplements, and every day I feel better than the last day.”
Finally, Solgot said he has made sure to fully optimize his mental outlook going into each race.
“I’ve kind of changed my perspective going into races,” he said, noting he has upped his training by five miles per week this season. “I used to be nervous, and then I started seeing a sports psychologist to feel less nervous and more prepared for the race. Not be so anxious.”
It’s all made for a terrific junior season, and going into the final week, Solgot and the rest of the state know he belongs among the top echelon of Division 1 contenders.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
PHOTOS (Top) L’Anse Creuse North’s Xavier Solgot runs with a pack toward the finish of last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) Solgot holds up his medal after this season’s Macomb County championship meet. (Finals photo by RunMichigan.com. County awards photo provided by Solgot.)
Charlevoix Championship Tradition Reborn with Team, Individual Finals Sweep
November 1, 2025
BROOKLYN, Mich. — The Charlevoix boys cross country dynasty took place decades before Hunter Eaton was born, but that history is never far from him and his teammates.
“You think of those guys and all the history and we’ve got to start it back up a little bit,” Eaton said. “We’ve got to keep up with it.”
Consider Charlevoix’s tradition revived.
The Rayders clinched their first MHSAA Finals championship since winning seven Class C titles during a 10-year span from 1982-91 by emerging victorious in a three-way battle Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.
Charlevoix scored 131 points to win by seven over Lansing Catholic. Jackson Lumen Christi was third with 143.
In the process, Eaton became the first Charlevoix boy to win an MHSAA Finals individual championship since two-time winner Scott Miller won the Class C team race in 1989. Eaton finished in 15:30.8 to win by three seconds over Gage Hoffman of Central Montcalm.
The Rayders did their alumni proud.
The team even has a Drenth, junior Maxwell Drenth, who continues a family lineage. Walt Drenth coached at Charlevoix in the 1980s and is the former coach at Michigan State University.
“We have Walt Drenth come talk to us every year,” Eaton said. “He’s our coach’s brother. They had a brother, Jeff Drenth, who passed away. We have another guy who came to us last summer, Bill Taylor (from the 1982 and 1983 championship teams). He’s a really good guy. We also have some other alumni who come. It’s very motivating, because they want to see us do well.”
Eaton was in a three-way battle with Hoffman and Christian Craanen of Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central through two miles, as the runners were separated by one second. Eaton opened up a four-second lead during the third mile and had enough left to win a kick to the finish.
“It was just like, ‘I’ve got to go,’” Eaton said. “I don’t care how I feel. I’ve just got to run right through the line. I was getting tired though. If there was another 100 (meters), I don’t know.”
Eaton was ninth last year and 42nd as a freshman. Had he continued on his original path, he might have been playing football for Charlevoix this fall instead of running cross country.
“I started running in fifth grade,” Eaton said. “I played Pop Warner football in fourth grade. The coach told my dad I’d be a good cross country runner. My dad made me think about cross country, and I did. It obviously worked out. I’m glad I chose this sport.”
Ryder Hopkins was 10th in 15:58.4, Matthew Solomon 19th in 16:10.2, Drenth 57th in 16:36.5 and Aurie Selph 119th in 17:12.2 for Charlevoix.
PHOTOS (Top) Charlevoix’s Hunter Eaton approaches the finish line first in the Division 3 Final at Michigan International Speedway. (Middle) The Rayders’ Ryder Hopkins (995) leads a group down the stretch including Jackson Lumen Christi’s Gibson Shore (1045) and Centreville’s Will Hulin (2015). (Click for more from RunMichigan.com.)