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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:

Tom Rashid

MHSAA Associate Director Rashid Dies at 66

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

December 4, 2021

Thomas M. Rashid, who served as associate director for two executives during 18 years with the Michigan High School Athletic Association, died Friday, Dec. 3, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 66.

Rashid became lead assistant to retired Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts in 2003, and continued serving in that position after Roberts’ retirement and the selection of Mark Uyl as the next MHSAA leader in 2018.

Rashid was best-known by the athletic directors who have served the MHSAA’s 750 high schools, as Rashid often was their first call with questions regarding the MHSAA Handbook or eligibility issues. Rashid also led the annual UPDATE meetings tour, during which he would provide training and answers on the latest rules changes at stops all over the state. He coordinated and presented orientations each fall for newly-hired athletic directors and also presented annual sessions to administrative assistants.

He served as the MHSAA’s administrator of boys lacrosse for its entirety as an MHSAA-sponsored sport, beginning in 2005, and also oversaw the MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe, Allen W. Bush and Vern L. Norris awards programs.

“We are heartbroken with the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Tom,” Uyl said. “He had so many incredible gifts, the greatest being his ability to talk and communicate with people even when having to share difficult or bad news. He was so good with people, and his care and concern for others is one of Tom’s greatest legacies. 

“So many of us are hurting because Tom was such a special man who made impacting people and school sports in our state his life’s work and passion. His example and legacy of helping others will live on within the MHSAA community for years.”

Prior to joining the MHSAA staff, Rashid served as director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, and as Director of the Catholic High School League, for 15 years. In those positions, he coordinated athletic schedules and tournaments for the league’s 37 schools. He also served on the MHSAA’s legislative body – the Representative Council – from 1988 until his hire at the MHSAA, including as the Council’s Secretary-Treasurer.

Rashid graduated from St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn in 1973. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in history from Eastern Michigan University, and his master’s degree in urban education from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

He became athletic director at St. Alphonsus in 1977, serving in that position for seven years before working in the same capacity at Riverview Gabriel Richard for slightly more than three years until joining the Catholic League staff as assistant director in December 1987. He assumed the Catholic League’s top post the following August.

Rashid sat on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association from 1988-2000 and served as its president in 1998.

He received national recognition in 1999 when he was presented with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s State Award of Merit. In 2001, Rashid was honored with the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award, which recognizes noteworthy behind-the-scenes support to interscholastic athletics. In 2003, Rashid received Athletic Director of the Year awards from the MIAAA and National High School Athletic Coaches Association, and he also received an NFHS Citation that year.

He was named to the Detroit Catholic High School League Hall of Fame in 2002 and Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017. He also received the MIAAA's Special Recognition Award in 2017 for his continued service to the school sports community.