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.
Schoolcraft Ace Could Score & Much More
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 10, 2021
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Gabi Saxman’s Schoolcraft career will be remembered in part because she scored more than 1,000 points over four seasons.
But 5-foot-6 point guard made the MHSAA record book in two other categories, with 477 assists and 436 steals over those 96 games before graduating last spring.
She is continuing her career at Western Michigan University this winter, as her former teammates and high school basketball teams all over Michigan kick off their seasons this week.
Below is a look at recent additions to MHSAA record books in girls basketball, hockey and girls soccer. Click on the headings to view those record books in full.
Girls Basketball
Last Feb. 20 was unforgettable for Grass Lake and especially Gabrielle Lutchka. She set an MHSAA record for 3-pointers with 16 to finish the evening with 56 points, which ranks eighth all-time for single-game scoring. As a team, Grass Lake made the record book with 17 3-pointers that night against Manchester. Teammates Abrie Cabana also was added for an achievement last winter, finishing with a .880 free-throw percentage. Lutchka is a junior and Cabana a senior this school year.
Genesee senior Hayle March tied for 12th-most assists in a game Jan 23, 2020, when she dished 14 during her team’s 61-35 win over Mayville. She also had 12 points, five rebounds and five steals in the victory.
Kasey DeSmit played a significant part in Hudsonville’s 73-28 record from 2015-18, making the career record book in two categories. She sank 187 3-pointers and tallied 474 assists over those 101 games. She now plays at Hope College.
Gracie Nowak filled her senior season at Morrice last winter with a number of highlights, perhaps the biggest individually the 18 steals she totaled in a Jan. 17, 2020, win over Webberville. That total ranks as the fourth-highest for single-game steals in MHSAA history.
Kent City continued to dominate the 3-point shooting lists in 2019-20, with the team connecting on 16 in multiple games and a season-high 17 against Ravenna on March 2. Junior Jenna Harrison finished the season with 86 3-pointers over 24 games, and junior Kenzie Bowers had nine of her team’s 16 in a game against Hesperia. Bowers has signed with Illinois State.
Kelynn Kujat completed her Frankenmuth career last season among top 3-point shooters all-time, drilling 187 over four seasons and 89 games. She previously had made the record book with 66 3-pointers as a sophomore.
Nearly 40 years later, Teresa Hudak’s rebounding excellence has reached the record book. The Rogers City standout three times grabbed 26 or more rebounds in a game – with a high twice of 29. She had 342 rebounds as a junior in 1981 and then 385 as a senior the following fall, with the latter total ranking 11th all-time.
Hockey
Sean Hogan enjoyed an exciting start to calendar year 1995, making the MHSAA record book twice. He scored four goals in the first period of Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes’ 7-5 win over White Lake Lakeland on Jan. 14, and seven for the game in Our Lady’s 15-4 win over Algonac that Feb. 5. Hogan went on to play at Iona College and has coached multiple American Collegiate Hockey Association programs.
Girls Soccer
Nearly 25 years later, Marie Spaccarotella has made it into the record book for her 102 career goals over four seasons for Livonia Churchill from 1993-96. She went on to play forward at University of Michigan, starting 32 games and scoring 21 goals over four seasons.
PHOTO: Gabi Saxman brings the ball upcourt for Schoolcraft during a game last season. (Photo courtesy of JoeInsider.com.)