Record-Setter Ranks for 'D' Dominance
April 19, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half
Trevor Patterson stole the show in Galesburg-Augusta’s 53-35 win over Lawrence on Dec. 15.
The Rams’ senior scored 17 points, but more impressively tied a record with 14 steals originally set by Saginaw Valley Lutheran’s Brian Appold in 1981.
Patterson will continue his athletic career at the college level, but on the diamond for Grand Rapids Community College’s baseball program.
See below for more recent additions to the boys basketball section of the MHSAA record book, and click the heading to view it in full.
Boys Basketball
Hillsdale made team record lists for attempted and made free throws winter, connecting on 369 of 563 attempts over 23 contests. Senior Bryce Drews made the individual free throw list with 165 makes in 221 attempts.
A trio of decades old entries were added for Vermontville Maple Valley. Jeff Hamilton was added for his 120 steals in 1984-85, which at the time would’ve ranked second all-time and now sits 11th. Andy Joostberns had 31 rebounds in a 1979 game against Portland and 300 for the season. And Shaun Thompson was added for 34 straight free throws made over four games from Jan. 23-Feb. 9, 1990.
Marlo Brown finished his four-season varsity career at Southfield Christian in 2016 with 1,074 rebounds to rank sixth all-time on that career list. His highest single-season total was 301 as a freshman. The 6-foot-5 forward currently plays at Northern Illinois University.
Tanner Curry finished his four-season varsity career at Martin in 2017 also among leading rebounders in Michigan history. He grabbed 1,070 – good for seventh all-time – and including a high of 311 over 23 games as a senior. He’s playing football at Saginaw Valley State University.
Big Rapids Crossroads Academy and Walkerville combined for 23 3-pointers in their game Dec. 7, tying for ninth most by two teams combined in the same game. Crossroads had 13, led by Britton Angell who scored 53 points with eight 3-pointers. But Walkerville won the game 90-84.
Portland St. Patrick and Saranac combined for 22 3-pointers on Jan. 2 to also make that two-teams combined list, and the Shamrocks made the single-team single-game list with 17 of those long-distance shots. Brandon Scheurer led the effort with seven 3-pointers on the way to 33 points.
Bear Lake’s 18-4 run this winter included an 82-17 win over Marion on Dec. 19 during which the Lakers scored 44 points during the first quarter to make the record book. Kaiden Hejl led the early run with 14 of his game-high 27 points during the first eight minutes.
Eventual Class B semifinalist New Haven scored 40 points during the first quarter of an 89-54 win against St. Clair Shores Lake Shore on Feb. 24. Romeo Weems just missed making the individual points in a quarter list, putting up 18 of that 40.
More than 45 seasons after grabbing 324 rebounds for Redford Union, Mark Kenney’s accomplishment was added to the MHSAA records. He grabbed that single-season boards total in 1971-72, as a senior, over 21 games as his team finished 17-4.
PHOTO: Galesburg-Augusta’s Trevor Patterson drives during a game against Constantine this season. (Photo courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)
Holmen Helps Pace Memorable Finals Run
April 8, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nikoma Holmen played a major role as Grandville reached its first MHSAA softball championship game in 25 years in 2017 – and 15 record book entries are enduring proof of the impact she made on the program.
Holmen finished her four-season varsity run on four career lists. Over 126 games she accumulated 170 runs, 218 hits, 54 doubles and 33 home runs.
Her senior season, Grandville made its first Semifinal and then first Final, both since 1982, before falling to Macomb Dakota 4-3 in eight innings in the Division 1 championship game. Holmen now is a sophomore playing at Grand Valley State University.
See below for more recent record book additions in softball, football, boys lacrosse and boys soccer.
Football
Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior Hunter Lake became the first to be listed for interceptions in one quarter after snagging three during the first quarter of a 64-0 win over Stryker, Ohio, on Aug. 31. He tied the MHSAA single-quarter record by bringing two of those back for touchdowns and made the single-game list for interception return touchdowns and single-quarter list for total defensive touchdowns as well.
Led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, Edwardsburg finished this past fall 14-0 and as Division 4 champion. The Eddies also made the MHSAA records multiple times, with their 705 points ranking sixth all-time and their 50.4 per game making the list among highest averages. Edwardsburg also made the total yardage (5,886) and total touchdowns (97), and rushing attempts (578), yardage (5,232) and touchdowns (82) lists. The Eddies also became the first team to register more than 60 rushes in a game when they ran 63 times against Holland Christian on Nov. 10.
Boys Lacrosse
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Micah Eby stopped 23 shots last May 12 against West Bloomfield. Eby, then a junior, tied for the 13th-most saves in one game.
Boys Soccer
Evan Veenhuis climbed the scoring lists one more time as a Comstock senior this fall. He added 34 goals and 35 points to finish with 121 career goals and 156 career points over four seasons.
Troy Athens carried a perfect record into the MHSAA Tournament this past fall and finished among the most impressive teams defensively of all-time. Athens became one of nine teams to give up seven or fewer goals over the course of a season and also made the season shutouts list with 16. Junior Jason Kemp was in net for all 16 to make the individual shutout list, and for six straight in September to earn another record book entry. Athens also was added for its 21 straight wins and 20 straight in 2013, when it gave up only 10 goals during the entirety of the fall.
Hudsonville Unity Christian had 18 shutouts and gave up only eight goals on the way to winning the Division 3 championship this past fall, making the team record book in both categories. Individually, junior Grant Balcer ranks tied for fourth with those 18 shutouts (including eight straight) and has 26 over his two-year varsity career.
Softball
A pair of Grosse Pointe South players were added for accomplishments last season. Julia O’Halla, now a senior, had home runs on two consecutive at bats and six RBI total in a win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Teammate Lauren Sancya, a senior in 2018, finished her four-year varsity career on the all-time doubles list with 48. Emma St. John was added for her 2014 performance when she became one of four to strike out 18 batters in a six-inning game, a 10-0 no-hitter against Center Line. St. John was a freshman that season and played two seasons for South and her final two for University Liggett.
Olivia Tomaszewski graduated from Frankfort last spring with 160 RBI over four varsity seasons, enough to make the MHSAA record book list in that category and come in second on the school’s all-time list to Katy McKay, who had 165 from 1996-99. Tomaszewski is playing at Cornerstone University. Junior Haley Myers also was added to the career home runs list after two seasons – she had 22 after hitting 13 last spring as a sophomore.
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s Brooke Myles last April 12 became the first since 2010 to strike out more than 15 batters in a five-inning game, tying for second on that record list with 16 Ks against Sterling Heights Parkway Christian in a 13-1 win. Myles is a senior this spring.
PHOTO: Grandville’s Nikoma Holmen gets ready to advance after reaching first base during the 2017 Division 1 Softball Final against Macomb Dakota.