Sault's LaCross Ties National HBP Record
June 9, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nick LaCross got on base more than half the times he appeared at the plate for Sault Ste. Marie this spring, with an on-base percentage of .531.
He had 29 hits – and also was hit 29 times by pitches, setting an MHSAA record and tying the national record set in 1965.
LaCross, a junior, was hit by pitches three times in two games. Teammate Travis Zaborowski joined him on the hit-by-pitch record list, also getting hit by pitches three times in a game. As a team, Sault Ste. Marie tied for 11th on the MHSAA single-season HBP list with 53.
Click to see all of the MHSAA record book for baseball and below for the rest of this week’s record additions for girls basketball, boys basketball, boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball and wrestling.
Girls Basketball
- A pair of the state’s most successful coaches over the last two decades were added to the coaching list with more than 300 wins to their credit. Houghton’s Julie Filpus has a 345-55 record since taking over in 1999 and led teams that made MHSAA Semifinals in 2006 and 2013 and won the Class C championship in 2005. Houghton finished 19-6 this season.
- Doug Harkema led Bellevue to a 16-5 finish in 1993, then took over Holt the following fall and won 290 games toward his career record of 306-186. His teams have won nine District titles and reached Regional Semifinals four seasons. The Rams finished 15-8 this winter.
Boys Basketball
- It took 25 years to get his due in the MHSAA record book, but Blissfield’s Greg Denecker has been added for 1,006 rebounds during his career stretching from 1987-90. His total ranks 11th and would’ve ranked seventh when he graduated from high school. Denecker went on to play at the University of Findlay.
- DeShawn Brocks led Detroit Westside Christian Academy to a 13-7 record this winter supplying both offensive and defensive prowess. The senior scored 21 points per game, and also made the MHSAA record listings with 102 steals. He had a season-high 11 steals in a 70-48 win over Detroit University Prep Science & Math; that total made the single-game MHSAA list for that category.
- Owosso senior Jalen Weekley finished his career among the sharpest shooters in MHSAA history, drilling at least 70 3-pointers for the second time in three seasons to finish his career with 192. Weekley had a high of 72 as a sophomore, his first season on the varsity. He will continue his basketball career this fall at Mid-Michigan Community College.
Boys Lacrosse
- Zachary Montgomery nearly outscored his team’s opponent himself on April 21, putting eight goals in the net to lead Spring Lake to a 22-9 win over Lowell. Montgomery also had an assist in the game and was one of his team’s leading scorers this season.
Girls Soccer
- Danielle Eastman finished her Brooklyn Columbia Central career in Saturday’s Division 3 District Final – and among the leading scorers in MHSAA history. Her 84 points this season – on 63 goals and 21 assists – tied an MHSAA record set in 2014 by Leland’s Libby Munoz. Eastman finished third on the career points list with 216 over her four-season varsity career, with her 63 goals this season and 167 for her career also ranking third on those lists. She scored in 26 straight games including all 23 this season and dating to the final three of 2014. Eastman has signed to continue at Siena Heights University.
Softball
- Brooklyn Columbia Central’s Abbey Hatler had a strong performance against East Jackson on May 3 – in fact, she had an incredibly productive inning. Hatler finished 2 for 2 in the game, scoring three runs, and drove in six – enough to make the MHSAA list for RBI in one game. She also became the first entry for RBI in one inning – all six came during the first, when she had a grand slam and a double.
Wrestling
- New Baltimore Anchor Bay coach Jim Morisette won the 600th match of his career this season as his team finished 37-1, its best record in his 24 seasons of guidance. Morisette is 609-200 total after coaching Algonac from 1986-89 and then at Anchor Bay beginning with the 1991-92 season. The Tars advanced this winter to the MHSAA Division 2 Semifinals, losing by just a point to eventual runner-up Hartland.
PHOTO: Sault Ste. Marie's Nick LaCross reacts after getting hit by a pitch this season, one of 29 pitches that made contact with him as he tied a national record. (Photo courtesy of Sault Ste. Marie athletic department.)
Baker-to-Watters Sets Record Book Pace for Lansing Catholic Football
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 6, 2022
Lansing Catholic finished the 2021 football season as 11-player Division 6 champion at Ford Field, and the Cougars offense was paced the last two seasons by a standout quarterback and receiver who both made the MHSAA record book for single-season and career accomplishments.
Joey Baker was added for 2,536 yards passing this past season, with 162 completions on 294 attempts and 28 touchdowns through the air. He made the career passing lists with 4,153 yards over 13 games.
Senior receiver Alex Watters was added for 1,193 yards receiving on 77 catches; his 2,949 yards receiving over 40 games ranks sixth for a career, his 161 catches are ninth on that stat list and his 38 TD receptions rank ninth as well.
Senior kicker Jonah Richards was added for making 49 extra points and he finished his career with 156 (in 167 tries), good for 12th on that list. Additionally, junior Brandon Lewis was added for his 262 receiving yards in a Sept. 2 game against Williamston.
Baker will continue at Hope College and Watters will be a preferred walk-on at Michigan State.
See below for more recent additions to the 11-player football record book.
11-Player Football
DeWitt’s run to the Division 3 championship game for the second-straight season this past fall came again with big numbers from senior quarterback Tyler Holtz, senior receiver Tommy McIntosh and senior kicker Brandon Soltis. Holtz threw for 2,885 yards to finish his two-season varsity career with 5,311, and he tossed 41 touchdown passes to finish with 76 over 25 varsity games. The 41 TD passes tied for eighth-most in one season. McIntosh had 1,328 yards and 22 TDs receiving and finished his three-season varsity career with 140 catches, 2,696 yards and 44 receiving touchdowns. His career yardage is 11th on that list, his 22 touchdowns last fall tied for fourth-most for a single season and his career receiving scores rank second. Soltis connected on 74 more extra points to finish with 152 in 163 attempts over three seasons; both totals rank among the top 15 on their respective lists. As a team, DeWitt was added for scoring 635 points and piling up 6,055 total yards and 89 total touchdowns over 14 games. Holtz will continue at Brown, and McIntosh will play next at Wisconsin.
A pair of Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice athletes have been added for tying the records for longest kick and interception returns. Rocco Milia brought back an interception from deep in the end zone – officially 100 yards – against Detroit Country Day on Oct. 23, 2020. Cole Lacanaria returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown last Oct. 15 against Traverse City Central. Milia was a senior in 2020-21 and now plays at Columbia in New York, and Lacanaria has signed with Lawrence Tech.
Gladwin’s perfect regular season in the fall included three performances that made the records. Junior Anna Seebeck made the single-season extra points list, connecting on 60 of 69 tries over 10 games. The Flying Gs also twice made the total offense list as a team, with 611 yards against Clare and 603 against Shepherd, both in victories.
On Sept. 10, Belding’s Owen Meinke pulled in a deflected Wyoming Kelloggsville pass deep into his team’s end zone and ran down the right sideline the length of the field for a 100-yard interception return touchdown to also tie the MHSAA record. Meinke is a junior.
Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior Cole Giesige also returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, on Oct. 15 against Petersburg Summerfield.
Ethan Schumaker got all of a punt during a Nov. 7, 2020, playoff game against Traverse City St. Francis. The Harbor Springs then-senior sent it 71 yards, including nearly 60 in the air, as the Gladiators took over possession from their 6-yard-line. Schumaker is punting at Michigan Tech.
Senior Bryce Stanley got off to a fast start last fall, catching 11 passes for 239 yards and four touchdowns in Carson City-Crystal’s win over Fowler. The yardage and TDs made single-game lists.
Clinton Township Chippewa Valley’s Cephus Harris and Grosse Pointe South’s Will Johnson both put up record book performances in Chippewa Valley’s 49-37 win Oct. 8. Harris made the record book scoring seven touchdowns – four rushing, two receiving and one on a kickoff return. Johnson made the receiving yardage list with 238. Harris ended up putting together one of the highest-scoring seasons in 11-player history, scoring 36 touchdowns with one two-point conversion for 218 points – making the lists for both single-season points and TDs. A senior, he’s signed with Youngstown State and Johnson signed with Michigan. Additionally for Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, it has submitted the game with the fewest first downs given up in 2021, allowing only two to Troy on Oct. 29.
Charlotte’s Braden Hill scored the first points of his team’s 60-21 win over Lake Odessa Lakewood on a 77-yard kickoff return Oct. 15, and he was just getting started. Hill also returned two more kickoffs for touchdowns, both 80 yards, to tie the record for kickoff return touchdowns in one game. Hill is a junior.
PHOTO Lansing Catholic’s Alex Watters surges forward as a Warren Michigan Collegiate defender brings him down during November’s Division 6 Final. (Click for more from Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)