Logo

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:

MHSAA TV

Lower Peninsula Cross Country, Boys Soccer Finals Make for Big Broadcast Saturday

By Jon Ross
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

November 3, 2021

All eight Lower Peninsula Girls & Boys Cross Country Finals and all four Boys Soccer Finals will be broadcast Saturday on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network, capping a viewing schedule that also will include Soccer Semifinals, Volleyball District Semifinals and Finals and Football District and Regional Finals.

Nearly 2,000 Lower Peninsula runners will take to the course at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday (Nov. 6), with races beginning at 9:30 a.m. Coverage will include views from cameras at starting line, the 1- and 2-mile marks, the finish line and throughout the race from the lead cart.

The Division 4 and 3 races begin at 9:30 a.m. and can viewed at this link: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam0fa8764d8b

Division 2 and 1 races begin at 1:30 p.m. and can viewed here:
https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam81321985cc

Saturday’s Division 1 and 4 Boys Soccer Finals will be played at Novi High School, with Divisions 2 and 3 at Comstock Park High School. The larger schools at each site will play at noon, followed by the smaller-school divisions at 3 p.m.

Division 1 – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam2b096b5062
Division 2 – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam8aea573f91
Division 3 – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam8b0ab1143e
Division 4 – https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/mhsaa-mi/gam5ad1cdfa45
Audio of all four Boys Soccer Finals will be available at http://mhsaanetwork.com/.

Five of eight Wednesday (Nov. 3) Semifinals also will be broadcast. See schedule with links below:

Division 1 – 6 p.m. – Grosse Pointe South vs. New Baltimore Anchor Bay
Division 1 – 7 p.m. – Northville vs. Okemos
Division 2 – 6 p.m. – DeWitt vs. Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice
Division 3 – 7 p.m. – Allen Park Inter-City Baptist vs. Clarkston Everest Collegiate
Division 3 – 7 p.m. – Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Elk Rapids

The MHSAA Volleyball Tournament continues Wednesday (Nov. 3) and Thursday with District Semifinals, with District Finals also to be played at some sites Thursday and most Friday and Saturday – more than 30 District Finals are on the broadcast schedule.

More than 50 of this weekend’s 11-Player Football District Finals and 8-Player Regional Finals will be broadcast this weekend as well on MHSAA.tv. Links to coverage of both are below:  

Volleyball | Football

MHSAA media partner Bally Sports Detroit will continue its weekly live cable TV broadcasts with Friday’s Division 3 District Final of River Rouge (7-2) at Detroit Martin Luther King (9-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on BSD’s PLUS channel, and the game also may be watched on the BSD website and app.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 per month. Subscribers have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.

More than 400 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 13th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.