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.)

Pilgrims Pair Leads Semifinal Journey

June 28, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Lansing Christian’s boys basketball team reached the Class D Semifinals this past season in part on the efforts of two four-year seniors whose accomplishments are now recorded among the notable in MHSAA history.

Guard Forrest Bouyer had 109 steals in 26 games this winter, and his 296 career steals over 88 games rank ninth all-time. He also had 552 assists during his career, which rank 10th on that list. Guard Matthew Havey previously had listings for points and 3-pointers in one quarter, and he finished his career with 238 3-pointers – which rank ninth all-time. Bouyer will continue his career at Calvin College.

Click to check out the boys basketball record book in full, and read on for more recent record book additions in girls basketball, football, girls soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.

Girls Basketball

Kalle Martinez finished a successful career for Bay City John Glenn this winter and added a pair of record book entries during a 64-56 win over Saginaw Swan Valley on Feb. 23. Martinez scored 48 points, making the single-game scoring list, and tied for third for most 3-pointers in a game drilling 11 in 18 tries. As a team, Bay City John Glenn was added for making 14 3-pointers in that game and for making 154 and attempting 453 3-pointers on the season. Former teammate Cassidy Boensch was added for her 332 rebounds and 154 blocked shots as a senior in 2015-16. Boensch currently plays at Grand Valley State University, and Martinez will begin her career next season at Central Michigan University.

Edwardsburg’s Savannah Dixon added to her entry for single-season 3-pointers (69) as a sophomore by finishing her career with 173 over 87 games through her last this winter. Dixon also was a softball all-stater this spring.

Football

Daniel Nocerini played only one season of 8-player football, but he set the pace for those who will chase his records for seasons to come. Nocerini, a running back, was added to the 8-player records 15 times, including for 50 points, five touchdowns in a quarter and seven in a game all against Ontonagon this season, seven more scores against Rapid River, and 45 touchdowns total over 11 games. He also ran for 2,409 yards, including 431 against Rapid River. His career totals of 82 touchdowns and 586 points also were added to the 8-player record book, although his first three seasons were played in 11-player. He will continue his career at Michigan Tech.

Girls Soccer

Natalie Righetti finished her four-season varsity career at Trenton in 2013 among MHSAA leaders in career goals (106), assists (76) and points (182). Her points continue to rank 16th, while her career assists are 11th most. Including single-season accomplishments, she earned nine record book listings. Righetti went on to play at Oakland and then University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Softball

A pair of Midland Bullock Creek hitting standouts contributed to significant team totals as well over the last four years. Rylie Kalina had 75 hits this spring to cap her four-year career with 216, and ranked second all-time with 30 doubles this season to finish her career with 54 two-base hits. Former teammate Shelby Bailey also made the single-season doubles list with 20 as a senior in 2015 and 35 over her four-year career. Midland Bullock Creek as a team was added eight times for team achievements over the last four seasons, most notably for 94 doubles this spring and 90 in 2015 – tying for sixth and 11th all-time, respectively. In addition, Lauren Beougher was added for hitting two home runs during the fifth inning of a game against Clare on April 11. Kalina will continue her career at Davenport University and Beougher will play at Albion College, while Bailey went on to play at Delta College.

Frankfort freshman Hayley Myers’ debut season included a record entry for seven RBI in a win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary on April 7. Myers was 4 for 4 and hit two home runs.

Lowell sophomore Maddi Jordan earned two record book entries in her team’s win over Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills on April 18. She was 5 for 5 with four triples – tying for second-most triples in one game in the national record book and earning the first MHSAA record entry for that category – and drove in 10 runs to tie for second all-time in MHSAA history. Jordan already has committed to continue her softball career at Central Michigan University.

Volleyball

A number of past plus a few current Bronson standouts were added for accomplishments since the start of rally scoring with the 2004-05 season. Katherine Carpenter was added for 632 kills and 179 blocks in 2010 and 211 blocks (tied for seventh most in one season) in 2009, while Alexa Ratkowski was added for 1,399 assists in 2014 and a career 410 aces from 2002-15 – second-most all-time in that category to go with her previously-added career record for assists. Skyler Sobeski was added for 1,543 career kills from 2011-14, while recent graduate Jill Pyles was added for 1,504 career kills and 524 aces over the last four seasons; Pyles' aces rank second all-time. Hailey Brewer made the career blocks list with 509 from 2006-09, and Kylei Ratkowski made the career aces list as well with 388 from 2009-12. Junior Kiana Mayer had 1,541 assists in setting Bronson to a second straight Class C title last fall – her total ranking seventh during the rally scoring era. Junior Adyson Lasky (117), Pyles (114) and sophomore Kiera Lasky (112) also all were added for aces this past season. Carpenter went on to play at Hillsdale College and Pyles has signed to continue this fall at Ohio Dominican University.

Wrestling

Coloma freshman Ian Ishmael tied an MHSAA record at 130 pounds for fastest pin, winning a match by fall in five seconds on Jan. 21. He was competing as part of the Shawn Cockell Memorial Tournament in Quincy.

PHOTO: Lansing Christian's Forrest Bouyer (23) pushes the ball upcourt against Buckley during a Class D Semifinal in March, as teammate Matthew Havey (5) is among those trailing.