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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: 8/30/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 30, 2021

1. CROSS COUNTRY The Ann Arbor Pioneer girls and Traverse City Central boys won big-school championships, Johannesburg-Lewiston swept the small-school titles, and Hartland’s Riley Hough and Central’s Julia Flynn won races featuring some of the state’s elite individuals at the Benzie Central Pete Moss Invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

2. CROSS COUNTRY The Marquette girls edged Negaunee by a point, and the Marquette boys dominated as the school swept the Queen City Invitational titles – Marquette Mining Journal

3. BOYS SOCCER After ferrying across Lake Michigan, Ludington won the inaugural Carferry Classic Cup by downing Wisconsin’s Manitowoc Lincoln – Ludington Daily News

4. VOLLEYBALL Kingsford downed Niagara, Wis., in a tiebreaker to win the Great 8 Fall Classic at Forest Park – Iron Mountain Daily News

5. BOYS TENNIS Midland edged Petoskey by a point to win the eight-team Bill Baum Invitational – Midland Daily News

6. VOLLEYBALL Muskegon Mona Shores repeated as champion at Grand Haven’s Battle on the Boardwalk – Grand Haven Tribune

7. VOLLEYBALL Division 4 No. 5 Traverse City Christian downed host Kingsley 2-1 in the final of the Stags’ invitational – Traverse City Record-Eagle

8. CROSS COUNTRY Holland West Ottawa’s girls won the Under the Light Invitational at Grand Rapids South Christian; the Portage Central boys and both Forest Hills Eastern teams also won championships – Holland Sentinel

9. VOLLEYBALL Division 2 No. 6 Cadillac downed Clio a second time to finish a 5-0 day and championship run at its home invitational – Cadillac News

10. BOYS TENNIS Battle Creek Lakeview claimed its sixth-straight All-City championship – Battle Creek Enquirer

Also of note …

HEALTH & SAFETY Grand Rapids-based be nice. began providing valuable mental health training for MHSAA preseason coaches meetings in 2019, and received some much-deserved national recognition on the TODAY show – TODAY