Nadolny Blasts Way to Top of MHSAA Career Homers List

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 20, 2021

Brooke Nadolny capped her career at Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse in 2019 with 30 record book entries – and as the most prolific power hitter in MHSAA history.

Even as home run totals have increased over the last decade, Nadolny’s 73 over 141 career games are 18 more than the next-highest total. She also is listed for career hits (243), doubles (61), runs (226), RBI (196), walks (80) and batting average (.533).

Teammate Cynthia Galvan also was added to the MHSAA record book for a 2019 achievement of 16 doubles, and Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse as a team was added for 60 doubles and 36 homers in 2017 and 80 doubles and 27 homers in 2019.

Galvan, who graduated in 2020, has joined Nadolny in continuing at Wayne State.

See more recent record book additions below in boys basketball, softball, volleyball and wrestling, and click on the sport headings to see those record books in full.

Boys Basketball

Tyler Horky capped his four-season Manchester varsity career in 2020 with more of the scoring that made him tough defend, especially that Feb. 12 against Vandercook Lake. That night he scored 58 points, including 27 in the third quarter – tying the second-most for a quarter all-time with the most by any player since 2008. He also made the record book with 170 free throws in 203 attempts as a senior and 328 in 415 attempts for his career. Horky is continuing at Kalamazoo College.

Pellston’s Blake Cassidy graduated last spring as one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in MHSAA history. He made 227 3-pointers in 596 attempts over 95 games from 2017-20, tying for 18th-most 3-pointers for a career. He’s continuing his career at Lake Superior State.

Brad Simonsen reached the record book with the 13th-most points in one game on Feb. 4, 2020, scoring 63 for Houghton against Ishpeming to also break the school record of 60 scored by Gary Lange in a 1970 contest. Simonsen is continuing his career at Michigan Tech.

Wyoming 2020 grad Menalito McGee established himself as one of the state’s sharpest 3-point shooters as a senior, putting up two of the top-five long-range shooting performances of all-time over a two-week span. He made 12 3-pointers – tied for fourth – against Middleville Thornapple Kellogg on Jan. 28, 2020, then connected on 14 – second most all-time – against Wayland that Feb. 11. He is continuing his career at Aquinas College.

Over the first five days of February 2020, Hannahville Nah Tah Wahsh accomplished a 3-point shooting feat rarely seen – and did so twice. That Feb. 1, Hannahville sank 20 3-pointers, tying at the time for sixth-most in one game, in a 68-20 win over Mackinac Island. Four days later on Feb. 5, Hannahville connected on the third-most 3-pointers in a game, 24, during a 73-39 win over Big Bay de Noc. The Soaring Eagles scored all of their points on 3-pointers and free throws in both games.

Softball

Heidi Walters was among standouts who was unable to add to her career totals in 2020 because the season was canceled due to COVID-19, but she planted multiple entries in the records for home runs and RBI. She had 14 homers and 71 RBI as a junior in 2019 for Traverse City Central, making the record book for both, and she finished with 27 career homers over her first three seasons including playing her first two at Traverse City St. Francis. She is continuing at Concordia-Ann Arbor.

Volleyball

Bloomfield Hills’ Alexa Rousseau capped her four-year varsity career in 2019 as a Miss Volleyball Award finalist, and her excellence is now included in the record book as well. Rousseau just missed the single-season assists list as a senior but made the career list with 3,673 over 458 games to rank 24th all-time. She twice made the single-season aces lists, with a high of 159 as a senior, and her 458 total rank fifth on the career list in that category. Rousseau is continuing her career at Northwestern.

Jamie Burke earned an entry with 13 aces during Johannesburg-Lewiston’s two-set win over Fairview on Aug. 26, 2019. Burke was a junior at the time.

Wrestling

Kyle Woodruff already had a records entry for his 59-0 season for Pinconning in 2005-06, but he’s been added twice more. Woodruff finished 58-5 the season before as a junior and a combined 203-37 over his four high school seasons.

PHOTO: Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse’s Brooke Nadolny crosses the plate during a game her senior season in 2019. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)

Bowers Leaves Record-Caliber Mark on Kent City Hoops

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 4, 2021

Senior Kenzie Bowers added a pair of record book entries this past winter as she continued to help Kent City join the girls basketball elite.

Bowers scored 46 points in a win over Lakeview on Feb. 10 this winter, and also was added for 14 assists against Ravenna during a 2019-20 victory. The assists are tied for 12th-most in one game. Bowers also had earned a record book entry as a junior for drilling nine 3-pointers in a game.

Kent City reached the Division 3 championship game in April, falling just two points shy against Grass Lake in the finale. Bowers will continue her career at Illinois State.

See below for more recent record book entries for girls basketball, baseball, boys lacrosse and girls soccer.

Baseball

Nearly 50 years later, Jim Kniivila has reached the record book. The four-year Holt pitcher finished with a 0.21 ERA over 66 innings in 1973, ranking today as the eighth-lowest ERA for a single season. He went on to play at Michigan State.

Jacob Freeman capped his Gaylord career in 2016 by making the Division 2 all-state first team – and by earning a spot in the MHSAA record book with 47 stolen bases. He also hit .403 that spring.

Girls Basketball

Houghton’s Stella Wickstrom posted major rebounding performances as only a sophomore last winter. The 6-foot forward grabbed at least 25 rebounds in three games – with that many against Calumet on Feb. 15 and Iron Mountain on March 1, and a season-high 27 against Baraga on Feb. 8.

Ella Stemmer put up big numbers over her four-season, 88-game Saline varsity career – including some of the most impressive ever from the free throw line. She made the career list with 419 free throws in 506 attempts, with her 90.9-percent success this winter tying for second-highest for one season and her 82.8 career percentage ranking fifth. She’ll continue her career at Lehigh.

Comstock Park then-senior McKenna Bent connected on 10 3-pointers in two games during the 2019-20 season, against Holland that Dec. 13 and Sparta on Feb. 7. She finished with 40 and 41 points, respectively, in those games. She’s continuing her career at Saginaw Valley State.

Boys Lacrosse

Xander Roisen saved 32 shots for Pinckney in a 16-2 loss to Canton on April 23, setting an MHSAA record for most saves in one game (but to be broken three later; see below). Roisen was a senior this spring.

Warren Cousino senior Donovan Cece took over the record for saves in a game with 35 in his team’s 12-0 loss to Clinton Township Chippewa Valley on May 14.

JJ Hawkins had another of the busiest days for a goalie March 27. He made 21 saves in Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s 13-4 loss to Dearborn Divine Child. Hawkins was a freshman this spring.

Girls Soccer

Lily Usher tied for the seventh-most saves in a game when she made 35 in Owosso’s 6-0 loss to Goodrich on May 5. The Martians took a total of 56 shots, including those not on goal. Usher was a sophomore this spring.

PHOTO: Kent City's Kenzie Bowers gets to the basket during the Division 3 championship game against Grass Lake in April.