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:

2021 Individual Gymnastics Champion

2021 Champs Make Up for 2020's Lost Opportunities

By Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com

March 27, 2021

ROCKFORD – Lizzie Maurer’s 2020 bid for an all-around gymnastics championship was cut short as the pandemic ended last season prematurely. 

The Grand Ledge senior had one more shot at achieving her goal at Saturday’s MHSAA Individual Finals at Rockford High School – and she made the most of it. 

Maurer claimed the Division 1 individual all-around championship with a total score of 37.450 across her four events.

She clipped Rockford sophomore Lacey Sheid, who finished with a 37.400.

Farmington United senior Sydney Schultz won the all-around in Division 2 with a score of 37.000, while Rockford’s Anna Tracey (35.775) placed runner-up.

Individual Gymnastics Finals 2

Maurer placed fourth in the Division 1 all-around two years ago and was looking forward to her final chance.

“Ever since my freshman year, my coach and I kind of knew that I had the potential to win,” Mauer said. “And after having that taken away from me last year with COVID and everything, I really wanted to come in this year and try my hardest to fight for that top spot.”

Maurer won three of the four events. She took top honors in the floor exercise by producing a career-best score (9.8) and also won vault (9.525) while tying Livonia Stevenson’s Autumn Wronikowski on the balance beam as both scored a 9.575. 

The beam gave Maurer troubles in the team competition Friday night, as she fell, but she redeemed herself in victorious fashion.

She also overcame a minor injury on her first rotation of the day.

“I had a pretty bad bar rotation and I injured my elbow, so we weren’t sure how I was going to do,” Maurer said. “It was a rough way to start the meet, but I’m really proud of how I did on everything.

“I stayed on the beam and won, and on floor I had my highest score in my gymnastics career. I hit my first 9.8 so that really got me motivated to do vault.”

Maurer knew she needed a high score in that final event.

“We were looking at other people’s scores and saw I needed that 9.5 to win,” she said. “I just really ran into that vault, and sticking it I think was the highlight because it was the end of my career and it’s what won the meet for me.”

Scheid topped the field in the beam with a score of 9.650 and was runner-up to Maurer in the floor exercise. 

“I was so happy with my bars,” Scheid said. “I have not hit a good bar routine in a while. I didn’t hit my feet on my bail and I almost stuck my double, so I was super proud of it.”

Individual Gymnastics Finals 3A tough beam effort prevented Scheid from overtaking Maurer.

“I’m a little disappointed because of my beam performance,” she said. “If I would’ve stayed on the beam I could’ve won, but that’s OK. I’m super proud of how I did and super proud of who won because she did an amazing job.” 

Scheid was making her debut appearance at the Finals.

“This was my first state meet because I had never done high school gymnastics, so my expectations were very low,” Scheid said. “I just wanted to get a feel of the environment and what to expect. My goal was to not win, it was to have fun and stay calm. I hope I can carry that throughout to senior year.”

Schultz notched high scores on the vault (9.450) and bars (9.225). She tied for third on floor (9.125).

“I just tried to take one event at a time,” Schultz said. “I was just trying to keep my cool, I guess.”

Schultz finished sixth in the all-around at the 2019 Finals.

“I was just happy that I kept a positive attitude through all of it,” Schultz said. “I have a hard time with that sometimes.”

Tracey, a junior, snagged the beam title with a score of 9.375. Jackson’s Addi Richmond won the Division 2 floor exercise with a 9.325.

Click for full Division 1 and Division 2 results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Grand Ledge's Lizzie Maurer performs her beam routine during Saturday's Division 1 Individual Finals. (Middle) Rockford/Sparta's Lacey Sheid performs her floor exercise routine. (Below) Farmington United's Sydney Schultz also performs on floor. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)