Bloomfield Hills' Semifinal Run Powered By Scoring Skill, Talent in Net

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 29, 2023

Bloomfield Hills advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals this spring with one of the highest-scoring lineups in MHSAA girls lacrosse history, and one of its most accomplished goalies.

The Black Hawks scored 325 goals – sixth-most on the list – in going 19-4. Ella Lucia, then a junior, posted 17 single-game record entries for goals, assists or points, finishing with 125 goals, 59 assists and 184 points and pushing her career numbers to 186 goals, 113 assists and 299 points over three seasons.

Teammate Ilana Watson, a senior this spring, was added eight times for single-game accomplishments and also for 71 goals, 64 assists and 135 points for the season and 102 assists and 205 points over her two-season career. Goalie Sydney Butler, now a senior, made the single-season saves list with 186 and the career list with 466 over her first three seasons. Marlee Watson, who also graduated in the spring, was added for seven goals in a game.

See below for more recent record book updates for girls lacrosse:

Girls Lacrosse

On April 25, 2022, Holland West Ottawa then-senior Ella Spooner scored 13 of her team’s 16 goals against Zeeland. Those 13 goals tied for fourth-most in one game and also placed her on the single-game points list. She is playing at Kalamazoo College.

Troy Athens’ Claire Balintfy piled up eight record book entries during her sophomore season in 2022. A goalie, she posted a career-high 22 saves to tie for eighth on the single-game list, on which she appears six more times. Her 231 saves over 18 games that season rank second on that list as well.

Lexie Springman took 12 shots and made eight in Portage’s 19-9 win over Grand Ledge on April 5. She was a senior at Portage Central and is continuing at Regis University in Colorado.

Haslett/Williamston’s Abby Russell opened her high school career March 22 with a record book-worthy performance. The Haslett now-sophomore made the single-game goals list with seven in her team’s 10-9 loss at Portage.

Okemos’ Bridget Cox was a sophomore during the 2021 season when she earned her first four record book entries. She made the single-game saves list three times with a high of 16, and totaled 157 saves over 18 games total.

Holly/Ortonville Brandon tallied three single-game entries this past season. Junior Dakota Pinson made the single-game goals list with 10 against Fenton/Linden on May 4. Junior teammate Lainey Lasky made the same list twice with seven goals both times, against Flushing on May 3 and Lake Fenton/Goodrich on May 16.

Through three seasons, Salem’s Mileena Cotter has earned 35 record book entries – including setting the single-game record with 18 goals April 6 against Saline. Her 123 goals over just 10 games this past season rank seventh, and her 257 goals over 30 career games rank ninth on that list. Her career-high 19 points on April 5 against Dexter rank second for points in a game. She’s committed to sign with Syracuse.

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Emily Szalach earned a record book entry with her 11 goals against Warren Regina on May 15 during a 13-12 triple-overtime win. It was the first entry for NDP for girls lacrosse.

Lake Orion’s Quinn McElroy capped her three-season varsity career this spring with eight record book listings, including for 69 goals and 100 points over 16 games as a senior, and 172 goals and 224 points for her career. Teammate Morgan Vasquez made single-season lists with 66 goals and 81 points, as did Amelia Guccione with 50 goals. Ava Adkins joined McElroy and Vasquez with single-game qualifiers, hers for 15 saves in a game against Troy Athens on April 12. Vasquez is a senior and Guccione a junior this school year, and Adkins also graduated this spring. McElroy is playing at Grand Valley State.

A pair of Detroit Cass Tech senior standouts made single-game and season scoring lists this spring. Taylor Weston made the single-game goals list three times, with a high of eight, and for her 64 goals total over 15 games; she also earned a listing for her 53 goals as a junior in 2022. Teammate Kayla Carroll-Williams made the single-game list twice, both for scoring seven goals, and the single-season list for 62 goals over 15 games.

PHOTO Bloomfield Hills goalie Sydney Butler, center, prepares to stop a shot against Bloomfield Hills Marian on May 11. (Photo by Susan Adams Photography.)

Boyne City Soccer Seniors Make Marks on Record Book

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 10, 2021

Boyne City has joined girls soccer’s elite over the last four years, finishing Division 3 runner-up this season in its first trip to a championship game while earning a number of team and individual record book entries along the way.

The Ramblers were added for scoring 138 goals this spring, allowing only 10 and posting 19 shutouts over 25 games – with their shutout streak of 15 the fourth-longest in MHSAA history.

Senior twins Jordan Noble (35) and Taylor Noble (33) both made the single-season goals list this spring and the career list with 97 and 101, respectively, despite seeing their junior season canceled due to COVID-19. Jordan also made the season (29) and career (71) assists lists and the season (64) points list as well, and senior Inanna Hauger also made the single-season assists list with 23.

She’ll continue her career at Minnesota-Crookston, while the Noble sisters will continue at Muskegon Community College.

See more recent record book additions in baseball, girls lacrosse and girls soccer below.

Baseball

Grant Dittmer allowed one run during his senior season of 2017, finishing with a 0.10 ERA to tie for third-lowest in MHSAA history. The Bay City All Saints standout went on to play at Delta College.

More than 50 years later, Dennis Bushey’s name has been added to the record book for his 21 strikeouts in an eight-inning game against Carsonville on May 22, 1969. A senior, Bushey pitched Kinde North Huron to a 3-1 win, while his Carsonville counterpart Terry Phipps struck out 19 batters in defeat. Bushey went on to sign with the Detroit Tigers and pitched at two Class A levels in 1970.

Also a half-century later, Harper Woods Bishop Gallagher’s Greg Boos has received two entries in the records. He struck out 24 hitters over 15 innings during a 1-0 win over Royal Oak Shrine Catholic on May 10, 1971, and he finished that season with 184 strikeouts – which rank 10th all-time on that list.  He went on to play at Wayne State and for a season in the New York Mets minor league system.

Corey Holtrust returned with Zeeland West to the diamond this spring and finished his high school career with an MHSAA record. He was hit by 34 pitches across 42 games – five more HBPs than the previous record set in 2015.

North Muskegon’s run to the Division 3 Quarterfinals this spring was bolstered by a potent offense that made the records in four categories. The Norsemen finished third all-time with 211 stolen bases (in 226 attempts), and also received entries for 411 hits, 84 doubles and a .382 team batting average across 40 games.

Alex Daniels earned entries for stolen bases in a game twice within two weeks this spring, with five against Grand Rapids Union on May 13 and then five again against Muskegon on May 28. He was a senior this season for Holland.

Girls Lacrosse

Hannah Huebner became the latest standout from her school to make the records with eight goals in Caledonia’s 20-3 win over Grandville on April 14. Huebner was a senior this spring.

A pair of Huron Valley United standouts earned single-game record listings, with one also making the single-season points list. Sophomore Emily Prell was added three times for single-game goals, with a high of eight against Novi on April 16, and twice for single-game assists including six against Walled Lake United on May 10. She finished with 81 points, including 47 goals. Junior teammate Jenna Hoppe was added for seven goals against Grand Blanc on April 9 – a game during which Prell also scored seven times.

Girls Soccer

Gabrielle Novak earned three entries for goalkeeper saves this spring as a junior for Parchment. She twice saved more than 30 shots in a game – 32 against Schoolcraft on May 19 after 33 against Kalamazoo Christian on May 12 – and she finished with 256 saves to rank fourth all-time on the single-season list.

PHOTO: Boyne City’s Jordan Noble (5) steps into a pass during this spring’s Division 3 Final at Michigan State University.