Leland Ace Finds Net in Record Fashion

August 26, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Leland girls soccer team won its league and District this spring on the feet of a number of talented players, including one of the highest scorers in MHSAA history.

Sophomore Libby Munoz set a single-season record with 84 points and scored the second-most goals ever, 64 – and she’s already on the career goals list as well with 106 over two seasons.

Teammate Whitney Schaub made the single-season assists list with 22, and goalkeeper Jessica Fleis made the shutouts list with 14.

Click to see where all three rank in the MHSAA girls soccer record book, and read below for more recent additions. Click on each sport to see that record book in its entirety.

Baseball


  • Tyler Janish finished his outstanding career at Whittemore-Prescott in 2013 with career listings for runs (161), triples (13), stolen bases (114), walks (106) and ERA (1.66). His seven steals against Tawas in 2012 tied for second-most for one game, and his 64 steals as a senior rank fifth for one season. He also made the lists for season triples (7) and ERA (0.80), and is continuing his career at Oakland University. Former teammate Michael Arndt also was added, for five steals in a 2013 game against Roscommon.

Boys Basketball

  • Two of the highest-scoring quarters – played 57 years apart – were added after conversation was sparked by the most recent this winter. In a January 1957 game, Calumet scored 43 points – now standing third in MHSAA history for one quarter – in the final period of an 83-78 win over Ironwood. This winter, in a District opener, Lake Linden-Hubbell nearly equaled the feat with 42 points in the second quarter of an 82-41 win over Chassell. 

Girls Basketball

  • Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes’ run through Class D from 2010-13 – including three straight championships and a runner-up finish – included a number of key contributions from a strong core group of players. Lauren Robak finished with the fifth-most free throws made in MHSAA career history, 511, and also made the career 3-pointers list with 160 from 2008-11 and with 15 free throws in a game during the 2007-08 season. Younger sister Lexie Robak made the single-season 3-pointers list twice with 74 and 76, and is sixth on the career list with 232 total from 2010-13. She also finished with 106 varsity games played – tying for third most – while teammates Ava Doetsch and Jessica Parry both played in 103 games over the same four seasons. Lauren Robak played at Oakland University and now plays at Northwood University, while Doetsch plays soccer at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

Boys Lacrosse

  • Portage Central’s expansive list of top performers were added to the MHSAA records, topped by Casey Mannes’ single-game records of 10 assists and 18 total points in a win over Kalamazoo United on April 12, 2011. He’s listed eight times including for single-season assists (42) and points (103). Former teammate Zack Grusell is listed 11 times including for season (83) and career goals (169), season assists (44), and season (127) and career points (249). He broke some of the school records of Barry Beranek, listed for season (71) and career goals (166) and season (108) and career points (253), among other categories. Matt Schuen also is listed for career points, with 231, and Isaac Hazen and Zach Kinney both made the single-game goals list. Beranek went on to play at Ithaca College in New York, while Grusell and Hazen play for the Grand Valley State University Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association team.  

  • Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s Christian Carlson set an MHSAA record for goals (11) in one game and had the fourth-most points (13) as his team defeated Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood 25-20 on April 19. Those two teams also were included as the first entry for combined goals scored by two teams in one game.

  • Mattawan’s David Stafford, now playing for St. John’s University, ranks third with 364 career points including 202 goals (fifth on that list) and 162 assists (second on that list) from his four-year varsity career from 2010-13. He had a single-game second-best 17 points including nine goals on April 23, 2013, against Kalamazoo United, and tied for second-most points in a game with 13 against Portage Northern on April 11 of that year. 

  • Zach Schwartz led Ann Arbor Skyline to a 14-4-1 record in only his sophomore season this spring, scoring 54 goals to go with 34 assists for 88 points. The Ann Arbor News reported that Schwartz has committed to sign with the University of Michigan to continue his career after high school.

Softball

  • Springport’s Taylor Heisler graduated this spring among MHSAA leaders in career hits (239), doubles (50), home runs (23) and RBI (184), with her hits ranked 13th and her RBI tied for 10th. She also made the single-season hits list twice with 71 in 2012 and 73 in 2014, and teammate Sam Bates was added for 73 hits in 2011 and 70 in 2012. Heisler will continue her career at Siena Heights University and Bates signed with Ferris State University.

Wrestling

  • Utica Ford’s Tevin Machart capped his career this winter with a fourth-place Division 1 Finals finish at 140 pounds. He also set an MHSAA season record with 31 technical falls and ended his career with 50 and a record of 187-35. He’ll continue to wrestle at Central Michigan University.

PHOTO: Libby Munoz, here working past a defender, has scored 106 goals in two seasons of varsity soccer. (Photo courtesy of Leland High School.)

Addison Slugger Ties Home Run Record

August 24, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Erika Underwood finished a four-season career at Addison this spring that placed her among the MHSAA’s high achievers in a number of statistical categories – and tops in one of the most notable.

Underwood slugged 49 home runs during her career, tying her for the most in MHSAA history with 2010 Belding graduate Taylor Johnson.

Total, Underwood appears in the MHSAA softball records 17 times – additional notables include sixth with a career batting average of .595, 10th with 222 career runs, tied for eighth for single-season triples with 14 in 2012, fifth with 34 career triples and tied for third for single-season home runs with 17 in 2013. A first baseman, she’ll continue her career this fall at Central Michigan University.

Read on for more of the latest additions to the MHSAA record books, and click on each heading to see the complete record listings for that sport.

Baseball

  • Flushing’s Christopher Triplett didn’t make MHSAA single-season records lists over his four-year career that ended this spring. But over those four seasons he built totals that made career lists in three categories – with 170 runs, 100 walks and 128 stolen bases. The steals rank 10th all-time. An infielder, he’ll continue his career at Spring Arbor University.

Girls Basketball

  • Karina Cole became Lincoln Alcona’s all-time leading scorer during her varsity career that ended in 2014, and along the way notched an accomplishment that made the MHSAA records as well. She connected on 72 of 81 free-throw attempts as a junior during the 2012-13 season, with that 88.9 percent success rate ranking fifth-highest for one season. She played last winter at Alpena Community College.

Football

  • Corey Willis missed his senior season of 2012 with a knee injury – but accomplished plenty as a sophomore and junior. Willis found his way into the record book four times with 2,412 yards and 33 touchdowns rushing, plus 208 points total, as a junior. He also is listed for a 95-yard kickoff return against Greenville in 2010 as a sophomore. A quarterback and running back in high school, Willis is a receiver at Central Michigan University.
  • Livonia Churchill enjoyed three playoff appearances in four seasons with spring graduate Brian Alsobrooks on the roster, and he solidified his name in the MHSAA records with eight listings as a kicker and quarterback. He made the single-season extra points list twice with 50 and 52 and booted the seventh-most for a varsity career, 142 in 34 games after taking over that duty with three games left in his freshman season of 2011. His streak of 82 straight extra points from October 2012 into October 2014 ranks fifth, and he also made the career field goals list with 19. Alsobrooks also made the records with 26 completions and 474 yards in a 2013 49-40 loss to Westland John Glenn, and after throwing for 2,258 yards in 11 games as a senior. He’s beginning his college career this fall at Eastern Michigan University.
  • Aaron Steedman capped Linden’s 53-7 win over Flint Kearsley last October with a 100-yard fumble return for a touchdown on the final play of the game. Steedman is one of four in the MHSAA record book with a fumble return TD the length of the field.
  • Longtime Muskegon Catholic Central coach Mike Holmes was added to the list of those who have led teams to at least 200 wins. Holmes’ built a career record of 212-75-1 in 25 seasons, all at MCC, and led the Crusaders to six MHSAA championships, the last in 2008. He retired after the 2012 season.
  • DeWitt’s powerful offense resulted in a number of entries from the last three seasons. Quarterback Jacob Johnson finished his career last fall with 52 touchdown passes over parts of three seasons, and after making the record lists with 2,039 passing yards and 31 TDs as a junior in 2013. Joshua Borta was a key receiver that season, when he made the record list with 16 touchdown catches, and Ryan Anderson was the team’s top target in 2012 with 80 catches, 1,221 yards and 16 TDs – and he also made the career catches list with 101 over two seasons. Christopher Ruby was added for 231 receiving yards on six receptions in a win over Owosso in 2013. Two specialists also made the records – Matthew Meagher with a 78-yard punt against Tecumseh last season, and kicker Cameron West with 153 extra points in 163 attempts from 2011-13. The team’s 45-44 win over Linden in 2012 was added to the team records as one of six to go at least six overtimes. Johnson is beginning his college career this fall at Central Michigan University, while Anderson plays for Olivet College and West played last season for Northern Michigan University.

Boys Lacrosse

  • Grant Lardieri put the final touches on a four-season varsity career that put him atop the all-time career saves list with 901, with 244 this spring – which were good for second-most in one season. He also added games of 27 and 20 saves to give him 10 entries total in the MHSAA records. Teammate Peter Fisk was added three times, with games of eight and seven goals and 67 total for the season, and Bob Pelton made the single-game assists list for the third time, with five against Holland West Ottawa on May 26. All three graduated this spring and will play at the next level – Pelton at Marquette University, Fisk at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Lardieri at Massachusetts-Lowell.

Softball

  • A pair of Mount Pleasant hitters were added, Megan Kramer with 17 doubles and Hannah Carson for 17 triples – Carson tying for third most in one season. A freshman this spring, she’s already committed to play collegiately for the University of Michigan.

PHOTO: Addison’s Erika Underwood rounds third base; she finished her high school career with 17 record book listings. (Photo courtesy of Addison High School.)