Swan Valley Stacks Softball Feats
May 2, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Saginaw Swan Valley's softball team has played in five MHSAA Finals and won one championship over the last 30+ seasons – and now has a significant presence in the MHSAA record book as well.
Current senior Lauren Addy had 88 hits last season to tie for fourth on the single-season list for that category, and her 89 stolen bases last spring rank second for one season. Heather Pollick’s 18 home runs in 2012 are tied for third most, while Paige Churchfield’s 32 home runs from 2012-15 are tied for 13th most for a career. Churchfield (2015) and Shannon O’Toole (1991) both were added for 77 RBI in a season, tying for sixth on that list, and Crutchfield’s 187 career RBI rank 14th. Mary Berden’s 124 walks drawn from 2009-12 are second on the career list in that category, and Heather Heinlein’s 68 steals in 2001 rank 11th. Angie Sander’s 162 steals from 1991-94 are tied for 15th most for a career.
Among pitchers, Amy Gustin is tied for eighth with 31 straight wins in 1988. Jenni Rasmussen’s 0.06 ERA in 1999 ranks second, and Amber Anderson’s 0.10 in 1986 is tied for sixth while Gustin’s 0.15 during that 1988 season is tied for 10th lowest. Rasmussen’s career ERA of 0.35 is tied for fourth lowest, while Ashley Mohr’s 490 strikeouts in 2003 rank 13th for one season and her 1,204 from 2000-03 rank 15th on the career list.
Others to earn record book listings were Jenny Neiderquill, Rebecca Curtis, Summer Zeitler, Melissa Rudzinski, Amy Vedrode, Trisha Everett, Alex Ramirez and Kathi Gilbert.
Churchfield plays for Lourdes University in Ohio, while Rasmussen played at Central Michigan University, O’Toole played at Western Michigan, Ramirez played at Delta College and current senior Curtis will begin her career at Lansing Community College next season.
Read on for more recent record book additions in girls and boys basketball, football, girls soccer, softball and wrestling, and click the headings for each sport to see those record books in full.
Girls Basketball
It’s been noted a few times that Pittsford’s Jaycie Burger and Maddie Clark finished their careers as the winningest players in MHSAA girls basketball history with matching 103-2 records over the last four seasons. But they also earned a number of record book entries along the way. Burger’s name appears nine times, including for 229 career 3-pointers (10th all-time) and 605 career assists (fifth). Clark appears in the records five times, with her 1,119 career rebounds ranking 10th on that list. Junior Marissa Shaw was added for her 179 steals in 28 games this past season – which tied her for fifth most in that category. Pittsford finished a second straight undefeated season with a second straight Class D title and is riding a 55-game winning streak. Burger will play basketball next season at Hillsdale College, and Clark will play volleyball there.
Skyler DeMeyer didn’t score a point for Centreville in its 66-25 win over New Buffalo on Jan. 6 – and didn’t have to, instead making the single-game assists list with 14. DeMeyer was a senior for Centreville, which finished 19-2.
Tawas’ Morgan Kaniszewski played a major role in her team’s Class B District title run and 15-9 season, making 81 3-pointers – tied for 13th most all-time. The Braves’ junior also connected on 16 of 16 free throws in the District Final win over Gladwin, making the lists for most free throws in a game and most consecutive in a game (tying for eighth in the latter).
Boys Basketball
Opponents of Onsted through the middle seasons of this decade knew better than to challenge the Wildcats regularly in the post. Austin Davis – now at University of Michigan – graduated in 2016 with 1,078 career rebounds, fifth most in MHSAA history, and his 414 as a junior tied for 11th most in one season. Davis also graduated with 297 blocked shots, tied for eighth most on that list. Teammate Devin Louden, a 2014 graduate, is just ahead with 300 blocked shots from his three-season varsity career. Davis was 6-foot-10 in high school, while Louden was 6-8.
A pair of Okemos sharpshooters were added for their free throw and 3-point work at the start of this decade. Chris Harrison-Docks was added for 178 3-pointers, 396 free throws made and an .807 free-throw percentage from 2010-12, plus 176 free throws made during the 2011-12 season. Conner George was added for 174 free throws in 2014-15, plus an .807 percentage from 2014-16. Meanwhile, Taylor Moton – who went on to play football at Western Michigan University and was drafted by the Carolina Panthers this past weekend – was added for 342 rebounds during that 2011-12 season. Harrison-Docks finished his college career this season at DePaul after three seasons at Western Kentucky, and George plays at Michigan State after joining the team as a walk-on in 2015-16. Okemos as a team was added for scoring 75 points in a half of a 123-73 win against Mason in 1980, and three times for free throws attempts – its 633 in 2011-12 rank fifth on that list. The Chiefs also made 418 free throws that season, which ranks fourth, and are listed with Holt as part of the game tied for third-most for free throws between two teams: Okemos had 27 and Holt 36 in a 94-86 Rams win on Feb. 10 of this season. Holt’s 36 makes also made the list for most converted free throws by one team in a game.
Football
Pewamo-Westphalia followed 8,000-yard rusher Jared Smith with one of the most prolific offenses ever last fall in winning the Division 7 title. The senior running back capped his career third in points (806) and total touchdowns (124), second in rushing yards (8,182), seventh in rushing attempts (808) and with the records for career rushing touchdowns (123) and consecutive 100-yard rushing games (33 from 2014-2016). The Pirates scored 645 points, 13th most all-time, while running for 4,067 yards and amassing 5,027 total yards with 81 touchdowns including 68 rushing. The Pirates became the first entry in a number of recently-added team offense categories and moved to the top of the list for interceptions in one game with eight in a win over Potterville. They also joined the list of teams with at least 19 straight winning seasons by posting their 21st consecutive, giving them the fifth-longest streak in the state. In addition to Smith’s numerous individual entries, teammates Devon Pung (29 tackles for losses), Mason Schneider (three interception touchdown returns in one season) and Reece Platte (10 extra points in one game, against Bath) also were added. Pung and Platte also are seniors, and Schneider is a junior. Smith will continue this fall at Michigan Tech.
Girls Soccer
Fruitport Calvary Christian’s Brianna Zehr made a four-year impact before graduating in 2014. She had 42 goals that season to make the single-season scoring list, and 101 total over four seasons to make the career list as well. Zehr went on to play at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois.
Softball
Blissfield senior Brooke Henning made the MHSAA single-season home runs list both with 14 last spring as a junior and 11 as a freshman. Those 25 combined alone (not counting her sophomore total) also would put her on the career list; she is finishing this spring and will play collegiately at Grand Valley State.
Wrestling
Brandon Garcia never made the MHSAA single-season wins list, but finished his four-season varsity career in 2016 with 213 and only 14 losses after winning at least 50 matches all four of his seasons. Garcia also made the career pins list with 130. He finished as an MHSAA Finals runner-up twice.
PHOTO: Saginaw Swan Valley’s Lauren Addy scores a run during last season’s Division 2 Quarterfinal against Escanaba. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
West Michigan Stars Set High Bars
July 18, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Grand Rapids area was loaded with star senior girls lacrosse players this spring, with Ada Forest Hills Eastern’s Erin Kloostra and Grand Rapids Christian’s Kate DeYoung among those closing impressive careers.
Playing for Forest Hills United, Kloostra capped her four seasons with 58 goals and 76 assists and career totals of 212 goals, 276 assists and 488 points over 92 games. She had set the single-season assists record of 99 in 2018 and now owns the career assists record. She had 14 points in an April 29 game against Grand Rapids Catholic Central, which tied for second-most points in one game, and her career points currently also rank second. Kloostra will continue at University of Vermont.
DeYoung finished a four-year varsity career among the all-time leading scorers. She made the records with 81 goals this season – her third entry for single-season goals – and finished with 252 for her career, which are tied for ninth most. Her 337 career points also rank ninth. She will continue at University of Detroit Mercy.
See below for more recent record book additions in girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, boys tennis and volleyball, and click on the headings to see those record books in full.
Girls Lacrosse
A pair of Caledonia standouts were added, one for offense and the other for goal play. Another west Michigan senior Kendall Schneider made the single-season goals list with 63 and also had seven in a game against Grand Haven. Junior goalie Grace DeRidder was added for 153 saves on the season and 16 against Holland West Ottawa. Schneider will continue at Niagara University in New York.
Additionally for Forest Hills United, senior Molly Mullett – a student at Forest Hills Northern – was added for 67 goals this spring.
Boys Lacrosse
West Bloomfield senior Nick Long earned a pair of entries May 13 against Bay City Central. He had nine goals, plus an assist for 10 total points, to lead his team to a 15-1 win. The nine goals tied for seventh most in one game.
Jenison sophomore Michael Care put himself in the record book five times this spring, most notably with 71 goals and 107 points over 19 games. Care also was added for single-game totals of seven goals, five assists and 10 points.
Ada Forest Hills Eastern’s march to a Division 2 runner-up finish was led in part by a handful of underclassmen, including sophomore attack John Morgan. Morgan was added to the record book 13 times for accomplishments over his first two seasons, including for 83 goals and 124 points this spring, eight goals in a game three times and 41 assists both years. He’s also already made the career points list with 205 after two seasons. Sophomore Sam Bowen earned three record book entries including for six assists and 11 points during a single game against Chelsea and 93 points total for the season. Sophomore Kevin Sprague made the records for games of seven goals against East Grand Rapids and five assists against Ovid-Elsie. Senior Brandon Pham closed his career with a pair of saves entries – he had 22 against Detroit Catholic Central on April 25 and 184 on the season, the latter ranking 18th all-time.
Softball
Reese Ruhlman capped a stellar four-year career by leading North Branch to its first Semifinals this spring, and she ended with 13 record book entries. She made career lists with 196 runs scored, 257 hits (tied for 10th all-time), 58 doubles (tied for 18th), 43 home runs (tied for 12th) and 194 RBI (tied for 16th) over 149 games. Her 76 runs scored as a junior tied for 11th most, while her 19 doubles in 2018 tied for eighth and her 73 RBI that season tied for 16th. She will continue her career at University of Detroit Mercy.
Three Rivers has enjoyed one of the most impressive two-year runs of offense in MHSAA history, making the record book 12 times as a team during either 2018 or this spring. The 2018 team finished 37-4 with 499 hits (eighth all-time), 112 doubles (second), 53 home runs (third), 392 RBI (second) and a .431 batting average (11th). This spring’s most notable achievements were 57 homers (second) and 368 RBI (sixth). Sophomore Kali Heivilin has led the way; she set the runs scored record this spring with 88, two more than Rogers City’s Logan Fleming scored in 2015. Heivilin’s 19 home runs this spring are tied for eighth most and her 37 over two seasons put her on the career list already in that category, while her 72 RBI as a freshman are tied for 18th most for one season. Four more Three Rivers players also earned record book accolades over the last two seasons: Erin Brady for 21 doubles in 2019 and Kylee Nash and Halle Carpenter both with 18 doubles in 2018, and Amy Jo Tavernier with 11 homers that spring. Brady was a senior this season, Nash was a junior, Carpenter graduated in 2018 and plays at Hope College and Tavernier also was a senior in 2018 and plays at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. Additionally, Libby Judsen now sits atop the record list for most hit-by-pitches in one game with four against Marshall when she was a senior in 2017.
Boys Tennis
The retirement of longtime Allegan coach Gary Ellis after 45 seasons during the winter was accompanied by a number of additions to the MHSAA record book from his tenure, swelling the number of Allegan individual entries to 111. Among the most notable of recent additions was Kody Harrington for 37 wins last fall and 131 for his career – the latter ranking fourth all-time. He also finished with 45 wins by scores of 6-0, 6-0, to rank fourth in that category. Zach Lang built a 38-2 doubles record last fall and Zach Sisson came in at 37-2, with Korbin Sisson and Lukas Vlietstra both coming in with 36 wins. Zach Sisson graduated with a 131-16 record over four seasons, ranking fifth all-time on the doubles wins list, and Curt Woodhams and Matt Nooney took over the 10th spot going 105-16 from 2001-04. Vlietstra also became the first listing for doubles wins by 6-0, 6-0, with 21 of those victories, and Sisson was added to the career tournaments won list with 19, as was Mark Chappell (1986-89). Harrington, Lang and Vlietstra also were seniors last season, joining Zach Sisson, and Korbin Sisson will be a junior this fall.
Volleyball
Muskegon Catholic Central setter Amelia Heminger finished her three-year varsity run last fall making the career assists list with 2,524. She also was added for 51 assists in a five-game match against Big Rapids Crossroads in 2017, and she tied for third on the single-match aces list with 20 against Fruitport Calvary Christian over three games also that season.
PHOTOS: Forest Hills' Erin Kloostra, left, and Grand Rapids Christian's Kate DeYoung were among lacrosse standouts from the Grand Rapids area over the last four seasons. (Submitted photos.)