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.
Mort Assists Corunna in Record Run
January 10, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half
Senior setter Lexi Mort and junior hitter Elizabeth Norris led Corunna’s varsity volleyball team to its first MHSAA Semifinals this fall with record book-caliber contributions.
Mort had 1,529 assists (10th all-time) to go with 1,429 as a junior and to finish her career with 4,322, which ranks sixth all-time. She also made the single-match assist list with 54 against Mount Morris, when Norris had 33 kills.
Norris had 879 kills this season, 13th-most on that list. Freshman Ellie Toney was added for 11 aces in a match against Burton Genesee Christian. The Cavaliers finished the fall 50-7-5, with District and Regional titles in Division 2. Mort will run collegiate track at Saginaw Valley State University.
See below for more recent record book additions in volleyball, football and boys soccer, and click on the headings to see those sports’ record books in full.
Football
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley’s Division 1 championship season this fall included a number of record-setting performances. David Ellis returned four kickoffs for touchdowns, good for second most all-time. Niko Kepi made the season extra point list with 73 and the career list with 104 in 109 attempts over the last three seasons. Quarterback Tommy Schuster threw 26 touchdown passes for the second straight season and made career lists with 4,960 passing yards, 509 attempts, 330 completions and 67 scores through the air over the last three seasons. As a team, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley made lists with 546 points and 76 touchdowns over 14 games. Ellis will continue his career at Indiana University. Also, Jeff Deliz was added for a 93-yard punt return in 2003 and Chris Lomasney for six rushing touchdowns in a game in 2000. Deliz went on to play at Navy and Lomasney at Michigan Tech.
Sanford Meridian’s Kyle Stockford found his way to the end zone in multiple record-setting ways over the last two seasons. This fall, he made the record book for two kickoff return touchdowns in one game, against Lake City, scoring from 87 and 85 yards out. He also made the season kickoff return touchdown list with four despite playing only six games. The senior also returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a game this fall against Houghton Lake – after accomplishing the same feat as a junior against Farwell.
Among highlights of Hudsonville Unity Christian’s Division 5 championship run this season was a 57-20 win over Hamilton on Oct. 5, when Unity totaled 637 yards – which sits fifth all-time. Its 629 rushing yards, on 39 carries, is one of two totals on the list for most rushing yards in one game.
Quanelle Pritchett had a solid senior season receiving for Warren Fitzgerald in the fall – augmented by a record book-worthy accomplishment against Sterling Heights on Sept. 14. Pritchett caught seven passes for 239 yards in the 52-13 win to make the single-game receiving yardage list.
Boys Soccer
Jack Vezmar had 17 shutouts this fall in leading Marshall to a 23-1-1 record and Division 2 District title. Those shutouts tied for 11th-most in one season and helped him make the career shutout list with 28 over the last two seasons.
For the second straight fall, Midland Dow made the team record lists for total shutouts and consecutive shutouts, this time with 18 overall in 24 games and nine straight from Aug. 18-Sept. 12. Dow also tied for ninth all-time by giving up only eight goals on the way to finishing 20-1-3 on the season.
Volleyball
Longtime southwest Michigan coach Tony Hooley has reached the 500-win plateau, actually doing so in 2017 at Marcellus and adding to his total this fall leading Dowagiac to a 25-15-2 finish. Hooley has coached at Centreville and White Pigeon as well plus two seasons at Glen Oaks Community College, and his high school record stands at 538-311-92 over 18 seasons.
After two seasons of varsity volleyball, Vermontville Maple Valley sophomore Keilyn Carpenter has four record book entries. She’s been added three times for kills in a match – twice reaching 32 – and for this fall totaling 623 kills over 126 games.
Bronson’s fourth straight MHSAA championship – this one in Division 3 in the fall – included, predictably, a number of outstanding individual performances. Sophomore Meagan Lasky had 1,775 assists this past season to rank third on that list, while senior sister Kiera Lasky added to her career aces total to finish with 454 – fifth most all-time. Senior Ashton Wronikowski made the season aces list with 137, and junior Keona Salesman did as well with 122 to go with her entry for 766 kills. She’s also on the career kills list with 1,679 over three seasons and with one to play. Kiera Lasky will continue her career at Davenport University, and Wronikowski will continue at West Liberty University in West Virginia.
PHOTO: Lexi Mort cheers on her Corunna teammates during their Division 2 Semifinal against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in November.