It seems like there are two eras of Livingston County boys cross country — everything that happened before 2018 and everything that’s come since then.
There were some great runners in the county prior to that year. Pinckney won three straight state Division 1 championships from 2005-07, Brighton won Class A titles in 1978 and 1995, and Howell won back-to-back Class B championships in 1959 and 1960.
But if you look at the list of fastest 5,000-meter cross country boys ever in Livingston County, the top 35 times have been run since 2018 by six different runners.
Before those guys came along, the county record was 15:23.9, set by Hartland’s Sean Pengelly in 2012. A sub-15 time seemed out of the question, but three runners have eclipsed that barrier since 2019.
It’s as if these guys inspired each other to achieve times that previously seemed out of reach.
So, it can be argued that this list of top local boys cross country runners for the past 10 seasons could hold up as the best all-time in Livingston County.
Riley Hough
► School: Hartland
► Senior season: 2021
► Accomplishments: Hough is not only the greatest distance runner to come out of Livingston County, he’s one of the best in Michigan history. Hough is the only runner to break 15 minutes twice in the state finals; three future Olympians did it only once. He won the 2020 state championship in 14:49.62 and the 2021 title in 14:56.5. He broke 15 minutes 10 times in his career, including a 14:10.6 in a blazing fast race at the 2021 RunningLane Cross Country Championships. Hough won the Eastbay (formerly Foot Locker) national championship in 2021. He is running for Michigan State University.
► Coach Matt Gutteridge: “He has a game plan going into every race. He’s patient with the process. He’s really been able to avoid major injury and is mentally strong. He doesn’t let things get him down.”
Caleb Jarema
► School: Pinckney
► Senior season: 2021
► Accomplishments: Jarema and Hough are the only runners in county history to break 15 minutes in cross country and nine minutes for the 3,200 meters on the track. He ran a school-record 14:57.5 in the 2021 Portage Invitational while taking second to Hough. Jarema won the state Division 2 championship as a senior and qualified for Eastbay nationals, placing 32nd. He is running for the University of Michigan.
► Coach Jim Wicker: “Getting under 15 minutes was huge; that’s a big accomplishment. Nobody even came close to that in Pinckney history before. Once somebody does it, then it gives other kids something to shoot for. He was looking at kids on the (Pinckney all-state) wall as motivation. Now, he’ll be the motivation for our younger kids to come.”
Tyler Langley
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2023
► Accomplishments: Langley ran in four state meets for a Brighton team that finished in the top 13 in the state all four years, including a 2021 Division 1 title. His 12th-place time of 15:25.5 in the 2023 Division 1 finals makes Langley the eighth-fastest runner in county history. He also made all-state as a junior, placing 24th in the state meet.
► Coach Chris Elsey: “He had a fantastic (senior) season. He was dealing with some aches and pains throughout, but he worked through them. He had his best effort at MIS. He’s up there with the greats.”
Evan Loughridge
► School: Pinckney
► Senior season: 2023
► Accomplishments: Loughridge was the county Runner of the Year the past two seasons after back-to-back 10th-place finishes in the state Division 2 meet. He is the only Pinckney runner to win two individual regional championships. He ran a personal-best 15:13.1 in the postseason Michigan Meet of Champions last fall. Loughridge, who will run for Michigan State University, won the Holly and Portage invitationals as a senior.
► Coach Jim Wicker: “He is so consistent. He’s tough as nails. He’s the hardest worker. He’s got the whole package. He’s really going to have a good future.”
Paul Moore
► School: Pinckney
► Senior season: 2023
► Accomplishments: Moore’s fifth-place time of 15:13.5 in the 2023 state Division 2 meet was the fastest by a Pinckney runner at Michigan International Speedway. Running on teams with Jarema and Loughridge and in a tough distance league, Moore never won a cross country race, but did win the 3,200 in the 2024 state Division 2 track and field meet. His time of 15:11.2 in the 2023 Michigan Meet of Champions ranks him fifth all-time in the county.
► Coach Jim Wicker: “He’s got a lot of natural ability and a positive attitude. He doesn’t fear anybody; he just goes out and races.”
Jack Spamer
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2019
► Accomplishments: Spamer made history on Oct. 12, 2019 when he ran 14:48.1 at Hudson Mills Metropark, becoming the first county runner to break 15 minutes. Spamer made a huge leap from his freshman year, when his best time was 17:50.0, to his sophomore year, when he ran 16:02.8. Spamer made all-state twice by placing 18th in Division 1 in 2018 and third for a state championship team in 2019. He was 19th in the 2019 Foot Locker National Championships. He is running for the University of Michigan.
► Coach Chris Elsey: "Coming off this spring (2019) when he was regional champ in the 16 and 32, I sort of got the sense he was ready to take the next step and become one of the elite runners in the state. He definitely followed through with that."
Zach Stewart
► School: Brighton
► Senior season: 2019
► Accomplishments: Stewart established the tone for the fastest era in county cross country, setting the county freshman record of 16:00.7 in 2016 and achieving the first of his four all-state finishes. He took a big chunk off the county record by running 15:08.0 in the 2018 KLAA meet. Stewart, who runs for the University of Michigan, is the only county runner to qualify for Foot Locker twice, placing 17th in 2018 and 26th in 2019.
► Coach Chris Elsey: “He followed up his 2018 season with another great season in cross. If you asked him, he'll tell you as an individual he didn't race how he feels he's capable of racing; that's the type of competitor he is. He was thrilled with the success Jack (Spamer) had and even more so the success the team had."
Contact Bill Khan at wkhan@gannett.com. Follow him on X @BillKhan
This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: All-decade team: Livingston County's best boys cross country lineup for the past 10 years
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