Belles Rings Loudly in Freshman Season

May 15, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Kayla Belles had a memorable freshman season this winter for the Ithaca girls basketball team. And her performance against Sanford-Meridian on March 4 is one she’ll never forget.

Belles, a 6-foot-3 center, grabbed 36 rebounds to go with 25 points and six blocked shots in the Yellowjackets’ 75-28 victory. Her rebounds tied for second-most grabbed in one game in MHSAA girls basketball history and most in a game since 1997.

She averaged 14.7 points and 13.3 rebounds per game during the regular season, per a Lansing State Journal report, and helped her team to its first District title since 2000. Ithaca finished 21-3, falling to eventual Class C semifinalist Saginaw Nouvel 69-66 in their Regional Semifinal.

Click the “Girls Basketball” heading below to see that sport’s record listings in full, and read on for more of this week’s record additions.

Baseball


  • A handful of names from Saline’s successful recent history were added to an already strong representation. Brad Guenther was included for his 21 doubles in 2009, 66 hits total that season and 13 career triples from 2007-09. Garrett Gordon and Korey Gainey both made the single-season triples list with seven apiece in 2011 and 2009, respectively, and Jordan Walker was added for his 20 times hit by pitch in 2001 and 40 total over a two-season career that ended that spring. Bobby Korecky, already listed for multiple hitting categories, was added with a 0.99 ERA in 1998 and 1.50 from 1995-98, and Joe Finnerty was added for a 1.34 ERA from 1998-2000. Eric Ichesco made the career batting average list hitting .461 from 1998-2001. Saline as a team was added for a number of single-season accomplishments as well, most notably its .403 average in 2009.



Boys Basketball


  • Dennis Starkey earned his milestone 500th victory this season in leading Petoskey to a 16-6 finish. He started his varsity coaching career at Boyne City during the 1982-83 season, then coached three at Vanderbilt before starting his Petoskey tenure in 1986-87. He has a career record of 502-247.  


  • Dundee senior Aaron Anthony capped his high school career with a second entry for free throws made, following up his 150 as a junior with 156 (in 191 attempts – 82 percent success) this winter. The 6-foot-2 Anthony also averaged 20.9 points, six rebounds and 3.3 assists per game and scored the 1,000th point of his career. 


  • Wilson Nah Tah Wahsh achieved three record-book listings for 3-pointers, making 18 in a 74-20 win over Paradise Whitefish on Jan. 23 after making 15 in an 81-42 win over Burt Township Grand Marais on Jan. 13. Whitefish also made four in that second game, with 22 between the teams making the list for 3-pointers made by two teams combined. In both games, Nah Tah Wahsh had more 3-pointers than 2-point field goals. Justin Larson made nine of the 15 and eight of the 18 to lead the team in both games.



Girls Basketball


  • Hailey Leidel scored 29 points in a 65-47 win for Brownstown-Woodhaven over Southgate Anderson on Jan. 23, including 15 free throws to make the single-game list in that category. She attempted 17 overall and made all 10 she took in scoring 14 points total during the second quarter.



Football


  • Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy quarterback Marcus Lester became the 11th in MHSAA history to throw for at least 500 yards in a game when he connected on 33 of 65 passes for 541 yards and two touchdowns in a 32-28 win over Dearborn Heights Star International on Sept. 26. The yardage and attempts both tied for fourth-most for one game.



Hockey


  • Flint Kearsley’s Shawn Larsen earned two entries with high-scoring first periods this season. He scored four goals in the first period against Grand Rapids Union/Ottawa Hills on Dec. 20, then four again in the first period against Fenton/Linden on Jan. 7. He also just missed the single-game scoring list, which has a minimum of eight goals; he had seven against Union/Ottawa Hills on Jan. 17.



Softball


  • A pair of Reese standouts both were added for hitting 16 doubles last spring – Cassidy Reif and Carlee Selle. Selle, a sophomore this season, hit .475 for 2014, and senior Reif hit .431 in her final high school campaign last spring. 


  • Abby Krzywiecki smacked two home runs – including a grand slam – and a double to drive in eight of her team’s runs in Farmington Hills Mercy’s 14-4 victory over Livonia Ladywood on April 21. Her total tied for seventh-most RBI in one game.

PHOTO: Ithaca’s Kayla Belles prepares to make a move toward the basket during a game this season. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)

South Lyon United's Perfect Run Keyed by Record-Setting Defense, Powerful Attack

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 23, 2026

South Lyon United put together one of the most dominating seasons in MHSAA girls lacrosse history last spring, finishing 21-0 as the Division 1 champion and setting the record for fewest goals given up during one season with 80.

The team also scored 299 to make that single-season list. Reagan Shields was added for seven goals in a game and 55 goals and 89 points for one season, while Shaelyn Perry was added for 58 goals and Gabriela Lucchesi made the single-game assists list with six.

Shields is a junior this school year, and Perry and Lucchesi are seniors. Their team is off to a 9-0 start this season.

See below for several recently-added listings to the girls lacrosse record book, and click the heading to see the record book in full. Several more applications have been received and are in the process of being confirmed.

Girls Lacrosse

Portage United was added for totaling 336 goals in 2021 – ranked sixth-most for one season – and 237 goals in 2023, with highly-productive scorers leading the way. Calista Richmond made the goals (69), assists (61) and total points (130) lists in 2021, and Lauren DeHaan also made the single-season goals list (54) that spring. Stella Hensley made the goals (63) and points (90) lists in 2023, as did goalie Jozette Rimkus with 179 saves. Richmond went on to play at Trine, Simkus played at Charleston (W.Va.) and Hensley plays at Central Michigan.

A trio of Lake Orion standouts made the records for work in 2022, led by Quinn McElroy and her 61 goals over 16 games. Morgan Vasquez was added for 50 goals and seven in one game against Utica Eisenhower, and Paige Walker finished her varsity career with 470 career saves despite playing only three seasons because 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. McElroy plays at Grand Valley State, and Vasqez played at Kalamazoo College.

Several more entries from the last 15 years of Lake Orion history have been added, with 2018 grad Ali Lazzara leading the way with eight including with the fifth-most career goals, 293, from 2015-18. Darcy Muns was added six times including for 178 career goals from 2014-16, and three goalies also ranked high on lists – Maria Davila (269) and Susan Osborne (263) for the second and third-most saves in one season, respectively, and Davila (474) and Tiffany Smrtnik (407) for the fifth and ninth-most career saves, respectively. Muns went on to play at Albion College.

Holly’s Tatum Stuemke and Ortonville Brandon’s Lainey Lasky were among the first from the 2024 season to make the record books. Lasky scored seven goals for Holly/Ortonville Brandon and Stuemke had 22 saves in a 9-8 over Flushing on April 8 of that season. The goalie for the Holly/ Brandon team, Stuemke also made 15 saves in an April 9 game against Swartz Creek and 17 in an April 29 win over Lake Fenton/Goodrich. Both were seniors, and Lasky plays now at Saginaw Valley State.

Emma Rushing led a high-scoring Ann Arbor Father Gabriel Richard team in 2023 that netted 308 goals over 22 games to make the team record book. Rushing made individual lists eight times including with 124 goals and 137 points total, and a high of 11 goals in one game. Teammate Lilli Vera also made the single-season goals (67) and points (85) lists, and Annika Anderson joined her on the goals list with 57 and also made the single-game assists list with five in one contest. Goalie Mel Karls was added as well for 166 saves over 22 games that season. Rushing plays at Benedictine College in Kansas.

During her first two seasons at Farmington Hills Mercy, goalie Mackenzie Conway posted two of the top 16 saves totals in MHSAA history. After beginning with 186 as a freshman in 2022, Conway tallied the third-most as a sophomore with 230 over 16 games in 2023. She plays now at Brown.

East Grand Rapids’ Olivia Shaw made the records five times as a junior in 2023 – three times for single-game goals, with a high of nine. She also made single-season lists with 71 goals and 85 points over 26 games. Vivian LaMange graduated from East Grand Rapids in 2024 with 21 record book listings, including for 300 career goals (ranking seventh all-time), 203 career assists (ranking second) and 503 career points (ranking fifth). She began her college career at Robert Morris and plays currently at Massachusetts.

Rochester Adams made the single-season goal list in 2023 with 244 over 18 games, and a pair of standouts were added multiple times in leading that effort. Lucy Lagman finished her third season with 56 goals and also is on the career goals list with 207 and career points list with 251. Raegan Jerrell finished her second season with 65 goals that spring and had 135 career goals and 225 career points to that point. Both also were added for several single-game achievements, as was teammate Madison Fish for 16 saves in goal against West Bloomfield.

Chase Duncan played an impressive junior season for Troy in 2024 into multiple record book listings, including four for single-game goals with a high of 12 against Whitehouse Anthony Wayne of Ohio. She also made the single-game points list that day with 14, and the season goals (93) and points (118) lists over 18 games. Aly Matuza, also a junior in that spring, made the single-game saves list with 16 and single-season list with 151 over 18 games. Troy as a team made the single-season goals list with 225. Duncan plays now at Maryville in St. Louis (Mo.), and Matuza plays basketball at St. Mary’s College (Ind.).

Troy Athens’ goalie Claire Balintfy capped her varsity career in 2024 with 14 record book listings – including one of the most significant for her position. The senior added 157 saves over 19 games and finished with an MHSAA-record 679 over four seasons and 70 games. She’s continuing her career at Northwood. Morgan Stamatakis made the record book twice as a junior in 2024, for 10 goals in a game against Rochester Adams and 51 goals total for the season. She plays at Detroit Mercy. Katie Malone earned three record book listings last season, including a pair on successive days. She made the single-season goals list with 81, which included eight in back-to-back games in April.

Madeline Kreiger finished her Grandville career in 2024 all over the record book, with 15 listings total. Most notably she ended with 242 goals over four seasons and 63 games, ranking 14th in that category. She totaled 294 career points and had a high of 11 goals among her single-game entries.

The goals piled up by Mileena Cotter in 2024 – and throughout her high school career at Salem – will be incredibly tough to match. Cotter graduated with 68 record book entries, as a senior tying her single-game record of 18 goals, setting the single-season scoring record with 213 over 19 games, and setting the career scoring record of 470 over just 49 games over four seasons. She also made the single-game assist list for the first time, set the single-season points list record with 231 and finished third on the career points list with 506. She’s continuing at Syracuse.

Claire Marosi capped her high school career in 2024 by leading Grand Rapids Catholic Central to the Division 2 championship. She also finished among the all-time leading scorers in Michigan, totaling 10 record book listings including the third-most single-season goals (160 in 2024), career goals (418) and career points (515) over her four seasons and 72 games played. She’s continuing her career at Northwestern.

Bloomfield Hills’ Ella Lucia finished her career in 2024 with 45 entries in the MHSAA girls lacrosse record book, adding season entries as a senior with 118 goals, 43 assists and 161 points and finishing her career sixth on the goals list with 304, sixth on the assists list with 156 and tied for sixth on the points list with 460 over 74 games. Teammates Aubrey Agbay, also a senior that season, made the single-season goals list with 63, and they were joined by another senior teammate Sydney Butler, who finished with 171 saves that spring and second on the career list with 646 over four seasons and 83 games. As a team, Bloomfield Hills made the single-season goals list with 287. Lucia is playing ice hockey at Harvard.

Solei Ewing reached the single-season goals list with 73 and points list with 90 for the Black Hawks in 2025, and teammate Lainey Stewart also made the goals list with 51. Goalie Brooke Sanders made single-game and season saves lists. Bloomfield Hills again made the team goals list with 266. All three were seniors.

Then-junior Janie Mitter set a Howell record with eight goals in a 2025 game against Canton.

Grand Rapids Northview became one of only five teams to be listed for scoring at least 25 goals in a game when it did so in a 25-9 win over Holland West Ottawa on April 30, 2025.

Hudsonville’s Scarlett Coulter has reached the career goals record list with 171 over her first three seasons and with one more to play. She made the single-season list last spring for the second time, with 79 goals, and also the total points list for one season with 106. Coulter also made the single-game goals list with nine against Grandville. Anniston Farrell, now a junior, joined Coulter on the single-season goals list with 55. Farrell has committed to continue at Radford (Va.).

Lansing Catholic’s Vivienne Hagen earned eight record book entries during her sophomore season, including for 86 goals and 108 total points over 16 games, with a high of 12 points in a win over Tecumseh. Teammate Josie Sarata joined her on the single-game goals list. Hagen is a junior this spring and has committed to Longwood (Va.), and Sarata is a senior and has committed to Charleston (W.Va.)

PHOTO South Lyon United's Reagan Shields (7) leads an attack during last season's Division 1 Final.