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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:

Birmingham Groves senior Zach Lezovich races for the eventual team champion; he scored points in three events Saturday.

Groves Rallies from 1st-Event DQ to Win Final Race, Repeat Finals Title

By Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com

March 9, 2024

YPSILANTI —  Repeating as a Finals champion is never easy. 

But the Birmingham Groves boys swim & dive team took it to a new level Saturday.

The Falcons, who won the Lower Peninsula Division 2 title by seven points last year, endured a disqualification in the 200 medley relay this time but battled back to win by a point after finishing first in the final event of the day, the 400-yard freestyle relay.

“I think it might have been the most up-and-down day of my life,” Groves first-year coach Nick Valise said. “I’ve never been in this position before. I still don’t believe it.”

Groves trailed until the final event but finished with 245 points, one point better than Seaholm and Farmington, which tied for second. 

Groves did get a key break when crosstown rival Birmingham Seaholm also had a DQ, in the 200 free relay. But the key to the Falcons’ comeback was its resilience.

Seaholm’s Elliot Rijnovean, bottom, holds off Ann Arbor Skyline’s Lucas Caswell to win the butterfly. Joey Stebbins, one of the team’s senior leaders, set the tone after being responsible for the false start that led to the disqualification.

‘Honestly, I just had to shake it off,’ he said. “I knew I messed up as soon as I got in (the pool). I knew I DQ'd it. I'm like, I'd own up to it (and) shake it off.”

“I must say, I’ve never met a group of boys who handled something like that so well,” Valise noted. “I mean, right after the DQ, heads picked right up, (they) put their foot down, kept fighting. Gave us a chance at the end of the meet.”

Groves, Farmington and Seaholm were ranked in that order at the top of LPD3 entering the meet.

Seaholm won four events, including the 200 medley relay. Sophomore Elliot Rijnovean, who was on that relay, also won the butterfly and backstroke, while freshman Quinn O’Neill won the 500 freestyle.

Senior Gus MacDonald won the breaststroke and individual medley for Groves and swam on the winning 400 free relay.

“I knew it'd be close,’ he said. “I knew we had to win that final relay to win the meet. I didn't know the logistics of it. But finally hearing that we won was the best feeling in the world.”

Groves’ Gus MacDonald swims to the victory in the individual medley.Saturday’s meet was a standout chapter in the long crosstown rivalry.

“I go to class there once a day,” Stebbins said. “It's really, really good to go against them. It always pushes you up. It’s a friendly rivalry. Love those guys down the road.”

It was certainly a day to remember.

“A little surreal, actually,” Valise said. “But I got gifted a group of an amazing 25 boys that could not have worked harder and been more focused on the goal.”

Also winning championships Saturday were Grand Rapids Northview senior Caleb Howe in the 200 and 100 freestyles, Grosse Pointe South senior Troy Liu in the 50 free and Jenison senior Robby Russo in diving. Farmington won the 200 freestyle relay.

Click for full results.

PHOTOS (Top) Birmingham Groves senior Zach Lezovich races for the eventual team champion; he scored points in three events Saturday. (Middle) Seaholm’s Elliot Rijnovean, bottom, holds off Ann Arbor Skyline’s Lucas Caswell to win the butterfly. (Below) Groves’ Gus MacDonald swims to the victory in the individual medley. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)