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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.)

Erie-Mason Standout Rules 3-Point Arc

April 29, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Joe Liedel brought Erie-Mason to the MHSAA Semifinals for the first time this winter with one of the top 3-point shooting performances in state history

The junior guard’s 91 3-pointers over 26 games tied for 15th most for one season, and with a season to play, he’s already among the most prolific long-distance shooters over a career as well.

Liedel has sank 241 3-pointers – to rank ninth on the career list – over 69 games the last three seasons, and will need 99 as a senior to tie the record.

See below for more recent record book additions in boys and girls basketball, and click on the headings to see those record books in full.

Boys Basketball

Ionia senior Brady Swinehart put up some big point totals this season, including during the first quarter of his team’s Jan. 9 win over Lakeview. Swinehart scored 25 of his 31 points during the first quarter, tying for eighth-most points scored in one period. He also was added to the records for a string of 35 straight free throws over nine games during the 2017-18 season that tied for the eighth-longest in that category.

New Haven tied for ninth-most 3-pointers in a game Jan. 22 against Grosse Pointe North when it sank 19 in the 88-59 win. Six players had at least one 3-pointer, with Romeo Weems dropping six and Ronald Jeffery III connecting on five. New Haven also just missed the single-quarter points list with 38 during the second of that game.

Andre Anthony tied for the third-most steals in one game with 13 for Burton Faithway in its 71-33 win over Howell Kensington Woods on Feb. 19. The senior also scored 24 points and had 12 assists and seven rebounds in the win.

Portland St. Patrick senior Brandon Scheurer finished his four-season varsity career this winter on the career 3-pointers list with 201 in 598 attempts over 81 games. He also is a standout baseball player and will continue his career in that sport at Saginaw Valley State University.

Girls Basketball

Hannah Brown finished her four-season varsity career at White Cloud this winter with her second entry for 3-pointers in one season, making 76 over 20 games with a high of 10 against Remus Chippewa Hills on Jan. 22. She will graduate fifth on the career 3-pointer list with 251 over 85 games, and she also made the career free throw list with 326 in 435 attempts. As a team this season, White Cloud connected on 154 3-pointers to make the records on the way to finishing 14-6.

Ellie Taylor graduated from Midland Dow in 2017 all over her school’s girls basketball record book – and among the top 3-point shooters in state history as well. She made the single-season 3-pointers list with 73 as a junior and 77 as a senior, and her 242 over 91 games and four seasons are the fifth-most all-time. Taylor plays at Northwood and played a season at St. Louis University.

Holly senior Rebecca Fugate matched an accomplishment from her sophomore year when she connected on 16 free throws (in 19 attempts) against Hartland on Feb. 28. She will continue her career next season at Wayne State University.

Niles Brandywine rode long-range sharp-shooting to a 23-3 record and District and Regional titles this winter. Brandywine made 186 3-pointers, tied for 11th most, on 626 attempts, which rank 10th. The Bobcats also made the single-game list with 15 3-poiners in a District win over Eau Claire. Six players made 3-pointers in that game, led by Bethany Duval with four.

A pair of performances over five days in January 2016 put Roseville’s Nija Collier on the record book lists for points and rebounds in a game. On Jan. 22, the then-junior scored a school-record 46 points during a 75-68 win over Center Line. On Jan. 26 during a 61-48 loss to Marysville, she grabbed 30 rebounds to tie for 10th most in one game. Collier recently completed her second season at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

PHOTO: Erie-Mason’s Joe Liedel (1) puts up a shot while surrounded by defenders during his team’s loss to Pewamo-Westphalia in the Division 3 Semifinals last month.