Shelby’s Navea Gauthier sets new mark for career kills in the state of Michigan
SHELBY – Breaking records was never something that Navea Gauthier set out to do. Perfecting her craft in an effort to win as many games as possible and bring hardware back to Shelby was always the top priority.
That dedication lined the trophy cases at Shelby High School (SHS), and the banners that hang in the gym have been receiving annual updates. Since joining the varsity volleyball team as a freshman in 2021, Gauthier has helped the Tigers to three conference titles (2022-24), four district titles (2021-24) and a regional championship (2022).
Now, in the midst of her final chance to contribute to team accolades, Gauthier is setting individual milestones that will live in the record books for years to come.
As Gauthier entered her senior season in August, her head coach at Shelby, Tom Weirich, was well aware of where she stood in her career kills tally. Each week, Weirich would add more and more to the total, watching history unfold before his eyes.
On Saturday, Nov. 2, Weirich and the Tigers traveled to Sparta for weekend tournament action. In between battling Greenville and Kent City, Gauthier surpassed 3,685 career kills, moving her into the top spot in Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) history.
“We were counting the days until (Navea) showed up as a freshman,” Weirich said. “She was going to change the course and complexion of our program for a while. Her freshman year she had over 700 kills and then she went back-to-back 1,000 kill seasons. That puts her in a very elite group of athletes.”
That elite group of athletes includes the former record holder, Alisha Glass Childress. Glass Childress set a mark of 3,684 kills at the end of her high school career at Leland Public School in 2006.
Glass Childress has a long list of accomplishments herself, including three national championships at Penn State University, multiple World Championship medals and an Olympic Bronze medal from the 2016 Rio Games. A decorated career in the sport of volleyball made Glass Childress the obvious choice as a role model for Gauthier from an early age. Little did she know how many times their paths would cross in the coming years.
“People ask me who I look up to and I sometimes say Serena Williams, but really it’s Alisha Glass,” Gauthier said. “Not a lot of people know of her but she’s just a great person all in all. Sometimes you get people that are (famous) but they aren’t great people. Alisha is just a great person, mother and daughter. She’s great in all aspects of her life.”
Gauthier’s fascination with Glass Childress began in the fifth grade when she modeled a school project after the volleyball mogul. From that point, Gauthier and Glass Childress met twice in person. The first was at the MHSAA state finals where Glass Childress looked on as her mom coached Leland.
With future teammate and self-proclaimed best friend Audrey Horton by her side, Gauthier got the chance to meet Glass Childress. The result was a signed state finals ticket and a photo to go along with it – something that has been a mainstay in Gauthier’s room since that day.
“Alisha is the epitome of a wonderful woman. She came out and talked to Navea and Audrey (Horton) and signed their state finals ticket,” Navea’s mom Becky Gauthier said. “Of course, I got it framed and that’s been in Navea’s room ever since. Ever since then, Alisha has been who she wants to be and not just as an athlete. I think she identified with her as a person of color and as a strong woman who had a mom as a coach as well.”
Years later, Gauthier and Glass Childress met once more – this time the conversation had a bit more meaning.
“Grand Rapids Far Out Volleyball club had a women’s symposium last year just before the season started,” Becky Gauthier said. “Alisha Glass was one of the women that was on the panel talking to all these young women. Somebody brought Navea to meet Alisha and she looked at Navea and said ‘so I hear you’re trying to break my record.’ Navea told her that was the plan and Alisha told her to go break that record.”
Navea did that and more, cruising past Glass Childress’ mark in 2024, finishing her high school career with 3,706 kills. That finishes second in the all-time rankings nationally as Kryssi Daniels from Alabama holds the record with 4,019. Her runner-up status comes with a bit of serendipity as any personal accolades Navea has collected to this point, come second to what Shelby accomplishes as a team.
“Navea’s freshman year, when I handed her that first (district championship) medal… as I handed it to her, she goes ‘one of four coach,’” Weirich said. “During her sophomore year she remembered we talked about it and she said ‘two of four’ and then ‘three of four’ last year. She always talks about the team awards before any individual stuff. She would trade (her individual record) for a state championship, I promise you that. That’s what separates her. She wants to lead that legacy of putting four wooden trophies in that case with her name on all four of them.”
While Shelby was unable to reach that state finals game – finishing with a 3-0 loss to Roscommon in the 2024 D3 regional semifinals – Navea did deliver on that promise to her coach. Shelby claimed their fourth consecutive district title, taking down Hart to make the trophy their own.
During that district run, Shelby took time to celebrate Navea. The crowd donned signs of her face, an announcement was made congratulating her and cake was served in the cafeteria. The best form of acknowledgement however, came from Glass Childress herself.
A personalized video from Glass Childress made its way to Navea, congratulating her on the new record and expressing excitement for her future in volleyball.
“It means a lot. I’ve seen her at the state finals a couple of times and gotten to take pictures and talk with her a bit,” Navea said. “Having someone that’s gone through everything that I’ve gone through… she’s really just a great role model for anyone.”
Now, with her high school career in the rearview mirror, Navea has turned her focus to preparing for a career with the Buckeyes at Ohio State University. As she does that, she can’t help but laugh at where her journey has taken her.
“I’ve been making my highlight reel for the state individual awards and it’s cool to see me as a freshman and the growth that I’ve made,” Navea said. “I think a lot of it comes from the weight room. I was kind of a scrawny little freshman that didn’t hit the weight room much. Coming in as a freshman, I was a little unsure. I hadn’t played a sport with these girls. I didn’t play middle school volleyball, so trusting my training was huge. Coming in day to day and working with my teammates helped push us to the next level.”
That’s been the story for Navea. Focus on the present, always pushing toward that “next level.”
