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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:

Allen Park competes during the Division 2 Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.

Allen Park Extends Era of Dominance with 5th Title Over 6 Seasons

By Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com

March 1, 2025

MOUNT PLEASANT – Allen Park sure makes it look easy during pressure-packed competitive cheer competitions, and veteran coach Julie Goodwin has an explanation for that.

“All of the hard work goes on during the week, in the gym,” explained Goodwin, who just finished her 21st year as the Jaguars’ coach.

“Today, or any competition we have, we get to dress up and pick up a trophy. But we actually won it in the gym.”

Allen Park picked up yet another trophy Saturday at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena, winning its second-consecutive Division 2 Finals championship – and the fifth over the past six years.

The Jaguars posted the best score in the eight-team field in all three rounds, taking the lead early and continuing to build on it, finishing with 791.90 points.

Gibraltar Carlson, AP’s longtime conference rival, kept the pressure on the Jaguars all day, taking second at 788.42. Carleton Airport (784.16) took third, and Walled Lake Western (779.68) placed fourth.

Allen Park got the upper hand again over Carlson in one of the state’s best high school rivalries, in any sport.

Consider: It has been 18 years, all the way back to 2007 (Holland Christian), since a school other than Allen Park or Gibraltar Carlson has won the Division 2 cheer title. Carlson has won 11 championships, and AP now has seven over that span.

“We love it,” explained Allen Park senior Abby Obrycki, a returning first-team all-stater. “We are so lucky to have such good competition in the Downriver League to push as all the time. We love being a part of it.”

Allen Park competes during the Division 2 Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.The Jaguars defeated Carlson at the Regional by more than seven points, but Saturday, the Marauders cut that margin significantly.

Carlson, which won the Division 2 title in 2023 and took fourth last year, trailed by just over two points Saturday entering the decisive third round. The Marauders were in the unenviable position of going first in Round 3, but led by seniors Sofia Lanzini, Maranda Steinmetz and Haley Sanchez, they came up with a stellar final performance.

That meant it came down to Allen Park having to answer under the pressure of thousands of fans on the state’s biggest stage, which it did in impressive fashion once again.

“We call that third round the money round because that’s where you have to win it, even though we had a little bit of a lead going into it today,” said Goodwin, who also has five runner-up finishes in her career. “We had a great week, and it showed in that final round. There was no fear and no nervousness.”

Allen Park scored 321.90 in Round 3, slightly better than Carlson’s 320.80, to provide the final margin of victory.

Other leaders for the Jaguars this season were junior Sophia Ramey, a returning first-team all-stater, and senior Peyton Will, an honorable mention choice.

Allen Park is a young team, losing just five seniors off its 23-girl roster, making a ‘three-peat’ a definite possibility. Other seniors were Leslie Hernandez, Kate O’Riley and Ella Peschke.

Peschke said going out as a back-to-back champion makes the grind and all of the long, six days of practice every week more than worth it.

“It felt great to leave it all out on the mat one more time,” said Peschke. “It’s a great feeling to be a state champion, but it’s an even better feeling to do it with your best friends.”

Click for full scores.

PHOTOS Allen Park (top) and Gibraltar Carlson compete Saturday during the Division 2 Competitive Cheer Final at McGuirk Arena.