Record-Setting Slugger Powers Mercy
August 15, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Farmington Hills Mercy softball team enjoyed one of the winningest seasons in MHSAA history this spring bolstered by one of most accomplished hitters ever to step into the batter’s box in this state.
The Marlins finished 43-2 – tying for third-most wins in a season – and won their first MHSAA title, clinching in Division 1. Meanwhile, senior Abby Krzywiecki hit a single-season record 20 home runs to go with 18 more listings in the MHSAA record book as she finished her high school career.
Her 82 runs this spring are tied for eighth-most, her 48 career home runs are second on that list, her 94 RBI this season sit third most and her 238 career RBI place second on that list. She was named Miss Softball as the top position player in 2016 and will continue her career at South Alabama.
Two teammates also made the MHSAA records this spring; junior Sophie Van Acker with 82 hits and sophomore Anna Dixon with 72. The team’s 510 hits were second-most in MHSAA history and only two off the record.
Click to see where all three rank in the MHSAA softball record book, and see below for other recent additions in softball, baseball, girls soccer and boys lacrosse. (Click on the sport heading to see those record books in full.)
Baseball
Traverse City West celebrated its most successful season this spring, including its first trip to the MHSAA Semifinals, and tied for seventh-most wins in a season in MHSAA history with a final 41-3 record. The Titans also made the team record lists with 431 hits, 427 runs, 361 RBI and a .369 team average, and their 70 times hit by pitch were second-most for one season. Individually, senior Alex Strickland was added for 74 RBI this spring and senior Nick Brzezinski for 73 hits, 68 runs and eight triples. Brzezinski will continue at Aquinas College this fall.
Austin Putman earned two record book entries with three home runs against Suttons Bay on May 12. The Charlevoix senior not only made the list for most homers in one game, but also for most in consecutive at bats tying for eighth on that list by hitting them in three straight plate appearances as his team won 7-4.
Dearborn Fordson senior Hassan Jaafar made his way around the bases quite a bit during a 13-12 win over Dearborn Henry Ford Academy on April 13. Jaafar stole seven bases, tying for second most in one game and ending up just one shy of tying the MHSAA record.
Boys Lacrosse
Detroit Country Day’s back-to-back MHSAA Semifinal runs the last two seasons were led by a foursome of standouts who are now all over the MHSAA record book for the sport. Emilio Sosa graduated in 2015 and now has five entries including 181 goals, seventh most. Cooper Belanger was a senior this spring and is listed 10 times, most notably for 317 career points, which rank sixth on that list, and 149 career assists, which rank fourth. David Pohl’s three entries before graduating in 2015 included tying for second-most assists in a game, nine, against East Grand Rapids his senior season, and 116 career assists that tie for eighth. And goalie Jackson White finished up this spring with 11 entries including four seasons on the single-season saves list – his 257 in 2015 rank second – and 872 career saves, which also rank second. Sosa played this spring at Kenyon College in Ohio, and Belanger is slated to begin his collegiate career this fall at Colgate in New York.
New Baltimore Anchor Bay’s William Moses joined the single-game scoring list in April. The recent graduate netted eight goals in a 16-1 win over Warren Mott to break his school’s record by two goals.
Fenton goalkeeper Abby Quesnelle earned her second entry for shutouts in one season with 13 this spring as a junior in 24 games to go with 15 shutouts as a sophomore in 2015. Fenton reached the Regional Final in Division 2 before falling to eventual MHSAA champion Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
Her team may have fallen 3-0, but Jennifer Gutierrez did her part to keep Caro close to Millington on May 4. The recently-graduated keeper had an MHSAA record 50 saves for the Tigers as the Cardinals put 53 shots on goal.
Softball
Lauren Kanai was perfect in her team’s 17-0 five-inning win over Greenville on May 19 – the Ada Forest Hills Eastern junior pitcher tossed the perfect game in part by striking out 14 of 15 batters faced to make the MHSAA list for most strikeouts in a five-inning game. She also had two RBI.
Howell’s Veronica Pezzoni is a perfect 75 of 75 on stolen base attempts over the last two seasons, good for the fourth-longest streak in MHSAA history. The senior-to-be needs only 25 more without getting caught to set the MHSAA record. Junior teammate Jordan Humitz also made the MHSAA records with 13 home runs this spring. Howell as a team made lists in multiple categories over the last two seasons – with 454 hits, 93 doubles, 339 RBI and a .400 team batting average in 2015 when it finished 32-9-1; and for 493 hits, 93 doubles, a .415 average and 330 RBI this spring in finishing 30-11.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Mercy's Abby Krzywiecki steps in against Macomb Dakota during this spring's Division 1 Final.
Ithaca's Smith Stands Among Top QBs
April 7, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Ithaca, and quarterback Travis Smith in particular, are all over the MHSAA football record book after extending the program’s winning streak to 56 straight games in 2013.
The streak is the second-longest in MHSAA history and longest that's taken place entirely during the playoff era. And three of those four straight perfect seasons came with Smith running the offense.
He finished his career with 468 completions in 691 attempts for 8,044 yards and 104 touchdowns passing. The TDs are an MHSAA record and the yards rank second. He threw for 42 touchdowns in 2013, which ranked fourth for one season, and 3,278 yards, good for ninth-most. He will play his college football at Wake Forest University.
Teammate Logan Hessbrook caught 19 touchdown passes in 2013 to tie for ninth-most in a season. Kickers Sage DeMull and Alex Vanderploeg also were added after both connected on more than 70 extra-point kicks the last two years, respectively, and Markes Gadlen was added after tying the record for longest kickoff-return touchdown with a 99-yarder against Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in 2012.
Click to see the MHSAA football record book, and read on for more recent entries for other sports.
Football
- Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy quarterback Omar Salih threw a lot of passes last fall – 428, second most in MHSAA history for one season. He made the single-game attempts list five times, with a high of 60 throws against Dearborn Heights Annapolis, and completed a high of 30 passes (in 51 attempts) against Dearborn Heights Star International. He finished with 3,293 yards passing and 32 touchdowns, both in only nine games. Teammate Nate Drew finished with 69 catches last fall for 1,376 yards and 19 TDs. His 2,748 receiving yards over four seasons rank seventh on the MHSAA career list.
Baseball
- Monroe Jefferson’s Tyler Castiglione got nearly around the bases more than anyone else in MHSAA history in 2013, with a record 15 triples that also helped him set the career triples record of 25. Both will make national record book lists, with the 15 last season ranking fourth in NFHS history. Castiglione also graduated with a .482 career batting average and 1.63 career ERA. He now plays for Spring Arbor University.
- Richland Gull Lake won more than 70 games over the 2011-12 seasons, and the MHSAA records reflect a few more performances that drove the run. Colton Bradley was added for 66 hits and 21 doubles in 2012, while Connor Owen made the single-season (19) and career (29) hit-by-pitch lists. The 2012 Gull Lake team moved to the top of the team hit-by-pitch list with 72, and Patrick Gaudard finished his career that spring with 38 over three seasons. Nate Stegman was added for his 1.34 ERA over two varsity seasons, as was Bob Cole for his 1.27 over 1980-81.
Boys Basketball
- A trio of Manistique players was added for accomplishments from a few decades ago. Bill Pistulka made the single-season rebounds list with 316 in 1974-75, and brother John Pistulka made the career list with 722 from 1975-78. Rob Ryan made the season free throw percentage list by hitting 87.7 percent of his attempts during the 1988-89 season.
Boys Lacrosse
- DeWitt’s Jackson Iciek just missed tying the MHSAA record for goalie saves in a 10-7 loss to Okemos last season. He tallied 23 saves, one shy of tying the record.
Softball
- With a season to play, Saginaw Heritage’s Lacy Tolfree has the sixth-highest career batting average (.580) in MHSAA history and also makes career lists with 181 runs and 43 doubles. She also was added for a 22-game hitting streak that ended last May and back-to-back grand slams that led to nine RBI total on April 22 of last year.
- Perry’s Lauren Aldrich joined an elite group who have hit at least 10 home runs in a season, doing so last spring in 81 at bats. She hit .531 for the season.
Girls Tennis
- Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central’s Meika Ashby finished her high school career last season with her third MHSAA singles championship – and second at No. 1 – a final record of 94-1 after going 25-0 last spring, and the MHSAA record with 71 matches won 6-0, 6-0, during her career. Ashby is playing now at Western Michigan University.
Volleyball
- A pair of Onaway athletes were added for successes during the 2012 season. Megan Estep had 14 aces in a three-game match against Wolverine and 50 assists in four games against Fife Lake Forest Area to make those single-match lists. Teammate Devin Bristley had 112 aces to make the season listing.
PHOTO: Ithaca quarterback Travis Smith rolls out during his team’s Semifinal win over Montrose in November. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)