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.)
Bloomfield Hills' Semifinal Run Powered By Scoring Skill, Talent in Net
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 29, 2023
Bloomfield Hills advanced to the Division 1 Semifinals this spring with one of the highest-scoring lineups in MHSAA girls lacrosse history, and one of its most accomplished goalies.
The Black Hawks scored 325 goals – sixth-most on the list – in going 19-4. Ella Lucia, then a junior, posted 17 single-game record entries for goals, assists or points, finishing with 125 goals, 59 assists and 184 points and pushing her career numbers to 186 goals, 113 assists and 299 points over three seasons.
Teammate Ilana Watson, a senior this spring, was added eight times for single-game accomplishments and also for 71 goals, 64 assists and 135 points for the season and 102 assists and 205 points over her two-season career. Goalie Sydney Butler, now a senior, made the single-season saves list with 186 and the career list with 466 over her first three seasons. Marlee Watson, who also graduated in the spring, was added for seven goals in a game.
See below for more recent record book updates for girls lacrosse:
Girls Lacrosse
On April 25, 2022, Holland West Ottawa then-senior Ella Spooner scored 13 of her team’s 16 goals against Zeeland. Those 13 goals tied for fourth-most in one game and also placed her on the single-game points list. She is playing at Kalamazoo College.
Troy Athens’ Claire Balintfy piled up eight record book entries during her sophomore season in 2022. A goalie, she posted a career-high 22 saves to tie for eighth on the single-game list, on which she appears six more times. Her 231 saves over 18 games that season rank second on that list as well.
Lexie Springman took 12 shots and made eight in Portage’s 19-9 win over Grand Ledge on April 5. She was a senior at Portage Central and is continuing at Regis University in Colorado.
Haslett/Williamston’s Abby Russell opened her high school career March 22 with a record book-worthy performance. The Haslett now-sophomore made the single-game goals list with seven in her team’s 10-9 loss at Portage.
Okemos’ Bridget Cox was a sophomore during the 2021 season when she earned her first four record book entries. She made the single-game saves list three times with a high of 16, and totaled 157 saves over 18 games total.
Holly/Ortonville Brandon tallied three single-game entries this past season. Junior Dakota Pinson made the single-game goals list with 10 against Fenton/Linden on May 4. Junior teammate Lainey Lasky made the same list twice with seven goals both times, against Flushing on May 3 and Lake Fenton/Goodrich on May 16.
Through three seasons, Salem’s Mileena Cotter has earned 35 record book entries – including setting the single-game record with 18 goals April 6 against Saline. Her 123 goals over just 10 games this past season rank seventh, and her 257 goals over 30 career games rank ninth on that list. Her career-high 19 points on April 5 against Dexter rank second for points in a game. She’s committed to sign with Syracuse.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep junior Emily Szalach earned a record book entry with her 11 goals against Warren Regina on May 15 during a 13-12 triple-overtime win. It was the first entry for NDP for girls lacrosse.
Lake Orion’s Quinn McElroy capped her three-season varsity career this spring with eight record book listings, including for 69 goals and 100 points over 16 games as a senior, and 172 goals and 224 points for her career. Teammate Morgan Vasquez made single-season lists with 66 goals and 81 points, as did Amelia Guccione with 50 goals. Ava Adkins joined McElroy and Vasquez with single-game qualifiers, hers for 15 saves in a game against Troy Athens on April 12. Vasquez is a senior and Guccione a junior this school year, and Adkins also graduated this spring. McElroy is playing at Grand Valley State.
A pair of Detroit Cass Tech senior standouts made single-game and season scoring lists this spring. Taylor Weston made the single-game goals list three times, with a high of eight, and for her 64 goals total over 15 games; she also earned a listing for her 53 goals as a junior in 2022. Teammate Kayla Carroll-Williams made the single-game list twice, both for scoring seven goals, and the single-season list for 62 goals over 15 games.
PHOTO Bloomfield Hills goalie Sydney Butler, center, prepares to stop a shot against Bloomfield Hills Marian on May 11. (Photo by Susan Adams Photography.)