Bay City Central's Smith Caps Career Among Top Rebounders, Shot Blockers
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 13, 2022
Bay City Central senior Alecsis Smith capped a highlight-filled career this winter with 12 girls basketball record book entries including some of the top rebounding performances of all time.
The 6-foot-2 standout three times made the single-season rebounds list with a high of 362 as a freshman, and her 1,276 total over four seasons and 79 games rank fifth on the career list. Her 31 rebounds against Midland that freshman season are tied for seventh on the single-game list for that statistic.
She also made the career free throws list with 377, the single-season blocked shots list with 129 this past winter and the career blocks list with 349, which rank 13th all-time. She’ll continue her career at Delta College.
See below for more recent additions to the girls basketball record book.
Girls Basketball
Three teams were entered for big 3-point shooting nights this winter. Midland Dow made 17 against Lapeer on Jan. 11, and four days earlier Belleville drained 14 3-pointers against Dearborn Fordson. On Dec. 21, Mackinaw City also drilled 14 3-pointers against Alba.
On Dec. 17, Larissa Gibson became Otisville LakeVille Memorial’s first to earn an entry in the girls basketball record book. The sophomore grabbed 28 rebounds in a win over Mayville.
Theryn Hallock joined an elite group of scorers with 50 points for Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central against Greenville on Feb. 22. She’ll be continuing next season at Michigan State.
Au Gres-Sims’ Emily Freehling also made the single-game rebounds list this winter, grabbing 29 in a Feb. 18 win over Hale. She’s a junior this school year.
Howell junior Molly Deurloo this winter joined the list of top free-throw shooters, posting the eighth-highest percentage for a single season at .885. She made 46 of 52 attempts over 22 games.
Parma Western’s Reece Hitt tied for the 10th-most 3-pointers in a game Feb. 11 against Battle Creek Pennfield, draining 10 of her 14 attempts. The Western senior finished with 38 points total. Plymouth senior Morgan Miller also earned her way onto that list with nine 3-pointers on 23 attempts Feb. 24 during a win over Westland John Glenn. She scored 29 points total.
Essexville Garber senior Lauren Walker posted a career-high 152 steals this season to make the single-season list in that category. That total also pushed her into a tie for 18th on the career steals list with 438 over four seasons and 77 games. She’ll play soccer at the college level, at Central Michigan.
Krista Ridgeway was a defensive force for St. Clair Shores Lakeview against Royal Oak Shrine Catholic on Feb. 24. Along with 21 points, the senior guard had 16 steals – tying for 11th-most in one game – in the 52-24 victory.
Jaxi Long finished a highlight-filled career this winter that included helping Newaygo to the Division 2 championship game in 2021. She made the record book for 69 3-pointers as a senior and 180 over four seasons and 93 games. She also was added for connecting on 89.8 percent of her free-throw attempts this winter – good for fifth-best all-time – after making the list with an .878 percentage as a junior.
Saline finished a combined 35-8 over the last two seasons, and strong shooting helped drive the success. The 2020-21 team that finished 18-2 connected on 74.4 percent of its free-throw attempts – good for second-best success rate all-time. This past season’s team made the team lists for 3-pointers made and attempted, with 156 makes in 602 tries, and senior Sophie Canen was added for her 65 3-pointers this winter. She will continue at Hope College.
PHOTO Bay City Central’s Alecsis Smith puts up a shot in the post. (Photo courtesy of the Bay City Central athletic department.)
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.