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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: 5/3/21

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 3, 2021

1. Track & Field: Birmingham Seaholm’s Audrey DaDamio and Ann Arbor Skyline’s Hobbs Kessler won Barnyard Invitational championships against fields including many of the state’s top distance runners – Macomb Daily

2. Baseball: Division 1 No. 13 Saline handed the first loss this season to Division 2 top-ranked Orchard Lake St. Mary’s, 2-1 – State Champs Sports Network

3. Softball: Kami Morse hit two home runs in an emotion-fueled performance as Jenison went 3-0 to win its invitational – FOX 17

4. Girls Tennis: North Muskegon – No. 2 in Lower Peninsula Division 4 – won its third Greater Muskegon Athletic Association championship in four seasons, just ahead of Mona Shores and Whitehall – Local Sports Journal

5. Track & Field: Reeths-Puffer won its first GMAA championship since 2006 and Whitehall won the girls title the next day – Muskegon Chronicle Girls | Boys

6. Softball: Muskegon Oakridge moved up a tier in the GMAA tournament and won its fifth-straight championship – Local Sports Journal

7. Girls Soccer: Rochester Adams earned an impressive 1-0 win over Novi – Oakland Press

8. Track & Field: Grand Blanc swept Flint Carman-Ainsworth Invitational championships – WJRT

9. Boys Golf: Norway shot a 323 to edge Houghton by seven strokes and win its invitational – Iron Mountain Daily News

10. Baseball: Muskegon Mona Shores clinched its third-straight GMAA Tier 1 title – Local Sports Journal

Also of note …

Softball: Portage Central celebrated the life of Sophie Varney with its Sophie Strong game and dedication of new batting cages; she died in December after battling an inoperable brain tumor – Kalamazoo Gazette