Brown City Standout Joins Spiking Elite

June 29, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Brown City senior Becki Krause finished off a celebrated three-season varsity career with a memorable run last fall, leading her team to its first Class C championship game and a runner-up finish.

Her 36 kills in a Semifinal win over Adrian Madison made the MHSAA record book single-match list, and she made the single-season kills list as well with 661 total. Brown City finished 45-9-6 after also advancing to the Semifinals in 2015.

Read on for another recent volleyball record book entry plus more additions in baseball, boys and girls basketball, football, girls soccer, softball and wrestling, and click on the headings to see those record books in full.

Baseball

Three straight no-hitters during the final weeks of the 1973 season earned Robert Nowotny from tiny Carsonville a paragraph in the Detroit Free Press and a shared MHSAA record for most consecutive no-hitters. His came over Kingston, Peck and Kinde North Huron.

Boys Basketball

Powers North Central rewrote the record book section for victories over the last four seasons, breaking its previous records by going 56-0 over the last two and 83-0 over the last three while also setting the record (that remains active) with an 83-game winning streak through this past season’s Class D Final. Standout senior Jason Whitens finished his career on record book lists for 2,062 points, 770 rebounds, 601 assists and 264 steals and set a record for 109 varsity games played. His career assists rank fifth all-time. He will continue his career at Western Michigan University.

Girls Basketball

Kelsey Wyman and Brooke Henning finished successful four-season varsity careers this winter by leading Blissfield to a 23-3 record and run to the Class C Quarterfinals. Wyman made the records with 175 assists and 578 (eighth all-time) for her career, while Henning made lists for 25 rebounds in a game twice, 402 this season (seventh all-time) and 303 as a junior, and 1,007 rebounds for her career. Wyman will continue at Ferris State, and Henning will play softball at Grand Valley State.

Football

A trio of Frankenmuth kickers entered the MHSAA record book, led by recent graduate Jack Lee after he made all 54 extra points he attempted last fall. Aaron Krafft was added to the career list for 76 extra-point kicks during the 2013-14 seasons, and Bryce Frahm joined Lee on the single-season list with 47 PATs in 2012. Running back Kyle Raycraft also was added for tying the longest rush with his 99-yarder against Caro in 2003. Lee will play soccer this season at Calvin College.

Frankfort junior Griffin Kelly also was added for a 99-yard run, for a score on Sept. 16 against Mancelona. He scored twice more that game, including on a 75-yard reception.

Girls Soccer

Christina Wynn led Trenton on an impressive run over her four-year career that ended this spring with 55 shutouts, good to tie for seventh most all-time, and with three entries for single-season shutouts including a high of 18 as a junior. Her Trenton teams earned five record book entries, most notably for 145 goals (fifth most all-time) this spring and an 18-game shutout run in 2016 that set an MHSAA record. Junior Sara Vinca also was added for her 33 goals this season.

Morgan McKerchie capped a three-season varsity career at Flint Powers Catholic with 34 assists in 2014 to finish with 72 – both earned record-book listings, as did teammate Heather Rolls’ 18 shutouts in 2012. Powers also made the team shutouts list with that total that season, and for giving up only eight goals in 21 games in 2014. McKerchie plays at Michigan State and Rolls went on to play at Georgetown.

Softball

Kelsie Swanson finished up a four-year varsity career at Flint Powers Catholic with a number of entries, mostly for career accomplishments – a .529 average, 198 runs, 244 hits (tied for 12th most), 55 doubles (including 21 as a senior) and 28 triples. She started this season for Oakland University.

Volleyball

Madison Dowd had 59 assists for Bloomfield Hills Marian in its four-set win over rival Farmington Hills Mercy last Sept. 15, good to tie for ninth-most assists in a match. A sophomore, Dowd finished the season with 1,434 assists, 15th-most all-time.

Wrestling

Longtime Blanchard Montabella coach Shaun Balhorn was added to the career wins list as his total went over 400 this past winter. Balhorn has led Montabella to a 409-192 record since taking over in 1997-98, with a high of 33 wins in 2003-04.

PHOTO: Brown City’s Becki Krause winds up for a kill attempt during last season’s Class C Semifinal against Adrian Madison. 

Troy's MacDonald Rises Up Record Ranks

July 24, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Troy’s Morgan MacDonald continued to build her standing this spring as one of the state’s top girls lacrosse players – while moving into the ranks of the best in this state all-time.

The senior-to-be moved up the career lists for goals, assists and points during her junior season, and also earned her first MHSAA record.

MacDonald had six goals and eight assists against Royal Oak on May 15 to set the single-game points record at 14. She owns 25 entries in the record book after three seasons, with her 256 career goals fifth on that list, her 109 career assists eighth and her 365 points sixth. MacDonald has committed to sign with Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Also added to the MHSAA girls lacrosse record book for Troy were senior Helen Katherine Ferriby multiple times including for 59 goals this spring, and senior Lindsey Davis multiple times including for 175 saves this past season – those saves rank sixth.

Click to see the girls lacrosse record book in full, and read on for more recent additions in baseball, girls basketball, football, girls soccer and softball.

Baseball

Stephenson’s Jesus Becerra finished his four-year varsity career this spring with near perfection as a base stealer. He added 25 more steals in just 17 games to finish with 116 stolen bases in 78 games over his career – and while getting caught trying to steal only three times over those four seasons.

Frankfort’s Kirk Myers added five more shutouts this spring as a senior to cap his career with 11, tying for 10th most all-time. Myers earned all 11 over the last two seasons after coming up to varsity as a sophomore. He’ll continue his career at Albion College.

Girls Basketball

Greenville junior Adele Kemp went over 1,000 points for her career this past winter, and nearly half of her points last season came on long distance shots as she made the MHSAA records with 70 3-pointers. She connected on 43 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc.

Football

West Bloomfield’s run to a Division 1 runner-up finish last fall included the final high school games for a star quarterback, two talented receivers and a strong-legged kicker who all have multiple record book entries. Quarterback Bryce Veasley earned 15 entries including for 225 completions, 388 attempts and 3,487 passing yards last season – his completions tied for 10th, his attempts rank seventh and his yardage ranks 11th all-time. Veasley, who played as a sophomore at Southfield-Lathrup before that school closed at the end of 2015-16, finished with 400 completions, 692 attempts and 6,406 passing yards over three varsity seasons. Receiver A.J. Abbott played his first two seasons at Northville and then had 59 catches for 1,140 yards for West Bloomfield as a senior; he finished with 119 catches and 2,539 yards over three seasons. Taj Mustapha made the records with 102 catches for 1,659 yards over two seasons, and kicker Nick O’Shea made 12 field goals last fall and 55 of 57 extra-point attempts, and 126 of 133 extra-point attempts over three varsity seasons. Additionally, Veasley and then-junior Tre Mosley were added for tying the longest pass play record with a 99-yarder last fall against Rochester Adams, and 2017 graduate Garrett Winn was added three times including for 150 receptions and 1,716 receiving yards from 2014-16. Veasley is continuing his career at Bowling Green, while Abbott and Mustapha are playing at Wisconsin and O’Shea at Morgan State in Baltimore. Mosley has committed to Michigan State, and Winn is entering his sophomore season for Navy.

Girls Soccer

Taylor Truman’s Lily Sanchez just missed making the single-season goals list twice during her four-year varsity career. But she concluded it this spring with 95 goals in 72 games to make the MHSAA career list.  

Coryn Brinks earned West Michigan Aviation Academy’s first girls soccer record book entry with 37 goals this season in helping her team to a 15-6-2 record. Brinks was a sophomore.

Softball

Goodrich’s Abigail Joseph capped her four-year varsity career this spring among the most successful hitters in MHSAA history. Despite never making the single-season hits list, her 245 career hits rank 12th, and her career batting average of .574 is eighth. She also made the single-season average list hitting .677 as a junior and for 65 runs that season and 216 for her career. She will continue this fall at Michigan State. Additionally, freshman teammate Alissa Gauthier was added for 10 home runs this spring.

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Brooklynn Duffey joined the record book with 20 doubles in 38 games this season. The senior catcher batted .517.

Belleville sophomores Mikayla Demyan and Madison Mikulski tied for their school’s record with 11 home runs this spring, and in doing so made the MHSAA record list. Both also earned single-game listings for back-to-back home runs and six RBI in single contests.  

PHOTO: Troy’s Morgan MacDonald looks for an opening against Birmingham United in May. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)