Record-Ranking Defense Sets Title Tone
April 24, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Grandville Calvin Christian’s girls soccer program has been arguably the most consistently successful in Michigan this decade, winning MHSAA championships the last three seasons.
Of course, offensive prowess has played a big part – the Squires’ 137 goals last season were recently added to the MHSAA record book, ranking seventh among girls teams for goals during one spring.
But defense – led by goalkeepers Jordyn Postema and Allison Keizer – also played, as one would expect, a significant role.
Both keepers were added to the record listing for shutouts in one season – Postema for 18 in 2013 and Keizer for 16 last spring. The team had 19 shutouts total in 2013, including 11 straight, and gave up only nine goals that season. The 2014 team had 20 shutouts in 25 games and gave up only seven goals.
As for offense, Calvin Christian did have one more recent addition to the records – Sarah Klunder, for her 24 assists a year ago.
Click to see all of the MHSAA girls soccer record book in full, and see below for more of this week’s record listing additions. (Click on the sport headings for those record listings.)
Baseball
- Ovid-Elsie’s first entries in the MHSAA baseball records are the product of deep research by Paul Goebel, whose father John was the longtime coach beginning with the first season after the former Ovid and Elsie schools combined, in 1967. Paul Goebel, searching his father’s old scorebooks, found five entries that qualify in the ERA categories – pitcher Dave DuBois for season (1.10 in 1967) and career ERA (1.49 from 1967-69), Tom Hachlinski also for career (1.57 from 1970-71), and the 1967 (0.98) and 1968 (1.14) teams. The 1967 team, which finished 12-3 in its inaugural season, ranks third on the team ERA list. DuBois finished 20-9 over his three-season varsity career, and Hachlinski was 12-8 over his two seasons.
Girls Basketball
- Reese finished a combined 81-10 over the last four seasons, in no small part because of the contributions of 6-foot center Reyna Frost. The Central Michigan University recruit scored 1,475 points during her four-year career, and made the MHSAA record book with 1,110 career rebounds (ninth all-time) and 387 career blocks (eighth on that list) as well as 327 rebounds and 128 blocks this winter.
- Kent City enjoyed another successful run this winter, finishing 19-4 and winning the Central State Activities Association Silver championship – and kept the scoreboard popping along the way. The Eagles made the MHSAA’s season 3-pointers list for the third straight, this time connecting on 171, to go with 167 in 2012-13 and 187 in 2011-12. Kent City made a high of 14 3-pointers in a 73-28 win over Hesperia on Jan. 30 – Kaitlyn Geers led with five – and also was part of one of the highest-scoring games in MHSAA girls hoops history when it defeated Morley Stanwood 83-78 in double overtime Feb. 27. Bailey Freeland scored 30 points for Kent City in that game, including eight during the extra period, and Lindsey Veersma led Morley Stanwood with 21 points including nine during the team’s fourth-quarter comeback.
Football
- A total of 19 accomplishments for Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart athletes were added, with the majority celebrating a pair of four-year standouts who helped the Irish to combined 36-10 record from 2009-12 and an MHSAA title in 2010. Running back Nick Hire was added for seven rushing touchdowns in a 2012 game against Coleman, 74 career touchdowns and 450 career points, and also 124 career receptions. Quarterback Mitchell Myler was added for 410 completions, 602 attempts, 6,158 passing yards and 68 career touchdown passes – plus 157 completions (and 28 in one game), 2,576 yards and 28 TD passes as a senior in 2012. His career yardage ranks 14th on that list, and he now plays at Division III Alfred University in New York. Former QB Mike Lilly was added for 25 touchdown passes in 2008, and Brooks Hyble made the career TD reception list with 21 from 2010-13. Lilly also made 10 extra points in a 2008 win over Baldwin, while Kip Hartman was added for nine in 1998 game and Matt Kornexl was added for nine in a 2012 game. Kornexl’s 66 extra points in 2012 also made the single-season list.
- Crystal Falls Forest Park’s Lee Graff put together one of the most impressive scoring careers in just two varsity seasons. Total he amassed 412 points, with 61 touchdowns and 23 two-point conversions over 2013 and 2014. He made the single-season MHSAA rushing TD list with 30 as a junior and also the single-season scoring list with 216 as a senior. Graff has signed with Michigan Tech University.
- Randy Hyduk’s record addition came after 30 years of waiting, the discovery and then conversion of video of his 75-yard punt for Warren Woods-Tower against Sterling Heights Stevenson on Oct. 26, 1984. Hyduk’s kick, launched at the 10 where he received the snap, traveled nearly 90 yards in the air before landing near Stevenson's goal line.
- Ben Stankovic took over kicking Saline’s extra points early during last season’s run to the Division 1 Final, and was perfect in points-after through the Hornets’ MHSAA runner-up finish. Stankovic made all 53 extra-point attempts over 12 games in which he kicked – and with a season to play, he’s tied for the 20th-longest consecutive extra-point streak in MHSAA history.
Softball
- Amanda Steig stole 162 bases during her four-year career at Reed City from 2009-12, but more than half of those as a senior – her 87 steals that spring rank second in MHSAA history for one season, and she also stole 72 straight during that run. Steig also made record listings with 84 career walks and a 20-game hitting streak from the end of her junior season through April 13 of her senior campaign. Steig went on to play at Grand Rapids Community College and now plays at Cleary University, a member of the United State Collegiate Athletic Association.
Wrestling
- Three Leslie wrestlers with a combined six MHSAA championships, plus a two-time Finals runner-up, were added for a number of single-season and career accomplishments. Two-time champion Zehlin Storr was added for his career record of 220-12 and undefeated seasons of 2012-13 (59-0) and 2013-14 (61-0). He also made the season pins list with 44 as a senior in 2013-14 and career pins list with 126, and his 792 takedowns rank third in MHSAA career history. Younger brother Kanen Storr, also a two-time champion, was added for his 58 victories in going undefeated in 2012-13 and his 44 pins that season, and two-time champion Cody Dunn was added with his 192-31 career record. Nick Atwood was a two-time runner-up during his career from 1996-99; he made the career wins list finishing 198-8, and his 153 career pins are tied for 12th in MHSAA history.
PHOTO: Calvin Christian’s Allison Keizer (right) made seven saves in last season’s 2-1 Division 4 championship game win over Clarkston Everest Collegiate.
Anchor Bay Flies Fences at Record Pace
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 23, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s softball team this spring proved to be the most powerful in MHSAA history.
The Tars hit 63 home runs, edging Howell by one as both broke the record of 59 formerly set by Romeo in 2015.
Taylor Keighley led the power surge with 21 home runs, tying for sixth most in one season, and Amanda Schick made the records list with 10 homers as six Anchor Bay players hit at least six apiece.
This spring’s team also made the record book for 408 hits, 66 doubles and 279 RBI in finishing 23-11. The 2018 team is listed for 417 hits, 84 doubles, 44 home runs, 276 RBI and a .403 average, with Aleah Marra making individual lists with 19 doubles and 11 homers as the team went 29-7. She is playing at Rutgers University.
Keighley will be a senior this fall, and Schick, now a junior, reportedly has committed to sign with Bowling Green for after she graduates in 2021.
Read on for more recent record book additions in softball plus baseball, football, boys lacrosse, boys soccer and wrestling, and click on the headings below to see those record books in full.
Baseball
Alex Rose’s memorable senior season this spring for Stockbridge included a run at a state record – he hit 23 doubles, tying for fifth most for one season in MHSAA history. Teammate Daniel Ballagh also was added to the records for being hit by 34 pitches over his 104-game, four-season career.
Football
Josh Czarnota quarterbacked Fenton to a combined 27-7 record from 2015-17, with a number of his season and career achievements making the records. Czarnota put up his biggest numbers as a junior, completing 167 of 270 passes for 2,344 yards and 27 touchdowns. His career numbers of 391 completions, 652 attempts, 6,210 yards and 72 touchdowns over 34 games also are listed, the touchdowns ranking 17th all-time. He threw for 427 yards in a 2016 win over Ortonville Brandon, when teammate Chanse Setzke had 266 receiving yards and four touchdowns through the air. In addition to making the record book for those individual feats, Setzke is listed for receiving yards (1,235) and touchdowns (15) as a senior in 2017 and for 114 receptions, 1,943 yards and 21 touchdowns over 23 games during his two-season varsity career. Czarnota is playing at Grand Valley State University.
Lake Odessa Lakewood’s Kaden Heins created plenty of excitement as a senior during the 2017 season, making the record book for a 100-yard interception return touchdown against Charlotte on Oct. 13 and returning kickoffs for touchdowns against Belding, Stockbridge, Leslie and Ionia. The four kickoff return touchdowns in one season are tied for second most on that list.
Macomb L’Anse Creuse North fell just shy of defeating Utica Eisenhower on Sept. 11, 2015, but a pair of LCN players enjoyed memorable moments. Quarterback Branden Taylor set an MHSAA record with 44 pass completions, tying for fourth all-time with 68 attempts and making the single-game yardage list with 446. Jake Mitrak hauled in 18 passes to tie for third most in one game. Mitrak played a season at Northern Michigan University.
Boys Lacrosse
Cameron Breining finished his Chelsea four-year varsity career this spring with 17 record book entries and as one of the top scorers all-time. He made the single-game goals list eight times, including tying for the fourth most twice with 11 in 2019 games against both DeWitt and Ypsilanti Lincoln. He scored 66 goals as a junior and 61 as a senior, and his 201 career goals rank 11th all-time. He also made the career points list with 231 and a high of 12 in that game against Lincoln this spring.
Boys Soccer
Genesee Christian won back-to-back Division 4 championships during the 2015-16 seasons, and along the way also set one of the most impressive records for success. From its 2015 opener through its fifth game of the 2016 season, Genesee Christian won 33 straight games – two more than previous record-holder Grosse Ile put together during the 2002-03 seasons. Genesee Christian’s streak was ended in a 2-1 loss to Fenton on Sept. 1, 2016.
Softball
Hemlock’s Madison Martinez has posted the second listing for back-to-back home runs from the 2019 season, hitting hers during the fourth and fifth innings of a 12-0 win over St. Charles on April 22. Martinez was a sophomore last season.
Wrestling
Two of Birch Run’s Breece brothers earned their ways into the record book with accomplishments during the 2017-18 season. Mason Breece finished his high school career with a record of 213-24, making the career wins list, while then-sophomore Macintyre Breece went 58-5 to make the single-season wins group. Mason won the Division 3 title at 140 pounds that season and wrestles at Central Michigan University, and Macintyre was Division 3 runner-up at 125 last season as a junior.
PHOTO: New Baltimore Anchor Bay teammates welcome Jenna Cantalupo home after her home run during May’s District game against Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse. (Photo courtesy of State Champs Sports Network.)