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:

Network Loaded with Playoff Action

November 3, 2020

By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties

To say there’s a lot of great high school action in the coming week on the MHSAA.tv, MHSAANetwork.com and FOXSportsDetroit.com websites is an understatement.

More Girls Volleyball Tournament action than ever before runs throughout a week culminating with more than 50 Football Playoff games, the Boys Soccer Finals and two days of Cross Country Finals.

The Lower Peninsula Cross Country Finals will take place Friday and Saturday (Nov. 6-7) at Michigan International Speedway, with a modified format. There will be two heats in each division for each gender.  The first race will include third-place Regional team finishers and individual qualifiers, with the second race made up of teams that finished first or second at Regionals. 

The Cross Country coverage is enhanced this year with an additional camera on the back of the course to better capture the first 800 meters, and the 1.5-mile and 2.25-mile marks of the race. The traditional Finish Line camera also will cover the action, with commentary from a crew of announcers. 

Here’s the schedule:

Friday – Nov. 6
Division 1 Finals - Boys at 9:30 and 10 a.m. - Girls at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Division 2 Finals - Boys at 1:30 and 2 p.m. - Girls at 3 and 3:30 p.m.
 
Saturday – Nov. 7
Division 3 Finals  - Boys at 9:30 and 10 a.m. - Girls at 11 and 11:30 a.m.
Division 4 Finals - Boys at 1:30 and 2 p.m. - Girls at 3 and 3:30 p.m.

On Saturday the Boys Soccer Finals will have live audio and video streaming of its championship games from Novi and Comstock Park High Schools. Two games will be played at each site with the game times set for Noon and 3 p.m. The finalists will be determined following Semifinal play on Wednesday (Nov. 4), with all four of those games being streaming live video on MHSAA.tv and live audio on MHSAANetwork.com.

Lots of Football Playoff games will take place beginning Friday evening with three featured games as part of the FOX Sports Detroit “Game of the Week” and the FOX Sports Prep Zone.  All of these games can be seen on FoxSportsDetroit.com and on FOX Sports Go! for handheld and streaming devices like Roku. Here are this weekend games:

  • Hudsonville at Rockford – Prep Zone – Friday, 7 p.m.
  • Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central at Muskegon Mona Shores – Prep Zone – Friday, 7 p.m.
  • Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley at Rochester Hills Stoney Creek – FOX Sports Detroit “Game of the Week” – Friday, 7:30 p.m.

MHSAA.tv will play host to more than 50 District Semifinal Football Playoff games over the weekend, most produced by participants in the School Broadcast Program with traditional student crews or Pixellot units. The NFHS Network is providing bonus coverage of one additional game on Friday – Bath at Laingsburg. Here’s the complete schedule: 

Friday - Nov. 6
Suttons Bay  vs. Whittemore-Prescott   - 6 PM
Whitehall  vs. Coopersville   - 6 PM
Montrose  vs. Chesaning   - 6:40 PM
Adrian Lenawee Christian vs. Mayville   - 6:50 PM
DeWitt  vs. Lansing Waverly   - 6:50 PM
Lowell  vs. Caledonia   - 6:55 PM
Belleville  vs. Northville   - 7 PM
Birmingham Seaholm  vs. Birmingham Groves   - 7 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven  vs. Dearborn   - 7 PM
Cadillac  vs. Alma   - 7 PM
Cass City  vs. Sandusky   - 7 PM
Charlevoix  vs. Mancelona   - 7 PM
Corunna  vs. Richmond   - 7 PM
Detroit Catholic Central  vs. Novi   - 7 PM
East Grand Rapids  vs. Holland   - 7 PM
East Lansing  vs. Portage Central   - 7 PM
Fenton  vs. North Farmington   - 7 PM
Frankenmuth  vs. Almont   - 7 PM
Freeland  vs. Midland Bullock Creek   - 7 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central  vs. Belding  - 7 PM
Ithaca  vs. Ravenna   - 7 PM
Laingsburg  vs. Bath   - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere  vs. Sterling Heights Chandler Park - 7 PM
Manistee  vs. Grayling   - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake  vs. Boyne City   - 7 PM
Mason  vs. Fowlerville   - 7 PM
Millington  vs. Mt Morris   - 7 PM
Muskegon Mona Shores  vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central   - 7 PM – FOX Sports Prep Zone
New Lothrop  vs. Burton Bendle   - 7 PM
Ortonville Brandon  vs. Goodrich   - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Detroit Country Day   - 7 PM
Portage Northern  vs. Battle Creek  Lakeview - 7 PM
Redford Union  vs. Livonia Clarenceville   - 7 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard vs. Jackson Lumen Christi - 7 PM
Rockford  vs. Hudsonville   - 7 PM – FOX Sports Prep Zone
Romulus Summit Academy North  vs. Dearborn Heights Robichaud   - 7 PM
Saline  vs. Ann Arbor  Huron - 7 PM
South Lyon  vs. Walled Lake Western   - 7 PM
St. Joseph  vs. Battle Creek Harper Creek   - 7 PM
Traverse City Central  vs. Swartz Creek   - 7 PM
West Bloomfield  vs. Troy   - 7 PM
White Lake Lakeland  vs. Howell   - 7 PM
Zeeland West  vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg   - 7 PM
Rochester Hills Stoney Creek  vs. Clinton Twp.  Chippewa Valley - 7:30 PM – FOX Sports Detroit Game of Week
 
Saturday - Nov. 7
Traverse City St. Francis  vs. Harbor Springs   - 12 PM
Hemlock  vs. Bad Axe   - 1 PM
Kinde North Huron  vs. Peck   - 1 PM
Kingsley  vs. Gladwin   - 1 PM
Midland  vs. Midland Dow   - 1 PM
Pewamo-Westphalia  vs. North Muskegon   - 1 PM
Reed City  vs. Kingsford   - 1 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore  vs. Coldwater   - 1 PM
Mount Pleasant  vs. Marquette  - 2 PM
 
Girls Volleyball District Semifinals and Finals take place Wednesday through Saturday (Nov. 3-7). Separate releases will be issued with detailed Semifinal and Final coverage.
 
This week, more 250 events at all levels in a variety of sports will be available on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.TV. Monthly subscriptions are $10.99. Click for a complete list of 
upcoming games, and for a complete list of on-demand games. 
 
Fans also can type their school name into the search field on the MHSAA.tv page to search for events. Varsity games being streamed also have links from the MHSAA Website’s Score Center, and from the schedules on individual school pages. Clicking on the green TV set icon listed next to an event will take you directly to a game. You can also watch on Roku enabled devices.

Now in its 12th year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games, but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.

NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. A portion of every subscription sold by an SBP school goes to benefit its program. 

A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.