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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:

Glen Lake’s Jessie Pugh (14) gets through the lane and to the basket during Thursday’s second Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center.

Early Jitters Fade Away as Glen Lake Makes Way to Championship Day

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 16, 2023

EAST LANSING — As far as a good sign despite futility goes, this couldn’t have been any better for Maple City Glen Lake in its Division 4 Semifinal against Adrian Lenawee Christian on Thursday.

Glen Lake had shot 3 of 20 from the field in the first quarter, despite many of those opportunities coming from close range near the basket. 

But the Lakers still led 10-4. 

From there, the shooting picked up and so did the lead throughout the next three quarters for Glen Lake, which ended up surging to a 49-31 win. 

The Lakers will attempt to win their first Finals championship since claiming the Class D title in 1978 when they meet Baraga at 10 a.m. Saturday. 

“You felt their nerves,” Glen Lake head coach Jason Bradford said. “I just told them at halftime to slow it down. Slow it down, face up, see that hoop and put it in. I think the nerves got a little bit better in the second half, and they had better composure.”

Players scramble for a loose ball during the Lakers’ eventual 49-31 victory.Glen Lake started to find the basket more in the second quarter, scoring 15 points in the frame to take a 25-11 lead into halftime. 

The Lakers built their lead to 18 points at 31-13 with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter and held a 37-20 lead going into the fourth. 

Glen Lake took a 45-24 lead with 4:50 left and was never threatened. 

Senior Maddie Bradford had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Ruby Hogan nearly had a triple-double registering 13 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds to lead the way for Glen Lake (25-2).

The Lakers dominated the boards, outrebounding Lenawee Christian by a 47-30 margin and collecting 20 offensive rebounds. 

“I think that was huge,” Jason Bradford said. “Rebound, rebound. We preach it in practice, and we’re always working on that. You have to be aggressive. Rebounds are kind of like extra (possessions) and free points.” 

Isabelle Kirkendall scored 11 points and Avery Sluss added eight for the Cougars (18-11). 

Lenawee Christian returned to the Semifinals despite losing four starters from last year’s team, this time guided by first-year head coach Emilie Beach. 

“Big picture, this is so special,” Beach said. “At our school, it seems like the norm to win your District, win your Regional and get to the Final Four. This is so special.” 

Glen Lake was making its second-straight Semifinal trip as well after losing in Division 3 a year ago, and seemed to overall benefit from that experience despite the slow start offensively.

“Nerves are going to come,” Hogan said. “You know it’s going to be there, and you’re going to have slip-ups because you are getting used to the big crowd at this stage. Just being able to bounce back from that in the second quarter and second half and making those shots you missed in the first quarter (was nice).”

Click for the full box score.

PHOTOS (Top) Glen Lake’s Jessie Pugh (14) gets through the lane and to the basket during Thursday’s second Division 4 Semifinal at Breslin Center. (Middle) Players scramble for a loose ball during the Lakers’ eventual 49-31 victory.