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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:

Grand Rapids Christian players celebrate their Division 2 championship Saturday at McLane Stadium.

GR Christian Makes Good on Season-Long Goal: Finish as D2's Best

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

June 17, 2023

EAST LANSING – Ever since losing in the Division 2 championship game a year ago, there was one mantra for Grand Rapids Christian: Finish the job.

“That was our goal all year,” Grand Rapids head coach Brent Gates said. “We wanted the dogpile at the end.”

Consider the job finished.

This time, it was Grand Rapids Christian’s players piling on each other in celebration at Michigan State’s McLane Stadium after gutting out a 2-1 win over Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett. 

It was sweet redemption for the Eagles (36-5), who won their first Finals title since 2013 and third overall, and fell to Ada Forest Hills Eastern 3-0 in last year’s deciding game.

Ranked No. 1 in the state entering the tournament, the Eagles outscored their opponents 57-8 during their run. 

“We talked about it all year, and this is what we worked for,” said senior Cam Seth, who played the biggest role in the championship game. 

The Eagles’ Cam Seth (8) delivers after coming on in relief. In the first inning, Seth came to the plate with two runners on and two out following a pair of errors by Liggett. Seth then drilled a 2-run triple to right field to give Grand Rapids Christian a 2-0 lead. 

“He threw a curveball, so I knew he was coming fastball,” Seth said. “He put it right where I liked it.”

As it turned out, that would be the only runs Grand Rapids Christian would need thanks to some clutch pitching by senior starter Ty Uchman, and then Seth in relief. 

In the top of the second, Liggett loaded the bases with two outs for Clemson-bound Jarren Purify, but Uchman got Purify to hit a hard grounder to short for a force out that ended the threat. 

In the fourth, Liggett had runners on first and third with two outs, but a groundout ended the inning. 

Finally in the fifth, Liggett pushed a run across on a fielder’s choice by senior and University of Texas-bound catcher Oliver Service, cutting Grand Rapids Christian’s lead to 2-1. 

After the first two runners for Liggett reached that inning, Uchman was pulled for Seth, who helped his team preserve the lead by getting three outs.

Following a 1-2-3 sixth, Seth had the daunting task in the seventh of facing the top of Liggett’s order – Purify, junior Reggie Sharpe and Service. 

A Grand Rapids Christian hitter connects. Purify laced a rope to left, but it hung up and was caught for the first out. Sharpe then grounded out on a close play at first for the second.

Service faced a 1-2 count, but eventually worked a walk and took second with two outs after a wild pitch. 

But Seth beared down and induced a groundout to end the game. 

“Great players, and I just wanted to attack them,” Seth said. “Just give them everything I got and leave it all out there. That’s what I tried to do.”

Liggett will lament not being able to come up with the big hit. The Knights finished 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. 

Junior ace Preston Barr allowed only four hits, struck out three and walked just one for Liggett (26-12).

“We just didn’t get a hit with guys on base,” Liggett head coach Dan Cimini said. “You’ve just got to tip your cap to them. Their pitchers, both of them, did a really good job. We put the ball in play, we just didn’t get big hits. It happens. It’s baseball.” 

Click for the box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Grand Rapids Christian players celebrate their Division 2 championship Saturday at McLane Stadium. (Middle) The Eagles’ Cam Seth (8) delivers after coming on in relief. (Below) A Grand Rapids Christian hitter connects. (Photos by John Castine/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)