Delacher Set Rockford Up for Success
April 13, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Hailey Delacher finished her high school volleyball career in the fall with 17 entries in the MHSAA record book – and as one of the most successful setters in state history.
Delacher’s 5,106 career assists over the last four seasons rank third since the beginning of rally scoring during the 2004-05 season. She added 1,310 assists as a senior to make the single-season list for the third time. She also bested her previous single-match MHSAA record by three with 70 in a five-set loss over Grand Rapids Christian on Nov. 9, her final high school match.
Delacher’s main hitter this past season was junior Lindsay Taylor, who made the records with 609 kills. Delacher will continue her volleyball career at Bradley University.
See below for more recent record book additions in volleyball and also boys lacrosse, boys tennis and wrestling. Click on the sport headings to view those record books in full.
Boys Lacrosse
Then-junior Alexander Bourgeois faced a number of shots for the Sterling Heights/Warren Mott United team last spring, totaling the fourth-most saves in MHSAA history with 250 over 13 games. He also was added to the records for a number of single-game performances, including 27 saves (tied for second most) against St. Clair on May 9, 2017.
Volleyball
Troy senior setter Kelsey Moeller and junior hitter Jessica Robinson enjoyed career nights Sept. 19 against Oxford. Moeller had 54 assists and Robinson 32 kills as their team won 28-26, 23-25, 25-11, 25-16. Both totals made single-match record book lists.
Boys Tennis
Hudsonville won all but two events (matches and tournaments) this fall and tied for 11th in Lower Peninsula Division 1 in part on the strength of four powerful doubles pairs that made the MHSAA record book – Brendan Bentley and Pierce Arangua (37-1) at No. 1, Nolan Perrin and Nick Beery (33-4) at No. 2, Bennett Elling and Evan Elling (36-2) at No. 3 and Bret Bentley and Chris Cooper (33-4) at No. 4. Bentley and Arangua’s win total is tied for seventh highest in MHSAA history, and Bentley finished his career 89-12 over three seasons of doubles; he was 24-6 playing singles as a junior. In addition to this season’s standouts, Bentley and Brandon McEachern were added for 28 wins in 2015, and the pairs of Riley Costen/Isaac Bylsma and Eric Hull/Jared VanNorman both were added for 27 wins that season. Trey Elling and Brendan Costen were added for 34 wins in 2013.
Okemos senior Karthik Kolisetty was added to the doubles career wins list with a 92-31 record over the last four seasons. He and partner Aditya Kandula won the No. 4 doubles title this fall in Lower Peninsula Division 2, helping the Chiefs to the overall team championship.
Traverse City St. Francis’ back-to-back third-place finishes at the MHSAA Lower Peninsula Division 4 Finals were keyed by a number of strong performances, especially in doubles. Ryan Navin, who finished his career in 2016, was added for the most career wins in doubles at 145 after capping his career with a 35-2 record with partner Joe Primeau that fall. (Navin and Jackson Richmond set the single-season doubles win record of 46 in 2014). Primeau was added for 109 doubles career wins after capping his career this past fall, and Jack Kleinrichert also made the doubles career wins list with 70 after going 38-4 this past season. Alex Thelen (35), Brendan Chouinard and Adam Chittle (37), Sean Navin (41), Luke Krcmarik and Charlie Schmude (36) and Tyler Tafelsky (39) also were added for single-season doubles wins coming off this past campaign. Richmond (30) joined Primeau/Ryan Navin, Sean Navin, Thelen, Chouinard and Kleinrichert with worthy single-season doubles totals in 2016. Primeau also was added for singles wins in one season after claiming 32 matches in the fall, and Nathan Sodini was added after winning 37.
Wrestling
Donte Rivera-Garcia was a three-time Division 1 Finals runner-up over the final three seasons of his four-year varsity career at Southgate Anderson, finishing with a 203-18 record to make the list for career wins. He competed for Muskegon Community College this season.
Blain Wood – the Division 3 112-pound runner-up in 2016 – capped his Caro career with 28 pins this winter and a career 207-27 record. Teammate DJ Daniels, this season’s Division 3 152 champ, also was added for season records of 59-4 and 58-2 over the last two, respectively. He had 43 pins this winter as a junior.
Three recent Birch Run graduates were added to the career wins list – Jerry Fenner (210-18 from 2012-15), Caleb Slavik (200-38 from 2009-12) and Lake Bennett (199-32 from 2010-13). Fenner is wrestling at Ashland University in Ohio, and Bennett is competing at Olivet College.
Marysville senior Doug Ferrier finished his four-season career with 117 pins in 213 matches. He wrestled his final three seasons with the Vikings after competing for Port Huron as a freshman, and had a high of 31 pins as a junior. He was the Division 2 runner-up at 152 pounds this season.
PHOTO: Rockford’s Hailey Delacher celebrates a point during the 2016 Class A Final against Novi at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena.
Oilers' Carson Continues Record Climb
August 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Arguably the top sophomore in the state this spring, Mount Pleasant’s Hannah Carson continued to build toward a record-setting career with one of the most impressive seasons in the state for a player of any class.
Carson, a catcher, was added to the MHSAA softball record book for 77 hits (tied for sixth most for one season), 23 doubles (tied for eighth most), and her 25 triples over two seasons are tied for 15th most for an entire career with two seasons to play. She hit .550 this spring and already is committed to play after high school at University of Michigan.
Freshman teammate Oaklie Mogg was added to the records for 18 doubles this spring, and junior Allison Conway made the single-season sacrifice list with 22. Click the softball heading below to see where they and other recent additions in that sport rank, along with a few additions in girls basketball and football as well.
Girls Basketball
Homer standout Bailey Manis graduated in 2015 with some notable numbers over her four-season varsity career, including 421 made free throws – 12th most in MHSAA history. She also made the records with 151 steals as a senior and 409 over her career. She plays at University of Northwestern Ohio.
Football
Morrice’s James Edington, already in the records for a 450-yard rushing game in 1999, also was added for a record-tying 99-yard run on Oct. 29 of that season against Kingston. Edington went on to star at Alma College as well.
Softball
St. Joseph junior Olivia Shinrock continued her impressive hitting of the last two seasons, blasting into the MHSAA record book with 15 home runs in 34 games this spring. She hit multiple homers in three games and batted .505 overall.
Reese standout Carlee Selle added a few more record book entries with a few swings of the bat May 16 against Vassar. Selle hit three home runs over two innings in a 15-0 win and a fourth straight home run in her next at bat in the second game of the day against the Vulcans. She also had eight RBI total in the first game. She finished with 12 home runs, 16 doubles and also had back-to-back home runs in an April 21 game against Marlette. A junior this spring, she’s committed to play collegiately at Kent State. Teammate Kaylee Cypher, who graduated this spring, also made the records with 16 doubles.
Recently-graduated Emma Sikina of Brownstown Woodhaven also was added for consecutive home runs, in the fourth and sixth innings of a game against Carleton Airport on June 1, and for 18 doubles as a junior in 2015. She’s signed with Madonna University.
Grandville’s Nikoma Holmen, a junior this spring, was added for 73 hits and 19 doubles as a sophomore in 2015. She hit .570 that season.
Hudson senior Lauren Valdez opened an April 28 game against Pittsford by hitting four batters with pitches and then walking the fifth. She then stuck out 20 of the next 31 batters she faced in a 9-6 win to tie for the 13th-most strikeouts for a pitcher in a seven-inning game. She’s signed to continue at Siena Heights.
Howard City Tri-County’s 24-10 finish this spring yielded a number of noteworthy accomplishments; the Vikings as a team were added for 402 hits, 63 doubles, 281 RBI and a .405 batting average. Individually, senior Brooke Dillon finished her career with 15 home runs and career totals of 178 runs, 210 hits, 29 triples, 28 home runs and 194 RBI; her career triples rank 11th and her RBI eighth. She and sophomore teammate Dayoni Mahlich both ended notable hitting streaks on May 7, Dillon’s at 24 straight games and Mahlich’s at 21. Mahlich also made the records with 74 hits and 14 triples, and senior Alexis Holappa joined both with single-game listings. Dillon will continue her career at Lawrence Tech.
Warren Fitzgerald senior Angel Perry earned a spot in the records with six RBI in one game, a 21-15 loss to Clawson on May 9. Perry was 4 for 4 with two doubles and a home run.
PHOTO: Mount Pleasant's Hannah Carson prepares to receive a pitch during a 2015 game against Midland Dow. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)