Grace Graduates Among All-time Greats
July 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Alex Grace graduated from Saginaw Swan Valley this spring with 15 listings in the MHSAA football record book.
And he became one of the most accomplished running backs in Michigan high school history despite playing only three varsity seasons.
Grace’s 7,551 career rushing yards rank third in MHSAA history, only 880 yards behind record-holder Kevin Grady of East Grand Rapids – although Grady played 51 games over four seasons and Grace played only 36 games from 2012-14. Grace also finished with 102 rushing touchdowns, trailing only the 114 scored by Livonia Clarenceville’s Tim Shaw, who played in 11 more games during his career from 1998-2001.
Grace already held the single-season rushing record with 2,962 yards over 12 games as a junior, and set another record with eight straight games of at least 200 yards rushing during his final season. His 23 straight 100-yard games rank third on that list – Grace failed to reach 100 yards in only two games, both as a sophomore.
Grace, who will begin his college career this fall at Western Michigan University, also finished eighth with 616 career points, fourth with 102 career total touchdowns (rushing, receiving, etc. combined), and his 812 career carries are sixth on that list. He spent his freshman season cheering on his brother Jonathan, who ran for 1,790 yards and 21 touchdowns as Swan Valley’s lead back.
Click for the football record book in full and see below for more recent additions to MHSAA record listings (click on the sport heading to see those respective record books).
Baseball
- Potterville’s Trevor Jones reached base three times in a three-inning, 22-0 win over Lansing Sexton in 2012 – all three times after being hit by pitches (once in the first inning and twice during the second). He’s one of 24 listed for having been hit by at least three pitches in one game.
Boys Basketball
- Millington advanced to the Class C Quarterfinals this winter led by a pair of standouts in senior Austin LeVan and junior Shawn Pardee. LeVan capped his career with 1,714 points this season and earned six entries in the MHSAA records for 20 points in a quarter against Birch Run on Jan. 23, 197 career 3-pointers, 403 career free throws in 504 attempts, an .834 free-throw shooting percentage this season and an .800 percentage for his career, and for grabbing 249 steals over the last four seasons. His steals total ranks 14th and came in 89 games. Pardee similarly is an ace from the free throw line; he made the record listings with 18 free throws in 18 attempts against Caro on Jan. 30 (and just missed another entry with a perfect 17 for 17), 52 straight free throws over the course of four games this winter, 196 free throws in 222 attempts and his percentage of .883, which tied for 15th-best for a single season. LeVan will continue his career at Delta College.
Girls Basketball
- Brooklyn Columbia Central 6-foot-1 senior Ashleigh Shay never made the MHSAA blocked shot records list for a single season, falling just shy with a career-high 105 as a junior in 2013-14. But she finished 16th on the career list with 319 over 82 games and four seasons, finishing her career this winter. Shay has signed to play volleyball at Siena Heights University.
Boys Lacrosse
- Johnny Wagner finished his high school career with the winning goal for Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood in its Division 2 championship game win over Okemos last month. He also ended this season with 69 goals and 41 assists for 110 points – all made MHSAA records lists – and career numbers of 177 goals, 99 assists and 276 points. The career points rank seventh on that all-time list. He’s signed to continue his career at Marquette University.
Girls Soccer
- Portland sophomore Jordyn Spitzley had experienced stopping a barrage of shots already during her high school career, having made the MHSAA record book with 35 saves in a game as a freshman. On April 14, she set a single-game record with 49 saves in a 7-0 loss to Ithaca.
Softball
- A pair of Coloma standouts have finished their careers the last two seasons with performances that stand among the elite. Jenna Faultersack finished her four-season varsity career this spring with 253 hits, 203 runs and 58 doubles (including 18 as a sophomore). Her hits count as the ninth most in MHSAA history. Emily Najacht finished her four-season career in 2014 with a pitching record of 111-33 and 999 strikeouts. Her career wins tie for 13th most and her 38 as a sophomore in 2012 are tied for 10th on that list. Faultersack will continue her career at Western Michigan University, and Najacht played last season at St. Mary’s College in Indiana.
- Gladwin junior Lauren Mose stole 95 bases straight without making an out over two seasons before finally getting caught during a May 23 game against Midland Bullock Creek – ending the second-longest consecutive steals streak in MHSAA history. Mose fell only four more steals shy of the record set by Grass Lake’s Kellyn Herendeen from 2009-2012. She had two steals against the Lancers in that game, and after stealing second after a seventh-inning single, was thrown out then trying to steal third base. Mose finished this season with 53 steals total.
Volleyball
- Meredith Norris hit it big as a sophomore in the fall, literally, for Corunna. Norris set an MHSAA rally-scoring record with 53 kills in a five-set match on Nov. 8 and had the third-most on the list, 42, against Durand on Nov. 3. She also had 38 in five sets against Byron on Sept. 11 and finished the season with 754 kills, 19th most for one season since rally scoring was adopted in 2004-05. Junior setter Skylar Napier started those offensive outbursts, making the single-match assists list with 56 against Durand and 50 against Goodrich. The 56 tied for eighth most during the rally scoring era.
Wrestling
- Gaylord’s Jeff Heinz qualified for the MHSAA Individual Finals the last two seasons and finished his career this winter with 117 pins, enough to make the MHSAA records in that category. He had a high of 33 pins, this season as a senior.
PHOTO: Swan Valley's Alex Grace finds an opening in the Ovid-Elsie defense during a game last season against the Marauders. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com).
Benzie Star Receives Record Recognition
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 30, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Despite missing the majority of his senior season in 2003 with an injury, John Plumstead graduated from Benzie Central the following spring among the top rushers and scorers in Michigan high school football history – and those accomplishments now are reflected in the MHSAA record book.
Plumstead ran for 5,595 yards over 40 games and four seasons, and also scored 72 touchdowns. The career rushing yardage still ranks 15th all-time. He went on to play linebacker for Army at West Point.
See below for more recent additions to the football record book, and click the heading to see the listings in full.
Football
Berrien Springs senior Faith Kittleson drilled all nine of her extra-point attempts in her team’s 63-0 win over Parchment on Oct. 4. While that missed the list for most extra points in one game, it made the list for most consecutive extra points made in one contest. Kittleson also has been a standout on the school’s girls soccer team.
Mattawan senior Noah Janssen became the sixth player to return at least two kickoffs for touchdowns in the same game Sept. 28, when he scored on a pair against Portage Northern. Both run-backs also made the list for longest kickoff return touchdown, at 98 and 96 yards.
A pair of impressive defensive performances earned Breckenridge’s first football record book entries last fall. Sophomore Luke Saunders had four interceptions during a 49-0 win over Muskegon Heights Academy on Sept. 6, including tying a record with three in one quarter. Breckenridge as a team also was added for holding Coleman to only two first downs during a 56-0 victory Sept. 20.
Warren Fitzgerald sophomore Trey West showed in the fall he was capable of scoring offensively, defensively and on special teams – and his kickoff return prowess especially stood out. He became the latest to tie the record for longest kickoff return when he scored on a 99-yarder Oct. 25 against Port Huron Northern. He tied for second-most kickoff return touchdowns in one game with two against Warren Woods-Tower on Oct. 12, and also tied for second-most kickoff return TDs for a season with four total in 2019.
Eastpointe senior Davion Watkins also joined that list for longest kickoff return, bringing one back 99 yards against Warren Fitzgerald on Oct. 18.
Quarterback Vaughn VanTil led the way for Coopersville against Fruitport during a 62-50 win Oct. 12, 2018. The then-senior made the MHSAA record book in multiple categories with seven rushing touchdowns, and was part of 431 of the 607 total yards that earned Coopersville an entry in the team record book. The seven rushing touchdowns are tied for third-most on the rushing scoring list.
Pewamo-Westphalia has had a number of individual standouts in winning MHSAA Finals titles three of the last four seasons, and not to be forgotten was kicker Alec Thelen. He made the single-season extra point list twice with 55 in 2017 and 71 in 2018, and his 154 (in 171 attempts over 31 games from 2016-18) are tied for 10th most on the career list. He’s playing at Siena Heights University.
Griffin Milovanski kicked the last two seasons on Saugatuck’s varsity and finished on the career extra point list with 83 made in 86 attempts. He also made the single-season PAT list as a junior.
Ogemaw Heights advanced as far as the Regional Finals during the last decade, doing so in Division 4 in 2012. A powerful rushing offense led the way – and led to four record book entries. The Falcons were added for 4,220 rushing yards and 5,604 yards of total offense that fall, plus 631 total yards in a Week 9 win over Alpena and 74 rushing attempts in a District Final win over Remus Chippewa Hills.
PHOTO: Benzie Central running back John Plumstead turns the corner on the way to some of his 5,500 career rushing yards. (Photo courtesy of the Benzie Central Gridiron Club.)