Grace-fully Setting MHSAA Records
September 9, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Saginaw Swan Valley’s Alex Grace opened the 2014 football season two weeks ago with what has become a typical performance – 195 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
The Vikings’ senior running back already tops one MHSAA record book list, and could sit atop a few more when this fall is done.
Grace set the MHSAA single-season rushing record in 2013 with 2,962 yards on only 295 carries – an average of 10 yards per carry. Adding in his 2,163 yards rushing as a sophomore, Grace entered this fall with 5,125 total – good for 15th on the career list, and he’s already jumped to 10th with 324 yards he’s gained in two games this fall.
Grace also scored 36 rushing touchdowns in 2013 – 12th most for one season – and with his 27 as a sophomore has 63 total. He’s committed to sign with Western Michigan University for after graduation.
Those are just some recent additions to the MHSAA record listings; read on for more, and click each heading below for the complete records listing for that sport.
Football
- Logan Huff’s incredible Friday night (Sept. 5) – six touchdowns in Johannesburg-Lewiston’s 75-14 win over Pellston – included a pair of interception returns for scores to make him the latest of 15 players to accomplish that feat. He also scored on two rushes, a reception and a punt return, will all six TDs coming during the first half.
Baseball
- Zach Fish’s reputation as one of the top high school power hitters in MHSAA history got a boost with the addition of career numbers from his two seasons each at Kalamazoo Central (2008-09) and Richland Gull Lake (2010-11). Fish ranks second for most career home runs (47) and RBI (203) in MHSAA history, eighth for career runs scored (184) and fifth for hits (204). He also made the lists with three home runs and 10 RBI in a game against Portage Northern his senior season. Fish was named Big 12 Player of the Year this spring playing for Oklahoma State University, was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 11th round of the June Major League Baseball amateur draft, and just finished his first season as an outfielder with the franchise’s short-season rookie level team in Great Falls, Montana.
Boys Basketball
- Wyoming West Michigan Lutheran 6-foot-4 forward Jeffrey Hilliard finished his high school career averaging a double-double – 19.8 points and 15.7 rebounds per game – and grabbed 314 boards total to make the MHSAA records in that single-season category. He just missed the single-game category, grabbing 29 in an 85-45 win over Holland Black River. He’ll continue his career at Concordia University-Ann Arbor.
Girls Basketball
- Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Lexi Gussert finished her career in March with a Miss Basketball trophy and having carried the Trojans to the Class D Final at the Breslin Center. She also appears 14 times in the MHSAA girls hoops record book: most notably, she finished fourth in career scoring with 2,630 points, set the record as a senior for single-season 3-pointers (105) and finished second with 274 career 3-pointers, finished eighth as a senior on the single-season assist (193) list and is ninth on the career rebounds list with 1,108. She also tied for sixth with 104 varsity games played during her career, and will continue at Michigan State University.
Boys Lacrosse
- Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s run to the Division 2 Semifinals this spring included outstanding offensive performances from a pair of field players and strong play in net by a junior goalie. Bob Pelton tallied the third-most assists in one season, 64, and finished with the eighth-most points, 110. Teammate Luke Malec also made the single-season points list with 89, and both made a number of single-game lists. Goalie Grant Lardieri posted three of the top nine single-game saves totals, topped by 23 against Detroit Catholic Central on May 17, and also has posted three of the top eight season saves totals – his 232 this spring were the third-most. He has 657 career saves – 62 from tying the MHSAA record – with a season left in his high school career.
- Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Matt Kolevar finished a solid career in 2010 with 57 goals and 38 assists – with his 95 points making that single-season list. He also made the career points list with 200, including 137 goals.
- Connor Flynn graduated from Rockford in 2012 with 715 career saves in goal, which now ranks second in MHSAA history. He had 24 in a 2012 games against South Lyon, with that total tying for third-most in a game. He’s now playing at the University of Detroit Mercy.
Girls Soccer
- Pontiac Notre Dame Prep’s Taylor Timko scored more than 30 goals twice and 124 during a four-year career that finished this spring. Her career goals rank 21st in MHSAA history, and her 176 total points (including 52 assists) rank 14th on that career list. Timko, who also was a track standout and the football team’s kicker and was crowned Homecoming queen last fall while in uniform, is starting for the University of Michigan women’s soccer team this fall.
Softball
- Gladwin sophomore Lauren Mose achieved a top-10 spot in the MHSAA softball record listings, scoring 71 runs this spring – good to tie for eighth-most in one season. She also hit .496 in 137 at bats. Sophomore teammate Dayna Fennell made the MHSAA single-season doubles list with 16 and hit a team-best .514 in a team-high 138 at bats.
PHOTO: Saginaw Swan Valley's Alex Grace (9) carries the ball during this season's opener against Saginaw Nouvel. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Miss Soccer Scores at Champion's Pace
January 22, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Saline’s run last spring to its first MHSAA girls soccer championship was keyed by a number of talented players – including a pair of all-staters with record book-caliber contributions.
Senior forward Taylor Mulder was named Miss Soccer after scoring 43 goals with 11 assists – her goals and 54 points made single-season records lists – and she finished her four-year varsity career with 80 goals. All-state keeper Sofia Sweier had 22 shutouts last season, tying for second-most in MHSAA history. She finished her four-year career with 42 shutouts, all coming over her final three years in net.
As a team, Saline gave up only four goals – tied for third fewest in MHSAA history – and had runs of 10 and nine consecutive shutouts. The nine straight began with the second-to-last regular-season game and included the entire Division 1 Tournament.
Mulder is currently playing at Siena Heights University, and Sweier played this fall at Grand Valley State University.
Click to see the girls soccer record book in full, and read on for more recent additions for other sports. (Click the sport headings to see those record lists.)
Girls Basketball
Sterling Heights’ Kendal Ring blocked 16 shots in her team’s 48-33 win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North on Jan. 23, 2015, good to tie for sixth-most blocks in one game. The 5-foot-11 center is a senior this season.
Boys Soccer
Holland Christian’s run to the Division 2 Regional Semifinals in the fall including 15 shutouts in 24 games – and the team gave up only 11 goals all fall. Both milestones made the MHSAA records. Sophomore Nick VanderLaan had 11 shutouts and combined on four more.
Shelby made the team shutouts list with eight straight to start the 2015 season and also for giving up only 10 goals in 22 games. Keeper Jonah Kelley made the individual lists for consecutive shutouts and with 13 total for the season.
Softball
Rogers City’s outstanding run the last four seasons included two trips to the MHSAA Semifinals and a Division 4 title in 2014. A number of standouts played major parts, Logan Fleming among the stars. Fleming set an MHSAA single-season record for runs scored with 86 last spring, when she hit in all 39 games, and finished her four-season varsity career second all-time both with 264 runs and 304 hits; her 95 hits last spring also were second-most for one season. She also hit 25 doubles in 2015, third-most for one season, with her career total of 68 coming in sixth, and her .551 career batting average is 12th. Teammate Sarah Meredith is listed in the record book eight times, most notably for her .664 average in 2015. Kayla Rabeau and Kayla Fleury were among those entered for back-to-back home runs, while Nikkie Jo LaLonde was added for 34 career doubles from 2010-13 and Morgan Hall and Cassie Brege were among those added for RBI in one game. Rogers City as a team also earned a number of listings; its 42 runs in a game in 2014 were third most, and its 479 runs last season were second-most. The team’s 500 hits in 2015 ranked third and its 376 RBI and .449 team batting average also both ranked second. Meredith will be a senior this spring, and Fleming now plays at Ferris State.
Volleyball
A number of Rockford’s all-time leaders were added to the MHSAA listings, including a record-setter from the fall. Setter Hailey Delacher, a sophomore, set a rally-scoring era (2004-05 – present) record with 67 assists in a five-set match against Hudsonville on Nov. 10. Total, she made the single-match records five times for assists and also the single-season list with 1,310. She was joined by a number of her school’s previous setters including Halle Peterson, Abby Carlson (her 1,465 assists in 2013 rank fifth for a season), Kim Weaver, Debbie Nikodemski and Heather Gates. Andrea Kacsits was added for her career kills (1,831), aces (283) and blocks (631 – ranking third) among seven entries overall. Nikodemski also was added for 10 aces in a two-set match in 2007, and Weaver for her school-record 121 aces in 2008. Kacsits went on to play at Ohio State University, while Peterson just finished her career at Michigan State, Carlson plays at Cornerstone University and Weaver also played for the Golden Eagles, and Gates played at Bethel College in Indiana. Nikodemski played basketball at Olivet College. Also, coach Kelly Delacher, who has led teams at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Grand Rapids Northview and now Rockford the last decade, was added to the career coaching wins list with a record of 848-385-32.
South Lyon senior Jessie Ignace had 38 of her team’s 53 kills in a 3-2 loss to Salem on Sept. 17. The 38 kills ties for eighth-most for one match during the rally scoring era.
North Adams-Jerome junior Holly Trujillo set a school record and finished eighth in MHSAA history with 206 blocks (including 148 solos) in helping her team to a District championship and state ranking in Class D.
Sarah DeVries capped her Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian career this fall with her second entry for single-season kills and tied for 11th-most kills for a career in the rally scoring era. DeVries added 717 this season to 743 she had as a junior, and total finished with 1,964 over four seasons. She’ll play next season at Calvin College.
Brooke Beaubien capped her four-season Cheboygan career among the MHSAA career-best with 1,517 kills and 280 aces, and she also made the single-season aces list with 116 as a sophomore. Her teams finished a combined 151-69-18 and won two league championships.
PHOTO: Saline's Taylor Mulder (7) works to get past a defender during last season's Division 1 Final against Grand Blanc.