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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:

Hudson’s Nicholas Sorrow works toward a pin in his 113-pound match during the Division 4 Final.

Hudson Makes Big Stage Home Again in Division 4 Championship Repeat

By Jeff Chaney
Special for MHSAA.com

February 25, 2023

KALAMAZOO – The Hudson wrestling team is never afraid of the big stage. 

In fact, the Tigers thrive on it.

Hudson claimed its second-straight Division 4 team championship Saturday at Wings Event Center with an impressive 58-12 win over Bronson in the Final. 

The Tigers have won 10 team titles in head coach Scott Marry's 35 years of leading the program.

Marry said aside from a lot of hard work, it's a simple formula for the small school and community in southern Michigan.

 "We love  each other – I love my kids, and they love me," Marry said. "I love my coaching staff, and when you wrestle out of the environment like that, it settles in and it's really powerful. Everyone calls it momentum, but it's really love."

The love and momentum were on full display Saturday in Kalamazoo, especially in the championship match against Bronson. 

After falling behind 6-0 from a pin at 215 pounds, the Tigers ran off a string of nine straight wins. And among those nine straight wins, Hudson had seven pins. 

Starting the streak was senior heavyweight Aidan Rackowski with a pin in 2 minutes, 44 seconds. 

Pinning their opponents is a consistent theme for Hudson at the Finals. 

Bronson’s Matthew Blankenship, right, and St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano lock up at 285 in a Semifinal.During the Tigers’ 62-18 win over Iron Mountain in the Quarterfinal, 51-12 win over Martin/Climax-Scotts in the Semifinal and the championship victory over Bronson, Hudson had a total of 17 pins. 

"We just work on a lot of subconscious brain work in the room," Marry said, "And visualization and creativity. And that manifests itself; it's powerful. Believe it or not, kids nowadays really do want to learn. They want to be loved, and they want to be taken care of." 

The 17th and final pin of the weekend for Hudson came from senior Logan Sallows at 190 pounds. 

Sallows a returning Individual Finals placer.

"We push hard at practice," said Sallows, who is the second-ranked 190-pounder in Division 4 by Michigan Grappler. "We always want to get better as a team, always. Everyone is family, and we continue to push ourselves until we hit our limits." 

And those limits are high. 

Although it ran up against one of, if not the best team in Division 4 year in and year out, Bronson coach Chad Butters was proud of his team's run this year.

The third-seeded Vikings defeated Manchester in the Quarterfinals 39-19, then second-seeded St. Louis in the Semifinals 38-29. 

"We felt really good coming in here," said Butters, whose team ended with a 39-2 record. "I thought we wrestled really well against Manchester. Then against St. Louis, we showed a lot of toughness and grit. 

"Against Hudson, we knew we would have to pull off some upsets; that just didn't happen," he added. "They overwhelmed us. They wrestled their match. They did what they do best."

Bronson got its wins in the Final from Matthew Blankenship at 215, Carson Norton at 157 and Jacob Britten at 175.

"I am so proud of my young men," Butters said. "I am proud of their heart. We just fell short."

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Hudson’s Nicholas Sorrow works toward a pin in his 113-pound match during the Division 4 Final. (Middle) Bronson’s Matthew Blankenship, right, and St. Louis’ Ramon Anguiano lock up at 285 in a Semifinal. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)