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.)
Record Feats Key Dakota's Historic Run
January 4, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Macomb Dakota’s historic finish to last softball season came on the bats and arm of some history-making players who are among the latest entries into MHSAA record books.
The Cougars won their first Regional title and played in their first MHSAA Final (losing in the Division 1 championship game to Farmington Hills Mercy), and finished with a record of 38-3 – the 38 wins among notable team accomplishments that made record lists. The 2016 team’s 458 hits ranked 14th for one season in MHSAA history, while its 99 doubles were third-most and its 32 home runs were tied for 12th-most in a season. (Also, the 2015 team ranked 15th on the home runs list with 30 in 37 games.)
Individually, sophomore Corbin Hison was added for 17 doubles, while senior Kelcie LaTour was added to the single-season home runs list with 11 for the second straight spring. Junior pitcher Kendahl Dunford finished 35-3 to make the single-season pitching wins list, and LaTour also graduated on the career home runs list with 29. She’s now playing at Grand Valley State University.
See below for more recent additions to record books for baseball, girls and boys basketball, football, boys soccer and wrestling. Click on the sport headings to see those record books in full.
Baseball
Homer’s Brock Ridgeway finished his four-year varsity career last spring on MHSAA career lists for runs scored (163), hits (184), RBI (142) and being hit by pitches (47) after being hit by 18 pitches this past season and three times in one April game. The 47 career HBP is tied for third-most all-time, and he also just missed the career pitching wins list with 32. Homer as a team last spring made season lists with a .354 batting average and 53 HBPs. Ridgeway is a freshman on the Central Michigan University baseball team.
Girls Basketball
Margo Brown’s perimeter shooting was a big part of St. Ignace’s dominance through the first half of this decade, and she entered the record book for 11 3-pointers – tied for third-most in a game – against Rudyard on 17 attempts on Jan. 20, 2015. She now plays at Ferris State University.
Boys Basketball
Jordan Weber knocked down 73 3-pointers last season for East Jordan to finish his four-year varsity career with 278 – fifth-most in MHSAA history. He made nearly 34 percent of his 818 career attempts and averaged 17.1 points per game total as a senior.
Football
A pair of Gaylord athletes were entered for impressive scores more than 30 years ago. Kurt Kakaviska made the records for his 90-yard punt return touchdown against Petoskey in 1982, while Mark Johnston was added for two interception return touchdowns in one quarter in a 1986 game, also against Petoskey. Johnston actually scored a third defensive touchdown in that same third quarter, on a fumble recovery. Kakaviska went on to play at Northern Michigan University.
Haslett kicker Luke Ezzo capped a three-season career this fall among career leaders in field goals with 19 in 26 attempts over 27 games. Ezzo also made the single-season field goals list as a junior with nine in 11 tries over 10 games.
Boys Soccer
Over eight days this fall, Micah Sonnenberg posted two of the highest-scoring games in MHSAA history. The Brooklyn Columbia Central sophomore netted six goals against Clinton on Oct. 6, then scored seven – tied for fifth-most in one game – against Jonesville on Oct. 13.
Softball
A pair of Reese hitters were added for batting prowess. Emily Schrader made the single-season hits list with 72 in 2010, while Monica Hagen – already on the single-season list with 73 in 2014 – was added to the career hits list with 209 over 132 games from 2011-14. Schrader went on to play at Delta College.
Wrestling
Jake Bohn finished his East Kentwood career in 2008 setting the single-season takedown record with 526 – and now also has been added for setting the career takedown record of 1,365 over 216 matches and four varsity seasons. Bohn went on to wrestle at George Mason University.
Comstock Park standout Ryan McCarthy has been added for his 209-29 record over four seasons from 2000-03. He was the first from his school to eclipse the 200-win career milestone.
PHOTO: Macomb Dakota’s Kelcie LaTour takes a swing during last season’s Division 1 Final against Farmington Hills Mercy.