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Records Report: Ashby Wins 6-0, 6-0 ...

May 10, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central's Meika Ashby is finishing up an incredible high school career and a senior season that's already included breaking an MHSAA record for most straight-set shutout wins.

That and an impressive winning streak that ended in the final match of 2012 put her among those entered into the MHSAA record books this week. Click on the sport headings below to view the entire record book for that respective sport.

Girls Tennis

  • Hackett’s Meika Ashby entered this spring on the cusp of an MHSAA record with 55 wins by scores of 6-0, 6-0 – one off the record. She’s since broken that and signed with Western Michigan University for next season. Ashby also won the first 69 matches of her high school career – the fourth-longest streak in MHSAA history – before falling in last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 4 No. 1 singles championship match. She won No. 1 singles as a sophomore and No. 2 as a freshman.

Baseball

  • Jack Ropp finished his Concord career last spring with the best base-stealing season in MHSAA history. Ropp stole 79 bases, seven more than Saginaw Nouvel’s Jeff Turner in 1995 and nine more than Ropp stole as a junior in 2011. Ropp’s career total of 166 steals ranks third, and he also was entered into the record book six times for games during which he had five or more steals. Ropp also was entered for his pitching shutouts last season and over his four-year varsity career, and Concord’s Dustin Bornefeld also now makes an appearance for his seven steals during a game in 2008.
  • Grand Ledge furthered its hold on the top spot for single-season ERA by posting a 0.97 in 2012, led by Blake Dahlstrom’s 0.99 – he made the individual MHSAA list. The Comets also now are listed with 91 doubles and a .356 average in finishing 30-7 last spring.

Boys Tennis

  • Kalamazoo Loy Norrix senior Jake Gumbleton will carry a two-season, 55-match winning streak into this fall. The streak is the fourth-longest in the MHSAA record book. He’ll also be seeking his first MHSAA Finals berth – Gumbleton has played No. 2 singles, but because his team hasn’t qualified as a whole he hasn’t advanced to the season’s final weekend.
  • Comstock Park had a number of strong performances in finishing runner-up at the Division 4 Lower Peninsula Final in the fall. Among them, twins Dylan and Tyler Fink advanced to the semifinals at No. 1 doubles and finishing this season with 27 wins and a career total of 70 – both good enough to make the records listings.

Boys Basketball

  • Ryan Marjerle cemented himself among the top free throw shooters in MHSAA history. His career percentage of .856 ranks third on that list among those who had at least 300 attempts. He also made the single-season list twice for 110 makes in 2009-10 and 136 in 2010-11.
  • The majority of the MHSAA single-game rebounds feats took place during the 1960s and 70s. But Isaac Bowles joined the list on Jan. 17 with 38 rebounds to help Detroit Cesar Chavez defeat Detroit University Prep Science & Math 64-58. That tied for the eighth-most rebounds in one game. He also had 12 blocks to make that single-game list and scored 16 points.
  • Carney-Nadeau’s 72-56 upset of No. 2 Pellston in a 2012 Class D Quarterfinal was one of the most memorable games of that season’s tournament, in part because of Wade Schetter and his sharp-shooting teammates. Schetter scored 30 points while making seven 3-pointers, and his team set an MHSAA Final Round (Qtr-Final) record with 14 3-pointers in the game. While Schetter’s 80 3-pointers that season just missed the MHSAA individual record list, his 117 steals are tied for seventh.

Girls Basketball

  • Kim Knuth finished a stellar career at St. Joseph in 1994 by winning the state’s Miss Basketball award. She also just made the MHSAA records for her career 97-7 record on varsity – 21-2 as a freshman, 26-2 as a sophomore, 25-2 as a junior and 25-1 her final season. St. Joseph finished Class B runner-up in 1992.

Football

  • Zeeland West became the first entry for most rushing yards in a game, with the 755 it gained last Sept. 28 against Holland Christian tied for fifth nationally. West ran 54 times in the 66-36 win over the Maroons, with three players gaining at least 100 yards apiece – Marcus Lambert with 254 on 15 carries, Jon Pung with 199 also on 15 carries and Braden Werley 135 on 11 carries. Eight others had carries for positive yards to contribute to the effort.

PHOTO: Kalamazoo Hackett's Meika Ashby claimed her second MHSAA championship at the LP Division 4 Final in 2011.

Records Report: Chatfield Finds the Net

May 23, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Over the last decade, the Chatfield family from Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian has rewritten much of the MHSAA soccer record book, with 35 listings bearing that last name.

Aaron, a senior this year, likely will graduate as the best of the bunch. 

The newest MHSAA record holder for boys soccer goals and total points is among those added to the listings this week, along with the best from Swartz Creek's best softball team ever and many more. Click on the sport category below to see the full record book for each. 

Boys Soccer

  • Aaron Chatfield finished his Northern Michigan Christian high school career in the fall with a record 201 goals and 296 total points over the last four seasons. Brother and teammate Paul Chatfield also was added with the seventh-most career points, 196, finishing his career in 2011. Teammates Jake Lovitt (six assists in a game last fall) and David Thompson (18 shutouts including 13 straight in 2011) also were added.

Softball

  • Swartz Creek celebrated its best season ever in 2012, including a 34-7 record and trip to the Division 1 Quarterfinals. Among the most notable numbers to emerge from that run were the team’s 94 doubles, second-most for one season in MHSAA history. Leading that charge were Hayley Cruthers and Carah Pletcher, who hit 24 and 18 doubles, respectively, to both make the MHSAA single-season list. Cruthers also made it with 76 hits last season and 58 doubles for her career. Her 24 doubles last spring tied for fourth-most in one season.
  • Williamston’s Camri Grace became the latest to tie the MHSAA record with home runs in three straight at bats, hitting hers against Mason on May 11 during the Mid-Michigan Softball Classic which features most of the best teams from the Lansing area. After a sacrifice fly in the first inning, Grace hit homers in the third, fourth and sixth innings. Her final shot was a grand slam, and she finished with eight RBI total.

Girls Basketball

  • The Posen girls finished a combined 43-4 over the last two seasons, and point guard Anna Couture passing to Korynn Hincka was a big reason why. Couture finished her final season this winter with 208 assists – good for fourth-most in MHSAA history – after tallying 207 as a junior. She ended with a career total of 680 assists, good for second-most on that MHSAA list.
  • Pickford’s Olivia Smith achieved two of the top single-game free-throwing shooting performances in MHSAA history over the course of two weeks. She made 15 of 16 against Brimley on Feb. 7 and then 16 of 20 against Cedarville on Feb. 21.

Boys Basketball

  • One quarter this season told plenty about the sharp-shooting reputation Drew Zuidema has built over the last three seasons. Zuidema made six 3-pointers and scored 26 points total in the fourth quarter of a 73-64 win over Detroit Westside Christian at Davenport University. Zuidema finished the game with 42 points, and his 26 in that final period tied for fourth-most in MHSAA boys hoops history. He finished with 10 3-pointers in that game, which just missed the single-game list in that category – but his 84 3-pointers for the season tied for 20th most, and his 178 over his first three seasons already have him on the career list with a season to play.
  • Tyler Jones significantly affected two Hillman wins this season with record-book performances. He had 11 steals – good to tie for eighth-most in one game – in a 65-46 Hillman win over Posen on Feb. 15. And he made 7 of 8 shots including all six of his 3-point tries during the first quarter of a 65-22 win over Rogers City on Feb. 28.

Boys Tennis

  • Sam Kreps and Matt VeenHoven combined to go 61-5 together at No. 1 doubles over the final two seasons of their Holland High careers, which came to a close at their Regional in the fall. The duo finished 32-0 during that final run, which included only two matches that went to three sets.

Baseball

  • Ty Rock kept Gobles in its game for nine innings on May 3, 2012 against Bloomingdale. His team eventually prevailed, 1-0, and he finished with 22 strikeouts – with at least one per inning and two innings of striking out the side in order.

Volleyball

  • Maddy Mertz finished her Frankenmuth career in the fall with her second season of 157 or more blocks – that and her 159 as a junior both made the MHSAA single-season lists in that category. Former teammate Nicole DeGrace also was added for her 678 kills in 2011, as was Addie Loftus for her 54 assists in a five-game Regional Semifinal win over Mount Morris that season.

PHOTO: Swartz Creek's Hayley Cruthers made the MHSAA softball record book in three categories after capping her career by helping the Dragons to their best finish. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)