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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: 5/24/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 24, 2021

1. Track & Field: Northville’s boys won their first Regional title since 1968, topping a 15-team field in Lower Peninsula Division 1 – Observer & Eccentric

2. Girls Tennis: No. 2 Bloomfield Hills Marian was the champ and No. 5 Birmingham Groves runner-up at their Lower Peninsula Division 2 Regional – Oakland Press

3. Track & Field: Carson City Crystal’s No. 3-ranked boys won their first Regional championship, in LPD4 – Mount Pleasant Morning Sun

4. Track & Field: Petoskey’s girls edged Freeland’s by 1.5 points for the Regional win in LPD2 thanks to a seventh place in the final event – Petoskey News-Review

5. Girls Soccer: Division 2 No. 16 Dearborn Divine Child downed Farmington Hills Mercy 3-2 in the Detroit Catholic League Bishop championship game to clinch its first league title in this sport – Southgate News-Herald

6. Track & Field: Oak Park’s girls edged Detroit Renaissance by 20 points to win their LPD1 Regional – Oakland Press

7. Track & Field: Macomb Dakota swept LPD1 Regional titles, with Clinton Township Chippewa Valley freshman Shamar Heard the talk of the meet. Dakota’s girls are ranked No. 5 and the boys are No. 6 – Macomb Daily

8. Girls Soccer: Armada avenged its lone league defeat with a 7-2 win over Division 3 No. 20 Algonac to secure the Blue Water Area Conference title – Macomb Daily

9. Boys Tennis: West Iron County edged Negaunee by a point to win the Kingsford Invitational, which featured the top teams in the Upper Peninsula – Marquette Mining Journal

10. Boys Golf: LPD1 No. 3 Detroit Catholic Central shot a two-round 620 to win the Katke Classic, with LPD3 No. 1 Hanover-Horton placing second – Big Rapids News

Also of note …

Boys Golf: LPD4 No. 4 Charlevoix wrapped up the Lake Michigan Conference title shooting a 312 – Petoskey News-Review

Boys Lacrosse: Ryan Stadelmaier set the MHSAA single-game record with 16 assists as part of Midland/Dow’s 22-1 win over Linden in a Division 1 Regional opener – Midland Daily News

Baseball: Division 4 No. 14 Muskegon Catholic Central clinched a share of the Lakes 8 Conference title with a 6-1 win over Muskegon Orchard View – Local Sports Journal

Girls Soccer: Schoolcraft’s Hannah Thompson set the single-season state goals record this spring. But the most incredible story tells of how she has saved her mother’s life twice – Kalamazoo Gazette