Holmen Helps Pace Memorable Finals Run
April 8, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nikoma Holmen played a major role as Grandville reached its first MHSAA softball championship game in 25 years in 2017 – and 15 record book entries are enduring proof of the impact she made on the program.
Holmen finished her four-season varsity run on four career lists. Over 126 games she accumulated 170 runs, 218 hits, 54 doubles and 33 home runs.
Her senior season, Grandville made its first Semifinal and then first Final, both since 1982, before falling to Macomb Dakota 4-3 in eight innings in the Division 1 championship game. Holmen now is a sophomore playing at Grand Valley State University.
See below for more recent record book additions in softball, football, boys lacrosse and boys soccer.
Football
Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior Hunter Lake became the first to be listed for interceptions in one quarter after snagging three during the first quarter of a 64-0 win over Stryker, Ohio, on Aug. 31. He tied the MHSAA single-quarter record by bringing two of those back for touchdowns and made the single-game list for interception return touchdowns and single-quarter list for total defensive touchdowns as well.
Led by a pair of 1,000-yard rushers, Edwardsburg finished this past fall 14-0 and as Division 4 champion. The Eddies also made the MHSAA records multiple times, with their 705 points ranking sixth all-time and their 50.4 per game making the list among highest averages. Edwardsburg also made the total yardage (5,886) and total touchdowns (97), and rushing attempts (578), yardage (5,232) and touchdowns (82) lists. The Eddies also became the first team to register more than 60 rushes in a game when they ran 63 times against Holland Christian on Nov. 10.
Boys Lacrosse
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central’s Micah Eby stopped 23 shots last May 12 against West Bloomfield. Eby, then a junior, tied for the 13th-most saves in one game.
Boys Soccer
Evan Veenhuis climbed the scoring lists one more time as a Comstock senior this fall. He added 34 goals and 35 points to finish with 121 career goals and 156 career points over four seasons.
Troy Athens carried a perfect record into the MHSAA Tournament this past fall and finished among the most impressive teams defensively of all-time. Athens became one of nine teams to give up seven or fewer goals over the course of a season and also made the season shutouts list with 16. Junior Jason Kemp was in net for all 16 to make the individual shutout list, and for six straight in September to earn another record book entry. Athens also was added for its 21 straight wins and 20 straight in 2013, when it gave up only 10 goals during the entirety of the fall.
Hudsonville Unity Christian had 18 shutouts and gave up only eight goals on the way to winning the Division 3 championship this past fall, making the team record book in both categories. Individually, junior Grant Balcer ranks tied for fourth with those 18 shutouts (including eight straight) and has 26 over his two-year varsity career.
Softball
A pair of Grosse Pointe South players were added for accomplishments last season. Julia O’Halla, now a senior, had home runs on two consecutive at bats and six RBI total in a win over Madison Heights Bishop Foley. Teammate Lauren Sancya, a senior in 2018, finished her four-year varsity career on the all-time doubles list with 48. Emma St. John was added for her 2014 performance when she became one of four to strike out 18 batters in a six-inning game, a 10-0 no-hitter against Center Line. St. John was a freshman that season and played two seasons for South and her final two for University Liggett.
Olivia Tomaszewski graduated from Frankfort last spring with 160 RBI over four varsity seasons, enough to make the MHSAA record book list in that category and come in second on the school’s all-time list to Katy McKay, who had 165 from 1996-99. Tomaszewski is playing at Cornerstone University. Junior Haley Myers also was added to the career home runs list after two seasons – she had 22 after hitting 13 last spring as a sophomore.
Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s Brooke Myles last April 12 became the first since 2010 to strike out more than 15 batters in a five-inning game, tying for second on that record list with 16 Ks against Sterling Heights Parkway Christian in a 13-1 win. Myles is a senior this spring.
PHOTO: Grandville’s Nikoma Holmen gets ready to advance after reaching first base during the 2017 Division 1 Softball Final against Macomb Dakota.
Ubly Offense, Kicker Pile Up Record Book Listings During Championship Run
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 12, 2024
Ubly finished a combined 27-1 over the last two seasons, following up a Division 8 runner-up run in 2022 with its first MHSAA Finals championship this past November. And the Bearcats stacked plenty of record book performances along the way.
Individually, senior Brett Mueller made the single-season extra point list again this past season with 76 in 81 tries, and he set the MHSAA career record with 220 extra points over 232 attempts, 40 games and three seasons. He has signed with Saginaw Valley State.
As a team, Ubly was added to the record book 13 times for achievements over the last two years, most notably in the rushing game. The Bearcats topped 5,200 total yards both seasons, and also made the rush yardage list twice including with a sixth-best 5,148 in 2022. Their 90 touchdowns in 2022 rank seventh all-time, and their 85 this past fall tied for 13th, and they tied the record with 10 rushing touchdowns in a 2022 win over Reese and set another record with 84 rushing touchdowns total that season.
See below for more recent record book additions in 11-player football, and click the heading to see the record book in full:
11-Player Football
Dundee’s Ben Miller has a pair of basketball record book entries, and he’s also been added in football for scoring seven touchdowns in his team’s 72-36 win over Erie Mason on Oct. 20, 2017. A senior that season, he ran for five scores and caught two touchdowns passes.
Nearly four decades later, Howard City Tri County’s Mike Wagoner has reached the record book for his work on defense in 1985. A junior that season, Wagoner returned three interceptions for touchdowns – 65, 55 and 35 yards – which would have been second on the list at the time and remains tied for third-most for one season.
Jaxon Lippert tops the list of 21 who have returned kickoffs 99 yards. Lippert, now a senior at Walled Lake Western, joined the list against Davison during his junior season.
A handful of records from Warren De La Salle Collegiate’s recent run of Ford Field teams and also one from decades ago were added. Jake Badalamenti was added three times for kickoff returns between 96-99 yards, one as a junior in 2016 and two as a senior the following fall, and Marty Wyzlic was added for his 95-yarder in 1976. Mason Muragin is the new leader for tackles for loss in a career with 71 over three seasons, and he also was added to the single-season list with 31 as a junior in 2021, as was Will Beasley for 38 as a junior in 2020. Wayne Wright was added for his 16 sacks over nine games as a senior in 1984, and Josh Cox was added for his 100-yard interception return as a senior in 2012. Muragin plays at Illinois, Beesley plays at Princeton, Cox played at Central Michigan, and Badalamenti played baseball at Wayne State.
Pinckney junior Nolan Carruthers caught 16 passes during a 13-7 loss to Jackson on Sept. 15, good to tie for ninth-most in one game and breaking the Livingston County record of 14 by Hartland’s Greg Matthyssen in 2007 – a listing that also was added.
Ethan Wissner did some major lifting, or rather carrying, during Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker’s 28-14 District Final win over Montrose in 2022. The then-senior ran 42 times to make the record book, for 289 yards and three touchdowns. He’s continuing at Siena Heights.
Senior quarterback Andrew Schuster and junior receiver DeShaun Lanier formed a game-changing pass-catch combo this past season for Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, with Schuster finishing his career with nine record book listings and Lanier totaling six with a season to play. Schuster most notably was added for 212 completions on 301 attempts for 2,766 yards and 28 touchdowns this season, and 321 completions and 4,199 career yards over two years and 22 games. Lanier was added in part for 73 receptions for 1,132 yards and 15 TDs this fall. Junior kicker Juliano Haddad also earned impressive mentions with 10 field goals and 50 extra points – and he’ll carry a streak of 35 straight extra points into next fall. Schuster has committed to Grand Valley State.
Fulton’s Evan Barton has been added to the single-game touchdowns list after catching four scoring passes Sept. 8, 2017, against Potterville. He was a senior that season.
Saginaw Heritage’s Braylon Isom completed his career this past fall as arguably the most accomplished receiver in MHSAA history. His name is listed in the record book eight times, with career records of 3,837 receiving yards and 52 touchdowns over 34 games and four seasons, and with a single-season record 26 touchdowns this past fall over 12 games. His 91 career receptions rank fifth, and he’s also listed for 82 catches and 1,617 yards (seventh-most) as a senior and 1,428 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior. He will continue at Miami (Ohio).
Evart’s 24-8 run over the last three seasons has been its most successful of the MHSAA playoff era, and senior quarterback Preston Wallace has played an enormous part. He finished his 33-game career in the fall – he came up for one game as a freshman – on record book lists twice for single-season passing yards and touchdowns and on career lists for 662 attempts, 421 completions, 6,955 yards and 88 passing touchdowns over those 32 games and three seasons. The yardage ranks 15th all-time, and the touchdowns are tied for sixth-most for one career.
The 2005 Midland Bullock Creek team was added for scoring 547 points over 12 games. The Lancers finished 11-1, their only loss in a Division 5 Regional Final.
PHOTO Ubly's Seth Maurer (30) carries the ball during the Division 8 championship win over Ottawa Lake Whiteford in November.