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.”
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."
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.
Previous 2012-13 honorees:
- Julia Bos, Grand Rapids Christian cross country - Click for more
- Morgan Bullock, Zeeland swimming - Click for more
- Nathan Burnand, Waterford Mott cross country - Click for more
- Aaron Chatfield, Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian soccer - Click for more
- Billy Heckman, Portage Central tennis - Click for more
- Codi Jenshak, Escanaba tennis - Click for more
- Amanda McKinzie, Battle Creek St. Philip cross country - Click for more
- Connor Mora, Cedar Springs cross country - Click for more
- Kelsey Murphy, Plymouth golf - Click for more
- Dewey Lewis, Rockford soccer - Click for more
- Jacqueline Setas, Lansing Catholic golf - Click for more
- Michael Sienko, Williamston tennis - Click for more
- Beal City volleyball - Click for more
- Grand Blanc boys soccer - Click for more
- Ithaca football - Click for more
- Lansing Everett football - Click for more
- Ludington boys tennis - Click for more
- Muskegon Mona Shores girls golf - Click for more
Rochester Adams, East Kentwood's Fennell Claim Finals Wins by Narrowest of Margins
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
October 21, 2023
EAST LANSING – Conditions were chilly and rainy, but the down-to-the-wire drama at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 1 Girls Golf Final was enough to warm up anyone with adrenaline.
And this was true both from a team and individual medalist perspective at Forest Akers West.
In the team portion, it became apparent on the back nine that the championship was a two-team race between 2022 champion Rochester Adams and No. 1-ranked Brighton.
Back-and-forth the teams went until they were tied going into the last hole.
From there, it was Adams which did just enough to squeak by, pulling out a one-shot win with a final score of 669 to repeat as champion. Had the teams tied, Brighton would have won with the fifth-score tiebreaker.
The next closest score behind Brighton’s 670 was produced by Plymouth, which took third with a 683.
Rockford (693) and Rochester (695) rounded out the top five.
Plymouth was in first with a seven-shot lead over Adams and an 11-shot lead over Brighton after the first round. But while Adams was 15 shots better and Brighton 22 shots better in the second round, Plymouth was 13 shots worse.
“The last 10 holes were up and down and back and forth,” Adams head coach Jeff Kutschman said. “I think it was the girls just sticking to their game. Just fighting all the way to the end and fighting for every stroke.”
The Highlanders were led by senior Laura Liu, who shot a pair of 75s to tie for fourth individually with a final score of 150.
Senior Katie Fodale shot a 158 (82-76) to tie for eighth with Brighton senior Abbie Pietila.
The repeat crown capped off a season that saw Adams struggle during the first couple of months but come on in the end when it counted most.
Adams performed better to win its Regional at Twin Lakes and entered the Final healthier than it had been all season, especially since Fodale didn’t hit a golf ball for months until roughly two weeks before the season started after suffering a shoulder injury.
“She got a lot better throughout the season,” Kutschman said. “Peyton Sage, our No. 5, played great down the stretch and helped us win the league and the Regional. They all just did what they needed to do today and yesterday. I think experience helps a lot.”
Brighton finished runner-up to Adams for a second-straight year, although this one was a lot more crushing than finishing 47 shots behind the Highlanders last fall.
In addition to Pietila’s performance, Brighton was led by senior Madison Martens, who shot a 74 in the second round after shooting an 86 in the first.
“It’s golf,” Brighton head coach Paul Parsell said. “A lot of times it can go your way, and this day it didn’t go our way. I’m super proud of all the girls that battled hard. Starting out in fifth place and getting it down to the last putt.”
The individual title also came down to the last hole and putt.
East Kentwood senior Elise Fennell ended up claiming the crown by one shot over Byron Center senior Macie Elzinga and Rockford senior Jessica Jolly, shooting a pair of 70s for a final total of 140.
Fennell’s last hole was the third hole on the course, a par 4, and said she was fully aware of what was going on and what she needed to do.
“I was watching scores, and I wanted to know,” Fennell said. “I figured par or birdie (would win).”
Headed to college golf for Illinois State, Fennell won the title this year by a stroke after finishing one shot behind Kate Brody of Grand Blanc last year.
“It feels amazing,” Fennell said. “It’s kind of been bothering me all year wanting to get it done.”
PHOTOS (Top) East Kentwood's Elise Fennell lines up a putt during the LP Division 1 Final. (Middle) Rochester Adams celebrates its repeat Finals championship. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)