Holmen Helps Pace Memorable Finals Run
April 8, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nikoma Holmen played a major role as Grandville reached its first MHSAA softball championship game in 25 years in 2017 – and 15 record book entries are enduring proof of the impact she made on the program.
Holmen finished her four-season varsity run on four career lists. Over 126 games she accumulated 170 runs, 218 hits, 54 doubles and 33 home runs.
Her senior season, Grandville made its first Semifinal and then first Final, both since 1982, before falling to Macomb Dakota 4-3 in eight innings in the Division 1 championship game. Holmen now is a sophomore playing at Grand Valley State University.
See below for more recent record book additions in softball, football, boys lacrosse and boys soccer.
Football
Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior Hunter Lake became the first to be listed for interceptions in one quarter after snagging three during the first quarter of a 64-0 win over Stryker, Ohio, on Aug. 31. He tied the MHSAA single-quarter record by bringing two of those back for touchdowns and made the single-game list for interception return touchdowns and single-quarter list for total defensive touchdowns as well.
Led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, Edwardsburg finished this past fall 14-0 and as Division 4 champion. The Eddies also made the MHSAA records multiple times, with their 705 points ranking sixth all-time and their 50.4 per game making the list among highest averages. Edwardsburg also made the total yardage (5,886) and total touchdowns (97), and rushing attempts (578), yardage (5,232) and touchdowns (82) lists. The Eddies also became the first team to register more than 60 rushes in a game when they ran 63 times against Holland Christian on Nov. 10.
Boys Lacrosse
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Micah Eby stopped 23 shots last May 12 against West Bloomfield. Eby, then a junior, tied for the 13th-most saves in one game.
Boys Soccer
Evan Veenhuis climbed the scoring lists one more time as a Comstock senior this fall. He added 34 goals and 35 points to finish with 121 career goals and 156 career points over four seasons.
Troy Athens carried a perfect record into the MHSAA Tournament this past fall and finished among the most impressive teams defensively of all-time. Athens became one of nine teams to give up seven or fewer goals over the course of a season and also made the season shutouts list with 16. Junior Jason Kemp was in net for all 16 to make the individual shutout list, and for six straight in September to earn another record book entry. Athens also was added for its 21 straight wins and 20 straight in 2013, when it gave up only 10 goals during the entirety of the fall.
Hudsonville Unity Christian had 18 shutouts and gave up only eight goals on the way to winning the Division 3 championship this past fall, making the team record book in both categories. Individually, junior Grant Balcer ranks tied for fourth with those 18 shutouts (including eight straight) and has 26 over his two-year varsity career.
Softball
A pair of Grosse Pointe South players were added for accomplishments last season. Julia O’Halla, now a senior, had home runs on two consecutive at bats and six RBI total in a win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Teammate Lauren Sancya, a senior in 2018, finished her four-year varsity career on the all-time doubles list with 48. Emma St. John was added for her 2014 performance when she became one of four to strike out 18 batters in a six-inning game, a 10-0 no-hitter against Center Line. St. John was a freshman that season and played two seasons for South and her final two for University Liggett.
Olivia Tomaszewski graduated from Frankfort last spring with 160 RBI over four varsity seasons, enough to make the MHSAA record book list in that category and come in second on the school’s all-time list to Katy McKay, who had 165 from 1996-99. Tomaszewski is playing at Cornerstone University. Junior Haley Myers also was added to the career home runs list after two seasons – she had 22 after hitting 13 last spring as a sophomore.
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s Brooke Myles last April 12 became the first since 2010 to strike out more than 15 batters in a five-inning game, tying for second on that record list with 16 Ks against Sterling Heights Parkway Christian in a 13-1 win. Myles is a senior this spring.
PHOTO: Grandville’s Nikoma Holmen gets ready to advance after reaching first base during the 2017 Division 1 Softball Final against Macomb Dakota.
Howardsville Star Joins Hoops Legends
July 31, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Dylan Jergens put up numbers this past boys basketball season – and over his four-season career – that may not be matched for many years to come.
He finished at Marcellus Howardsville Christian with 21 record book entries; his most notable was an all-time best 971 points over 24 games this past winter – at a 40.5 ppg average that ranks second all-time – to break by two points the record set by Hastings’ Mark Brown during the 1984-85 season. Jergens graduated with 2,782 points over 94 games to rank third on the career scoring list, trailing only Brown with 2,789 points and record-holder Jay Smith, who scored 2,841 for Mio before graduating in 1979.
Jergens, who will continue his career at Central Michigan University, scored a quarter-high of 25 points and also made the season scoring list as a junior with 805. His 98 3-pointers as a senior were tied for seventh most, with his 320 career 3-pointers second for that category. He also had 183 free throws made this winter, good for 14th most for one season, and his 536 career free throws rank fifth all-time. He made the career assists list with 477 and the career steals list with 318, which ranks eighth.
See below for more recent record book additions in boys basketball, baseball, girls lacrosse, football and girls soccer, and click on the headings to see those record books in full.
Baseball
Adrian Williams was a four-year standout for Detroit Southeastern from 1992-95, and his 52 career doubles rank eighth all-time. Williams also was a standout pitcher and helped Southeastern to the Class A Quarterfinals in 1993.
Boys Basketball
Iron Mountain junior Marcus Johnson became one of six players in MHSAA boys hoops history to top 100 3-pointers in a season this winter, draining 102 of 216 attempts (47.2 percent) to tie for fourth most all-time. He also moved up the career list with 216 3-pointers over his first three high school seasons.
Ann Arbor Skyline’s Ryan Wade closed his career this winter with one of the top 3-point shooting performances all-time. The senior made 97 3-pointers on 295 attempts and reached the career list as well with 189 in 580 attempts over 68 games and three seasons. He will continue his career at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts.
Hartford improved seven wins this season to finish 18-4 in part on sharp 3-point shooting. The Indians made the single-season team 3-pointers list with 197 and with Bangor tied for ninth most between two teams in one game as they combined to make 23 (Hartford connecting on 14) in Hartford’s 85-57 win Jan. 25. Brandon Galvan just missed making the single-season individual 3-pointers list, drilling 78 over 21 games.
Bellevue went a combined 87-11 over the last four seasons with Wyatt Waterbury and Gino Costello helping pace the defensive effort with record list totals of 347 and 250 steals, respectively. Waterbury made the single-season steals list three times with a high of 95 as a sophomore, and his total ranks fifth on the career list. He also made the career 3-pointers list with 206. Additionally, Evan Bloch was added for 11 steals in a game against Waldron on Dec. 11, 2011.
Zac Clark closed his Britton Deerfield career this winter with more than 1,000 points and on the career rebounds list with 811 over four seasons and 71 games (and despite playing just six games as a freshman). He will continue his career at Concordia-Ann Arbor.
Football
Freeland’s then-junior Jayce Bourcier blasted a 77-yard punt during his team’s 35-18 win over Carrollton on Oct. 13, 2017. The punt flew nearly 60 yards in the air and ranks 10th for distance all-time.
Jake Burger capped his three-year varsity career last fall all over the Pittsford record book. He also earned lines in the MHSAA record book with 4,310 career passing yards and six passing touchdowns in a playoff loss Oct. 26 against eventual Division 8 champion Reading. He will continue his career at Hillsdale College.
Girls Lacrosse
Emma Murphy and Grace Wilson earned Midland Dow’s first girls lacrosse record book entries for offense this spring with single-game accomplishments. Wilson, a sophomore, had five assists during a 21-0 win over Grand Blanc on April 23. Murphy, a freshman, scored 11 goals during a 19-9 win over Lake Orion on May 3. Murphy’s goals tied for seventh most in one game.
Girls Soccer
Delton Kellogg won its first District title this spring with help from a pair of standout juniors who also earned record book accolades. Holly McManus scored 50 goals – including seven in one game – and also made the single-season list with 58 total points. She’s also on the career goals list with 83 over 45 games and parts of three seasons. Amber Mabie also is a three-year varsity player, and she was added for 25 assists this spring.
Marshall’s Kate Face was added for scoring 88 goals over her four-season career that finished this spring. She previously had made the single-season scoring list with 32 goals as a sophomore. She will continue her career at Indiana State University.
Danae Moriarty made the records with 45 goals, 23 assists and 68 points total during her junior season this spring for Plymouth Christian Academy, and the goals pushed her onto the career list as well with 82 over three seasons. She will not be playing as a senior, instead spending the school year as an exchange student in Germany.
Kayla Beebe capped her career this spring by leading Kalamazoo Christian to its third straight Division 4 runner-up finish, scoring 37 goals to end her four varsity seasons with 103. She will continue her career at Calvin University.
Tecumseh freshman Madalyn Freitas started her high school career with one of the most memorable individual performances in MHSAA history. She scored 62 goals, fifth most all-time, and finished with 76 points, tying for sixth most during one season.
PHOTO: Howardsville Christian’s Dylan Jergens gets to the basket during a 2018 Quarterfinal against Hillsdale Academy. (Photo courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)