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.)

Mort Assists Corunna in Record Run

January 10, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Special for Second Half

Senior setter Lexi Mort and junior hitter Elizabeth Norris led Corunna’s varsity volleyball team to its first MHSAA Semifinals this fall with record book-caliber contributions.

Mort had 1,529 assists (10th all-time) to go with 1,429 as a junior and to finish her career with 4,322, which ranks sixth all-time. She also made the single-match assist list with 54 against Mount Morris, when Norris had 33 kills.

Norris had 879 kills this season, 13th-most on that list. Freshman Ellie Toney was added for 11 aces in a match against Burton Genesee Christian. The Cavaliers finished the fall 50-7-5, with District and Regional titles in Division 2. Mort will run collegiate track at Saginaw Valley State University.

See below for more recent record book additions in volleyball, football and boys soccer, and click on the headings to see those sports’ record books in full.

Football

Clinton Township Chippewa Valley’s Division 1 championship season this fall included a number of record-setting performances. David Ellis returned four kickoffs for touchdowns, good for second most all-time. Niko Kepi made the season extra point list with 73 and the career list with 104 in 109 attempts over the last three seasons. Quarterback Tommy Schuster threw 26 touchdown passes for the second straight season and made career lists with 4,960 passing yards, 509 attempts, 330 completions and 67 scores through the air over the last three seasons. As a team, Clinton Township Chippewa Valley made lists with 546 points and 76 touchdowns over 14 games. Ellis will continue his career at Indiana University. Also, Jeff Deliz was added for a 93-yard punt return in 2003 and Chris Lomasney for six rushing touchdowns in a game in 2000. Deliz went on to play at Navy and Lomasney at Michigan Tech.

Sanford Meridian’s Kyle Stockford found his way to the end zone in multiple record-setting ways over the last two seasons. This fall, he made the record book for two kickoff return touchdowns in one game, against Lake City, scoring from 87 and 85 yards out. He also made the season kickoff return touchdown list with four despite playing only six games. The senior also returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a game this fall against Houghton Lake – after accomplishing the same feat as a junior against Farwell.

Among highlights of Hudsonville Unity Christian’s Division 5 championship run this season was a 57-20 win over Hamilton on Oct. 5, when Unity totaled 637 yards – which sits fifth all-time. Its 629 rushing yards, on 39 carries, is one of two totals on the list for most rushing yards in one game.

Quanelle Pritchett had a solid senior season receiving for Warren Fitzgerald in the fall – augmented by a record book-worthy accomplishment against Sterling Heights on Sept. 14. Pritchett caught seven passes for 239 yards in the 52-13 win to make the single-game receiving yardage list.

Boys Soccer

Jack Vezmar had 17 shutouts this fall in leading Marshall to a 23-1-1 record and Division 2 District title. Those shutouts tied for 11th-most in one season and helped him make the career shutout list with 28 over the last two seasons.

For the second straight fall, Midland Dow made the team record lists for total shutouts and consecutive shutouts, this time with 18 overall in 24 games and nine straight from Aug. 18-Sept. 12. Dow also tied for ninth all-time by giving up only eight goals on the way to finishing 20-1-3 on the season.

Volleyball

Longtime southwest Michigan coach Tony Hooley has reached the 500-win plateau, actually doing so in 2017 at Marcellus and adding to his total this fall leading Dowagiac to a 25-15-2 finish. Hooley has coached at Centreville and White Pigeon as well plus two seasons at Glen Oaks Community College, and his high school record stands at 538-311-92 over 18 seasons.

After two seasons of varsity volleyball, Vermontville Maple Valley sophomore Keilyn Carpenter has four record book entries. She’s been added three times for kills in a match – twice reaching 32 – and for this fall totaling 623 kills over 126 games.

Bronson’s fourth straight MHSAA championship – this one in Division 3 in the fall – included, predictably, a number of outstanding individual performances. Sophomore Meagan Lasky had 1,775 assists this past season to rank third on that list, while senior sister Kiera Lasky added to her career aces total to finish with 454 – fifth most all-time. Senior Ashton Wronikowski made the season aces list with 137, and junior Keona Salesman did as well with 122 to go with her entry for 766 kills. She’s also on the career kills list with 1,679 over three seasons and with one to play. Kiera Lasky will continue her career at Davenport University, and Wronikowski will continue at West Liberty University in West Virginia.

PHOTO: Lexi Mort cheers on her Corunna teammates during their Division 2 Semifinal against Pontiac Notre Dame Prep in November.