Dow's Szabo Serves Up 3 Tennis Records
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 13, 2015
Michael Szabo capped his Midland Dow tennis career this fall with his name all over the MHSAA record book.
Szabo won 37 matches for the second straight season, this time playing No. 2 singles for the Chargers, to finish with an MHSAA record 150 victories (against seven losses) from 2012-15. He also set records with 33 tournament championships and 49 matches won by 6-0, 6-0 scores and became one of seven players to earn four MHSAA Finals singles championships.
A number of teammates also are now listed in the MHSAA records: Daniel Magno was added for 69 career doubles wins over four seasons before graduating last spring. Colin Angell was added for 32 singles wins in 2014 to go with his 61 career doubles wins from 2012-13. Noah Nichols and J.J. Kirkman were added for 30 doubles wins this fall, Ryan Killmaster was added for 32 doubles wins and Daniel Zhang was added for 28 doubles wins this season. Armin Vallazza-Margl is listed with 28 doubles wins in 2014 and Nichols is listed for 27 that season. As a team, Dow won its 24th MHSAA Regional title this fall.
Click to see the boys tennis record book in full, and see below for more recent record book additions.
Football
- Khari Willis, now a safety at Michigan State University, capped his Jackson Lumen Christi career in 2014 with four accomplishments now noted in the MHSAA record book. His 2,800 rushing yards as a senior were the third-most in MHSAA history and came on only 241 carries. He also made the single-season rushing touchdown list with 30 and single-game lists with 50 carries and 412 yards in his final high school game, a playoff loss to eventual Division 6 champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central. Willis finished his high school career with 4,558 yards rushing.
- Genesee’s Scott Smith joined only two others in MHSAA history when he recovered four fumbles on Sept. 20, 1996, in his team’s victory over Ashley. He also ran for a touchdown and kicked four extra points.
Boys Lacrosse
- Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard’s Matt Johnson graduated this spring among the highest scorers in MHSAA history with 272 points and 179 goals over his four seasons on varsity. He had 59 goals and 96 points as a senior this spring. He’s currently a member of the University of Indianapolis men’s lacrosse team.
Softball
- Onaway’s Madison McLean joined a list of big hitters with back-to-back home runs, knocking hers during the second and third innings in a 20-5 win over Posen on April 25. McLean was a freshman, and the homers came in her first two varsity at bats, according to the Presque Isle Advance.
- Courtney Quade played four seasons for Marlette, graduating this spring, and made the career walks list earning 79 over 115 games. She also hit .429 over her career and .542 as a senior.
- Kelcie LaTour completed her junior year at Macomb Dakota with multiple entries in the MHSAA record listings; she hit back-to-back home runs during the sixth and seventh innings of a game against Southgate Anderson on May 2, and finished the season with 11 home runs. She also batted .403 and drove in 38 runs.
Girls Soccer
- Grosse Ile’s run to the Division 3 Regional Finals this spring included impressive seasons by a pair of three-year varsity juniors, plus some impressive totals put up by the team as a whole. Caroline Fleming scored 39 goals to go with 33 assists for 72 points total in 25 games and moved up the career goals (82) and assists (73) lists with a season to play. Olivia Reckley posted the second-most shutouts in one season, 22, and has 55 over her first three seasons. Total, Grosse Ile gave up only five goals – tied for sixth fewest – and scored 138, which ranks eighth for one season. In 2014, the team gave up nine goals and had 18 shutouts.
- Fenton’s Abby Quesnelle finished her sophomore season in net at the Division 2 Final, and had 15 shutouts in 22 games to help her team to its first MHSAA championship game. She gave up only 12 goals during the season.
- Grandville Calvin Christian’s fourth straight MHSAA championship run this spring included the sixth-highest team goals total, 139, with Hilary Curry making the individual single-season goals list with 30 in 25 games. Teammate Emily VanVliet made the single-season assists list with 30 and career assists list with 65. Curry is playing at Hope College and VanVliet is playing basketball at Calvin College.
PHOTO: Midland Dow's Michael Szabo prepares to serve during this fall's Lower Peninsula Division 2 Final at No. 2 singles. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Standouts Swat to New Blocks Records
May 5, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
By nature of sports, we usually celebrate those who score the most points.
But this basketball season allowed us to marvel at two of the best ever at keeping opponents from getting to the hoop.
Kalamazoo Central senior Asia Robeson became the leading shot-blocker in MHSAA girls basketball history this winter, finishing an incredible four-year career with 723. On the boys side, Muskegon junior Deyonta Davis set the MHSAA boys single-season record with 199 blocks in helping the Big Reds to their first Class A title since 1937.
The 6-foot-4 Robeson and former Grandville standout Alyssa DeHaan (718 blocks from 2002-05) are the only female players in MHSAA girls history to block more than 600 shots. Robeson’s 228 blocks as a junior rank third for one season and her 227 as a sophomore are fourth. She was a Miss Basketball Award finalist and will continue her career this fall at Auburn University.
Davis, a 6-9 center, had 16 blocks in a game twice and also made the single-season rebounds list with 380 – averaging 13.6 per game – and scored 15 points per game.
Click for the entire boys basketball record listing, and see below for more recent entries to the girls basketball and other sports’ listings.
Girls Basketball
- Novi Franklin Road Christian’s Kristen Massey finished her high school career this winter as one of the leading scorers in girls basketball history with 2,032 points – she’s one of 27 to score at least 2,000, and this total doesn't include the 190 she scored on the school’s varsity as an eighth grader. She’s also the most frequently successful free throw shooter, tying for the career free throw record of 697 (on 926 attempts; .752 percentage) after following her season record of 213 in 2012-13 with 209 more in 2013-14. She made 52 more as an eighth-grader, but again, those were not counted toward her high school career total.
Football
- Two Ottawa Lake Whiteford players were added for seasons filled with interception return touchdowns, but 20 years apart. Troy Goetz had four scoring returns in 1987 and sits second on that MHSAA list, with Josh DuPree among those tied for third after bringing three opponents’ passes all the way back in 2007.
- Former Almont kicker Peter Deppe moved into the second spot on career extra points with 159 (in 170 attempts) he drilled during a four-year varsity career from 2010-13. He also is on the single-season list with 63 in 65 attempts as a sophomore. He currently punts for Northern Illinois University.
- Hazel Park’s Tom Stephens returned a punt 96 yards for a touchdown against Warren Fitzgerald on Sept. 13, 1963, to tie him for eighth-longest in that category. His points contributed to Hazel Park’s 24-19 opening-night win.
Hockey
- Two of the longest games in MHSAA history were played this season. Joining the 103-plus minute Traverse City West win on Feb. 24 in the record book is a 91-minute, 15-second Grand Rapids Catholic Central win over Flint Powers Catholic in a Division 3 Quarterfinal on March 5. GRCC scored the go-ahead goal 15 seconds into the sixth overtime to clinch a 2-1 victory. The win came eight years and one day after GRCC beat Mattawan in six overtimes in what before this season stood as the fourth-longest game.
Boys Soccer
- Tyler Deese gave Corunna its winning goal in an 8-0 win over Portland on Sept. 17 only eight seconds into the first half – making it the second-fastest goal scored from the start of a game in MHSAA boys soccer history.
Softball
- Morgan Rombach opened May with a record-setting performance that earned her two lines in the home runs listings. The New Lothrop standout hit three home runs in a win over Burton Bentley, in her first, second and fourth at bats. She is one of 18 tied for second on the single-game home runs list and one of a larger group of players who have hit at least two in consecutive at bats. She also had a single in her third at bat of the game.
Volleyball
- Corunna freshman Meredith Norris kicked off her varsity career with plenty of points this fall. The 6-2 hitter made the MHSAA record book with 697 kills, 30th all-time for a single season, and also made the single-match list twice with 34 and 33 kills.
PHOTOS: Muskegon’s Deyonta Davis, far right, defends the rim during Muskegon’s Class A Final win over Bloomfield Hills. (Inset) Kalamazoo Central’s Asia Robeson blocks a shot. (Photos courtesy of HighSchoolSportsScene.com and Auburn University, respectively.)