MCC's Holt Ties National HBP Record
December 8, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Muskegon Catholic Central’s runs to the 2015 Division 4 baseball championship and 2016 Quarterfinals relied for obvious reasons on the ability to limit opponents’ hits – but also to take them.
The Crusaders set an MHSAA record in 2016 by being hit by pitches 87 times after also setting the record with 74 HBPs in 2015. Jacob Holt, who graduated this spring, tied the national record and broke the previous MHSAA record by eight with 65 times being hit by pitches over his four-season varsity career.
In addition, MCC was added to the MHSAA record book for a 1.13 team ERA and 161 stolen bases during the 2015 title run. Nicholas Holt, a senior on that team and Jacob’s brother, finished his pitching career 37-3 to make the career wins list and won 28 straight games over his final three seasons to tie for third on the list for consecutive pitching victories. Also, teammate Anthony Woodard was added for scoring 65 runs in 2015.
Nicholas Holt played this spring at Hope College, and Jacob is playing at Aquinas College. Woodard is playing at Benedictine University in Illinois.
See below for more recent record book additions, and click the headings to see those sports’ record books in full.
Baseball
Homer’s Brock Ridgeway finished his four-year varsity career this spring on MHSAA career lists for runs scored (163), hits (184), RBI (142) and being hit by pitches (47) after being hit by 18 pitches this past season and three times in one April game. The 47 career HBP is tied for fourth-most all-time, and he also just missed the career pitching wins list with 32. Homer as a team this spring made season lists with a .354 batting average and 53 HBPs. Ridgeway is a freshman on the Central Michigan University baseball team.
A pair of senior pitching aces from the 2008 Grass Lake team that finished 34-6 and won the Division 3 championship were added for performances that season. Charlie Fisher made the ERA list at 0.96 and also had seven shutouts that spring to make the list in that category. Casey Hall was added for his 0.57 ERA. Grass Lake as a team ranks fourth for its 354 strikeouts that season. Hall went on to play at Western Michigan University and Fisher played at Hillsdale College.
Boys Basketball
Jordan Weber knocked down 73 3-pointers last season for East Jordan to finish his four-year varsity career with 278 – fifth-most in MHSAA history. He made nearly 34 percent of his 818 career attempts and averaged 17.1 points per game total as a senior.
Football
A pair of Gaylord athletes were entered for impressive scores more than 30 years ago. Kurt Kakaviska made the records for his 90-yard punt return touchdown against Petoskey in 1982, while Mark Johnston was added for two interception touchdowns in one quarter in a 1986 game, also against Petoskey. Johnston actually scored a third defensive touchdown in that same third quarter, on a fumble recovery. Kakaviska went on to play at Northern Michigan University.
Cody Richardson played a significant part in Athens’ 12-0 shutout of Bellevue in the teams’ opener Aug. 26. Richardson, a junior, had four interceptions to tie for fourth-most in one game.
Softball
A pair of Reese hitters were added for batting prowess. Emily Schrader made the single-season hits list with 72 in 2010, while Monica Hagen – already on the single-season list with 73 in 2014 – was added to the career hits list with 209 over 132 games from 2011-14. Schrader went on to play at Delta College.
Grosse Pointe South's Grace Foster picked up her first record book listing as a sophomore this spring, hitting 19 doubles in 35 games. She hit .500 for the season.
Kennedy Kunnert joined the list of those who have hit back-to-back home runs, drilling hers out of the park for Pinckney in the first and second innings of a 12-5 loss to Hartland on May 11. Kunnert was a junior this spring.
Wrestling
Hastings coach Mike Goggins joined the group with more than 400 coaching wins last season, moving to 415-137 since taking over the program at the start of the 1998-99 season. His team finished 26-11 last winter with league and District championships.
PHOTO: Muskegon Catholic Central's Jacob Holt watches after connecting with a pitch during the 2015 Division 4 Baseball Final.
Hartland's Skomial Sits Atop Scoring List
February 10, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
No girls lacrosse player in Michigan high school history has found the net more than Hartland’s Ryan Skomial.
The 2013 grad has been entered into the MHSAA record book for 276 goals over 79 games and four varsity seasons, the highest career scoring total since girls lacrosse became an MHSAA-sponsored sport in 2005. She has 15 record book entries in all, including for fifth-most career assists (133) and third-most career points (409). She’s gone on to play at Grand Valley State University.
Click to see the girls lacrosse record book in full and read on for more recent entries in baseball, boys basketball, football, boys soccer, softball and volleyball.
Baseball
Portland St. Patrick has had plenty of success over the last decade, including making the Division 4 Semifinals last spring, and its small-ball skills led to some record book entries over the last two seasons. The Shamrocks were hit by 64 pitches over 30 games last season, seventh-most for one spring. They also were entered into the records for four games with at least 12 stolen bases over the last two seasons, 191 steals total in 2015 (tied for fifth-most) and 178 steals in 2016. Graham Smith was hit by 24 pitches last season, tying for second-most in one spring, and his 36 hit-by-pitches over the last three seasons rank 14th on the career list with one more season to play. In addition, ace pitcher Travis Moyer was added for his 0.69 ERA in 2015, 1.08 last spring and 0.91 over his two-season varsity career; his career ERA ranks 10th. He’s playing at Alma College.
Boys Basketball
Kent Ingles has coached continuously for since the 1975-76 season, earning some of his 540 career wins at three stops. He was 540-334 entering this winter, his 15th at Big Rapids, after previously coaching at Greenville and his first two seasons at Cedar Springs. Big Rapids made the Class B Semifinals in 2015-16.
Brandon Allen finished his four-season varsity career at Haslett last winter among MHSAA career leaders in made 3-pointers and free throws. His 218 3-pointers over 87 games are tied for 14th most, and he also made 332 free throws in 434 attempts connecting on 76 percent of his career tries. He’s playing at Western Michigan University.
Football
Dearborn Fordson sophomore Abraham Jaafar returned a kickoff as far as possible in his team’s 28-23 loss to Dearborn on Oct. 14. Jaafar received the kick just in front of the goalline and raced 99 yards for a touchdown to tie the MHSAA record for longest return.
Iron River West Iron County sophomore Dawson Bongi matched Jaafar’s accomplishment – on the same night, but a peninsula away. Bongi also returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in his team’s 34-7 win over Hancock.
Sterling Heights quarterback Marc Colucci has been entered eight times for passing during his varsity career from 2004-06. In addition to a pair of single-game entries, Colucci was 181 for 297 passing for 2,228 yards as a senior and 390 for 716 for 5,311 yards passing during his career.
Boys Soccer
Josh Nowak capped his Tecumseh career in the fall earning a second entry in the MHSAA records. In addition to the 30 assists he totaled in 2014 as a sophomore, Nowak finished with a career total of 63 over four seasons, to go with 55 career goals.
Softball
Howell shortstop Amy Jarrett capped her career last spring by tying for the 14th -most hits in one season, with 71. She playing this spring at University of Michigan-Dearborn.
Volleyball
Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central senior setter Brianna Tilton was at her best in one of her team’s biggest matches this season. She had 51 assists in a five-set win over Lowell on Oct. 25 that helped her team win the Ottawa-Kent Conference White championship.
PHOTO: Hartland's Ryan Skomial targets the net during a game against Westland Huron Valley in 2011. (Photo courtesy of Hartland girls lacrosse.)