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.)
Lancers Creuse with Record Hitting
August 17, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
A pair of powerful hitters led Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse into the MHSAA softball record book this spring in a number of offensive categories – and with a junior slugger is on the verge of another milestone with a season to play.
As a team, the Lancers had 384 hits, 79 doubles, 49 home runs and 274 RBI over 37 games – the home runs tied for third most all-time. Junior Brooke Nadolny continued her chase of MHSAA single-season and career home run records – her 26 homers this season tied 26 by Schoolcraft’s Lydia Goble, also this spring, to set the single-season record, and Nadolny’s three homers in consecutive at bats against Grosse Pointe South on April 26 tied for third on that list. She’s up to 54 home runs after her first three seasons and will enter next spring needing just one more to tie the career record in that category.
Meanwhile, senior teammate Sammi Mills – who will continue her career next season at Central Michigan University – was added for 227 career hits, 20 doubles this season and 61 for career, and 22 career home runs.
Nadolny also ranks on the career doubles list with 39 and was added for 15 strikeouts pitching in a five-inning game against Roseville on June 1. Sophomore Cynthia Galvan was added for back-to-back home runs in her final at bat against Roseville and first against St. Clair Shores Lake Shore, both June 1, and Abby Rusek, a 2015 graduate, was added for 19 doubles in 2014.
Click to see the softball record book in full, and read on for more recent record book additions in girls and boys basketball, football, boys lacrosse, boys soccer and volleyball.
Girls Basketball
Grand Haven’s run to consecutive Class A championships in 2012 and 2013 were part of an overall three-season run of 81-2 – made possible by a talented roster including a pair of record-smashing standouts. Abby Cole was a Miss Basketball Award finalist as a senior in 2013 and graduated with 11 entries among the individual record book lists – her 17 blocks in a 2012-13 game against Holland Christian are tied for fourth most in a game, her 233 that season rank third on that list and her 536 over four seasons (but playing only three varsity games as a freshman) are fifth most for a career. Alex Law, a four-season player who finished in 2012, earned entries for 65 3-pointers as a senior, 207 for her career, an .882 free-throw percentage (tied for seventh highest) as a sophomore and a career .845 (third highest) free-throw percentage over 98 games. Cole went on to play volleyball at University of Michigan, and Law played basketball at Davenport University. As a team, Grand Haven owns the eighth-longest winning streak of all-time at 57 games, from Dec. 30, 2011, through Jan. 3, 2014.
Boys Basketball
Indian River Inland Lakes clinched a Class C District title on March 9 with a 70-60 victory over Harbor Springs – aided by making 35 of 39 free-throw attempts. Those 35 free throws made rank 15th for most by one team in a single game.
Malik Ellison gave the crowd at Flint Beecher one more thrill in his final home game Feb. 28, 2017, setting a Flint-area record with 63 points in a 108-104 loss to New Haven. Ellison’s total is tied for 14th on the single-game scoring list. He plays now at Eastern Michigan University.
Football
Grosse Pointe South kicker Cameron Shook contributed to an all-state campaign last season with a 54-yard field goal Aug. 31 against Utica. He is continuing his football career this fall for Navy.
Boys Lacrosse
Tecumseh’s first trip to the MHSAA Quarterfinals – and a 20-1 record – understandably were keyed by a number of contributors offensively and in goal. The Indians set an MHSAA team record with 366 goals as Dylan Day scored 104, second all-time, with his 163 total points ranking third. Senior Drake Ringer had 125 points, 11th most all-time, including 72 assists (second) with a record 11 assists in a win over Temperance Bedford on May 14. Dylan Day’s 59 assists rank sixth and freshman Blake Day’s 54 assists sit 10th on that single-season list. With a season to play, Day sits second on the career lists for goals (252) and overall points (383). Junior goalie Kobe Jennings also added to his list of record book entries, including with four more shutouts to tie his record set in 2017. His eight career shutouts over two seasons also is a record.
Brothers Garnet Potter and Reece Potter led Hartland’s offensive efforts the last two seasons in record book fashion. Garnet was added for 64 goals and 97 points as a senior in 2017, and Reese was added for 57 assists and 115 points this spring as a junior in addition to 80 points in 2017 as a sophomore. Reece’s assists this spring rank seventh all-time. Hartland scored 317 goals in 2018 and 337 in 2017.
Then-senior Joey Billette scored a career-high nine goals April 16, 2015, in Bay City Western’s 14-2 win over Saginaw Heritage. That total remains tied for seventh on the single-game scoring list.
Boys Soccer
Aidan Day set an Alpena record and made the MHSAA list as well with six goals (and an assist) in his team’s 8-0 win over Oscoda last Aug. 28. Day is a senior this fall.
Volleyball
Kayla Sauers’ back-to-back record-book setting performances helped Lake Odessa Lakewood into the Class B championship match last November. Sauers, then a senior, had 60 assists in a five-game Quarterfinal match win over Niles – those 60 tied for 10th most in a match since the start of rally scoring in 2004-05. She then followed with 47 assists in a four-game Semifinal win over Livonia Ladywood. She’s continuing her career at Cornerstone University.
PHOTO: L’Anse Creuse’s Sammi Mills begins her move toward the plate. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)