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High 5s: 11/7/12

November 7, 2012

This past Saturday saw eight teams and eight individuals crowned MHSAA champions, and this week we feature a few who will be listed among the best for all time. 

Erin Finn
West Bloomfield senior
Cross country

Finn won her second straight MHSAA individual Lower Peninsula Division 1 championship, this time in 17:07.9. Her finish was the fastest from any of the four divisions that raced Saturday at Michigan International Speedway, and gave her the victory in hers by 27 seconds. Finn’s time was the fourth-best ever at an MHSAA Final. She has three of the top 15 times ever run at MIS, more than any other runner.

On track for more: Finn also won an MHSAA Track and Field championship last season, setting an all-division/class record in the 1,600 with a time of 10:17.86. That time was nearly five seconds better than the previous best.

Maize and Blue: Finn will run next season at the University of Michigan. The Wolverines cross country team is ranked No. 7 nationally heading into Friday's NCAA Great Lakes Regional. 

Scientifically speaking: Finn intends to study biomechanical engineering at U-M. "My junior year, I found out I love physics, and I already knew I loved bio and chemistry. So, what's better than to combine those?"

Runners to chase: “I looked up to Megan Goethals (of Rochester), number one, and Shannon Osika (of Waterford Mott). They’re people I competed with. I know that one day I can be like that. It’s more real to me.”

Click to read more.

Nick Raymond
Erie Mason senior
Cross country

After dashing to the lead last season and finishing fourth, Nick Raymond dominated the Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final at MIS with a time of 15:05.1 – the second-fastest time for a Division 3/Class C MHSAA Final to only Maverick Darling's 14:52.8 for Ovid-Elsie in 2007. Raymond is the first individual cross country champion from Erie Mason (not counting another who finished first among individuals before team and individual placers were combined for one race beginning in 1997) and also placed in both the 1,600 and 3,200 at the spring's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Track and Field Final. 

A long drive: "I've been working hard, since the first time (I ran) in sixth grade. Working hard and training hard over the summer and during mandatory practices too." 

Brotherly influence: Raymond began running cross country in the footsteps of his older brother Andrew Raymond, a 2010 graduate. "He told me, 'If you just keep working hard, just look forward at your dream, your goal, you will achieve it.'"

Now the pool, then the track: Raymond swims during the winter, specializing in butterfly and breaststroke. Then it's on to track. Raymond finished fourth in the 1,600 (4:21.84) and seventh in the 3,200 (9:44.91) at last season's Lower Peninsula Division 3 Final. 

Looking up to Pre: Like many in the running community, Raymond considers former Oregon and international star Steve Prefontaine a major influence. "I liked how he had a lot of faith in himself."

Click to read more. 

East Kentwood soccer

The top-ranked Falcons edged Grand Blanc 1-0 at Troy Athens to claim their fourth Division 1 championship in six seasons. They finished 22-1-4, their seventh with at least 20 wins in the last eight years. 

Click to read more. 

Previous 2012-13 honorees:

Grandville's Ethan Brown poses for a photo after winning the Division 1 title.

Better Than Perfection: Brown Follows Team Runner-Up Finish with Singles Championship

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 2, 2026

ALLEN PARK — Grandville senior Ethan Brown has bowled five perfect games during his young life, incredible given bowling just one might be the highlight of many people’s careers. 

It’s hard to believe Brown could do something that felt even better than all five of those perfect games combined. But he did just that Monday at the Division 1 Singles Bowling Finals.

Brown closed out his high school career by winning his first individual championship, finishing it off with a 419-384 victory over Salem junior Andrew Fsadni in the deciding match.

When asked if the title felt better than all those perfect games, Brown flashed a wide smile. 

“A lot better,” he said. 

Brown and the rest of his Grandville teammates went to bed Sunday night a little down after suffering a loss in the team championship match to Dearborn Unified. However, Brown quickly refocused and said getting far as a team paid big dividends for him during the individual tournament. 

“Coming in here yesterday gave me a great idea of what to do today,” he said. “I really think yesterday helped me prepare for today. You just have to keep a level head. The more you keep your head clear, the better.”

Brown was trailing in the early frames of the championship match but caught fire from there, bowling five straight strikes to take a 30-pin lead into the second game.

Following an open frame early in the second, Brown got hot again, rolling six straight strikes to create a deficit too large for Fsadni to overcome.

“At first, my ball wasn’t really coming back,” Brown said. “I talked to my coach, and we made an adjustment. Thankfully it was the right one. We just moved more right and tried to keep it a little inside to try and control that pocket and move that 10 (pin) out.”

Grandville head coach Nick Watkins said Brown was an important bowler on Grandville’s Division 1 championship team two years ago and has been relied on as the anchor bowler for most of this year.

“A heck of a bowler who was believing in himself,” Watkins said. “This year, he stepped up in his leadership role as a senior and helped out the team. He taught himself a lot more. I just couldn’t say any better words about a kid to have on the team.”

Brown was the No. 9 seed out of the qualifying block and started his run with a narrow 380-374 win over St. Clair Shores Lakeview freshman Drew Dimuzio in the round of 16. 

Brown then ran into a familiar foe in the quarterfinals, junior teammate Cash Pulcifer, who was the top seed out of the qualifying block. 

Brown earned a 469-418 victory.

“We told them, ‘Whoever wins better go win this one,’” Watkins said. “He did exactly his job.”

Brown went on to earn a 437-423 win over Detroit U-D Jesuit senior Emory Stone in the semifinals.

For Fsadni, it marked a second-straight trip to match play after losing in the quarterfinals last year. 

“I brought one of my urethane (balls) out, and I don’t normally throw it a lot,” Fsadni said. “But it looked great in practice, and I said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to bring it in here.’

“I had a great day. This was my goal all along was to be top two. Beat last year, because I have one more year to beat the last two years.”

The only sad part for Fsadni was that his team had six seniors whom he looked up to throughout his high school career. Next year, he’ll be the senior everyone seeks to follow.

“I’d never be here if it wasn’t for my team,” he said. “My goal (next year) is to get the underclassmen to find love for this sport.”

Seeded No. 2 out of the qualifying block, Fsadni first earned a 489-383 win over Muskegon Mona Shores senior Skyler Bosch in the round of 16. He then earned a 427-390 win over Troy Athens freshman Noah Magoian in the quarterfinals and a 405-388 triumph over Grand Blanc senior Lucas Knowles in the semifinals. 

Click for full results.