Anchor Bay Flies Fences at Record Pace
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 23, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s softball team this spring proved to be the most powerful in MHSAA history.
The Tars hit 63 home runs, edging Howell by one as both broke the record of 59 formerly set by Romeo in 2015.
Taylor Keighley led the power surge with 21 home runs, tying for sixth most in one season, and Amanda Schick made the records list with 10 homers as six Anchor Bay players hit at least six apiece.
This spring’s team also made the record book for 408 hits, 66 doubles and 279 RBI in finishing 23-11. The 2018 team is listed for 417 hits, 84 doubles, 44 home runs, 276 RBI and a .403 average, with Aleah Marra making individual lists with 19 doubles and 11 homers as the team went 29-7. She is playing at Rutgers University.
Keighley will be a senior this fall, and Schick, now a junior, reportedly has committed to sign with Bowling Green for after she graduates in 2021.
Read on for more recent record book additions in softball plus baseball, football, boys lacrosse, boys soccer and wrestling, and click on the headings below to see those record books in full.
Baseball
Alex Rose’s memorable senior season this spring for Stockbridge included a run at a state record – he hit 23 doubles, tying for fifth most for one season in MHSAA history. Teammate Daniel Ballagh also was added to the records for being hit by 34 pitches over his 104-game, four-season career.
Football
Josh Czarnota quarterbacked Fenton to a combined 27-7 record from 2015-17, with a number of his season and career achievements making the records. Czarnota put up his biggest numbers as a junior, completing 167 of 270 passes for 2,344 yards and 27 touchdowns. His career numbers of 391 completions, 652 attempts, 6,210 yards and 72 touchdowns over 34 games also are listed, the touchdowns ranking 17th all-time. He threw for 427 yards in a 2016 win over Ortonville Brandon, when teammate Chanse Setzke had 266 receiving yards and four touchdowns through the air. In addition to making the record book for those individual feats, Setzke is listed for receiving yards (1,235) and touchdowns (15) as a senior in 2017 and for 114 receptions, 1,943 yards and 21 touchdowns over 23 games during his two-season varsity career. Czarnota is playing at Grand Valley State University.
Lake Odessa Lakewood’s Kaden Heins created plenty of excitement as a senior during the 2017 season, making the record book for a 100-yard interception return touchdown against Charlotte on Oct. 13 and returning kickoffs for touchdowns against Belding, Stockbridge, Leslie and Ionia. The four kickoff return touchdowns in one season are tied for second most on that list.
Macomb L’Anse Creuse North fell just shy of defeating Utica Eisenhower on Sept. 11, 2015, but a pair of LCN players enjoyed memorable moments. Quarterback Branden Taylor set an MHSAA record with 44 pass completions, tying for fourth all-time with 68 attempts and making the single-game yardage list with 446. Jake Mitrak hauled in 18 passes to tie for third most in one game. Mitrak played a season at Northern Michigan University.
Boys Lacrosse
Cameron Breining finished his Chelsea four-year varsity career this spring with 17 record book entries and as one of the top scorers all-time. He made the single-game goals list eight times, including tying for the fourth most twice with 11 in 2019 games against both DeWitt and Ypsilanti Lincoln. He scored 66 goals as a junior and 61 as a senior, and his 201 career goals rank 11th all-time. He also made the career points list with 231 and a high of 12 in that game against Lincoln this spring.
Boys Soccer
Genesee Christian won back-to-back Division 4 championships during the 2015-16 seasons, and along the way also set one of the most impressive records for success. From its 2015 opener through its fifth game of the 2016 season, Genesee Christian won 33 straight games – two more than previous record-holder Grosse Ile put together during the 2002-03 seasons. Genesee Christian’s streak was ended in a 2-1 loss to Fenton on Sept. 1, 2016.
Softball
Hemlock’s Madison Martinez has posted the second listing for back-to-back home runs from the 2019 season, hitting hers during the fourth and fifth innings of a 12-0 win over St. Charles on April 22. Martinez was a sophomore last season.
Wrestling
Two of Birch Run’s Breece brothers earned their ways into the record book with accomplishments during the 2017-18 season. Mason Breece finished his high school career with a record of 213-24, making the career wins list, while then-sophomore Macintyre Breece went 58-5 to make the single-season wins group. Mason won the Division 3 title at 140 pounds that season and wrestles at Central Michigan University, and Macintyre was Division 3 runner-up at 125 last season as a junior.
PHOTO: New Baltimore Anchor Bay teammates welcome Jenna Cantalupo home after her home run during May’s District game against Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse. (Photo courtesy of State Champs Sports Network.)
Lund Leads Leland Scoring Charge
April 23, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Leland’s run to the Division 4 championship this past fall came in part thanks to one of the highest-scoring offenses of all-time.
The Comets scored 157 goals – third-most all-time. Senior Cobe Lund capped his career with 42 goals and 63 points. He played two seasons at Leland after two at Traverse City West and also made career scoring lists with 139 points and 49 assists over four seasons.
Defense played a key part in Leland’s success, of course – sophomore keeper Gavin Miller made the shutouts list with 16 in the fall, and the team had 17 total.
See below for more recent record book updates in boys soccer, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and volleyball. Click on the headings to see those record books in full.
Ice Hockey
Bay City John Glenn senior Cole Parks scored an incredible three goals over 17 seconds against Grand Blanc on Nov. 28, breaking the previous record for fastest three goals by six seconds. Parks played for the Bay Area Thunder, a co-op program with athletes from six schools. He scored with 5:19, 5:10 and 5:02 left in the first period. The three goals also count as the second-fastest three scored by one team, and a fourth goal scored 1:20 before Parks’ hat trick by Justin Raymond gave the Thunder four goals in 1:37 – third on the list for four goals scored over the shortest amount of time.
Nolan Lockhart also joined the fastest three goals list with three for Lowell/Caledonia over 30 seconds against Chelsea on Jan. 7. The senior scored his at 2:41, 2:22 and 2:11 of the second period of a 4-3 overtime win. His string was the third fastest for three scores.
Novi as a team broke the record for fastest four goals, netting them over 1:07 in a win over Canton on Jan. 29. Evan Chippa started the run with 5:10 left in the first period, with Ryan Pinho scoring 10 seconds later, Tanish Nichanametla scoring at 4:28 and Isaac Gibbs finishing the streak at 4:03. The first three goals, over 42 seconds, made the record book list in that category.
Girls Lacrosse
DeWitt’s Alexa Beyer earned her first two record book entries last spring as a sophomore, for seven goals in a game against East Lansing and 53 for the season. Teammate Sarai Canales, then a junior, was added for five assists in a game against Huron Valley United, and then-senior goalie Julianna Harrison was added for 198 saves – the fifth most in MHSAA history. Beyer has committed to play collegiately at St. Bonaventure University.
Boys Soccer
Ithaca keeper Riley Vernon had 306 saves over 18 games in the fall, 14th most for a single season. He had a high of 31 on Oct. 3 against Alma.
Berkley finished 19-4-3 this past fall, making the MHSAA team shutouts list with 15 over those 26 games. Senior keeper Spencer Meade was added for 13 of those 15 shutouts. Berkley also was added for its 5-5 tie with Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, which tied for the third highest-scoring tie in MHSAA history.
Dowagiac’s Cristian Wilson joined the single-game scoring list with six goals in his team’s 7-0 win over Parchment on Aug. 30. Wilson is a junior.
Brett Robinson finished his successful four-year career in net in 2017, leaving Marysville on career MHSAA lists with 645 saves and 37 shutouts over 93 games. He had 13 shutouts his senior season. Robinson plays now at Ashland University.
Volleyball
Kaitlyn Bricker finished her sophomore season in 2017 with a pair of record book entries for sharp serving. Now a junior, Bricker had 13 aces during a three-set Oct. 10 match against Mancelona and finished the season with 127 aces total.
PHOTO: Leland’s Cobe Lund (17) pushes the ball upfield during his team’s Division 4 Final win over Ann Arbor Greenhills last fall.