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Records Report: Buchanan's Bowen Among Best

April 29, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Letitia Bowen led Buchanan to the top of Class C in 1990 with 31 points and 13 rebounds in a 42-34 MHSAA Final win over Detroit Country Day that gave the Bucks their first girls basketball title.

Nearly 24 years later, she now officially dwells as well among the top rebounders in Michigan high school history.

This week's "Records Report" recalls the mid-1980s and just a month ago, plus both decades between. Make sure to click on the sport subtitle to go directly to the record book for that sport and find directions to submit candidates.

Girls Basketball

  • Buchanan’s Letitia Bowen joined the ranks of the MHSAA’s all-time top rebounders. Her 460 over 28 games in 1990 rank second for one season, and her 1,093 (14 per game) rank ninth. Also, Nicole Tucker moved into ninth place for career 3-pointers with 200. Her 67 as a senior made the single-season list – she connected on 49.6 percent of her 3-point tries that fall. Shelly Bender also was added for her 15 free throws during a 2001 game.

Hockey

  • Warren DeLaSalle tied an MHSAA record this season, but in an unprecedented way. Against Trenton on Feb. 13, DeLaSalle scored twice in seven seconds – tying Flint Carman-Ainsworth in 1995 for the fastest two goals by a team. But DeLaSalle scored both while playing short-handed with a player serving a penalty. Anthony Lipari scored the first goal off an Antonio Tejerna assist at 10:23 of the third period, and Liam McKenna then scored unassisted at 10:30. Trenton eventually held off DeLaSalle to win 5-4.

Wrestling

  • Past MHSAA individual champions Kamron Jackson and Drakkar Klose of South Haven both were added for their career wins and career pins – Jackson finished 209-17 with 140 pins from 2004-08, and Klose went 204-14 with 121 pins from 2003-07. South Haven’s Jamie McCloughan also was added for his 114 pins from 1985-89.

Volleyball

  • A trio of Sault Ste. Marie players was added, including two for top performances in a four-game win over Pickford on Oct. 25, 2011. In that match, Josie Werner had 40 kills – second-most in a five-game match during the rally scoring era – and Kylee Fitzpatrick had 40 assists. Werner finished that season with a school-record 743 kills, and Fitzpatrick finished her career with 3,172 assists, good for 14th on that MHSAA list. Katie Fitzpatrick made the single-season kills list with 723 in 2009.
  • Troy setter Lindsay Moeller finished her career in the fall as one of 18 setters now in the MHSAA record book with at least 3,000 assists during the rally scoring era – she finished with 3,052. Moeller’s 1,350 assists this season tied for 15th on the single-season list, and she’s also mentioned three times for assists in one match.

    Boys Basketball

    • Lake Leelanau St. Mary’s Nick Hahnenberg tried to bring his team all the way back against Maple City Glen Lake in their Class D District Final in 1996. He scored 26 points – tied for fourth-most in a quarter – in the final period although his team went on to lose to Glen Lake 88-68. Glen Lake coach Don Miller later wrote in a letter to the editor of The Leelanau Enterprise that after Hahnenberg’s third 3-pointer of the run, he spontaneously stood and applauded – rare perhaps for an opposing coach but warranted for this incredible feat.

    Football

    • Mitch Robinson quarterbacked Auburn Hills Avondale to a 17-13 record and two playoff appearances during his three seasons from 2009-11, and his name appears 13 times in the MHSAA record book. The recent additions are for his career numbers; his 73 passing touchdowns are sixth, his 6,213 passing yards are eighth, his 752 attempts 10th and his 401 completions 12th on those respective lists. A Midland Daily News report in February reported Robinson, as a redshirt freshman, would be among six vying for the starting spot at Division II Northwood this fall.
    • The Siler brothers of Crystal Falls Forest Park carried, literally, the Trojans’ offense for large parts of the last decade. Jacob Siler was added to the record book twice for his six-touchdown performance in a 2011 playoff win over Stephenson – during which he tied the MHSAA record with five first-quarter scores as Forest Park went on to win 50-43. Josh Siler was added four times, including for 206 points in 2008 and 446 total for his career. He and Kyle LaVacque both were added for having more than 40 carries in games.
    • Birmingham Brother Rice kicker Jason Alessi has one more season to play for the Warriors and should finish as one of the MHSAA’s best ever at his position. He already was in the record book in the extra-point and longest kickoff return categories for a Final from last fall, but has been added five more times – most notably for his 63 straight extra points going back to 2011. His streak is tied for eighth longest – and he could chase the record of 123 by Lowell's Jerry Adams set from 2007-08.

    Boys Soccer

    • Monroe Jefferson took a tough loss in its first-round District game in the fall – a shootout defeat to Dearborn Henry Ford. But Jefferson goalkeeper David Salliotte did make 45 saves (not counting those in the shootout), the second-highest save total for one game.

    PHOTO: Buchanan's Letitia Bowen (33) dominated in the post as the Bucks won the Class C Final over Detroit Country Day in 1990. 

    Miss Soccer Scores at Champion's Pace

    January 22, 2016

    By Geoff Kimmerly
    Second Half editor

    Saline’s run last spring to its first MHSAA girls soccer championship was keyed by a number of talented players – including a pair of all-staters with record book-caliber contributions.

    Senior forward Taylor Mulder was named Miss Soccer after scoring 43 goals with 11 assists – her goals and 54 points made single-season records lists – and she finished her four-year varsity career with 80 goals. All-state keeper Sofia Sweier had 22 shutouts last season, tying for second-most in MHSAA history. She finished her four-year career with 42 shutouts, all coming over her final three years in net.

    As a team, Saline gave up only four goals – tied for third fewest in MHSAA history – and had runs of 10 and nine consecutive shutouts. The nine straight began with the second-to-last regular-season game and included the entire Division 1 Tournament.

    Mulder is currently playing at Siena Heights University, and Sweier played this fall at Grand Valley State University.

    Click to see the girls soccer record book in full, and read on for more recent additions for other sports. (Click the sport headings to see those record lists.)

    Girls Basketball

    Sterling Heights’ Kendal Ring blocked 16 shots in her team’s 48-33 win over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North on Jan. 23, 2015, good to tie for sixth-most blocks in one game. The 5-foot-11 center is a senior this season.

    Boys Soccer

    Holland Christian’s run to the Division 2 Regional Semifinals in the fall including 15 shutouts in 24 games – and the team gave up only 11 goals all fall. Both milestones made the MHSAA records. Sophomore Nick VanderLaan had 11 shutouts and combined on four more.

    Shelby made the team shutouts list with eight straight to start the 2015 season and also for giving up only 10 goals in 22 games. Keeper Jonah Kelley made the individual lists for consecutive shutouts and with 13 total for the season.

    Softball

    Rogers City’s outstanding run the last four seasons included two trips to the MHSAA Semifinals and a Division 4 title in 2014. A number of standouts played major parts, Logan Fleming among the stars. Fleming set an MHSAA single-season record for runs scored with 86 last spring, when she hit in all 39 games, and finished her four-season varsity career second all-time both with 264 runs and 304 hits; her 95 hits last spring also were second-most for one season. She also hit 25 doubles in 2015, third-most for one season, with her career total of 68 coming in sixth, and her .551 career batting average is 12th. Teammate Sarah Meredith is listed in the record book eight times, most notably for her .664 average in 2015. Kayla Rabeau and Kayla Fleury were among those entered for back-to-back home runs, while Nikkie Jo LaLonde was added for 34 career doubles from 2010-13 and Morgan Hall and Cassie Brege were among those added for RBI in one game. Rogers City as a team also earned a number of listings; its 42 runs in a game in 2014 were third most, and its 479 runs last season were second-most. The team’s 500 hits in 2015 ranked third and its 376 RBI and .449 team batting average also both ranked second. Meredith will be a senior this spring, and Fleming now plays at Ferris State.

    Volleyball

    A number of Rockford’s all-time leaders were added to the MHSAA listings, including a record-setter from the fall. Setter Hailey Delacher, a sophomore, set a rally-scoring era (2004-05 – present) record with 67 assists in a five-set match against Hudsonville on Nov. 10. Total, she made the single-match records five times for assists and also the single-season list with 1,310. She was joined by a number of her school’s previous setters including Halle Peterson, Abby Carlson (her 1,465 assists in 2013 rank fifth for a season), Kim Weaver, Debbie Nikodemski and Heather Gates. Andrea Kacsits was added for her career kills (1,831), aces (283) and blocks (631 – ranking third) among seven entries overall. Nikodemski also was added for 10 aces in a two-set match in 2007, and Weaver for her school-record 121 aces in 2008. Kacsits went on to play at Ohio State University, while Peterson just finished her career at Michigan State, Carlson plays at Cornerstone University and Weaver also played for the Golden Eagles, and Gates played at Bethel College in Indiana. Nikodemski played basketball at Olivet College. Also, coach Kelly Delacher, who has led teams at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, Grand Rapids Northview and now Rockford the last decade, was added to the career coaching wins list with a record of 848-385-32.

    South Lyon senior Jessie Ignace had 38 of her team’s 53 kills in a 3-2 loss to Salem on Sept. 17. The 38 kills ties for eighth-most for one match during the rally scoring era.

    North Adams-Jerome junior Holly Trujillo set a school record and finished eighth in MHSAA history with 206 blocks (including 148 solos) in helping her team to a District championship and state ranking in Class D.   

    Sarah DeVries capped her Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian career this fall with her second entry for single-season kills and tied for 11th-most kills for a career in the rally scoring era. DeVries added 717 this season to 743 she had as a junior, and total finished with 1,964 over four seasons. She’ll play next season at Calvin College.

    Brooke Beaubien capped her four-season Cheboygan career among the MHSAA career-best with 1,517 kills and 280 aces, and she also made the single-season aces list with 116 as a sophomore. Her teams finished a combined 151-69-18 and won two league championships. 

    PHOTO: Saline's Taylor Mulder (7) works to get past a defender during last season's Division 1 Final against Grand Blanc.