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Ithaca's Smith Stands Among Top QBs

April 7, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Ithaca, and quarterback Travis Smith in particular, are all over the MHSAA football record book after extending the program’s winning streak to 56 straight games in 2013.

The streak is the second-longest in MHSAA history and longest that's taken place entirely during the playoff era. And three of those four straight perfect seasons came with Smith running the offense.

He finished his career with 468 completions in 691 attempts for 8,044 yards and 104 touchdowns passing. The TDs are an MHSAA record and the yards rank second. He threw for 42 touchdowns in 2013, which ranked fourth for one season, and 3,278 yards, good for ninth-most. He will play his college football at Wake Forest University.

Teammate Logan Hessbrook caught 19 touchdown passes in 2013 to tie for ninth-most in a season. Kickers Sage DeMull and Alex Vanderploeg also were added after both connected on more than 70 extra-point kicks the last two years, respectively, and Markes Gadlen was added after tying the record for longest kickoff-return touchdown with a 99-yarder against Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary in 2012.

Click to see the MHSAA football record book, and read on for more recent entries for other sports.

Football

  • Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy quarterback Omar Salih threw a lot of passes last fall – 428, second most in MHSAA history for one season. He made the single-game attempts list five times, with a high of 60 throws against Dearborn Heights Annapolis, and completed a high of 30 passes (in 51 attempts) against Dearborn Heights Star International. He finished with 3,293 yards passing and 32 touchdowns, both in only nine games. Teammate Nate Drew finished with 69 catches last fall for 1,376 yards and 19 TDs. His 2,748 receiving yards over four seasons rank seventh on the MHSAA career list.



Baseball

  • Monroe Jefferson’s Tyler Castiglione got nearly around the bases more than anyone else in MHSAA history in 2013, with a record 15 triples that also helped him set the career triples record of 25. Both will make national record book lists, with the 15 last season ranking fourth in NFHS history. Castiglione also graduated with a .482 career batting average and 1.63 career ERA. He now plays for Spring Arbor University.
  • Richland Gull Lake won more than 70 games over the 2011-12 seasons, and the MHSAA records reflect a few more performances that drove the run. Colton Bradley was added for 66 hits and 21 doubles in 2012, while Connor Owen made the single-season (19) and career (29) hit-by-pitch lists. The 2012 Gull Lake team moved to the top of the team hit-by-pitch list with 72, and Patrick Gaudard finished his career that spring with 38 over three seasons. Nate Stegman was added for his 1.34 ERA over two varsity seasons, as was Bob Cole for his 1.27 over 1980-81.



Boys Basketball

  • A trio of Manistique players was added for accomplishments from a few decades ago. Bill Pistulka made the single-season rebounds list with 316 in 1974-75, and brother John Pistulka made the career list with 722 from 1975-78. Rob Ryan made the season free throw percentage list by hitting 87.7 percent of his attempts during the 1988-89 season.

Boys Lacrosse

  • DeWitt’s Jackson Iciek just missed tying the MHSAA record for goalie saves in a 10-7 loss to Okemos last season. He tallied 23 saves, one shy of tying the record. 



Softball

  • With a season to play, Saginaw Heritage’s Lacy Tolfree has the sixth-highest career batting average (.580) in MHSAA history and also makes career lists with 181 runs and 43 doubles. She also was added for a 22-game hitting streak that ended last May and back-to-back grand slams that led to nine RBI total on April 22 of last year.
  • Perry’s Lauren Aldrich joined an elite group who have hit at least 10 home runs in a season, doing so last spring in 81 at bats. She hit .531 for the season.



Girls Tennis

  • Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Central’s Meika Ashby finished her high school career last season with her third MHSAA singles championship – and second at No. 1 – a final record of 94-1 after going 25-0 last spring, and the MHSAA record with 71 matches won 6-0, 6-0, during her career. Ashby is playing now at Western Michigan University.



Volleyball

  • A pair of Onaway athletes were added for successes during the 2012 season. Megan Estep had 14 aces in a three-game match against Wolverine and 50 assists in four games against Fife Lake Forest Area to make those single-match lists. Teammate Devin Bristley had 112 aces to make the season listing. 

PHOTO: Ithaca quarterback Travis Smith rolls out during his team’s Semifinal win over Montrose in November. (Click to see more from High School Sports Scene.)

Records Report: Pioneer 1st in Lacrosse

December 7, 2012

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

While we try to keep up with record book submissions all year long, the month of December is a key time for catch-up as fall sports are recently done and spring sports are just getting going before schools take a few weeks off.

Here are some of our most recent submissions, with plenty more updates to come over the next few weeks. Click on each sport to go to that MHSAA record book. 

Boys Lacrosse

  • The boys lacrosse record book is in its infancy. But Ann Arbor Pioneer is the early leader for most goals scored and fewest given up during one season. The Pioneers outscored opponents 213-67 on the way to finishing Division 1 runner-up this spring. They twice scored 20 or more goals, and also shut out two opponents.
  • Two Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central teammates are listed for single-game accomplishments from last season: Jeffrey Osment scored eight goals during an 18-6 win over Romulus on May 5, and Brandon Tata made 20 saves during a 14-4 win over Ypsilanti Lincoln on May 14.

Football

  • J.J. McGrath has built a career comparable to those of the best kickers in MHSAA history. He’s now listed in the record book for three field goals of longer than 50 yards – a 52 yarder last season as a junior, a 57-yarder this season on opening night and a 54-yarder a week later in Macomb Lutheran North’s second game.
  • Greenville kicker Caleb Wolfe registered on the career list with 95 extra points over his four-year varsity career. He made 31 straight at one point, and with a season-high of 47 as a sophomore.
  • Warren Michigan Collegiate’s 2011 team made the team record listings in two categories, including setting the record with 33 interceptions over 12 games. Nine players contributed to that total. The Cougars also scored 532 points while finishing 11-1. 

Softball

  • Beth Michalski drove in seven runs in Warren Fitzgerald’s 29-5 win over Southfield Lathrup on March 28 of this spring. She was 3 for 4 with all three hits being doubles, and scored four runs herself.
  • Lowell’s Morgan Groom struck out the first 10 batters she faced on the way to 17 total in a six-inning game against Hudsonville Unity Christian on April 12, 2011. She also struck out 20 twice in seven-inning games this spring.

Soccer

  • While younger brother Aaron Chatfield broke the MHSAA career goals record this season, older brother Paul also finished his Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian career with some impressive numbers – 109 goals, 82 assists and 191 points – which all rank in the MHSAA record book. He graduated this spring.

Wrestling

  • Dearborn Heights Annapolis grad Justis Cummins has been added to the 200-win club with a record of 207-30 during his career from 2006-10.

Baseball

  • On May 6, 1999, Owosso senior Andrew Brooks hit two home runs against Durand – both in the seventh inning. He joins a list of 24 who have hit two round-trippers in an inning. 

PHOTO: Ann Arbor Pioneer attack Eric Loveless (right) and midfielder Erik Barroso (22) celebrate a goal during last season's Division 1 Final at Birmingham Seaholm.