Troy's MacDonald Rises Up Record Ranks

July 24, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Troy’s Morgan MacDonald continued to build her standing this spring as one of the state’s top girls lacrosse players – while moving into the ranks of the best in this state all-time.

The senior-to-be moved up the career lists for goals, assists and points during her junior season, and also earned her first MHSAA record.

MacDonald had six goals and eight assists against Royal Oak on May 15 to set the single-game points record at 14. She owns 25 entries in the record book after three seasons, with her 256 career goals fifth on that list, her 109 career assists eighth and her 365 points sixth. MacDonald has committed to sign with Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

Also added to the MHSAA girls lacrosse record book for Troy were senior Helen Katherine Ferriby multiple times including for 59 goals this spring, and senior Lindsey Davis multiple times including for 175 saves this past season – those saves rank sixth.

Click to see the girls lacrosse record book in full, and read on for more recent additions in baseball, girls basketball, football, girls soccer and softball.

Baseball

Stephenson’s Jesus Becerra finished his four-year varsity career this spring with near perfection as a base stealer. He added 25 more steals in just 17 games to finish with 116 stolen bases in 78 games over his career – and while getting caught trying to steal only three times over those four seasons.

Frankfort’s Kirk Myers added five more shutouts this spring as a senior to cap his career with 11, tying for 10th most all-time. Myers earned all 11 over the last two seasons after coming up to varsity as a sophomore. He’ll continue his career at Albion College.

Girls Basketball

Greenville junior Adele Kemp went over 1,000 points for her career this past winter, and nearly half of her points last season came on long distance shots as she made the MHSAA records with 70 3-pointers. She connected on 43 percent of her attempts from beyond the arc.

Football

West Bloomfield’s run to a Division 1 runner-up finish last fall included the final high school games for a star quarterback, two talented receivers and a strong-legged kicker who all have multiple record book entries. Quarterback Bryce Veasley earned 15 entries including for 225 completions, 388 attempts and 3,487 passing yards last season – his completions tied for 10th, his attempts rank seventh and his yardage ranks 11th all-time. Veasley, who played as a sophomore at Southfield-Lathrup before that school closed at the end of 2015-16, finished with 400 completions, 692 attempts and 6,406 passing yards over three varsity seasons. Receiver A.J. Abbott played his first two seasons at Northville and then had 59 catches for 1,140 yards for West Bloomfield as a senior; he finished with 119 catches and 2,539 yards over three seasons. Taj Mustapha made the records with 102 catches for 1,659 yards over two seasons, and kicker Nick O’Shea made 12 field goals last fall and 55 of 57 extra-point attempts, and 126 of 133 extra-point attempts over three varsity seasons. Additionally, Veasley and then-junior Tre Mosley were added for tying the longest pass play record with a 99-yarder last fall against Rochester Adams, and 2017 graduate Garrett Winn was added three times including for 150 receptions and 1,716 receiving yards from 2014-16. Veasley is continuing his career at Bowling Green, while Abbott and Mustapha are playing at Wisconsin and O’Shea at Morgan State in Baltimore. Mosley has committed to Michigan State, and Winn is entering his sophomore season for Navy.

Girls Soccer

Taylor Truman’s Lily Sanchez just missed making the single-season goals list twice during her four-year varsity career. But she concluded it this spring with 95 goals in 72 games to make the MHSAA career list.  

Coryn Brinks earned West Michigan Aviation Academy’s first girls soccer record book entry with 37 goals this season in helping her team to a 15-6-2 record. Brinks was a sophomore.

Softball

Goodrich’s Abigail Joseph capped her four-year varsity career this spring among the most successful hitters in MHSAA history. Despite never making the single-season hits list, her 245 career hits rank 12th, and her career batting average of .574 is eighth. She also made the single-season average list hitting .677 as a junior and for 65 runs that season and 216 for her career. She will continue this fall at Michigan State. Additionally, freshman teammate Alissa Gauthier was added for 10 home runs this spring.

Muskegon Reeths-Puffer’s Brooklynn Duffey joined the record book with 20 doubles in 38 games this season. The senior catcher batted .517.

Belleville sophomores Mikayla Demyan and Madison Mikulski tied for their school’s record with 11 home runs this spring, and in doing so made the MHSAA record list. Both also earned single-game listings for back-to-back home runs and six RBI in single contests.  

PHOTO: Troy’s Morgan MacDonald looks for an opening against Birmingham United in May. (Photo courtesy of C&G Newspapers.)

Burger Assists in Pittsford Finals Run

May 22, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Pittsford girls basketball team achieved its best finish ever this winter, advancing to its first MHSAA championship game and ending with a 26-1 record. 

Leading the attack for the Class D runner-up was sophomore Jaycie Burger – whose 170 assists were good for 20th-most in MHSAA history for one season. She also averaged 17.1 points per game. 

Click for Burger's entry and the MHSAA girls basketball record book as a whole, and read below for the rest of this week's record book entries in four more sports. 

Boys Basketball

  • Leslie junior Dylan Patton had at least one blocked shot in all 21 of his team’s games this season and finished with 110 to rank all-time among the best in that category. He had a game high of 10, Jan. 20 against Lansing Christian, and averaged 5.2 to go with 15.3 points per game to help the Blackhawks to a 16-5 record.

  • Mackinaw City senior Anthony Elliott also made the blocked shots list this season, tallying 113 for an average of 5.1 over 22 games. He averaged 8.6 points and seven rebounds per game as well, as Mackinaw City finished 17-6.

  • Sophomore Demetrius Lake scored 24 of his game-high 37 points during the second half of Holland’s 65-49 win over Muskegon Reeths-Puffer on Feb. 10 – with 20 points coming during the fourth quarter. He’s one of 27 players to score at least that many in one quarter.

  • Suttons Bay junior Trevor Petroskey had a career game Dec. 16, despite his team’s 56-51 loss to Benzonia Benzie Central. His 12 steals are tied for third-most for one game in MHSAA history, and he finished his triple-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.

    Football

    • Holly’s Jake Zorn set not only a school record but also a Flint Metro League record Sept. 27, 2013, when he threw for 405 yards in a 43-14 win over Flint Kearsley. Zorn, who will graduate this spring, completed 24 of 34 passes and connected for four touchdowns in building his record yardage total.

    Softball

    • Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central’s Hannah Gavle had one of the top run-producing performances in MHSAA history against Grand Rapids Christian on April 28. She hit three home runs – in three straight at bats – and drove in 10 runs total to make the MHSAA records three times. Her third home run was a grand slam and she followed with a two-run double. The 10 RBI rank second for one game all-time.

    Wrestling


    • Grandville won its first dual meet of the 1982-83 season on the way to finishing 16-0 that winter – and didn’t lose another dual until the third meet of 1987-88. The Bulldogs’ string of 88 straight dual meet wins ranks first in MHSAA history (although it does not include a postseason victory – the Team Wrestling Finals were created in 1987-88; prior, postseason team championships were determined by finishes in individual competition). The dual winning streak was stopped by Birmingham Brother Rice, although Grandville went on to finish 22-2 in 1987-88. The Bulldogs’ top undefeated mark during the streak was 20-0 in 1983-84.

    • Coach Jerry La Joie led Gaylord to a 40-2 record this winter, the wins the second most during his 21 seasons guiding the program. He was added with the 11th-most wins in MHSAA wrestling coaching history with a record of 559-127-2. He coached the team in 1993-94, took a season off and came back for good for 1995-96.

    • On his way to wrestling at the University of Michigan, David Johnson won 199 matches with only 14 losses for Jenison from 2004-07. He was the Division 1 champion at 140 pounds in 2006 with a record of 54-2 and finished third at 135 in 2005 and 152 pounds in 2007.

    PHOTO: Pittsford's Jaycie Burger (21) looks for an open teammate as she pushes upcourt during this season's Class D Final.