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Dow Duo Rises to Top in Doubles

April 4, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Midland Dow’s fifth straight MHSAA championship in the fall was keyed by another outstanding group of veterans who have grown up winning in the program – including the most successful doubles players in MHSAA history.

Senior Jason Chang finished with the most career doubles wins (139), most consecutive doubles wins (50) and most tournament championships (37), while his No. 1 doubles partner and senior Vikram Shanker will graduate second to his teammate with 132 doubles wins including 42 straight and 36 tournaments won.

A number of other Dow standouts were added to the MHSAA boys tennis record listings. Senior Patrick Eschbach finished his career with 116 doubles wins and 21 tournaments won, and senior Julian Guerra finished tied for 10th with 119 singles career wins including 25 not giving up a point. Sophomore Michael Szabo and freshman Varun Shanker also made the single-season singles wins list, with senior Seamus Bartlett, junior Daniel Magno and sophomores Spencer Bouck and Colin Angell adding entries under the single-season doubles list.

Guerra became the sixth to win four MHSAA singles titles, and Chang became the first to win four in doubles. Click to see the MHSAA boys tennis record book, and read on for more recent entries for other sports.

Volleyball

  • Warren Mott’s Katie Murphy finished her four-year varsity career in 2009 as the top blocker in her school’s history – and now with all of the MHSAA’s blocks records as well. She had games with 27, 21 and 20 blocks as a senior (solo and assisted blocks combined), 343 total that fall, and 867 for her career – 187 more than the next highest entry during the rally scoring era. She finished her college career in the fall for Samford University in Alabama.
  • Michigan Center’s Elora Pittman capped her high school career in the fall with a big blocking season as well. She made MHSAA record lists five times for single-match blocks – including a season-high of 16 in a District Semifinal win over Hanover-Horton – and also made the season blocks list with 175 total, to tie for 15th.
  • Trenton’s Aevah Hebda also joined the single-match blocks list, against Wyandotte Roosevelt on Oct. 1. She had 13 over five games, to tie for 11th most, and added 26 kills in the win.
  • Traverse City St. Francis advanced to an MHSAA Final in 2012 for the first time keyed by a pair of standouts who are now listed a combined five times. Setter Kaitlyn Hegewald had 46 assists in a five-game Class C Semifinal win over Unionville-Sebewaing and also made the season aces and career assists lists – her 3,205 assists over three seasons rank 13th during the rally scoring era. Hitter Bridget Bussell also made the single-season aces list and the single-season list for kills with 580.
  • Utica Eisenhower’s Hailee Seifert made the single-match aces list with 10 in a two-set win over Holly at the Goodrich Invitational on Sept. 28. She also had seven kills and five digs in that match, and Eisenhower went on to win the tournament.
  • Flushing coach Shawn Andrews has been added to the career victories list with a record after this season of 596-243-34. She has led her teams to nine straight league championships – with 65 straight league wins dating to Feb. 2, 2006 – and this fall to a 32-16-5 overall finish.

Football

  • Novi’s Derek Ince had quite a game against Livonia Stevenson on Sept. 9, 2011, and more to the point, quite a first half. He entered the MHSAA record book for throwing five touchdown passes over the first two quarters of his team’s 49-13 win and finished having completed 15 of 22 passes for 338 yards and those five scores.

Girls Basketball

  • Carson City-Crystal junior Mikayla Duflo has been one of the state’s top 3-point shooters over the last two seasons as the Eagles have ascended to Class C elite. She made the MHSAA listings with 68 3-pointers during her sophomore season of 2012-13.

Boys Soccer

  • Kian Evans entered the single-season assists list with 26 this fall in leading Milan to its first District title and first appearance in a Regional Final. He had three assists in four games and a string of five straight games with at least two assists.

PHOTO: Midland Dow’s Vikram Shanker (left) and Jason Chang hold the Division 2 championship trophy after winning No. 1 doubles to help the Chargers claim their fifth straight MHSAA team title. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)

Standouts Climb Career Record Lists

April 13, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Vicksburg’s runs to back-to-back District titles – and the Division 2 championship game last spring – were keyed by a productive offense, including contributions by a pair who are seniors this spring.

Shaidan Knapp and Grace Stock both are entered into the MHSAA record book for single-season doubles from the last two seasons and for career doubles with a season to play – Stock has 39 and Knapp has 49, both over three seasons and 116 games. Knapp also ranks on the career RBI list with 188.

As a team, Vicksburg made the single-season wins list finishing 36-9 last season, when it had the second-most hits in MHSAA history with 522 over 45 games. The 2015 and 2016 teams are listed for various team accomplishments, also most notably for 366 RBI (third all-time) in 2016 and a .460 batting average (tied for second all-time) in 2015.

Click the softball heading below to see that record book in full, and also read on for more recent additions in boys basketball, football, boys soccer and volleyball.

Boys Basketball

Nearly two decades have passed since Rojelio Parra-Grady scored 49 points for Dearborn Fordson in its 2001 Class A District Final win over Allen Park. His total tied for ninth-most points in an MHSAA Tournament game at any level. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter of the 76-49 win and made six 3-pointers in the game.


Football

Ithaca kicker Adam Culp is climbing the charts for his position with a season yet to play. Culp made the single-season extra-point list with 59 as a sophomore and 46 this past fall as a junior, and his 105 career extra points also already rank among the best. Culp also had nine field goals in 11 attempts last season. Teammate Joey Bentley, also a junior, was added after throwing for 2,056 yards in 12 games in the fall.

Paul Verska finished a coaching career spanning four decades in 2015 with a record of 218-174-1 at seven Michigan schools – Lincoln Alcona, Allegan, Detroit Servite, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Cadillac, Ann Arbor Huron and Warren DeLaSalle. He finished with the Pilots, taking over in 2002 and leading them to the Division 2 title in 2014.

Boys Soccer

Marshall goalkeeper Kurt Kraushaar finished his high school career in the fall with 22 shutouts over four seasons to make the MHSAA career list in that category. He also made the single-season list as a junior in 2015 with 13 shutouts.

Grand Ledge finished 10-2-5 in the fall in part because of a strong defense; its seven goals given up tied for fourth-fewest in one season. Keeper Blaine Teahan also made the MHSAA records with a stretch of six straight shutouts from Aug. 20-Sept. 14.

Softball

Last season was a record-setting one for Coleman and a group of four-year varsity seniors. As a team, the Comets finished 39-3, setting MHSAA single-season records with 555 hits and 432 runs batted in, while tying for second with a .460 batting average and ranking second all-time alone with 510 runs scored in reaching the Division 4 Quarterfinals. Six players combined for 22 individual record book entries. Now-graduated Cassidy Tucker made the lists for 84 runs, 78 hits and 13 home runs in a season and 178 runs and 23 triples over her career (plus seven RBI in one game last May). Her 84 runs last spring were second-most in MHSAA history. Carley Starnes also made the single-season runs list with 74 and career lists with 224 runs, 231 hits and 34 doubles; and Grace Staley was added for 73 runs last season, 200 in her career, 81 hits last season and 238 in her career. Senior Laken Berthume had 71 RBI last season, 165 in her career and walked 77 times over four varsity seasons. Senior Kaylie Scott put together a 33-game hitting streak that stretched over nearly a year from May 2015-May 2016, while freshman MacKenzie Miller was among those added for six RBI in a game. Tucker is playing at Alma College and Starnes and Berthume are playing at Delta College.

Kalamazoo Christian has played in three MHSAA Finals over the last decade, and a number of entries from that time also were added. Kara Gjeltema, a senior last spring, was entered 18 times, most notably for 40 career home runs (tied for sixth most), 71 RBI in 2015 (tied for 11th) and 238 career RBI (tied for second). Also-2016 senior McKena Razenberg was added for 66 runs in 2015 and 180 over her four-year career, while 2014 graduate Tori Sides was added for 77 hits in 2014, 230 during her career and 183 career runs. Stephanie VanderLugt (class of 2013), Katie Dwyer (2009), Alex Hatfield (2005), Megan Rozeveld and Hannah Doorn also were added at least once; Hatfield’s 35 career triples are tied for fifth most. Kalamazoo Christian as a team earned 15 entries, with its 32 triples in 1999 (tied for 10th) most notable. Gjeltema is playing this season at Olivet College, while Razenberg is at Cornerstone, Sides played for Kellogg Community College, Dwyer for Huntington University (Ind.) and Rozeveld at Calvin College.

Volleyball

Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard seniors Jurnee Tipton and Emma Nowak capped outstanding careers in the fall with record book-worthy totals in their final match, a 3-2 Regional Final loss to Adrian. Tipton had 40 kills, which tied for the seventh-most in one match since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004-05. Nowak had 63 assists, which tied for fourth-most in that category. Tipton will continue her volleyball career at Howard University.

Frankenmuth setter Lindsey Mertz never made the MHSAA single-season assists list during her four-year varsity career (needing a minimum of 1,200 to do so). But combined, her four seasons of more than 1,000 assists added up to 4,436 – the third-most for a career during the rally scoring era. Mertz will play next season at Hillsdale College.

PHOTO: Vicksburg shortstop Shaidan Knapp prepares to make a throw during last season’s Division 2 Final at Secchia Stadium.