Records Report: Gussert Joins the Elite

April 30, 2013

Crystal Falls Forest Park junior Lexi Gussert has been one of the state’s most dangerous scorers over the last two seasons.

It's a much-deserved reputation, considering the numbers she put up again this season.  

Gussert's name has been added to the MHSAA record book three times for exceptional feats she achieved this winter. See those and more recent entries for girls and boys basketball, volleyball, wrestling, football and hockey in this week's "Records Report" – and click on the sport subtitle to go directly to the record book for that sport and directions to submit candidates.

Girls Basketball

  • Crystal Falls Forest Park junior Lexi Gussert scored 50 points in a win over Rapid River on Jan. 24 and her 809 points this season were fifth-most in MHSAA girls hoops history. She also made 93 3-pointers – connecting on 47 percent of her attempts – to tie for the second-most treys for one season. She finished this winter with averages of 32.4 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.
  • Kent City topped by five the former MHSAA record for 3-pointers in a game when it connected on 23 in an 82-17 win over Wyoming Lee on Jan. 11. Kent City also set another MHSAA record in the process by attempting 81 attempts – the team had only five two-point field goals to go with its 23 treys, and six players made at least two long-range shots apiece. Kent City also ranked fourth as a team for one season with 595 attempted 3-point shots and eighth with 167 made. For the season, five players made 23 or more 3-pointers, with Justine Wolter leading with 40.
  • Three Rochester Hills Stoney Creek sharp-shooters were added for 3-point or free-throw shooting. Gabby Yurik and Lauren Voss both made the single-game list with nine 3-pointers – Voss making 9 of 11 on Jan. 17 vs. Pontiac. Yurik graduated in 2012 with 234 3-pointers, good for fifth on the MHSAA career list. Rachyl Campbell made the free throw listings three times, including for her 364 career total of makes tallied from 2002-06 – good for 14th on that MHSAA list.

Boys Basketball

  • According to a newspaper report filed during the 1970 season, Houghton’s Gary Lange and Champion’s Larry Laitala chased each other in pursuit of the Upper Peninsula scoring title that winter. A 60-point game from Lange in mid-January already was part of the MHSAA record book, but Laitala’s 65-point performance against Felch a week later, on Jan. 30, is a new addition and is tied for 10th all-time. Laitala made 25 field goals and 15 of 19 free-throw attempts as Champion won 114-71.
  • Temperance Bedford senior Jackson Lamb finished his high school career ranked among the top 20 in three MHSAA categories. His 455 career free throws (in 770 attempts) rank 10th, his 889 rebounds tie for 16th and his 220 career blocked shots also rank 16th for that category.  He also scored 1,901 points over his career – finishing with career averages of 22.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
  • Lake Odessa Lakewood sophomore Colin O’Mara joined former Mr. Basketball Brad Redford of Frankenmuth among others near the top of the single-game 3-pointers list when O'Mara made 12 against Springport on Dec. 28. He tied Redford (twice) among others for third-most in one game and finished that night with 38 points total.

Hockey

  • Calumet’s Brendan Jacques found the back of the net four times – including once on a power play – over the final 9:05 of his team’s Feb. 21 game against Marquette as Calumet came back from a 2-1 deficit to win 5-2. Jacques is one of three players in the MHSAA record book to score four or more goals in a period – Ed Lyon scored four for Flint Central in a period in 1979 and Ron Rolston had six in a period for Flint Powers Catholic in 1984.

Volleyball

  • White Cloud senior setter Kaytlin Welch finished her four-year varsity career this fall with 3,178 assists, good for 13th on the MHSAA career list. She broke 900 for a season as both a sophomore and a junior, with 986 in 2010 her high total for one fall.

Football

  • Coleman running back Tim Anderson joined five others tied for ninth in MHSAA history with six rushing touchdowns in one game when he accomplished the feat in a 56-0 win over Ashley on Sept. 29. Anderson ran 22 times for 215 yards in the game.

Wrestling

  • Williamston’s Spencer Demand finished his high school career this winter with 118 escapes – good for 16th on the MHSAA list. Former teammate Paul Sawaya – a 2011 graduate – is tied for 17th with 112. 

PHOTO: Crystal Falls Forest Park's Lexi Gussert (right) goes up for a shot during the 2012 Class D Semifinals at the Breslin Center. 

MCC's Holt Ties National HBP Record

December 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Muskegon Catholic Central’s runs to the 2015 Division 4 baseball championship and 2016 Quarterfinals relied for obvious reasons on the ability to limit opponents’ hits – but also to take them.

The Crusaders set an MHSAA record in 2016 by being hit by pitches 87 times after also setting the record with 74 HBPs in 2015. Jacob Holt, who graduated this spring, tied the national record and broke the previous MHSAA record by eight with 65 times being hit by pitches over his four-season varsity career.

In addition, MCC was added to the MHSAA record book for a 1.13 team ERA and 161 stolen bases during the 2015 title run. Nicholas Holt, a senior on that team and Jacob’s brother, finished his pitching career 37-3 to make the career wins list and won 28 straight games over his final three seasons to tie for third on the list for consecutive pitching victories. Also, teammate Anthony Woodard was added for scoring 65 runs in 2015.

Nicholas Holt played this spring at Hope College, and Jacob is playing at Aquinas College. Woodard is playing at Benedictine University in Illinois.

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

Baseball

Homer’s Brock Ridgeway finished his four-year varsity career this spring on MHSAA career lists for runs scored (163), hits (184), RBI (142) and being hit by pitches (47) after being hit by 18 pitches this past season and three times in one April game. The 47 career HBP is tied for fourth-most all-time, and he also just missed the career pitching wins list with 32. Homer as a team this spring made season lists with a .354 batting average and 53 HBPs. Ridgeway is a freshman on the Central Michigan University baseball team.

A pair of senior pitching aces from the 2008 Grass Lake team that finished 34-6 and won the Division 3 championship were added for performances that season. Charlie Fisher made the ERA list at 0.96 and also had seven shutouts that spring to make the list in that category. Casey Hall was added for his 0.57 ERA. Grass Lake as a team ranks fourth for its 354 strikeouts that season. Hall went on to play at Western Michigan University and Fisher played at Hillsdale College.

Boys Basketball

Jordan Weber knocked down 73 3-pointers last season for East Jordan to finish his four-year varsity career with 278 – fifth-most in MHSAA history. He made nearly 34 percent of his 818 career attempts and averaged 17.1 points per game total as a senior.

Football

A pair of Gaylord athletes were entered for impressive scores more than 30 years ago. Kurt Kakaviska made the records for his 90-yard punt return touchdown against Petoskey in 1982, while Mark Johnston was added for two interception touchdowns in one quarter in a 1986 game, also against Petoskey. Johnston actually scored a third defensive touchdown in that same third quarter, on a fumble recovery. Kakaviska went on to play at Northern Michigan University. 

Cody Richardson played a significant part in Athens’ 12-0 shutout of Bellevue in the teams’ opener Aug. 26. Richardson, a junior, had four interceptions to tie for fourth-most in one game.

Softball

A pair of Reese hitters were added for batting prowess. Emily Schrader made the single-season hits list with 72 in 2010, while Monica Hagen – already on the single-season list with 73 in 2014 – was added to the career hits list with 209 over 132 games from 2011-14. Schrader went on to play at Delta College.

Grosse Pointe South's Grace Foster picked up her first record book listing as a sophomore this spring, hitting 19 doubles in 35 games. She hit .500 for the season.

Kennedy Kunnert joined the list of those who have hit back-to-back home runs, drilling hers out of the park for Pinckney in the first and second innings of a 12-5 loss to Hartland on May 11. Kunnert was a junior this spring.

Wrestling

Hastings coach Mike Goggins joined the group with more than 400 coaching wins last season, moving to 415-137 since taking over the program at the start of the 1998-99 season. His team finished 26-11 last winter with league and District championships. 

PHOTO: Muskegon Catholic Central's Jacob Holt watches after connecting with a pitch during the 2015 Division 4 Baseball Final.