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.)
Kennedy Completes Record Power Surge
September 11, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan has a new softball career home run leader.
Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard’s Julia Kennedy hit 22 this spring – tied for third most in a season – to finish her four-year career with 55 homers over 125 games. That’s one more home run than Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse’s Brooke Nadolny, who will enter her senior season in 2019 with 54.
Kennedy also was added for 18 doubles this season, and freshman teammate Savannah Wing made that list with 22. Kennedy will continue her career at Miami University of Ohio.
See below for more recent record book entries in softball and football, and click the headings to see those record books in full.
Football
A handful of teams made the move from 11 to 8-player football for the 2009 season, making Nick Zaleski’s performance of Oct. 10 of that season one the earliest to grab headlines in the new format. Zaleski scored 11 touchdowns – nine rushing and two on kickoff returns – to lead Owendale-Gagetown to a 90-52 win over Posen. He also gained 431 yards rushing on 21 carries.
Grant Dittmer grabbed four interceptions in an Oct. 23, 2015, win over Mesick to help Bay City All Saints clinch its first playoff berth at the time since 2010. Those interceptions are tied for fourth most in one game (three players grabbed five in a game).
Auburn Hills Avondale enjoyed three highlight-reel returns that made the MHSAA records in 2017. Derrick Hinton Jr. produced two of them – a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown against Troy on Aug. 24 and a 97-yard punt return touchdown against Macomb Lutheran North on Oct. 20. Zeke Ringstaff also added to the scoring in that Week 9 win over Lutheran North that put Avondale into the playoffs – he brought back a fumble 100 yards for a score. Hinton’s kickoff return and Ringstaff’s return tied MHSAA records. Both are seniors this fall.
Softball
Anna Dixon closed her Farmington Hills Mercy career this spring on career lists with 177 runs, 226 hits and 42 doubles. She also made the hitting streak list with at least one in 33 straight games from May 12, 2017, through May 5 of this spring. Dixon will continue her career at Hillsdale College.
Pinckney’s Elizabeth Kramer hit her way nearly to the top of one of the longest category lists for any sport in the MHSAA record book, knocking 28 doubles as a sophomore in 2017. That total ranks third all-time for one season. Kramer is a senior this fall.
Brownstown Woodhaven’s Alyssa Harris capped her four-year varsity career this spring with 46 doubles, 27 homers and 150 RBI over 137 games. She’s continuing her career at University of Findlay.
Tessa Nuss’ junior season for Lake Orion was one of the most impressive in MHSAA history. She hit .654 this spring with 89 hits and 79 runs scored – the hits were the fourth most all-time and the runs tied for sixth most in one season. Nuss will sign with Binghamton University in New York.
Faith Howe capped her four-year Beaverton career this spring on the strikeouts list with 1,037, which included a career-high 397 in 2017 when she went 34-4. Teammate Ann-Marie Hicks was added for 42 career doubles over her four-year run with the Beavers, and senior Amaya Ware was added for six RBI in a game this April against Breckenridge. Howe also was added for three homers – including two consecutive – against Pinconning in May. Beaverton made team record lists going 38-4 in 2017 with 68 doubles, 250 RBI and 432 pitching strikeouts. Howe is continuing her career at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, and Hicks will continue at St. Clair County Community College.
Averi Munro completed an incredible four-year career in 2016 among the MHSAA’s best all-time in a number of categories. The Morrice standout earned 25 record book entries. Her 81 runs scored in 2015 rank fourth, her 266 career runs are third, her 271 career hits are tied for fifth, her 67 career doubles rank eighth, her 93 RBI in 2016 came in fourth, while her 287 career RBI are second most and her .630 career batting average ranks fourth as well. She continuing her career at Alma College.
PHOTO: Gabriel Richard’s Julia Kennedy powers through a pitch this spring. (Photo courtesy of the Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard softball program.)