Pilgrims Pair Leads Semifinal Journey
June 28, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Lansing Christian’s boys basketball team reached the Class D Semifinals this past season in part on the efforts of two four-year seniors whose accomplishments are now recorded among the notable in MHSAA history.
Guard Forrest Bouyer had 109 steals in 26 games this winter, and his 296 career steals over 88 games rank ninth all-time. He also had 552 assists during his career, which rank 10th on that list. Guard Matthew Havey previously had listings for points and 3-pointers in one quarter, and he finished his career with 238 3-pointers – which rank ninth all-time. Bouyer will continue his career at Calvin College.
Click to check out the boys basketball record book in full, and read on for more recent record book additions in girls basketball, football, girls soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
Girls Basketball
Kalle Martinez finished a successful career for Bay City John Glenn this winter and added a pair of record book entries during a 64-56 win over Saginaw Swan Valley on Feb. 23. Martinez scored 48 points, making the single-game scoring list, and tied for third for most 3-pointers in a game drilling 11 in 18 tries. As a team, Bay City John Glenn was added for making 14 3-pointers in that game and for making 154 and attempting 453 3-pointers on the season. Former teammate Cassidy Boensch was added for her 332 rebounds and 154 blocked shots as a senior in 2015-16. Boensch currently plays at Grand Valley State University, and Martinez will begin her career next season at Central Michigan University.
Edwardsburg’s Savannah Dixon added to her entry for single-season 3-pointers (69) as a sophomore by finishing her career with 173 over 87 games through her last this winter. Dixon also was a softball all-stater this spring.
Football
Daniel Nocerini played only one season of 8-player football, but he set the pace for those who will chase his records for seasons to come. Nocerini, a running back, was added to the 8-player records 15 times, including for 50 points, five touchdowns in a quarter and seven in a game all against Ontonagon this season, seven more scores against Rapid River, and 45 touchdowns total over 11 games. He also ran for 2,409 yards, including 431 against Rapid River. His career totals of 82 touchdowns and 586 points also were added to the 8-player record book, although his first three seasons were played in 11-player. He will continue his career at Michigan Tech.
Girls Soccer
Natalie Righetti finished her four-season varsity career at Trenton in 2013 among MHSAA leaders in career goals (106), assists (76) and points (182). Her points continue to rank 16th, while her career assists are 11th most. Including single-season accomplishments, she earned nine record book listings. Righetti went on to play at Oakland and then University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Softball
A pair of Midland Bullock Creek hitting standouts contributed to significant team totals as well over the last four years. Rylie Kalina had 75 hits this spring to cap her four-year career with 216, and ranked second all-time with 30 doubles this season to finish her career with 54 two-base hits. Former teammate Shelby Bailey also made the single-season doubles list with 20 as a senior in 2015 and 35 over her four-year career. Midland Bullock Creek as a team was added eight times for team achievements over the last four seasons, most notably for 94 doubles this spring and 90 in 2015 – tying for sixth and 11th all-time, respectively. In addition, Lauren Beougher was added for hitting two home runs during the fifth inning of a game against Clare on April 11. Kalina will continue her career at Davenport University and Beougher will play at Albion College, while Bailey went on to play at Delta College.
Frankfort freshman Hayley Myers’ debut season included a record entry for seven RBI in a win over Lake Leelanau St. Mary on April 7. Myers was 4 for 4 and hit two home runs.
Lowell sophomore Maddi Jordan earned two record book entries in her team’s win over Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills on April 18. She was 5 for 5 with four triples – tying for second-most triples in one game in the national record book and earning the first MHSAA record entry for that category – and drove in 10 runs to tie for second all-time in MHSAA history. Jordan already has committed to continue her softball career at Central Michigan University.
Volleyball
A number of past plus a few current Bronson standouts were added for accomplishments since the start of rally scoring with the 2004-05 season. Katherine Carpenter was added for 632 kills and 179 blocks in 2010 and 211 blocks (tied for seventh most in one season) in 2009, while Alexa Ratkowski was added for 1,399 assists in 2014 and a career 410 aces from 2002-15 – second-most all-time in that category to go with her previously-added career record for assists. Skyler Sobeski was added for 1,543 career kills from 2011-14, while recent graduate Jill Pyles was added for 1,504 career kills and 524 aces over the last four seasons; Pyles' aces rank second all-time. Hailey Brewer made the career blocks list with 509 from 2006-09, and Kylei Ratkowski made the career aces list as well with 388 from 2009-12. Junior Kiana Mayer had 1,541 assists in setting Bronson to a second straight Class C title last fall – her total ranking seventh during the rally scoring era. Junior Adyson Lasky (117), Pyles (114) and sophomore Kiera Lasky (112) also all were added for aces this past season. Carpenter went on to play at Hillsdale College and Pyles has signed to continue this fall at Ohio Dominican University.
Wrestling
Coloma freshman Ian Ishmael tied an MHSAA record at 130 pounds for fastest pin, winning a match by fall in five seconds on Jan. 21. He was competing as part of the Shawn Cockell Memorial Tournament in Quincy.
PHOTO: Lansing Christian's Forrest Bouyer (23) pushes the ball upcourt against Buckley during a Class D Semifinal in March, as teammate Matthew Havey (5) is among those trailing.
Century of School Sports: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 25, 2024
Notable achievements cover only one chapter of 100 years of MHSAA history we are celebrating during the 2024-25 school year.
But few states tell this part of their story in as much detail as the MHSAA does through one of the nation’s most robust record books.
The first layers of the MHSAA record book go back to the Association’s early years. Track & Field Finals records from the first quarter-century of championship meets were listed in the appendix of Lewis L. Forsythe’s book “Athletics in Michigan High Schools – The First Hundred Years” published in 1950.
Of course, those were just the start.
The MHSAA record book today, housed on the “Records” pages for each sport of MHSAA.com, is rooted in the work of longtime historian Dick Kishbaugh, who served in that voluntary role until 1994 and after a half-century of compiling data. He was succeeded by current historian Ron Pesch, whose work over the last 40 years has brought significant structure to the record book at it has continued to expand, and whose research continues to fill in otherwise long-lost accomplishments.
All 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason play have at least one section of a record book – with plans for adding several more sections as time allows. The amount of data can be mind-boggling. Our softball individual record book alone has more than 3,000 listings. We have team records listings as well for most sports, and several of our head-to-head sports have pages tracking our winningest coaches, and we update those every season. Nearly all of our sports have pages dedicated specifically to records from our Finals events as well – and in fact, some of our sports’ record books are completely derived from championship performances, where we know playing conditions are similar for all (like in track & field, where wind-aided times are not allowed).
As the MHSAA record book continued to evolve, it began to be patterned against the record book produced by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). That book was printed annually beginning with its 1978-79 edition and through 2010 before the NFHS lists went completely online at NFHS.org. The first NFHS printed record book touted having more than 50,000 listings, and several were from Michigan – including the first two photos, of Central Lake baseball player Doug Smith sliding into third base in 1977 and then the 1962 Grand Haven baseball team. While the MHSAA has added categories from time to time, generally what’s collected in Michigan reflected what’s collected nationally.
The MHSAA has played a significant role in the policy-making for the NFHS record book, primarily through the leadership of longtime communications director John Johnson during his multiple terms on the national record book committee. The criteria for adding records nationally – and by relation, to the MHSAA book – remains the same today.
Every potential record book listing is scrutinized. Almost always, candidates for the record book are submitted by an MHSAA member school. Most fill out an NFHS application linked on every record book page of this website, signed by a school administrator and the athlete involved. All applications must include documentation of the achievement – perhaps a box score for a single-game listing in softball, or the team’s season stats for a single-season accomplishment, or season stats for every season that athlete played for a career record.
Over the last decade, we’ve also received more video clips – often for something like a 99-yard football run – and a few full soccer games have been watched to make sure goalkeeper saves have been counted correctly.
We also will add record book listings based on media reports, which is especially helpful for achievements we hear about from decades ago. Yes, the MHSAA record books are living documents, and we frequently add accomplishments that take several years to get to us.
We are always eager to add to our collection of history. But it’s important to keep in mind that this is not an immediate process.
Submissions stack up quickly. We currently have 108 under consideration, and another 127 requiring additional documentation.
Additions generally are made during offseasons as we are most focused on our sports currently being played during the busiest months of the school year – and on the athletes making history for us to include as our record books continue to grow.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTOS Clockwise from top left: (1) The lead-in to Track & Field Finals records listed in “Athletics in Michigan High Schools – The First Hundred Years” shows a few of the elite performances from our earliest meets. (2) Leland volleyball star Alisha Glass celebrates with her teammates; she still holds four MHSAA records in that sport. (3) Every day this school year, the MHSAA is posting a record on its Instagram and X social media channels, and the great majority took place on that specific day. (4) Brimley’s John Payment still holds the all-Finals record for high jump, 7-foot-1, from 1989. (Glass and Payment photos from MHSAA archives.)