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Burger Assists in Pittsford Finals Run

May 22, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Pittsford girls basketball team achieved its best finish ever this winter, advancing to its first MHSAA championship game and ending with a 26-1 record. 

Leading the attack for the Class D runner-up was sophomore Jaycie Burger – whose 170 assists were good for 20th-most in MHSAA history for one season. She also averaged 17.1 points per game. 

Click for Burger's entry and the MHSAA girls basketball record book as a whole, and read below for the rest of this week's record book entries in four more sports. 

Boys Basketball

  • Leslie junior Dylan Patton had at least one blocked shot in all 21 of his team’s games this season and finished with 110 to rank all-time among the best in that category. He had a game high of 10, Jan. 20 against Lansing Christian, and averaged 5.2 to go with 15.3 points per game to help the Blackhawks to a 16-5 record.

  • Mackinaw City senior Anthony Elliott also made the blocked shots list this season, tallying 113 for an average of 5.1 over 22 games. He averaged 8.6 points and seven rebounds per game as well, as Mackinaw City finished 17-6.

  • Sophomore Demetrius Lake scored 24 of his game-high 37 points during the second half of Holland’s 65-49 win over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer on Feb. 10 – with 20 points coming during the fourth quarter. He’s one of 27 players to score at least that many in one quarter.

  • Suttons Bay junior Trevor Petroskey had a career game Dec. 16, despite his team’s 56-51 loss to Benzonia Benzie Central. His 12 steals are tied for third-most for one game in MHSAA history, and he finished his triple-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

    Football

    • Holly’s Jake Zorn set not only a school record but also a Flint Metro League record Sept. 27, 2013, when he threw for 405 yards in a 43-14 win over Flint Kearsley. Zorn, who will graduate this spring, completed 24 of 34 passes and connected for four touchdowns in building his record yardage total.

    Softball

    • Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Hannah Gavle had one of the top run-producing performances in MHSAA history against Grand Rapids Christian on April 28. She hit three home runs – in three straight at bats – and drove in 10 runs total to make the MHSAA records three times. Her third home run was a grand slam and she followed with a two-run double. The 10 RBI rank second for one game all-time.

    Wrestling

    • Grandville won its first dual meet of the 1982-83 season on the way to finishing 16-0 that winter – and didn’t lose another dual until the third meet of 1987-88. The Bulldogs’ string of 88 straight dual meet wins ranks first in MHSAA history (although it does not include a postseason victory – the Team Wrestling Finals were created in 1987-88; prior, postseason team championships were determined by finishes in individual competition). The dual winning streak was stopped by Birmingham Brother Rice, although Grandville went on to finish 22-2 in 1987-88. The Bulldogs’ top undefeated mark during the streak was 20-0 in 1983-84.

    • Coach Jerry La Joie led Gaylord to a 40-2 record this winter, the wins the second most during his 21 seasons guiding the program. He was added with the 11th-most wins in MHSAA wrestling coaching history with a record of 559-127-2. He coached the team in 1993-94, took a season off and came back for good for 1995-96.

    • On his way to wrestling at the University of Michigan, David Johnson won 199 matches with only 14 losses for Jenison from 2004-07. He was the Division 1 champion at 140 pounds in 2006 with a record of 54-2 and finished third at 135 in 2005 and 152 pounds in 2007.

    PHOTO: Pittsford's Jaycie Burger (21) looks for an open teammate as she pushes upcourt during this season's Class D Final. 

    Pair Powers Mercy Softball to Semifinals

    July 16, 2015

    By Geoff Kimmerly
    Second Half editor

    Farmington Hills Mercy advanced to this spring’s Division 1 Softball Semifinals on the bats of two powerful hitters – one a senior recently recognized as the best in Michigan this season, and the other a junior likely to be a candidate for the same award in 2016.

    Alex Sobczak earned the Miss Softball position player award from the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association and finished her fourth and final varsity season with five career totals in the MHSAA record listings – a .524 batting average, 40 doubles, 40 home runs, 210 runs scored and 112 walks. Her 40 home runs are fifth on that career list and include 17 she hit as a sophomore to tie for third on the single-season list for that category. Sobczak, Mercy’s catcher and leadoff hitter, will continue her career at the University of Michigan.

    Teammate Abby Krzywiecki finished her third varsity season making the single-season home runs list with 12 and moving up the career list with 28 to tie for 19th with one more spring to play. She’s also in the MHSAA records four times with at least six RBI in a game plus hit three home runs in a game including two straight in a May 16 win over Mattawan. A first baseman, she’s approaching the career records lists in hits, RBI, batting average and doubles, and hit .574 this season.

    As a team, Mercy again made MHSAA lists with 28 home runs this season and 254 RBI over 31 games.

    Click the “Softball” heading below to see that sport's record listings in full, and read on for more of this week’s additions in baseball, boys lacrosse and girls lacrosse.

    Baseball

    • Montague’s 21-9 finish this season included a handful of performances notable for record book inclusion. Junior Jacob Buchberger hit .583 with 11 triples to make those individual lists, while junior Cameron Brayman also made the triples list with eight – those two played large roles as the team finished with 20 triples to tie for third as a team on the single-season list. Junior pitcher Andrew Bobian joined an elite group, walking only five batters in 61 innings pitched. He finished 5-5 despite a 2.52 ERA.

    • Mitchell Weber joined a group of players tied for 12th-most doubles in one season, hitting 21 in 37 games this spring. A senior, Weber hit .505 and will play next spring at Kellogg Community College.

    • Kaydon Reimer made the single-season hit-by-pitch list with 15 as a junior for Hale, and finished his career in 2014 having been hit with 35 pitches total over four seasons to rank 11th on that career list.

    Boys Lacrosse

    • Nicholas Lucci continued his climb up the MHSAA career records lists in goals, assists and points with his best season this spring. The Bloomfield Hills junior had 69 goals and 43 assists for a combined 112 points – which tied for ninth on the season points list. He also made the single-game points list with 10 three times and the single-game goals list with eight against Walled Lake Central on March 25. His 221 career points rank 12th with a season to play.

    Girls Lacrosse

    • Amy Longe finished her four-season varsity career at Hartland as one of the leading scorers in MHSAA history and with 12 entries in the record book. She made the single-season goals list for the second time, this time with 80, and moved up to third on the career goals list with 254. She again made the single-season points list with 112 and moved up to fourth on the career list for that category with 319. Teammates Annelise Kulpanowski and Maddie Thornley both also made records listings multiple times for single-game assists and single-game saves, respectively.

      

    Softball

    • Caledonia as a team and freshman Samantha Gehrls among standouts created plenty of buzz this spring as the team advanced past the regional round for the first time, finishing Division 1 runner-up. Gehrls made the record book with seven RBI in a game against Jenison on April 22, and her 15 home runs on the season tied for eighth all-time. Total, Caledonia hit 49 homers – tied for second most by a team, drove in 322 runs to rank sixth on that list and made the team hits list with 429 over 39 games.

    • Hudson’s Shian Beekel finished her career with a power-hitting season this spring for the Tigers, driving 23 doubles, which tied for seventh-most for one season. Beekel hit .494 total and also knocked eight home runs. 

    • Clinton Township Clintondale set a team record for wins in finishing 21-4, and senior Morgan Duda played a starring role. In addition to posting an 11-2 pitching record, she scored the third-most runs in MHSAA history (79), finished the seventh-longest hitting streak (32 games dating to 2014), made records listings with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, and eight RBI in one game and posted the eighth-highest batting average (.692). She will continue her career at Division II University of Minnesota-Crookston.

    • Skylar Reed joined an impressive list of Howard City Tri-County players in the MHSAA records with 16 doubles this season, and Alexis Holappa made the list for RBI in a game for the second time, with six April 1 against Evart. They were joined by an older entry now verified – Theresa Dillon had 102 walks from 1983-86, the eighth most now and third most for a career when she graduated. As a team, Tri-County had 397 hits and 249 RBI this season in finishing 16-22. 

    PHOTO: Abby Krzywiecki (left) and Alex Sobczak teamed up to lead Mercy to a Division 1 Semifinal against Caledonia in June.