Novi's O'Leary Champion & Record Setter
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 11, 2018
The Novi volleyball team’s run to four straight Class A Finals and three straight championships over the last four seasons saw performances by a number of elite hitters – and one on-court constant directing the attack.
Erin O’Leary graduated this spring with an MHSAA-record 5,790 assists during her four years as the team’s starting setter, topping the rest of the best in that category by 180. She had a high of 1,521 assists last fall as a senior, that total coming in ninth for a single season, and all four of her season totals rank among the top 24 since the MHSAA went to rally scoring in 2004-05.
In addition, O’Leary made the career aces list with 327. Victoria Iacobelli, the top hitter on the 2014 runner-up team, was added for 642 kills that fall. Iacobelli has gone on to play at Bowling Green, while O’Leary claimed the statewide Miss Volleyball Award as a senior and will begin her college career at University of Michigan this upcoming season.
Click to see the volleyball record book in full plus more recent record book additions in baseball, girls and boys basketball, football and softball.
Baseball
Morenci’s Matthew Schiermyer enjoyed a memorable day April 28, 1995, when he belted three home runs in his team’s 8-6 win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford. He drove in five runs total with the three homers.
Kingsley’s Alex Parker was hit by 38 pitches over a four-year varsity career that concluded this spring, including by 16 pitches as a junior. His career total is tied for 12th all-time. He will continue his career at Henry Ford College.
Girls Basketball
Onsted’s Taylor Hutchinson knocked down 41 more 3-pointers this past season to finish her four-year varsity career with 167, making the records list in that category. She will continue her career at Jackson College.
Boys Basketball
Hale sophomore Joseph Kimmerer helped his team to a league championship last winter and earned an entry in the record book among sharp shooters. He made 88.3 percent of his free-throw attempts over 21 games (83 of 94) to tie for the 15th-best percentage for one season.
Football
Then-senior Griffin Kelly got his final season off to a great start last Aug. 25, running for six touchdowns in making the single-game list for rushing scores as his Frankfort team defeated Manton 70-40. He is continuing his career at Northern Michigan University.
Dearborn Heights Star International’s Saif Almalla was waiting for a kickoff from Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest to roll into the end zone last Oct. 6 – but when it didn’t, he picked up the ball and raced 99 yards for a touchdown while also tying the record for longest kickoff return in MHSAA history. Almalla will be a senior this fall.
Softball
A trio of strong hitters put up record book-caliber seasons in 2017 for Farmington Hills Mercy. Sophie Van Acker, then a senior, had 84 hits – 10th most for one spring – and graduated with 241 hits over four seasons. Nicole Belans added 18 doubles for a career total of 33, and also made the single-season RBI list with 70. Anna Dixon, then a junior, also had 70 RBI, in addition to 78 hits and 73 runs scored. Van Acker signed with Lehigh University out of high school, and Dixon will continue at Hillsdale College.
Muskegon Orchard View slugger Halee Holman is off to a great start after two seasons on varsity, and with two more to go. As a sophomore this spring, she made the MHSAA record book with 14 home runs and 90 RBI – the RBI tied for fifth-most all-time. She’s also on the career RBI list with 156 and just short of the career home run list with 19 so far.
Lansing Waverly’s Madeline Stump capped a memorable run this spring with four entries for career accomplishments. Across four seasons and 132 games, Stump hit .546 with 230 hits including 50 doubles and 25 home runs.
PHOTO: Novi’s Erin O’Leary sets a teammate during last season’s Class A Semifinal win over DeWitt.
Trenton Pair Scores Record Book Fame
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 9, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
McKenna Mahoney and Makenna Mascaro drove Trenton to the Division 2 Regional Finals in 2018, with a half-dozen reminders of that successful run now part of the MHSAA record book – including a listing for the best offensive season all-time.
Mahoney, a senior that spring, scored 64 goals – tying for second most in one season – and finished with an MHSAA record 89 points. She also made the single-season assists list in 2018 and finished her career with 112 goals over four seasons and 87 games. Mascaro was a junior in 2018 and made the single-season lists with 38 assists and 62 points, her assists tying for fifth most all-time.
Mahoney tied for the team lead in goals during her freshman season at Adrian College last fall, and Mascaro will join her there this season.
Click to see the girls soccer record book in full, and read on for more recent records additions in girls and boys basketball, football, boys lacrosse and softball. Click on those sports’ headings to see those record books in full.
Girls Basketball
Carly Hickey earned Gladwin’s first entry in the girls basketball record book when she grabbed 26 rebounds in a 58-49 District win over Pinconning on Feb. 27, 2017. Hickey was a senior at the time and just finished her second season at Mid Michigan College.
Boys Basketball
Mitchel Skym added to the list of top long-distance shooting games with 11 3-pointers in Corunna’s 68-51 win over Lake Fenton on Jan. 11. The Cavaliers’ senior made six 3-pointers during the first quarter, falling just one shy of tying that record.
Football
Grayling quarterbacks are listed all over the MHSAA record book, and Cam Summers took his place after setting school career passing yards and touchdown records from 2014-16. Summers capped his career completing 152 of 298 passes for 2,662 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior, and he finished with 311 completions on 645 attempts for 5,597 yards and 52 touchdowns – amassing seven record book entries total – over three seasons.
West Bloomfield receiver Tre Mosley finished his three-season varsity career last fall among the all-time career leaders in three categories with 108 receptions, 2,001 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns over 37 games. He is a freshman at Michigan State University. Mosley’s quarterback last season, then-junior C.J. Harris, was added to the records for his 2,001 passing yards over 12 games. Harris reportedly has committed to sign with Ohio University.
Gabe Ellis capped his Davison three-season varsity football career in 2017 with 26 tackles for loss that fall, tying for ninth most on that list. Ellis is continuing his career at Grand Valley State University.
Although their team eventually was defeated by Temperance Bedford on Sept. 25, 2015, Darryn Davis and Hunter Rison helped Ann Arbor Skyline mount a second-half comeback with single-game passing and receiving yardage performances that both made the records. Davis finished with 425 yards passing, completing 21 of 41 attempts. Rison finished with 12 catches for 339 yards, the yardage ranking fourth all-time. Rison played at Michigan State and Kansas State and reportedly will play this fall at Fullerton College in California, while Davis plays baseball at University of Toledo.
Boys Lacrosse
A trio of Muskegon Reeths-Puffer athletes were added for single-game contributions over the course of a week during the 2016 season. Nick Schanhals had seven goals and 11 total points in his team’s 23-6 win over Comstock Park on May 5, 2016, and teammate Gavin Poulin was added for five assists in that game. Reeths-Puffer’s Jake Kovalcik was added for five assists the previous game, May 3 in an 18-2 win over Grand Rapids South Christian. All three were seniors that season.
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep senior Maximilian Stowe finished high school this spring with a highlight-filled season, making the record book eight times including for 68 goals, 48 assists and 116 points over 20 games. He also made single-game lists in all three categories with highs of seven goals, six assists and 12 points.
Softball
Erica Zandarski earned Three Oaks River Valley’s first entry in the softball record book with six RBI in an April 28, 2016 win over Niles Brandywine. She went on to play at Lake Michigan College.
PHOTO: Trenton’s McKenna Mahoney, right, jumps into the arms of teammate Makenna Mascaro during the 2018 season. (Photo courtesy of the Southgate News-Herald.)