Bronson's Ratkowski True Record 'Setter'
March 31, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Bronson senior Alexa Ratkowski was honored over the weekend at the Breslin Center as one of 32 MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award winners, and she’ll also leave high school this spring as an MHSAA volleyball record holder.
The Vikings’ senior setter finished a four-season varsity career with the most assists, 5,610, during the rally scoring era (2005-) in leading Bronson to the Class C championship in the fall.
She had 1,675 as a senior, with that total third-highest for one season. Ratkowski also made the career aces list with 320, and teammate Jill Pyles made the single-season list as a junior in the fall with 184.
Click to check out the volleyball record book in full, and see below for more recent listings in basketball, football, softball and wrestling.
Boys Basketball
Jackson Schrameyer became one of 15 players to make at least 20 free throws in a game when he connected on 20 of 21 attempts for Traverse City Central in a game against Traverse City West on Dec. 15.
A performance from nearly 40 years ago was added for most points in a quarter. Bronson’s Rod Hathaway scored 27 during the fourth quarter of a 1977 Class C District Final win over Cassopolis, tying for what remains the second-most points in one quarter. He finished the game with 45 points.
Football
Tyler Santangelo started for his third season in the fall for Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, and the junior led the Cranes to a 9-2 record, its best since 2004. He made the MHSAA records six times, for 180 completions, 291 pass attempts, 2,085 yards, 26 completions in a win over Madison Heights Lamphere on Aug. 27 and six touchdown passes in both a half and for the game in a win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley on Sept. 13.
Despite a 55-28 loss to Boyne City, senior receiver Tyler Case made the records for Kingsley catching six passes for 253 yards; two receptions ended in touchdowns, and his yardage made up all but 44 for his team in the game. Case finished his season with 14 catches for 423 yards and five touchdowns.
Longtime Millington football coach Tim Furno finished his career with a 208-110 record after the 2009 season to rank among the winningest coaches in the sport. He took over the program in 1978 and led the team to five seasons of at least 10 wins, with a best 11-2 finish in his final season.
Longtime Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart coach Rick Roberts retired after this fall with a 202-145-1 record over three decades and tenures at four schools – Saranac from 1978-85, Vestaburg 1986, Stanton Central Montcalm 1987-89 and Sacred Heart from 1993-2015. His Irish finished 6-4 in his final season.
Softball
Rochester’s Haley Lenderman struck out 21 Oxford hitters on April 1, 2015, although her team lost 4-1 (only two of the runs were earned.). She’ll continue her career this spring at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
Jordyn Look is in line for a strong finish to a great career at Tawas. She’s in the MHSAA record listings for doubles in a season twice – 18 as a freshman in 2013 and 16 last season – and also for career doubles with 48 and with a season to play. Former teammate Courtney Flory also was added for her 17 doubles in 2014. The 2014 Tawas team was added with 66 doubles and the 2015 team with 82 doubles and 244 runs batted in, and Look also made the hitting streak list for a 20-game run during April and May of last season.
Wrestling
Dearborn Heights Annapolis coach Victor McGuire has joined the list of winningest coaches in his sport. His team finished 38-4 this winter to push McGuire’s coaching record to 548-184 dating to the 1992-93 season.
Orchard View Sluggers Continue Climb
July 16, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A pair of Muskegon Orchard View softball standouts are climbing MHSAA record book career lists with one more season to play.
Halee Holman drove in 71 runs over 36 games this spring as a junior to raise her career RBI total to 227, which ranks eighth all-time. She also made the record book with 21 doubles this season and sits on career lists as well with 51 doubles and 24 home runs.
Junior teammate Cassidee White had made the career doubles list with 40 and career runs list with 195, with a single-season best 17 doubles this spring and her best run total coming as a freshman when she crossed the plate 70 times over 41 games.
See below for more recent softball record book additions – with more to be published later this week. Click the heading below to see the record book in full.
Softball
Frankfort’s Natalie Bigley finished her four-year varsity run this spring with 227 runs scored – 14th most all-time and one of 11 entries for her in the MHSAA record book. Six were added from a May 10 win over Bellaire where Bigley hit three straight home runs, including two in an inning and two grand slams and drove in six runs in that fourth frame and 10 for the game. She finished her career with 30 homers over 151 games. Junior teammate Haley Myers moved up career lists in runs (210), doubles (49) and home runs (29) with a season to play. Bigley will continue her career at Calvin University (formerly Calvin College).
Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s MaKayla Thompson ranks 23rd with 1,141 career strikeouts after adding 266 in 150 innings pitched as a senior this spring. She threw 643 innings over her four-season varsity career and will continue at Kent State University.
Jada Bolhuis left a sizable impression on the record book during just her first season at Otsego this spring, finishing with the fourth-most hits in MHSAA history, 91, and 12th-most runs scored, 75, while also earning mention with a .674 batting average. Sophomore Kendra VanderLugt joined her teammate with six entries, including for 14 home runs and 88 RBI this year, with the latter ranking eighth all-time. Junior Skylar Anderson earned a line as well with 19 doubles. As a team, Otsego was added for 450 hits, a .423 batting average, 62 doubles, 29 homers and 290 RBI over 36 games.
Brooklyn Columbia Central freshman Kenadee Tompkins also got her high school career off to a quick start with 16 doubles to make the single-season list in that category.
Sydney Stapf also made a stellar debut. The West Bloomfield freshman made the single-season home runs list with 12.
Niles Brandywine’s Kennedy Byrd was added for driving in eight runs during an April 13 win over Saugatuck, and also for hitting 12 home runs with 53 RBI for the spring. She was a junior.
Mackenize Nagelhout’s noteworthy debut came in 2018, when as a freshman she hit 19 doubles for Howard City Tri County to make the single-season list in that category. This spring, Tri County junior Alayna Merlington was added for six RBI in a May 17 game against Morley Stanwood.
Lauren Kuffel struck out 22 batters – including four in one inning – as Mio held on for a 5-4 District Final win in 10 innings over Au Gres-Sims on May 31. Kuffel, a senior, tallied 14 of those strikeouts and didn’t give up a run over the final six innings.
Mara Sczecienski became the second player in North Farmington history to be listed in the records for softball, finishing her career this spring with 202 hits, 55 doubles and 23 home runs over 127 games and four seasons. She also made the single-season doubles list with 17 as a junior. She is continuing at University of Hartford in Connecticut.
PHOTO: Orchard View’s Cassidee White watches a pitch come her way during a doubleheader this spring against Muskegon Western Michigan Christian. (Photo courtesy of Local Sports Journal.)