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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:

Powers North Central’s Maddy Corrigan anticipates the official’s signal for pin during her 100th career victory last week at Bark River-Harris.

Corrigan Siblings Carry Success Into Regionals, Celebrate Madalyn's Milestone Win

By John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com

February 13, 2025

HARRIS — Like sister, like brother.

Upper PeninsulaThe wrestling season is winding down for Madalyn and Mitch Corrigan, who are already well into their individual championship pursuits.

Madalyn, a senior, wrestles for Powers North Central, and Mitch is a sophomore grappler at Bark River-Harris.

Despite the rivalry, the two siblings cheer for and support each other.

“We try to motivate each other,” Madalyn said. “I tell him, ‘You can do the same and more.’ If he’s in a good mood, he does the same for me.”

Madalyn earned her 100th career victory by pinning her Norway opponent 86 seconds into the 113-pound match during last week’s Division 4 Team District Final at Bark River-Harris.

Her victory also helped the Jets earn their first District title with a 36-30 triumph over the Knights.

“This is pretty exciting,” she said. “This wasn’t a goal I had in mind, but it means a lot. We’re only in our second year. None of us thought this would be possible so soon. I was depending on my teammates to make weight and win the first match so I could get my 100th. I had 14 victories after my freshman year. It never entered my mind that I would reach 100.”

The Jets also topped BR-H 36-30 in last Thursday’s opener, and Norway edged Iron Mountain 36-35 to advance.

Mitch Corrigan, left, wrestles North Central’s Myles Nehring.“I knew Maddy really wanted it,” Mitch Corrigan said. “She looked real happy, and I was pretty happy for her. There’s lot of competitiveness at home. Although, I wanted to see her do well even when they wrestled against us.”

Mitch won his match as well, taking a 13-9 decision at 215 pounds.

“One of our kids had to stop wrestling due to family issues,” he said. “I got bumped up a weight class and made sure to keep my hips back. This has been a big learning experience.”

Maddy Corrigan needed just 44 seconds to win by pin in a 120-pound match during the District Semifinal.

“I had a lot of motivation coming into this meet,” she said. “When I put my first foot on the mat, I told myself, ‘All you got.’ I left everything on the mat.”

Mitch Corrigan said he had high hopes going into Saturday’s Individual District at Manistique, where he reached the championship match and dropped a 15-12 decision to Charlevoix sophomore Ryan Glass at 190 but still advanced to this Saturday’s Individual Regional at Charlevoix.

“Maddy and I will be following each other the rest of the way,” Mitch said.

Maddy Corrigan also took runner-up honors in her Individual District at Gaylord, dropping a 4-3 decision to Frankfort junior Isabella Compton in the 115-pound title bout.

North Central’s team run ended Wednesday in Team Regional competition. But she will compete in the Individual Regional on Sunday at Cadillac.

The Individual Finals are set for Feb. 28-March 1 at Ford Field in Detroit.

John VrancicJohn Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.

PHOTOS (Top) Powers North Central’s Maddy Corrigan anticipates the official’s signal for pin during her 100th career victory last week at Bark River-Harris. (Middle) Mitch Corrigan, left, wrestles North Central’s Myles Nehring. (Photos courtesy of the Escanaba Daily Press.)