Record-Setting Offense Helps Lift Vicksburg to 2023 Runner-Up Finish

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 26, 2024

Vicksburg finished Division 2 runner-up last spring led by one of the most accomplished offenses in MHSAA history.

The Bulldogs made the single-season wins list finishing 41-6, setting a record with 441 RBI, ranking second 538 runs and 541 hits and tying for third with 46 home runs.

Maddison Diekman tied for fifth individually both with 84 runs scored and 89 hits, while Peyton Smith made lists with 73 hits, 19 doubles and 12 home runs. Brooklynn Ringler earned listings with 75 runs and 74 hits, and Delaney Monroe did as well with 16 home runs and 76 RBI. All four are seniors this season.

Diekman will continue her career at Central Michigan, Smith will continue at Concordia-Ann Arbor and Monroe will continue at Lawrence Tech, and Ringler will golf at Davenport. See below for more recent MHSAA softball record book updates, and click the heading to see the record book in full.

Softball

A pair of Fowler standouts earned individual record book entries last spring, and the team also earned a pair of entries. Avery Koenigsknect had back-to-back home runs and six RBI in one game May 18 against Bath, making lists for both, and teammate Brianne Halfmann had three home runs, including two back-to-back, and seven RBI in a single game against Mendon on June 13 to make lists for all three categories. As a team, the Eagles were added for 391 hits and 297 RBI over 37 games. Koenigsknecht graduated last spring, and Halfmann is a senior this school year.

Now-senior Marissa Warren led another strong Big Rapids effort in 2023, reaching the record book with 71 hits, 70 runs, 17 doubles, 15 home runs, 84 RBI and with three listings for multiple homers in a game or inning. She was joined by teammate Pharis Carroll, who made the runs scored list with 68 and is also a senior this school year. Hanna Smith (46), Rylie Haist (41) and Josie Cornell (34) finished three-season varsity careers all on the career doubles list. As a team., Big Rapids made lists with 445 hits, 428 runs, 90 doubles, 353 RBI and a .416 batting average. Warren has signed with Toledo, Haist and Smith are continuing at Ferris State, and Cornell signed with Husson University in Maine.

Payton Manninen’s junior season last spring saw her reach the MHSAA record book with a .645 average over 27 games – and also climb the list of longest hitting streaks in state history. The Ishpeming standout’s run came to an end last May 10, almost two years to the day it started and after 61 straight games with at least one hit – good for second on the list.

Hamilton’s best season in several years saw the Hawkeyes rank eighth all-time with 503 hits, fifth with 40 triples and ninth with a .438 team batting average over 41 games in 2023 – those listings among six total to make the team record book. Individually, senior Madie Jamrog made the records with 66 runs scored and 15 triples last season and 27 triples and 22 home runs for her three-year varsity career. Ella Davison, just a freshman last spring, made the lists with 81 hits, 18 doubles, a .643 average and a 23-game hitting streak. Then-sophomore Taylor Oosterink was added for six RBI in a game, and then-sophomore Kianna Vork for being hit by pitches three times in one contest. Jamrog is continuing her career at Akron.

Another pair of Richland Gull Lake standouts has been added to the records, one a recent graduate and another a senior this season. Mandy Esman was added seven times including for 35 doubles, 29 home runs and a .530 batting average over her three-season career – and despite her sophomore year being canceled due to the pandemic. Now-senior Ava Coffinger was added five times; her 86 runs scored last spring are tied for third-most for one season, and she had stolen 79 bases consecutively without getting caught entering this year and stole 73 total in 2023. Esman played a season at Michigan State and now plays at Houston, and Coffinger has signed with MSU.

Grandville Calvin Christian’s Karsen Balmer twice last season hit home runs in back-to-back at bats – against Beaverton on May 6, 2023, and then against Sparta on May 23. She’s a senior this spring.

A trio of Leslie seniors this spring are all over the record book for single-season and career accomplishments after their first three years of varsity. Ada Bradford ranked on the career strikeout list with 937 and at the plate with 49 doubles, 26 home runs and 166 RBI heading into this spring. Jalen Fossitt joins her with 58 doubles and 152 RBI for her career so far, and Gabby Waldofsky ranks with 171 runs scored and 209 hits over her first three seasons. Leslie also was added for 387 hits, 79 doubles and 254 RBI over 39 games last spring. Bradford will continue her career at Aquinas College, and Fossitt will continue at Hope College.

Cecelia Thorington’s junior season last spring at Pinckney saw her reach the record book four times, including for season totals of 73 hits, 68 runs scored and 60 stolen bases over 36 games. Senior teammate Kylee Douglas was added as well for six RBI in a game. Douglas is continuing her career at Henry Ford College, and Thorington will continue hers at University of Michigan.

Olivia Turner entered her senior season this spring at Grass Lake with 16 record book entries and two MHSAA records. She tied the record for single-season hits with 100 over 40 games in 2023, and along the way broke the career record for doubles with 80 and a season to play. She’s also climbing career record lists for home runs (15th) and RBI (third), and last season added single-season listings for 30 doubles (tied for third), 17 home runs, 102 RBI (second) and a .714 batting average (seventh). She has signed with Bradley.

A pair of Okemos hitters reached the record book last season for RBI in one game – now-junior Violet Greborunis twice driving in six, and now-junior Keirlyn Bane also bringing home six runners in one game.

Parma Western’s Abby Nieswender smashed 30 doubles last spring as a junior, which landed third on the single-season list. She’s signed with Aquinas.

Grayling earned its first record book achievements in this sport over the last two seasons. The Vikings as a team are listed for 82 doubles and 284 RBI over 37 games in 2023, and 68 doubles over 35 games in 2022. Anna Wood made the single-season individual doubles list with 17 last spring, and Mandy Andrews made the hit-by-pitch list with 16. Wood, Cali D’Amour and Jessica Campbell all made the single-game RBI list for six or more either last season or during 2022. Andrews is a senior this spring, and the other three are juniors.

Otisville LakeVille Memorial made the record book several times after finishing 33-8 in 2023, with now-senior Jayla Thompson leading the way. The Falcons were added for 437 runs, 420 hits, 88 doubles, 32 home runs and 350 RBI as a team. Thompson scored 70 runs, hit 16 doubles and 10 home runs and also reached the career home runs list with 27 and a season to play. She and now-senior Brooke Newberry, now-sophomore Anabell Newberry and now-junior Mallorie Nevadomski also made lists with single-game accomplishments.

PHOTO Vicksburg’s Peyton Smith stands in for a pitch during last season’s Division 2 Semifinal win over Richmond.

Record-Setting Saving, Historic Scoring Send Grosse Ile to 2018 Boys Soccer Finals

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 17, 2024

Grosse Ile’s Division 3 runner-up season in 2018 included multiple MHSAA team records for defensive and offensive success.

The Red Devils set a record with 21 straight shutouts and 24 total over 29 games, and also finished third all-time scoring 158 goals.

Their 23-game winning streak that season remains tied for seventh-longest as Grosse Ile finished 27-2.

See below for more recent additions to the MHSAA boys soccer record book, and click the heading to see the record book in full.

Boys Soccer

Keeper Ethan DeJager and Grandville Calvin Christian were nearly unbeatable in 2020, finishing 19-1-2 and runner-up in Division 4. They set a record allowing only four goals for the season, while DeJager is fourth on the season shutouts list with 19 over those 22 games and tied for the second-longest shutout streak at 13. DeJager was a senior that season.

Seth Davidson capped his four-year varsity career this past fall on three records lists for shutouts – 15 over 22 games this past season, 26 for his career and nine straight as a senior. Berkley as a team also made the fewest goals allowed list, giving up only 11 in finishing 18-2-2.

Caden Saxton capped a memorable four-year Flint Kearsley varsity career in the fall with four entries in the record book. He made the assists list with 27 over 21 games as a senior and also the single-season points list with 65, and made career lists in those categories with 63 assists and 149 points, respectively, over 71 games.

Jonesville advanced in its District this past season with an 8-5 overtime win over Blissfield on Oct. 12, and Warrick Elder played a big part scoring six goals. He’s a senior.

Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals saw contributions from several players, and junior James Whiting was among those leading the way. He made the assists list with 30 over 22 games, and also the total points list with 49. He also sits on the career assists list after three seasons with 66 and one more season to play.

Holland Christian made the team list for 12 straight shutouts from Sept. 8-Oct. 19, and 15 shutouts total over 20 games this past season. Junior Adam Bergman was in goal for all 15 including the 12 consecutive.

Muskegon Oakridge senior Arturo Romero-Serrano capped his career in the fall with his second season reaching 40 goals, netting 42 total to finish his four-year career with 105 and also on the MHSAA career points list with 125. He also added a second six-goal game, against Muskegon Catholic Central on Aug. 25.

Monroe Jefferson’s season came to an end Oct. 11 in a District game against Riverview, but senior Gabe Gelso finished with a state record. He made 49 saves in the 9-0 defeat as the Bears had only eight players total.

Ian Klenk added eight more shutouts in goal this past fall to finish his three-season varsity career with 25 in 60 games and make the career list in that category. He’ll continue his career at Kuyper College.

PHOTO Grosse Ile's keeper Brendan Ebler (1) gathers the ball and charts his next move during the 2018 Division 3 Final.