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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: 2/6/23

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 7, 2023

1. WRESTLING Gaylord ran its Big North Conference championship streak to 16 seasons – Petoskey News-Review

2. GYMNASTICS Rockford won the 17-team Canton Invitational, which annually draws the majority of Finals contenders – Twitter

3. HOCKEY Division 1 No. 5 Hartland handed Division 2 No. 1 Byron Center a 6-3 loss at the Michigan Interscholastic Hockey League Showcase; Byron Center was the last undefeated team left in Michigan after Division 3 No. 1 Houghton and Division 1 top-ranked Detroit Catholic Central also lost earlier in the weekend at the MIHL Showcase – Livingston Daily Press & Argus

4. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING Fraser won its first Macomb County Invitational in 20 years, ending a three-season title run by Lower Peninsula Division 1 No. 5 Macomb Dakota – Macomb Daily

5. WRESTLING Royal Oak claimed the Oakland Activities Association White title after winning the Blue the previous two seasons – Oakland Press

6. BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD2 top-ranked Birmingham Groves edged No. 4 Seaholm to win the Oakland County Championship meet – Oakland Press

7. WRESTLING Division 3 No. 3 Algonac edged No. 5 Richmond to finish first at the Blue Water Area Conference Tournament – Macomb Daily

8. WRESTLING Clare repeated as Jack Pine Conference champion after winning the league title for the first time last year – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

9. WRESTLING Iron Mountain finished a repeat championship in the Mid-Peninsula Conference – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. WRESTLNG Wyandotte Roosevelt and Gibraltar Carlson shared the Downriver League title for the second-straight season – Southgate News-Herald

Also of note …

WRESTLING St. Clair in the Blue, New Haven in the Silver, Grosse Pointe South in the Gold, Division 1 No. 4 Macomb Dakota in the Red and Utica in the White won Macomb Area Conference tournament titles – Macomb Daily

BOYS BASKETBALL Port Huron clinched a share of the MAC Silver title with a 56-42 win over St. Clair Shores Lakeview – Macomb Daily

BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING LPD3 No. 7 Dundee repeated as champion at the Monroe County Championship – Monroe News

WRESTLING Muskegon Reeths-Puffer claimed the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green championship – Local Sports Journal

BOYS BASKETBALL North Farmington handed Muskegon its first loss, 68-55 at Aquinas College – MLIVE-Detroit

WRESTLING Stevensville Lakeshore locked up the Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference title – St. Joseph Herald-Palladium