Esman's Career Among All-Time Best

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 14, 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Richland Gull Lake’s Lauren Esman was named Miss Softball Pitcher of the Year as a senior in 2019.

But her MHSAA record book legacy all was built at the plate, as she graduated with 19 entries.

Esman ranks on career lists with 216 runs scored (tied for 20th), 225 hits, a .580 batting average (10th), 108 walks (11th), 44 home runs (13th) and 211 RBI (also 13th). She’s playing at University of Michigan. 

See below for more recent record book additions in baseball, girls lacrosse, girls soccer and softball, and click on the sport headings to see those record books in full.

Baseball

Former East Grand Rapids standout Ryan Eible has been added in a number of categories for accomplishments over 137 games from 2008-11 before going on to play at Miami of Ohio. His 15 career triples are tied for 11th all-time, and his 176 career runs are tied for 15th. He also was added for a .451 career batting average and twice for being hit by pitches – 15 times as a senior and 35 times over his career.

Cam Schuelke missed out on the opportunity to finish his Byron Center career this spring, but earned a record book entry as a junior with a 0.70 ERA over 69 2/3 innings pitched in going 8-2 on the mound. Schuelke will continue his career at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Girls Lacrosse

Julia Brown took on a significant role for Grand Rapids Forest Hills United as a freshman in 2019, scoring 53 goals. She also made the record book with eight goals in a May 24 game that season against Hudsonville.

A pair of DeWitt standouts both joined the highest scorers all-time during the 2019 season. Then-sophomore Kerrigan Brown finished with 52 goals and 86 points, and then-junior Alexa Beyer scored 57 goals as the Panthers as a team scored 279 over 21 games. DeWitt also was added to the records for 239 goals in 2018 and 264 in 2016. Beyer will continue her career at Youngstown State in Ohio.

Girls Soccer

Ashley Beck set a Charlotte school record and made the MHSAA record book with 30 goals as a senior in 2019. She finished just shy of making the career goals list, ending her four seasons with 65.

Despite playing only three high school varsity seasons, New Baltimore Anchor Bay keeper Ally Gaunt finished with 41 career shutouts to make that record list after adding 11 shutouts as a senior in 2019. She’s currently playing at Saginaw Valley State University.

Longtime St. Clair Shores South Lake coach Marty Shearer was added to the career victories list with a 324-146-48 record from 1990-2017. He led the program to 10 league and seven District championships, and a Regional title in 2000.

Kevin Fiebernitz has coached both girls and boys varsity teams for three decades, and was added to the career wins lists for both. He’s 421-160-61 on the boys side after leading Flint Powers Catholic from 1989-2002 and Linden from 2003-19. He’s 328-162-55 on the girls side after leading Flint Southwestern Academy from 1990-95 and Linden from 1999-2019. He remains coach of both Linden teams, and led the Powers boys to the Class B title in 1996.

Softball

St. Joseph hit 53 home runs in 2019, tied for fourth-most in MHSAA history. Leading the way were then-senior Courtney Farrish with 17 and then-junior Taylor Garey with 12 – both made the single-season individual home run list. Farrish is playing at Western Michigan University, and Garey has signed to join her.  

Madelin Skene capped her high school career at Hartland in 2018 with 14 record book listings, including for 239 hits, 63 doubles, 41 home runs and 219 RBI over 143 games and four seasons. The RBI are tied for ninth-most all-time, while the doubles are tied for 13th and the homers rank 16th. Skene is playing at University of Michigan-Dearborn. Additionally, then-senior Brooke Cowan was added to the records for 16 doubles and then-sophomore Delaney Robeson for 11 home runs during the 2019 season. Cowan plays at Davenport University and Robeson has committed to sign with Kent State.

PHOTO: Gull Lake's Lauren Esman readies for a pitch during a 2018 game. (Photo courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)

Livonia Standout Scores Pair of Records

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

December 10, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

It’s hard to imagine a better first season of high school lacrosse for Livonia United’s Madalyn Champagne than what she accomplished this spring for the first-year program.

Champagne, now a senior at Livonia Stevenson, set a pair of MHSAA girls lacrosse records. Her 15 goals against Royal Oak on April 12 set both the single-game goals and points records, and her 149 goals total over 21 games tied for second for goals in one season.

She also had 11 assists for a total of 160 points, which ranked sixth on the season list in that category. Total, Champagne had 18 entries added to the record book. She has signed to continue after high school at Grand Valley State University.

Click to see the girls lacrosse record book in full, and continue below for more recent records additions in girls and boys basketball, football, girls soccer, softball and volleyball.

Girls Basketball

Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Sarah Stuart capped off her high school career last winter with 70 3-pointers over 25 games, making the single-season list for made long-distance shots. She also finished runner-up at the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan “Top Shooters Challenge” 3-point contest played during Finals weekend in March.  

Boys Basketball

It’s never too late to submit a record, and White Cloud’s Randy Mast was added for his .885 free-throw percentage during the 1966-67 season. That shooting success ranks 15th on the list and was accomplished during his senior season, when he averaged 20.8 points per game in leading the team to a 16-3 record.

Football

Coldwater got a running start on the 2019 season, in record proportions. The Cardinals made the record book on opening night with 667 total yards including 615 rushing on 59 carries. The total yardage ranks third by one team all-time for a single game, and the rushing yardage also is third on that respective list. Damon Beckhusen led the attack with 26 carries for 322 yards and three touchdowns, and Matt Gipple had 214 yards and four scores on the ground in a 47-30 win over Haslett.

Allendale’s Owen Burk just missed the single-season rushing list as a junior in 2018 with 2,069 yards over 10 games, but he was added three times for scoring. Burk had 218 points total and made the total touchdown list with 36 and the rushing touchdown list with 30. He will continue playing at Air Force.

Reggie Allen scored on a 98-yard kickoff return for Monroe on Oct. 22, 2010, against Dearborn Fordson that at the time would have been the second-longest recorded kickoff return score in MHSAA history. It currently ranks 10th on that list.

Girls Soccer

Twins Jordan Noble and Taylor Noble have helped put Boyne City soccer on the map the last two years, and big sophomore seasons in the spring landed both of them in the MHSAA record book. Jordan had 43 goals and 23 assists – including six assists in a game against Kalkaska – for 66 points, while Taylor had 35 goals and 22 assists for 57 points.

Softball

A number of Goodrich accomplishments were added from this spring’s season, including 383 hits, 42 home runs, 71 doubles and 259 RBI for the team over 38 games. Then-senior Sydney Hill and then-sophomores Savannah Stratton and Alissa Gauthier all were added for hitting back-to-back home runs (Gauthier’s during the same inning May 14 against Corunna), and then-junior Danielle Dumoulin was added for her 10 homers on the year. Additionally, the 2001 team was added for winning 35 games.

Hudson as a program earned its first team record book entries this spring in making the Division 4 Quarterfinals, with 392 hits including 77 doubles, and 295 RBI over 43 games. Then-senior Anna Stein and now-senior Flesia Borck also were added to individual lists, Stein with 16 doubles and Borck for scoring 71 runs.

Volleyball

Leland setter Ella Siddall helped her team to a Class D championship, Division 4 runner-up finish and a third trip to the Semifinals during her varsity career from 2015-18, and also graduated this past spring with the fifth-most assists during the rally scoring era that began in 2004-05 – 4,559 over her four varsity seasons. She also made the career aces list with 362, with a high of 119 as a junior in 2017. She’s continuing at DePaul University.

PHOTO: Livonia United's Maddy Champagne controls possession against Hartland. (Photo courtesy of Observer & Eccentric newspapers.)