Midland Stars' Achievements Shine On
December 29, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Three four-year varsity softball standouts carried Midland to another Quarterfinal run in the spring, finishing their careers as the Chemics finished 32-8 – and finishing as well with their best work all over the MHSAA record book.
Maya Kipfmiller made the records again with 24 doubles and finished her career with 72 doubles, 242 hits and a .541 batting average. Her season doubles tied for eighth most, and her career doubles are tied for third. Julia Gross was added for 18 doubles this season and 57 doubles and 211 hits for her career, while twin sister Tara Gross was added for 72 hits and a 36-game hitting streak in the spring plus 186 career runs, 216 career hits and 34 career doubles. Tara’s hitting streak was the sixth longest in MHSAA history.
Another standout senior, Jillian Elmer, was added for 17 doubles in her final season, and as a team Midland was added for 414 hits, 101 doubles, 289 RBI and a .403 batting average.
Kipfmiller is continuing her career at Boston University, while both Gross sisters are playing at Northwood University.
Read on for more recent record book additions in softball, football and volleyball, and click on the sport headings to see those record books in full.
Football
Quentin Huckaby’s 76-yard punt on Sept. 22 tied for the 10th longest in MHSAA history. The Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian senior launched his kick during his team’s 41-28 win over Hopkins.
Redford Thurston sophomore Jayshawn Adams tied the MHSAA record for longest kickoff return with a 99-yard touchdown Oct. 20. His return was key to Thurston’s 23-17 win over New Boston Huron.
Alec Bageris was added for a number of passing accomplishments at Novi over three seasons from 2014-16. As a junior in 2015 he competed 188 of 305 passes for 2,344 yards – all three totals making single-season lists – and as a senior in 2016 he threw 26 touchdown passes. For his career, Bageris was 390 for 640 passing for 5,160 yards and 53 touchdowns.
Softball
A trio of Bath standouts were added for single game, season and/or career accomplishments. Recent graduate Kailey Wahrer hit three home runs against Ovid-Elsie on June 3, including two during the second inning, to earn three record book entries. Taylor Buck, who also graduated in the spring, was added with Wahrer for a 6-RBI game, a 20-game hitting streak from this past season, 20 doubles and 41 for her career. Now-senior Taryn Peru was added for 22 doubles and 46 over her first three years on varsity – she hit .511 overall and is committed to continue her career at University of Detroit Mercy. As a team, Bath was added for 437 hits, 91 doubles, 27 home runs and 321 RBI.
Schoolcraft’s Lydia Goble continued to build on her impressive career as a junior in the spring, moving up career lists with 172 runs scored, 41 doubles, 31 triples, 23 home runs and 167 RBI over 107 games and three varsity seasons. She also made the single-season list for triples with 12 for the second time in three years, was added for two consecutive homers against Hartford on April 29 and was added for 75 hits in 35 games as a sophomore. Freshman teammate Katie Parker had a strong debut in the spring as well, making the record book with two games of six RBI, three consecutive homers against Kalamazoo Christian on May 8 and 11 home runs total over 36 games.
Volleyball
Zeeland East’s Sophie Riemersma finished her four-year varsity career this fall with 2,271 kills – ninth all-time since the start of rally scoring in 2004-05. Riemersma has eight entries total in the MHSAA record book, including for 692 kills this past season (in 121 sets) and with season highs of 29 twice this fall. She has signed with Miami of Ohio.
Bloomfield Hills Marian junior Madison Dowd set her team to a Class A runner-up finish this season, posting 1,531 assists – which rank eighth for one season. She had 52 assists in a four-set win over Farmington Hills Mercy, making the single-match list in that category.
Hopkins freshman Brianna Miller made the single-match aces list with 11 this season in a Sept. 7 three-set win over Wyoming Godwin Heights, and Hannah Van de Roovaart’s 13 aces in three sets against Wyoming Lee on Oct. 23, 2014, also were added.
Grand Blanc’s Hannah Carnell also was added for aces in a match, after tallying 14 in a four-set win over Linden this Nov. 1. Carnell is a sophomore.
PHOTO: Midland’s Maya Kipfmiller drives through a pitch during a 2016 game. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Vassar Star Leaves Multi-Sport Legacy
April 20, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Vassar’s Tyler Humbert finished outstanding football and basketball careers during the 2015-16 school year, making the MHSAA record books in both sports.
Humpert quarterbacked the Vulcans’ football team to one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2015, an 8-2 finish with a return to the playoffs after two seasons away. He made the MHSAA records with 445 passing yards in a 56-21 win over Cass City in Week 6, and for 2,197 passing yards and 153 completions total over those 10 games.
In addition to his football contributions, the 6-foot-7 Humpert finished a four-season basketball career in 2016 with 733 rebounds over 86 games, good to make the MHSAA career list in that category. He averaged 8.5 per game over his career in addition to 10.3 ppg. He currently plays football at Saginaw Valley State University.
Click to see the football and boys basketball record books in full and the headings below to see all listings for more sports with recent additions: baseball, girls basketball, football, boys and girls soccer, softball and volleyball.
Baseball
Birmingham Groves finished 31-10 this season, making the MHSAA record book with a team total of 48 times hit by pitches. Twelve players were hit by a pitch at least once, with a team individual high of 12 HBPs.
Girls Basketball
Fruitport Calvary Christian and Muskegon Heights Academy combined on Feb. 12, 2015, for the seventh-highest scoring game in MHSAA history. Calvary Christian won 103-63, and those 166 combined points also ranked as the highest-scoring game since 2008.
Football
Gaylord St. Mary became the first team in MHSAA history to intercept seven passes in one game, doing so in a 30-6 win over Bay City All Saints on Sept. 1. Four players contributed to the total: Brady Hunter had three interceptions, Alex Cherry had two, and Andrew Greif and Drew Long each had one.
Boys Soccer
Lincoln Alcona junior Conner McCoy upped his MHSAA single-season saves record this past fall while also making the single-game saves list twice. McCoy, who formerly set the single-season record with 391 as a sophomore in 2015, had 401 saves in 24 games this season. Along the way, McCoy had 35 saves in a District win over Saginaw Nouvel and 34 in a loss to Tawas early in the regular season.
Girls Soccer
Kylie Lanser earned McBain Northern Michigan Christian’s first entry into the girls soccer record book with 30 goals in 18 games as a senior last spring. She had a game high of four.
Softball
Schoolcraft’s Lydia Goble amassed nine record book listings over her first two seasons, placing her name in five categories. Most notably, she had eight RBI in a game as a freshman in 2015, tying for eighth most on that list, and her 73 RBI in 35 games last spring as a sophomore rank 10th all-time for one season. Goble plays shortstop and also is listed for 17 doubles and 12 triples as a freshman and 13 home runs a year ago.
Volleyball
Adair Cutler and Paige Porter joined the Lansing Christian varsity during their freshman seasons and finished their careers in the fall among the state’s top offensive achievers. Porter had 589 kills in her final campaign to make the single-season list and 1,464 kills to make the career list in that category. Adair made the single-match assists list three times (with a high of 54 in a 3-2 Regional Semifinal win on Nov. 8) and the career list with 3,300 – which ranks 17th since the start of rally scoring in 2004-05. Cutler also made the single-match aces list with 10 three times, the season aces list twice (with a high of 156 as a junior) and finished with 396 career aces, which rank seventh all-time. Cutler has committed to continue her volleyball career at Hope College, and Porter has signed with Spring Arbor.
Reese Weslow’s 31 kills in a five-set win over Lowell were enough to make the single-match list and helped Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central secure first place in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White. Weslow is a senior.
The Schuitema sisters have owned the setter spot at Grant this entire decade, and both now have entries in the MHSAA record book as well. Both were added for single-match assists – current senior Sierra Schuitema with a high of 57, and 2014 graduate Summer Schuitema with a high of 46. Sierra made the single-season list in that category with 1,302 this past fall, and both made the career assists list with 3,987 over four seasons for Sierra and 2,524 over three seasons for Summer. Summer also made the single-match aces list with 12 in 2012 and both made the single-season aces list – Summer with a high of 151 in 2012 and Sierra with a high of 115 in 2015. They couldn’t get closer on the aces career list; Sierra had 388 and Summer 387. Sierra’s career assists rank fifth since the start of rally scoring, and the sisters rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in career aces. Summer Schuitema plays for Campbell University in North Carolina. Sierra has signed with Cedarville University in Ohio.
PHOTO: Vassar’s Tyler Humpert looks for an open receiver during the Vulcans’ 2015 playoff game against Ithaca. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)