2-Sporter Makes Multiple Record Books
August 8, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Schoolcraft’s Lydia Goble powered through a final season this spring to finish her four-year varsity career among the most accomplished softball players in MHSAA history – and a multi-sport record book honoree.
Goble’s 26 home runs broke the previous record for one season, and she ended her career with 49. Her 270 runs scored rank second all-time, her 264 hits are seventh, her 32 triples are tied for eighth, her 231 RBI tied for fourth and her .566 career batting average sits 11th on that list.
Goble also starred on the basketball court during the winter and was added for 78 3-pointers last season over 25 games.
Her offense on the diamond helped Schoolcraft to team record list performances of 47 home runs and 297 RBI – the homers tied for fifth most in a season.
Goble will continue her softball career at Grand Valley State University.
Read on for more recent record book additions in softball, baseball, football, boys lacrosse and girls soccer and click on the headings to see the record books in full for those sports.
Baseball
Marine City’s Josh Headlee drilled home runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings of a game against Madison Heights Lamphere on May 14, making the record lists both for homers in one game and in consecutive at bats with three straight. Headlee was a sophomore this spring.
Football
Holland Christian’s Will Van Wieren was added for catching 15 passes in two games last season, against Byron Center on Sept. 8 and Hudsonville Unity Christian on Sept. 29. He will be a senior this fall.
Boys Lacrosse
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Jace Conley capped his four-year varsity career this spring with 14 record book entries – and atop the list for single-season goals. Conley netted 109 this past season, breaking the previous record by seven, and his 150 total points rank third on that list. He finished his career with 227 goals to rank third all-time, and with 333 points to rank fourth in that category. He will continue his career at Albion College.
Vicksburg senior Tim Gearig netted 76 goals to make the MHSAA records this spring, and his 219 for his four-year career place him fifth on that list. He also graduated with 293 points to tie for eighth on that career list. His second-highest goal total came in 2015, when he had 60; for that season, Justin Gearig was added for 69 goals and 95 points and Blake Rankin for 42 assists and 101 points. Tim Gearig will continue playing at Alma College, while Justin Gearig (class of 2016) plays at Trine and Rankin (2017) plays on the GVSU club team.
Girls Soccer
Muskegon Mona Shores senior Sarah Mikesell earned her second single-season entry for goals this spring, knocking in 32. She finished her four-year varsity career with 104, which also made the records.
Softball
Muskegon Mona Shores’ Taylor Dew graduated with 10 record book entries including for 52 home runs (second all-time), 64 doubles (tied for ninth) and 219 RBI (seventh) for her career. Teammate Veronica Kastelic also finished with 10 entries, with her 82 hits and 17 home runs this spring both tied for 13th most in a single season in those categories. Together, Dew and Kastelic helped Muskegon Mona Shores hit 42 home runs as a team, eighth most all-time.
Lansing Catholic’s Mikayla Sanford finished her junior season in the spring making the single-season stolen base list with 61, the career list with 172 over three seasons – and with the record for consecutive steals at 112 straight. Sanford started her record run May 21, 2016, against Lansing Waverly and wasn’t caught until this past May 10 against Portland.
Byron made the team record book in five categories in 2018, for 413 hits, a .405 average, 75 doubles, 32 home runs and 296 RBI over 38 games. Senior Alexis Andrews played a significant part; she concluded a 40-game hitting streak, third longest in MHSAA history, to go with 13 home runs and 72 RBI. She also made the record book with 38 career doubles, 29 career home runs and 166 career RBI over three seasons. Senior teammate Payton Beard was added for 46 career doubles and 187 runs over four varsity seasons, and Ryleigh Arndt was added for 35 career doubles over her three-year varsity career. Junior Greta L’Esperance was added for 67 runs for the spring and will carry a 24-game hitting streak into next season.
Caledonia captured the Division 1 championship this season making the record book with 396 hits, 65 doubles, 34 home runs and 248 RBI over 35 games. Four-year senior Samantha Gehrls led the way and finished with eight record book entries including for 39 career doubles, 46 career home runs (to rank 10th all-time) and 193 career RBI. Sophomore Abby Mitchell was added for 11 home runs and 2016 graduate Hannah Horvath was added for 210 career hits. Horvath plays at Lansing Community College, while Gehrls is set to begin her collegiate career at GVSU.
PHOTO: Schoolcraft shortstop Lydia Goble prepares to unload a throw during a game this spring. (Photo by Lingering Memories Photography.)
Long-range Skill Helps P-W Go Distance
July 29, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Pewamo-Westphalia girls basketball team this past winter won its first MHSAA Finals championship, in Division 3, based in part on record book-caliber 3-point shooting.
The Pirates finished 14th all-time with 183 3-pointers and also made the attempts list with 533 over 28 games. Ellie Droste, Rachel Huhn and Hannah Spitzley all had at least 42 3-pointers as the team finished 27-1.
A trio of other long-distance shooters also recently were added to the girls basketball record book – see more on those achievers below, plus recent additions in wrestling as well. Click the headings to see those record books in full.
Girls Basketball
Comstock’s Daisy Ansel capped her career this winter as one of the top long-distance shooters in MHSAA history. She made 78 more 3-pointers as a senior to finish her four-season career with 261 in 721 attempts (36 percent) over 86 games. She also was added to the records for scoring 45 points in a game twice, and just missed the career free-throw shooting list finishing with a career success rate of 79.9 percent. As a team, Comstock was added for 162 3-pointers, 524 attempts, and a 71.2 free-throw shooting percentage in finishing 17-5. Ansel will continue her career at Grand Valley State University.
Westland Universal Learning Academy junior Zahraa Cherkaoui added to her 2017 entry for 47 points in a game with 49 in a Feb. 5 69-42 win over Warren Michigan Math & Science Academy. She made 15 two-point field goals, five 3-pointers and 4-of-5 free-throw attempts.
Birch Run’s Sarah Miller has made a significant imprint in the record book through her junior season, with 140 steals as a sophomore in 2017-18 and then three entries for free-throw shooting this past winter. Miller’s 21 free throws against Carrollton on Feb. 2 tied for fourth most for one game, and her 17 in 17 attempts Dec. 18 against Alma are tied for fifth-most consecutive in one game. Her 176 free throws total (in 218 attempts) were 13th most for one season.
Rogers City’s Taylor Fleming was a three-sport standout over the last four years, and will continue in volleyball at Lake Superior State University. She left her mark in basketball with a pair of record book entries, for 28 rebounds in a game Dec. 27 against Posen and for 355 rebounds over 19 games total this winter. Her aunt Ashley Fleming also was added to the records for grabbing 1,194 rebounds from 2001-04 – that total ranking ninth all-time. She went on to play at Ferris State University.
Midland Dow’s run to the Division 1 Regional Finals was keyed by a pair of sharp-shooting guards finishing their high school careers. Molly Davis made 68 3-pointers this past season and Maizie Taylor connected on 65, including 11 in a Feb. 20 game against Flint Powers Catholic. Davis finished her four-season varsity career with 174 3-pointers and will continue at Central Michigan University, and Taylor will play at Northwood University. As a team, Midland Dow made 222 of 616 3-point attempts in finishing 23-2. The Chargers had 15 3-pointers twice – against Powers and also Dec. 11 against Howell – and the 222 for the season rank fourth all-time.
Wrestling
Clinton’s Noah Comar finished his two-time championship career this winter with a record of 219-8 and 151 pins over those 227 matches. Those career falls rank 16th all-time, and he also made the single-season list with 46 over 60 matches as a junior. Comar won the Division 4 championship at 125 this past winter and at 112 as a sophomore, and was 125 runner-up as a junior and 112 runner-up as a freshman. He will continue at University of Michigan.
Petoskey grad Kegan Arthur also was added for winning more than 200 matches during his career, which concluded in 2010. Arthur finished 201-31 with a career-high 54 victories as a senior, when he finished Division 2 runner-up at 135 pounds. He also came in fifth at 130 as a junior and was a four-time Finals qualifier. He went on to compete at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Gaylord junior Chayse LaJoie added an Individual Finals runner-up finish this past winter at 125 to championships previously won at 103 and 112, and made the MHSAA records with 16 technical falls in finishing 48-2.
Kyle Schaaf capped his Clare career this winter with a four-season varsity record of 194-23, with highs of 52 wins as both a sophomore and a junior. He finished fifth in Division 3 at 125 pounds as a senior and was a four-time Finals placer – he also was 119 runner-up as a junior, third at 119 as a sophomore and eighth at 112 as a freshman.
Mattawan sophomore Anthony Williamson opened his Individual District competition at 152 pounds this winter with a pin in just four seconds – edging two others by a second for the fastest fall at that weight in MHSAA history. Williamson went on to win his bracket and eventually take sixth place at his weight at the Division 2 Finals.
PHOTO: P-W’s Rachel Huhn fires a 3-point attempt during last season’s Division 3 championship game win over Flint Hamady.