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.)
Zeroes Land Kemp With Troy Athens' Heroes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 17, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For the second-straight season this fall, Troy Athens boys soccer goalkeeper Jason Kemp made the list for shutouts – this time totaling 15 on the way to leading his team to the Division 1 title.
Kemp also made the MHSAA career shutouts list finishing his three seasons on varsity with 32, the final 31 coming over the last two years (and 45 games) as the fulltime starter.
Troy Athens as a team was added to the single-season shutouts list as well thanks to Kemp’s 15 this fall.
Click to see the boys soccer record book in full, and check out more recent record book listings below for 8-player football, girls lacrosse, boys soccer and volleyball.
Burr Oak tied its best regular-season record this fall in 10 seasons of playing 8-player football, with a number of standouts leading the way to the 5-4 finish. Three made the record book – junior Matthew Greene with six fumble recoveries, junior Damion Ultz with four touchdown receptions in a Week 8 loss to Climax-Scotts, and senior Dustin Musall for five sacks in a Week 1 win over Big Rapids Crossroads.
Powers North Central handed Pickford its only loss this season 20-14 on Sept. 14 in part thanks to six interceptions, a new high for 8-player football. Ian Gorzinski led with three.
Pickford set an 8-player record with 10 rushing touchdowns in an 80-26 win Sept. 21 over Eben Junction Superior Central. Seven Pickford players ran for at least one score.
Bridgman senior Donnie Necas needed just four receptions Aug. 27 against North Adams-Jerome to make the record book for most receiving yards in a game. He gained 230 yards, including a long catch of 90, in the Bees’ 56-16 win.
Girls Lacrosse
Hartland’s trek to the Division 1 Semifinals this spring was keyed by a number of standouts, including three who put up numbers that made the record book. Elena Salazar built on an excellent sophomore season in 2017 with 106 goals, 41 assists and a total of 147 points, making the single-season lists in all three categories and also the career goals (181) and points (260) lists with a season to play. Now-junior Abigail Trosin also made all three single-season lists with 75 goals, 40 assists and 115 points, and now-senior Emma Donahue was added for 73 goals and 98 total points. As a team, Hartland scored 386 goals – good for third-most all-time – over 21 games. Donahue will continue her career after high school for University of Detroit Mercy, and Salazar has committed to Hope College.
Wixom St. Catherine’s Maeve Burke enjoyed a memorable, and busy, sophomore season in net this spring. She made the goalkeeper saves record lists five times, with highs of 19 saves in games against Walled Lake Northern and Royal Oak and 188 saves total over 17 games. Her top single-game saves performances tied for ninth on that list, while her season saves were eighth all-time.
Boys Soccer
Holland Christian lost only once this fall, in its Regional Final, and along the way tied the record for fewest goals given up in one season allowing just five. The Maroons also made record book lists with 17 shutouts and 11 straight; they didn’t allow a goal this season until their 12th game Sept. 25.
Volleyball
Angie Swiderek concluded a standout career at Cheboygan this fall, in the process earning an entry in the MHSAA record book with 30 kills over a three-set sweep of Grayling on Nov. 6. Additionally, her coach Kris Jewell was added after surpassing 500 career wins. Jewell began her varsity head coaching career at Utica Eisenhower during the 1998-99 winter season, leaving after one and then taking over Cheboygan in 2002-03. She has a 513-307-66 record after this fall’s 18-17-4 finish.
Karlee Plamondon and Randi Stone were aces for Ludington against Muskegon Heights Academy during a three-set sweep Sept. 18, 2018. Plamondon had the second-most aces in a game, 19, and her 21 for the match rank third all-time. Stone had 17 aces for the match, tying for ninth most. Stone was a senior last year, and Plamondon is a senior this fall.
Vermontville Maple Valley junior Keilyn Carpenter made the single-season kills list this fall with 690 over 121 sets, including 34 in a four-set win over Lansing Christian on Oct. 15. Both made the records lists; her 106 aces this fall fell just shy of qualifying in that category.
PHOTO: Troy Athens keeper Jason Kemp gathers the ball during this fall's Division 1 Final.