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. 

    Sailors Soccer Zeroes In On Shutouts

    October 11, 2013

    By Geoff Kimmerly
    Second Half

    A goal-scoring record plus recognition of one of the team's best at keeping shots out of the net are among recent additions to the MHSAA record listings. 

    Read on for more, including Cadillac ice hockey's record for two goals scored in the shortest amount of time and Farmington Hills Mercy softball's records for home run-hitting prowess. 

    Boys Soccer

    • Grand Rapids South Christian’s Division 3 championship season of 2012 also was one of the best defensive seasons in MHSAA history. The Sailors had 18 shutouts, tied for seventh-most for one season, and gave up only 10 goals. They finished their title run with shutouts in the Regional Final, Semifinal and Final and twice strung together four straight shutouts.

    Ice hockey

    • On January 9, Cadillac scored two goals six seconds apart to set an MHSAA record for fastest back-to-back goals. Both were scored by Tyler Thomas, the first at 7:37 to go in the second period and the second at 7:31. Spencer Graham had an assist on each and PJ Nemish also assisted on the first. The goals made up a 2-0 deficit to Traverse City West in what eventually ended a 2-2 tie.

    Baseball

    • Zeeland East’s Josh Snyder batted a combined .547 over the 2011-12 seasons to register third on the career batting average list. He hit .541 as a junior and .551 as a senior with a combined nine home runs, seven triples and 14 doubles among his 82 hits total.
    • Haslett standout Ryan Jones – who went on to play for Michigan State and now in the San Francisco Giants system – was added in seven categories, most notably for career hits (199 – tied for fifth), career triples (19 – fourth) and career batting average (.511 – tied for 14th). Other former Vikings Alex Williams made the single-season list with 56 stolen bases in 2000, Chris Hundt made the career average list at .478, and Brent Olivier was added for 48 career doubles and a career average of .470 from 1998-2000.

    Girls Basketball

    • Niles Brandywine advanced to the Class C Quarterfinals this season in part because of its strong shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. And Brandywine wasn’t afraid to toss up the long-range shot. The Bobcats shot 622 3-pointers, third-most in MHSAA history for one season, and made 188 – good for fourth on that single-season list. The team's highs for one game – 12 makes and 38 tries – came in a win over Berrien Springs.

    Boys Basketball

    • Comstock Park’s Ryan Schall made the single-season and career record listings for free throws with 173 and 331, respectively, during his three-season varsity career that ended last winter. He also graduated as his school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,051 points and will play this season at Aquinas College.

    Football

    • Howard City Tri-County’s Connor Vanderhyde is among an elite group of kick returners thanks to an impressive run during his final two seasons. He tied for the second-longest kickoff return for a touchdown, 97 yards, as a junior in 2010, then tied for second-most kick return touchdowns in one season with four in 2011. Two of those four came in the same 46-43 loss to Muskegon Orchard View. Vanderhyde currently sprints for the University of Louisville track and field team.
    • Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse kicker Andrew Courtemanche joined the list of big-time booters with a 52-yard field goal Sept. 13 against Port Huron Northern. Courtemanche’s kick came in the third quarter, and he also had three extra points in the 27-24 loss.

    Softball

    • Farmington Hills Mercy had arguably the best power-hitting season in MHSAA history this spring, resulting in a number of records. The Marlins hit 51 home runs, most for one season and also sixth-most on the national list. Mercy also set an MHSAA record with eight home runs against Livonia Ladywood in its 12-5 win in the Detroit Catholic League championship game May 20. Alex Sobczak finished the season with 17 home runs, tying for second in MHSAA history and 13th nationally, and teammate Jacquelyn Murphy also made the MHSAA record list with 10 home runs. Murphy also joined 11 others including Sobczak with homers in three consecutive at bats, doing so in her first three against Northfield, Ohio, on May 4.

    Wrestling

    • Recent Grandville Calvin Christian standout Carter Augustyn, already listed multiple times for near-falls, now also has the top two listings of 20 and 17 technical falls and the second-highest career total in that category of 48. Augustyn graduated in 2012 and was a three-time Finals qualifier and two-time placer.

    PHOTO: Grand Rapids South Christian goalkeeper Erik VerHoef makes a save during the Sailors' 1-0 win over Williamston in last season's MHSAA Division 3 Final. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)