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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:

Today In The MHSAA

Today in the MHSAA: 10/31/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

October 31, 2023

1. VOLLEYBALL Unranked Spring Lake opened Division 2 District play with a sweeping upset of No. 10 Holland Christian – Grand Haven Tribune

2. VOLLEYBALL Division 3 No. 5 Traverse City St. Francis came back from two sets down to defeat No. 6 Lake City – MI Sports Now

3. VOLLEYBALL Yale faced fifth-set game point against Division 2 honorable mention Croswell-Lexington but came back from a 14-6 deficit in the decider to win – Port Huron Times Herald

4. VOLLEYBALL Sidney Shepherd went over 2,000 career assists as Whitehall defeated Montague in five sets in Division 3 – Local Sports Journal

5. VOLLEYBALL No. 9 Manistique opened Division 3 District play with a sweep of Gladstone – Escanaba Daily Press

6. VOLLEYBALL Napoleon stood tall in a Division 3 District sweep of Concord – Jackson Citizen Patriot

7. VOLLEYBALL Bloomfield Hills opened in Division 1 with a sweep of Walled Lake Western – Oakland Press

8. VOLLEYBALL Division 1 honorable mention Battle Creek Harper Creek improved to 37-10-5 with a sweep of Sturgis – Battle Creek Enquirer

9. VOLLEYBALL No. 4 Lake Odessa Lakewood began Division 2 District play with a sweep of Ionia – FOX 17

10. CROSS COUNTRY Jackson Lumen Christi swept Chris Jensen Memorial Run championships; the girls are ranked No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 3, and the boys are No. 12 – Jackson Citizen Patriot