In the 25 years that Michigan Runner has been publishing, state fans have witnessed fabulous high school running. Everyone knows about Dathan Ritzenhein, possibly the best American prep distance man in decades. There are other names as well -- some maybe familiar, others a revelation.

Selecting the 25 best (male and female, 800 meters and up) of the last 25 years was hard. I tried to let facts guide me as much as possible. This is not a listing in order of PRs. Records mattered, but so did state and national titles, and other factors. Many superb runners had to be left out. All were picked solely on the basis of their high school accomplishments (which is why some "late-bloomers," even an Olympic medalist, are omitted).

Also, note that unless I have specifically said "mile" or "2-mile," all imperial times have been converted to metric equivalents. When I refer to state records, I mean all-time state bests (anytime, anywhere), not the much-easier state-meet records.

1. Dathan Ritzenhein (Rockford) Ritzenhein started out under the shadow of teammate Jason Hartmann, but not for long. As a 10th-grader he outkicked his mentor to win his first state title in the 3200 meters. A few weeks later, Ritzenhein again stunned fans by capturing nationals in the two-mile in 9:01.79. As a junior he won his first Foot Locker national cross country title. He also won a national two-mile championship indoors and claimed the second of three outdoor crowns. By the time he graduated, Ritzenhein had won eight state and nine national titles. He also earned a bronze medal in the World Junior XC championships. He broke 17 state records, topped by his 4:05.9 in the 1600, 8:41.10 in the 3200, and 13:44.70 in the 5000. He now competes for Colorado.

2. Sharon Van Tuyl (Portage Northern) Splitting time between hockey and running, Van Tuyl won the 1600 state title as a ninth-grader in 1995. As a sophomore she clocked 10:25.76 for 3200. No Michigan girl has ever placed higher than Van Tuyl's fourth at the 1996 Foot Locker XC nationals. As a junior she won the U.S. two-mile title. By the time she had moved on to Boston College, she had clocked 4:51.10, 10:21.97 and 17:28.69; in all, she broke seven state records and won 11 state titles.

3. Brian Grosso (Walled Lake Western) Grosso won three national championships, including the 1988 Foot Locker. A four-time state titlist, he struck disaster at the state XC finals as a senior. Running with a huge lead, Grosso took a wrong turn and placed fifth. An 8:56.8 runner at 3200, he set a state 5000-meter record (14:34.8) and made the U.S. Junior team.

4. Todd Williams (Monroe) A two-time state cross champ, Williams placed second at Foot Locker in 1986, and that winter became only the second Michigan prep to make it to the World XC meet. On the track, he ran 4:13.0 and 8:57.26, and captured two indoor and two outdoor state titles in the 3200. Williams won All-America honors nine times at Tennessee and competed in the 10,000 at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics.

5. Abdul Alzindani (Dearborn Fordson) After winning the 1995 state 1600 crown as a junior, Alzindani primed himself for a big senior year. He got it, claiming state and Foot Locker national cross country titles, a U.S. two-mile indoor championship, and the state Class A 1600-3200 double. With 4:12.8/9:03.95 prep bests, Alzindani later competed for North Carolina State.

6. Kelly Smith (Petoskey) Smith won nine Class B state titles, three in cross country. She also captured the 800-1600 double three times, and finished sixth at Foot Locker in 1992 and '93. With clockings of 2:12.19 (800) and 4:48.37 (1600), she won a scholarship to Colorado, where she earned All-America honors six times.

7. Tim Moore (Novi) Moore might have won more than his three state titles if he hadn't vied against Ritzenhein his freshman through junior years. Moore ran 4:14.01 and 8:58.58, helped Novi capture a national 4x1-mile title, and won the 2001 Foot Locker crown. He now competes for Notre Dame.

8. Bethany Brewster (Saginaw Valley Lutheran) Sometimes people can't see the obvious. Brewster won 12 state titles at a Class C school. A Foot Locker finalist, she clocked 4:48.75 and 10:50.66. But at the end of her senior year in 1998, she didn't have a scholarship. University of Wisconsin coaches finally signed her just before she won the national mile championship. She won nine Big 10 titles for the Badgers.

9. Earl Jones (Taylor Center) Jones's star burned bright and fast. As a rookie runner, he won the 1981 indoor mile title and outdoor 800. As a senior, he added three more state crowns. A 1:52.3 at 800 was impressive, but his range was more so. At the Midwest Meet of Champions, Jones won the 1600 in a state-record 4:07.19, then anchored the 4x400 with a split in the high 45s. Two years later, he won the 800 bronze at the Los Angeles Olympics. In 1986, leg injuries suffered in an auto accident ended his career.

10. Linsey Blaisdell (Rockford) With a host of talented teammates, Blaisdell wasn't showered with fanfare at Rockford. Yet she captured nine state championships in all, topped by 1600 crowns as a junior and senior. With times of 2:14.7 (800), 4:50.95 (1600) and 10:39.0 (3200), she ranks among the best all-around runners ever. She now competes for Wisconsin.

11. Laura Matson (Bloomfield Hills Andover) As a junior, Matson stunned with her 4:39.4 to win the Oakland County 1600 championship in 1985. She won eight state titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track. After a brief, lackluster stint at Florida, she disappeared, only to re-emerge in 1995 as one of America's best, clocking 15:17.11 for 5000 and making the World Championships team.

12. Nikki Bohnsack (Rockford) With a year of high school remaining, Bohnsack has already established herself as one of the best ever. In her first three seasons, she has clocked 2:16.62, 4:55.06 and 10:36.09, won 13 state titles and qualified twice for Foot Locker nationals. A savvy racer, she overcame a hip injury last winter and still won the 1600, 3200 and 4x800 at the Division 1 State Meet.

13. Jason Hartmann (Rockford) Hartmann showed his younger teammate Ritzenhein the path. A 4:10.7 performer in the 1600, he clocked 9:01.6 for 3200, won six state titles, and placed fourth in the Foot Locker nationals as a senior. He currently runs for Oregon, where he has made All-America six times. Recently he placed fourth in the NCAA 10,000 with a 28:31.96.

14. Delisa Walton (Detroit Mackenzie) Walton wouldn't argue with those who say she was more a sprinter than distance runner. But as a junior in 1978, she won the Class A half-mile title in 2:07.7. No distance runner has come near that in 25 years. Walton won 10 state crowns and was a 12-time All-American for Tennessee, claiming eight national titles. Now her daughter is a Texas high school star.

15. Erik Henriksen (Portage Northern) The winter of his senior year, Henriksen went wild. Only sixth in the state mile the year before, he won the indoor two-mile title in a stunning 9:05.6. He got better outdoors, claiming state mile and two mile crowns in 4:07.1 and 9:01.8. He placed second at the International Prep meet to Jim Spivey, then ran third in the 1500 at the USA Juniors. Now he is a professor of physiology at Arizona.

16. Katie Boyles (Rochester Adams) Boyles was surprise winner of the 1997 Class A cross country title, upsetting the heavily-favored Van Tuyl. She proved she was no fluke, winning the race an unprecedented four times. Getting to the top of the awards stand didn't come as easily in track, but in her last race as a senior, Boyles captured the 3200 championship with a 10:42.06 PR. She now competes for Cornell.

17. Miriam Boyd (Port Huron) You might call Boyd the first of the best. She won six state titles in the early years of girls track, but her times (4:55.7 and 10:33.2) compare favorably today. She competed for Tennessee. After Miriam left the running scene, her sister, Anne, emerged as an Olympic Trials qualifier in the marathon.

18. Rick Gledhill (Mt. Clemens Chippewa Valley) This 800-meter specialist enjoyed an incredible senior year. After placing sixth in the state as a junior (1:56.0), Gledhill roared back to triumph the next year in 1:50.63. Then he captured a national crown at the International Prep Invitational, running a state-record 1:49.33.

19. Kris Salt (Dearborn Edsel Ford) Salt won seven state titles. Her first two came as part of Edsel Ford's 4x800 relay. After that she made a name for herself, winning twice in cross country, twice at 3200 and once in the 1600. A 4:53.6 and 10:49.1 performer, she later ran for Clemson.

20. Amber Smith (Ishpeming Westwood) Another work in progress, Smith may be the best Upper Peninsula runner yet. The high school senior-to-be has already won 13 U.P. Division 2 titles, clocked 2:18.12, 4:53.68 and 11:07.78, and reached the Foot Locker finals twice. Last year, she finished fifth in the nation. It's a shame we'll never see her race Bohnsack in the state finals.

21. Emily Anderson (Marquette) In 2000, Anderson, as part of the U.S. Junior team, ran a 17:06.98 track 5000 meters, shattering Van Tuyl's state record.

Imagine running a 10:57 for 3200, then going another mile-plus at that pace! As a prep, she clocked 5:04.5 and 10:48.5, and won five U.P. state titles. Her twin sister, Katie, won four state championships of her own.

22. Jamie Krzyminski (Corunna)

Before her current heroics at Michigan State University, Krzyminski was a pretty decent prep. As a sophomore she won the Class B 1600.

The next year she added firsts in cross country, 1600, 3200 and the 4x800 relay. As a senior, she repeated the XC win and the 1600-3200 double. Krzyminski's best clockings were 4:54.07 and 10:45.23.

23. Ryan Shay (Central Lake)

Winning races in Class D is a lot easier than in Class A, but by the time of his senior year (and 13th title), Shay had proven he was the best runner in the state. When he won his record fourth state cross crown in 1996 (the only boy ever to do so), he ran faster than runners from any other division. The six-time Notre Dame All-American has since qualified for the Olympic Trials in the marathon.

24. Tim Ross (Caledonia)

Ross, who now runs for Missouri, captured five Class B titles. Though only one was a cross crown, he showed his prowess as a harrier by finishing fifth in the nation at the 2001 Foot Locker. As both a junior and a senior, he pulled off the 1600-3200 double at the state meet; his best times were 4:13.47 and 9:10.58.

25. Mark Smith (Cadillac)

Smith won three-straight Class B cross titles, and as a senior placed 11th at nationals. On the track he clocked 4:15.2 and 8:58.1, and won 3200 state crowns in his junior and senior years. He later starred at Eastern Michigan, and in 1988 missed making the Olympic team in the steeplechase by less than half a second.

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, now teaches, coaches, writes running columns for ESPN.com and maintains the Michigan High School Track & Cross Country website (www.michtrack.org), which he founded. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com. MR