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.
Lenawee Christian Standout Scores with State's All-Time Best
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 27, 2021
Bree Salenbien finished one of the most memorable careers in MHSAA girls basketball history this season as one of the leading scorers of all time – and despite playing two shortened seasons to finish her run at Adrian Lenawee Christian.
Salenbien suffered a knee injury in the regular-season finale in 2019-20, and missed out on three games before COVID-19 ended that season prior to the Regional Final. This winter, with its late start, led to Lenawee Christian playing only 17 games including the postseason.
But appearing in 92 games over four seasons makes her 2,059 career points, including 425 free throws, and 287 blocked shots that much more impressive. The Gonzaga signee is joined in the record book by teammates Libby Miller and (also sister) Dani Salenbien, who made the career 3-pointers list with 185 and 157, respectively, over four varsity seasons before both graduated in 2020. Dani Salenbien plays at Hillsdale College.
The Cougars also made the team record book for a number of accomplishments over the last five seasons, including with 202 3-pointers (sixth-most) in 2019-20 and 175 in 2018-19. The 2018-19 team also made the fifth-most free throws, 308, at a fourth-best percentage of .730, on the way to winning the Division 4 championship.
Click to see the girls basketball record book in full and see below for recent record book additions in boys basketball and volleyball.
Boys Basketball
A pair of Bellevue standouts were added for achievements over either their senior seasons in 2019-20 or careers. Grant Morgan tied for ninth all-time with 12 steals in a game against Colon on Jan. 13, 2020, and he also made the single-season steals list with 105. Teammate Carson Betz was added to the career lists with both 809 rebounds and 256 steals over four varsity seasons.
Morrice made the record book list with a school-record 17 3-pointers March 3, 2020, in a 69-23 win over Akron-Fairgrove. The Orioles attempted 56 shots from beyond the arc and were led by Hunter McGowan with 15 points all on long-range shots.
Greg Esler retired last summer after more than three decades of coaching boys varsity basketball and with a record of 558-235. He led St. Clair Shores Lake Shore from the 1987-88 through 1993-94 seasons, and then Warren De La Salle Collegiate through 2019-20.
Jager Mix quickly made an impact on Onaway’s success in 2019-20. Just a sophomore that season, he made the record book with 321 rebounds.
Tyler Eedy may be best at golf – he’s a freshman at Michigan State – but he’s part of the MHSAA record book in basketball after connecting on 41 straight free throws as an Ogemaw Heights senior. He also made the records list for free-throw percentage, connecting on 92.1 percent (82 of 89) of his attempts in 2019-20. The percentage ranks fourth all-time, and the streak is seventh longest.
Carson Irwin scored 25 points including making all 20 free throws he shot in Dundee’s 61-56 win over Clinton on March 17. The junior made the list for most free throws in a game and tied for third-most consecutive free throws in one contest.
Nearly 60 seasons have passed since Tom Pacynski averaged 38.8 points per game for Bay City St. Mary during the 1963-64 season. But with an assist from the Bay City Times, his average – which ranks fourth-highest for a single season, all-time – was added as well as his 62 points in a game that season against Pinconning St. Michael. Pacynski went on to play at Boston College.
Volleyball
Andelyn Simkins completed her Schoolcraft career in 2019 on career lists with 2,574 kills and 310 aces. The kills rank ninth on that list and include season highs of 760 as a senior and 748 as a junior. She’s playing currently at Western Michigan.
West Bloomfield senior Grace Allread closed her four-season varsity career in the fall on the career assists list with 2,524 over 395 games. She has signed to continue at Liberty.
PHOTO: Adrian Lenawee Christian’s Bree Salenbien pushes the pace against St. Ignace during the 2019 Division 4 Final at Calvin College.