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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.)

Lund Leads Leland Scoring Charge

April 23, 2019

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Leland’s run to the Division 4 championship this past fall came in part thanks to one of the highest-scoring offenses of all-time.

The Comets scored 157 goals – third-most all-time. Senior Cobe Lund capped his career with 42 goals and 63 points. He played two seasons at Leland after two at Traverse City West and also made career scoring lists with 139 points and 49 assists over four seasons.

Defense played a key part in Leland’s success, of course – sophomore keeper Gavin Miller made the shutouts list with 16 in the fall, and the team had 17 total.

See below for more recent record book updates in boys soccer, ice hockey, girls lacrosse and volleyball. Click on the headings to see those record books in full.

Ice Hockey

Bay City John Glenn senior Cole Parks scored an incredible three goals over 17 seconds against Grand Blanc on Nov. 28, breaking the previous record for fastest three goals by six seconds. Parks played for the Bay Area Thunder, a co-op program with athletes from six schools. He scored with 5:19, 5:10 and 5:02 left in the first period. The three goals also count as the second-fastest three scored by one team, and a fourth goal scored 1:20 before Parks’ hat trick by Justin Raymond gave the Thunder four goals in 1:37 – third on the list for four goals scored over the shortest amount of time.

Nolan Lockhart also joined the fastest three goals list with three for Lowell/Caledonia over 30 seconds against Chelsea on Jan. 7. The senior scored his at 2:41, 2:22 and 2:11 of the second period of a 4-3 overtime win. His string was the third fastest for three scores.

Novi as a team broke the record for fastest four goals, netting them over 1:07 in a win over Canton on Jan. 29. Evan Chippa started the run with 5:10 left in the first period, with Ryan Pinho scoring 10 seconds later, Tanish Nichanametla scoring at 4:28 and Isaac Gibbs finishing the streak at 4:03. The first three goals, over 42 seconds, made the record book list in that category.

Girls Lacrosse

DeWitt’s Alexa Beyer earned her first two record book entries last spring as a sophomore, for seven goals in a game against East Lansing and 53 for the season. Teammate Sarai Canales, then a junior, was added for five assists in a game against Huron Valley United, and then-senior goalie Julianna Harrison was added for 198 saves – the fifth most in MHSAA history. Beyer has committed to play collegiately at St. Bonaventure University.

Boys Soccer

Ithaca keeper Riley Vernon had 306 saves over 18 games in the fall, 14th most for a single season. He had a high of 31 on Oct. 3 against Alma.

Berkley finished 19-4-3 this past fall, making the MHSAA team shutouts list with 15 over those 26 games. Senior keeper Spencer Meade was added for 13 of those 15 shutouts. Berkley also was added for its 5-5 tie with Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, which tied for the third highest-scoring tie in MHSAA history.

Dowagiac’s Cristian Wilson joined the single-game scoring list with six goals in his team’s 7-0 win over Parchment on Aug. 30. Wilson is a junior.

Brett Robinson finished his successful four-year career in net in 2017, leaving Marysville on career MHSAA lists with 645 saves and 37 shutouts over 93 games. He had 13 shutouts his senior season. Robinson plays now at Ashland University.

Volleyball

Kaitlyn Bricker finished her sophomore season in 2017 with a pair of record book entries for sharp serving. Now a junior, Bricker had 13 aces during a three-set Oct. 10 match against Mancelona and finished the season with 127 aces total.

PHOTO: Leland’s Cobe Lund (17) pushes the ball upfield during his team’s Division 4 Final win over Ann Arbor Greenhills last fall.