Belles Rings Loudly in Freshman Season
May 15, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Kayla Belles had a memorable freshman season this winter for the Ithaca girls basketball team. And her performance against Sanford-Meridian on March 4 is one she’ll never forget.
Belles, a 6-foot-3 center, grabbed 36 rebounds to go with 25 points and six blocked shots in the Yellowjackets’ 75-28 victory. Her rebounds tied for second-most grabbed in one game in MHSAA girls basketball history and most in a game since 1997.
She averaged 14.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per game during the regular season, per a Lansing State Journal report, and helped her team to its first District title since 2000. Ithaca finished 21-3, falling to eventual Class C semifinalist Saginaw Nouvel 69-66 in their Regional Semifinal.
Click the “Girls Basketball” heading below to see that sport’s record listings in full, and read on for more of this week’s record additions.
Baseball
- A handful of names from Saline’s successful recent history were added to an already strong representation. Brad Guenther was included for his 21 doubles in 2009, 66 hits total that season and 13 career triples from 2007-09. Garrett Gordon and Korey Gainey both made the single-season triples list with seven apiece in 2011 and 2009, respectively, and Jordan Walker was added for his 20 times hit by pitch in 2001 and 40 total over a two-season career that ended that spring. Bobby Korecky, already listed for multiple hitting categories, was added with a 0.99 ERA in 1998 and 1.50 from 1995-98, and Joe Finnerty was added for a 1.34 ERA from 1998-2000. Eric Ichesco made the career batting average list hitting .461 from 1998-2001. Saline as a team was added for a number of single-season accomplishments as well, most notably its .403 average in 2009.
Boys Basketball
- Dennis Starkey earned his milestone 500th victory this season in leading Petoskey to a 16-6 finish. He started his varsity coaching career at Boyne City during the 1982-83 season, then coached three at Vanderbilt before starting his Petoskey tenure in 1986-87. He has a career record of 502-247.
- Dundee senior Aaron Anthony capped his high school career with a second entry for free throws made, following up his 150 as a junior with 156 (in 191 attempts – 82 percent success) this winter. The 6-foot-2 Anthony also averaged 20.9 points, six rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and scored the 1,000th point of his career.
- Wilson Nah Tah Wahsh achieved three record-book listings for 3-pointers, making 18 in a 74-20 win over Paradise Whitefish on Jan. 23 after making 15 in an 81-42 win over Burt Township Grand Marais on Jan. 13. Whitefish also made four in that second game, with 22 between the teams making the list for 3-pointers made by two teams combined. In both games, Nah Tah Wahsh had more 3-pointers than 2-point field goals. Justin Larson made nine of the 15 and eight of the 18 to lead the team in both games.
Girls Basketball
- Hailey Leidel scored 29 points in a 65-47 win for Brownstown-Woodhaven over Southgate Anderson on Jan. 23, including 15 free throws to make the single-game list in that category. She attempted 17 overall and made all 10 she took in scoring 14 points total during the second quarter.
Football
- Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy quarterback Marcus Lester became the 11th in MHSAA history to throw for at least 500 yards in a game when he connected on 33 of 65 passes for 541 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-28 win over Dearborn Heights Star International on Sept. 26. The yardage and attempts both tied for fourth-most for one game.
Hockey
- Flint Kearsley’s Shawn Larsen earned two entries with high-scoring first periods this season. He scored four goals in the first period against Grand Rapids Union/Ottawa Hills on Dec. 20, then four again in the first period against Fenton/Linden on Jan. 7. He also just missed the single-game scoring list, which has a minimum of eight goals; he had seven against Union/Ottawa Hills on Jan. 17.
Softball
- A pair of Reese standouts both were added for hitting 16 doubles last spring – Cassidy Reif and Carlee Selle. Selle, a sophomore this season, hit .475 for 2014, and senior Reif hit .431 in her final high school campaign last spring.
- Abby Krzywiecki smacked two home runs – including a grand slam – and a double to drive in eight of her team’s runs in Farmington Hills Mercy’s 14-4 victory over Livonia Ladywood on April 21. Her total tied for seventh-most RBI in one game.
PHOTO: Ithaca’s Kayla Belles prepares to make a move toward the basket during a game this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Record-Setting Offense, Pitching Ace Drive Beal City Finals Run
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 13, 2023
On the way to finishing Division 4 runner-up last season, Beal City produced a record-breaking offensive performance while following one of the most consistently successful pitching aces in state history.
The Aggies set an MHSAA record by scoring 12.5 runs per game in finishing 30-3, also making the team record book with 413 runs total, 78 doubles, 22 triples (tied for third all-time), 345 RBI and a .442 team batting average that ranks second on that list.
Brendan Martin made the career consecutive pitching wins list with 19 over his junior and senior seasons, and senior teammate Brayden Haynes earned listings for two home runs and six RBI in one inning of a win over Lake City. Martin is pitching this spring at Mid Michigan College.
See below for more recent additions to the baseball record book:
Baseball
Over a five-game stretch during April 2021, Kalamazoo Hackett Prep’s Stephen Kwapis got a hit in 13 straight at bats – the fourth-longest such streak in MHSAA history. He began with a hit in his final at bat in the first game of two that April 16 against Watervliet, then went 2 for 2 in the second game, a combined 7 for 7 during a doubleheader against Galesburg-Augusta on April 22, and finished with hits in his first three at bats April 24, 2021, against Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern. He piled up five doubles, a triple and four home runs, along with three singles during the streak.
Portage Central’s run to the 2021 Division 1 championship game included record-book accomplishments by three individuals. Senior Luke Leto scored 73 runs over 37 games, good to tie for fifth-most runs in a season. Zach MacDonald was added for seven triples and 15 home runs, both over 40 games, and senior pitcher Gavin Brasosky posted a 0.84 ERA over 66 2/3 innings pitched. Leto is playing at Kansas after starting his college career at Louisiana State, and Brasosky is throwing at Kansas after playing a season at Tennessee. MacDonald is continuing at Miami (Ohio).
In 2016, Concord's Charlie Ropp became the second player from his family on the single-season stolen bases list, with his 63 over 35 games ranking for third-most in his family but sixth-most statewide.
Nearly 30 years later, Jason Knowlton has received his due for a performance April 29, 1994. On that day, he connected on back-to-back grand slams for Bridgman against Eau Claire, in consecutive innings. He’s one of seven to be listed for doing so in consecutive at bats.
Three of the oldest listings in this sport were added, all from Morrice. Jim Pavlica, a junior in 1946, was added for six stolen bases in a game that season against Byron. Pavlica would go on to play in the minors for the Chicago White Sox. He would have two more stolen bases when Morrice swiped 19 total against Byron in 1947, a performance that ranks fourth on the single-game steals list. Morrice also was added for 18 steals in a 1944 game against Byron.
Over the course of 11 days last spring, two Manistee hitters made the record book for steals in a game. Junior Ethan Edmondson tied for third on the list with seven against Bear Lake on April 30. Junior Jeff Huber made the list with six against Muskegon Orchard View on May 10.
Kingsley’s Owen Graves was added to the records for his seven triples as a senior in 2021. He now plays at Aquinas College.
Brighton Charyl Stockwell pitcher Aidan Liedeke was tough to hit last spring, as he struck out more than two batters per inning. He finished with 135 strikeouts over 61 1/3 innings pitching, for an average of 15.41 strikeouts per game – third-most on that record list. A senior this school year, he’s committed to continue at Kalamazoo College.
Jack Lamb brought plenty of speed to Perry’s offense last spring as a senior, making the record book twice. He reached the single-season list with 53 steals over 33 games, and also the single-game list with six steals on May 9, 2022, against Vermontville Maple Valley.
A performance more than four decades old from a school no longer open got its due. Orlando Villarreal hit a combined .451 over the 1979 and 1980 seasons to make the career batting average list for Wyoming Park. He went on to play at Central Michigan.
Jacob Morton became the first player on record since 2017 to hit two home runs in one inning when he did so in the first inning for Adrian Lenawee Christian against Britton Deerfield on May 16, 2022. Morton is a senior this school year.
PHOTO Beal City standout Cayden Smith drives a pitch during last season’s Division 4 Final against Riverview Gabriel Richard.