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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.)

Shores' Title Tide Rolls to Record Book

July 24, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A spring that saw Muskegon Mona Shores accomplish its first perfect regular season in school history and first District title since 2007 has been followed up with entries for three players in the MHSAA record book.

Junior Sarah Mikesell was added for 40 goals and 55 points, while sophomore Raegan Cox was added for 30 assists and 59 points. Junior keeper Megan Swanker was added for 15 shutouts, and the team was entered for 10 straight shutouts over the latter half of the season. The Sailors finished 21-1, their only loss to Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central in a Regional Semifinal.

Click to see where they rank in the girls soccer record book as a whole, and read on for more recent record additions for football, boys soccer, softball, boys and girls tennis and wrestling.

Football

The offense's rise during a season-ending three-game winning streak got Eben Junction Superior Central into the 8-player record book with multiple listings. The Cougars put together 653 yards of total offense in an Oct. 15 84-54 win over Ewen-Trout Creek, and totaled 618 yards in downing Baraga 62-8 six days later. Superior Central ran for a record 611 yards against Baraga and total for 3,037 yards last season. Against Ewen-Trout Creek, the Cougars set records with 51 rushing attempts and 12 touchdowns in one game. They ran for eight touchdowns in that game and also in a 68-22 win over Michigan School for the Deaf on Oct. 8. Superior Central’s defense also earned an entry with five interceptions against Ewen-Trout Creek. Individually, sophomore Beau Rondeau made the single-game rushing touchdown list with six in that win.

Chase Brown’s passing prowess last fall earned him multiple entries for single game and season feats. The Comstock Park junior-to-be made single-game lists with 29 completions (in 49 attempts) for 495 yards and six touchdowns passing in a Sept. 16 loss to Allendale. He finished the season with 181 completions in 300 attempts for 2,286 yards and 19 touchdowns passing. Teammate Hunter Spence made the receptions list with 65 last fall, and Jo Jo Whitley was added for a 95-yard kickoff return against Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Oct. 7. Spence and Whitley will be seniors this fall.

Boys Soccer

A pair of recent Leland standouts were added after four-season careers that saw them rank in multiple MHSAA categories. Recent graduate Noah Fetterolf was added in part for 106 career goals and 160 career points, while 2016 grad Mike Osorio made the single-season points list with 57 as a senior and the career points list with 136. Osorio plays at Adrian College and Fetterolf will continue this fall at Davenport University.

Softball

Linden enjoyed a record-setting season offensively in finishing 23-17, with a number of accomplishments making the MHSAA records. The Eagles made the all-time lists with 493 hits, 39 home runs, 313 RBI and 100 doubles – the doubles rank third all-time, while the hits rank seventh and the home runs eighth. Elizabeth Rakowski made the hitting streak record list for the second time, stringing together hits in 29 straight games from April 20-May 25, and she also made season lists with 71 hits, 16 doubles and 10 home runs. Teammate Ashley Bertschy made the doubles list with 17 this spring, while Sterling DeGayner and Elle Klocek earned entries by hitting back-to-back home runs in May games and Klocek as well for six RBI in that game and 10 homers total this season. DeGayner was one of two seniors on the team and the only one of those mentioned above; she’ll play basketball at Cornerstone University. 

Saginaw Valley Lutheran senior Adrian Hildebrant finished her career this spring making the MHSAA records with 210 career hits and 47 doubles over four seasons, plus for her 18 doubles as a sophomore in 2015. She was joined by 2012 grad Sarah Appold, who had three previous entries for strikeouts in a game and was added for 991 over her four-season career. Saginaw Valley Lutheran as a team was added for 62 doubles in 2016 and 444 pitching strikeouts in 2012. Appold went on to play at Saginaw Valley State University.

Lansing Waverly catcher Madeline Stump was added for her 76 hits as a sophomore in 2016. She hit .618 over 35 games that spring.

Boys Tennis

A successful decade of Novi tennis led to a number of entries, highlighted by two-time MHSAA Finals singles champion Koushik Kondapi – he made the single-season wins list three times including twice with a high of 35, ranks fourth with 127 wins for his career from 2012-15, and also earned three other listings including for 25 career tournaments won. Alex Wen’s 36-0 record in 2014 earned him listings for single-season wins and consecutive wins, while Tim Wang (34-1 in 2013), Pavan Rao (34-1 in 2012) and Maxx Anderson (32-5 in 2013) also made the single-season wins list. A total of 18 pairs were added to the single-season wins list for doubles, led by Anderson and Daniel Yu with a 33-3 record in 2014. Others added once or more were Michael Chang, Nishant Kakar, Shashank Chitta, Kevin Xu, Aakash Ray, Nayan Makim, Jon Thompson, Andrew Ying, Sai Gotur, Abhishek Subash, Bill Bell, Alex Brizard, Jason Carless, David Mehl, Raymond Wen, Aditya Chitta, Robert Chen, Chaitanya Kanitkar, Vishnu Venugopal, Chris Kwederis, Ryan Krawec, Nathan Farooq, Nikhil Devarakonda and Greg Richard. Carless was added for a 101-16 career doubles record and Anderson was 91-10 in three seasons playing doubles. Wang plays at Columbia University.

Girls Tennis

A number of Novi standouts also were added to the girls tennis records, including Diana Ticu for 31 straight singles wins in 2003. Emily Holt (104-17 from 2001-04), Colene Brockman (101-13 from 2000-03), Lauren Thomas (89-17 from 2001-04) and Jenna Snyder (84-23 from 2008-11) all were added for career doubles wins.

Wrestling

Walled Lake Central standout Ben Freeman graduated this spring as the most recent of 22 four-time MHSAA Finals champions. He also finished 167-0 over his career, his streak ranking eighth for most consecutive victories. He’ll continue his career at University of Michigan.

PHOTO: Muskegon Mona Shores soccer players hold their District title trophy this spring. (Photo by Tim Reilly.)