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.)
Standouts Climb Career Record Lists
April 13, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Vicksburg’s runs to back-to-back District titles – and the Division 2 championship game last spring – were keyed by a productive offense, including contributions by a pair who are seniors this spring.
Shaidan Knapp and Grace Stock both are entered into the MHSAA record book for single-season doubles from the last two seasons and for career doubles with a season to play – Stock has 39 and Knapp has 49, both over three seasons and 116 games. Knapp also ranks on the career RBI list with 188.
As a team, Vicksburg made the single-season wins list finishing 36-9 last season, when it had the second-most hits in MHSAA history with 522 over 45 games. The 2015 and 2016 teams are listed for various team accomplishments, also most notably for 366 RBI (third all-time) in 2016 and a .460 batting average (tied for second all-time) in 2015.
Click the softball heading below to see that record book in full, and also read on for more recent additions in boys basketball, football, boys soccer and volleyball.
Boys Basketball
Nearly two decades have passed since Rojelio Parra-Grady scored 49 points for Dearborn Fordson in its 2001 Class A District Final win over Allen Park. His total tied for ninth-most points in an MHSAA Tournament game at any level. He scored 15 points in the fourth quarter of the 76-49 win and made six 3-pointers in the game.
Ithaca kicker Adam Culp is climbing the charts for his position with a season yet to play. Culp made the single-season extra-point list with 59 as a sophomore and 46 this past fall as a junior, and his 105 career extra points also already rank among the best. Culp also had nine field goals in 11 attempts last season. Teammate Joey Bentley, also a junior, was added after throwing for 2,056 yards in 12 games in the fall.
Paul Verska finished a coaching career spanning four decades in 2015 with a record of 218-174-1 at seven Michigan schools – Lincoln Alcona, Allegan, Detroit Servite, Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard, Cadillac, Ann Arbor Huron and Warren DeLaSalle. He finished with the Pilots, taking over in 2002 and leading them to the Division 2 title in 2014.
Boys Soccer
Marshall goalkeeper Kurt Kraushaar finished his high school career in the fall with 22 shutouts over four seasons to make the MHSAA career list in that category. He also made the single-season list as a junior in 2015 with 13 shutouts.
Grand Ledge finished 10-2-5 in the fall in part because of a strong defense; its seven goals given up tied for fourth-fewest in one season. Keeper Blaine Teahan also made the MHSAA records with a stretch of six straight shutouts from Aug. 20-Sept. 14.
Softball
Last season was a record-setting one for Coleman and a group of four-year varsity seniors. As a team, the Comets finished 39-3, setting MHSAA single-season records with 555 hits and 432 runs batted in, while tying for second with a .460 batting average and ranking second all-time alone with 510 runs scored in reaching the Division 4 Quarterfinals. Six players combined for 22 individual record book entries. Now-graduated Cassidy Tucker made the lists for 84 runs, 78 hits and 13 home runs in a season and 178 runs and 23 triples over her career (plus seven RBI in one game last May). Her 84 runs last spring were second-most in MHSAA history. Carley Starnes also made the single-season runs list with 74 and career lists with 224 runs, 231 hits and 34 doubles; and Grace Staley was added for 73 runs last season, 200 in her career, 81 hits last season and 238 in her career. Senior Laken Berthume had 71 RBI last season, 165 in her career and walked 77 times over four varsity seasons. Senior Kaylie Scott put together a 33-game hitting streak that stretched over nearly a year from May 2015-May 2016, while freshman MacKenzie Miller was among those added for six RBI in a game. Tucker is playing at Alma College and Starnes and Berthume are playing at Delta College.
Kalamazoo Christian has played in three MHSAA Finals over the last decade, and a number of entries from that time also were added. Kara Gjeltema, a senior last spring, was entered 18 times, most notably for 40 career home runs (tied for sixth most), 71 RBI in 2015 (tied for 11th) and 238 career RBI (tied for second). Also-2016 senior McKena Razenberg was added for 66 runs in 2015 and 180 over her four-year career, while 2014 graduate Tori Sides was added for 77 hits in 2014, 230 during her career and 183 career runs. Stephanie VanderLugt (class of 2013), Katie Dwyer (2009), Alex Hatfield (2005), Megan Rozeveld and Hannah Doorn also were added at least once; Hatfield’s 35 career triples are tied for fifth most. Kalamazoo Christian as a team earned 15 entries, with its 32 triples in 1999 (tied for 10th) most notable. Gjeltema is playing this season at Olivet College, while Razenberg is at Cornerstone, Sides played for Kellogg Community College, Dwyer for Huntington University (Ind.) and Rozeveld at Calvin College.
Volleyball
Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard seniors Jurnee Tipton and Emma Nowak capped outstanding careers in the fall with record book-worthy totals in their final match, a 3-2 Regional Final loss to Adrian. Tipton had 40 kills, which tied for the seventh-most in one match since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004-05. Nowak had 63 assists, which tied for fourth-most in that category. Tipton will continue her volleyball career at Howard University.
Frankenmuth setter Lindsey Mertz never made the MHSAA single-season assists list during her four-year varsity career (needing a minimum of 1,200 to do so). But combined, her four seasons of more than 1,000 assists added up to 4,436 – the third-most for a career during the rally scoring era. Mertz will play next season at Hillsdale College.
PHOTO: Vicksburg shortstop Shaidan Knapp prepares to make a throw during last season’s Division 2 Final at Secchia Stadium.