With just a month left in the regular season of his senior season playing for the Bishop Seabury boys basketball team, Chase Honarvar had no idea he was closing in on making history.

As Honarvar delivered his second straight six-block performance in a 69-64 win over Wellsville on Jan. 25, his career tally in the stat category crossed the 400 mark.

He didn’t know it yet, but Honarvar did not have far to go to reach the all-time state record for blocked shots.

Luckily for Honarvar, he had a few people close to him that kept track of all the impressive stat lines he has been producing for the Seahawks over the last three years.

Those individuals did a deep dive to find the person who has held the state record for blocked shots for more than three decades, and even invited that person to a special ceremony to celebrate the historic achievement that Honarvar was about to reach.

In 1993, Jarrett Grosdidier graduated from St. Paul High School with his name written all over the state record book.

Grosdidier also had no idea when he was approaching the previous state record for blocks. In fact, Grosdidier had no idea he had set the all-time state record while he was playing. It wouldn’t be until three or four years out of high school before he found out.

“One of my friends in college just happened to run across it,” Grosdidier said. “‘Did you know you’re the state record holder for blocks?’ I said, ‘What?’ So I looked it up and sure enough, that’s the case.”

After finding out that his 420 career blocks were a state record, Grosdidier figured his mark would be “a lofty one” that would probably stick around for “a little while.” 

Part of him even hoped it would stay that way.

“I kept it quiet for a long time on purpose,” Grosdidier said with a laugh. “But I check it every so often. Go look online and see if I still have it.”
 

After spending nearly three decades making these periodic checks, Grosdidier ended up getting a phone call that let him know his blocks record was finally on the verge of ending.

He already saw as quite a few other records fell over the years.

Grosdidier's accomplishments as a high school athlete at St. Paul include winning state in the shot put in 1992 and 1993. During that senior track season in 1993, he also finished third in the 400-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash.

But his numbers on the football field put him in even rarer company. Grosdidier, who would go on to play tight end at Kansas State, finished his high school career with the all-time state records in receptions at 177, receiving yards at 3,047 and touchdown receptions at 48, watched those other records fall over time.

Sacred Heart’s Aaron Wedel set the overall top mark for that state for two of those stats when he finished his high school career in 2007 with 207 receptions and 3,839 receiving yards. Grosdidier's touchdown mark stayed alive until Goddard Eisenhower’s Carter Pabst passed it in the fall before finishing at 54.

Each of those three records for Grosdidier remain intact as the most at the eight-person football level.

Then one day he got a call from Mehdi Honarvar, Chase’s dad and assistant coach for Seabury, to let him know that blocks record was the next to fall.

“I got the call from his dad saying, ‘Hey, he’s coming pretty close,’” Grosdidier said.

Before his father made that call, it was actually Honarvar’s grandfather who found Grosdidier’s record and noticed that his grandson was starting to get close to reaching that mark.

The elder Honarvar would also be the one to inform his grandson about how close he was getting to this achievement.
 

“He’s all into the stats,” Honarvar said. “Whatever I’m doing, he is trying to research it, see what’s happening.”

Honarvar got a little closer to the mark after recording three blocks in his team’s 99-58 win over Maranatha Christian Academy on Jan. 28. If he had delivered at his season average of 6.87 blocks per game, the previous record would have remained intact for at least another three games.

Instead, Honarvar produced double-digit blocks in back-to-back games, including a triple-double performance in a 69-62 road win against Bishop Ward, breaking the record as he reached 424 blocks in his career. That was Honarvar’s second triple-double of the season, with his first also being against the Cyclones back on Jan. 10.

“It feels good,” Honarvar said of breaking the record. “It’s cool to put your name in the record book. It just feels like a great accomplishment.”

When the team organized a ceremony before the next home game against Burlingame, Honarvar found the celebration to be a cool experience. At the same time, he also didn’t feel comfortable getting so much attention for his individual stats.

“I’m not really a big fan of all that,” Honarvar said. “I just put my head down, go out there and play. But I’m going to appreciate it because I know it’s going to be a good memory.”

Honarvar’s discomfort showed when he sat on the bench waiting to be called out to center court for his moment in the spotlight. He couldn’t quite shake his awkward feelings on the walk up toward the front of the crowd.

But after shaking hands with Grosdidier, who handed him a special trophy ball embroidered with the name spelled out above the words “2024-25 Kansas All-Time Career Blocks Record,” Honarvar finally let out a big smile.

Grosdidier, who runs a dental practice in Kansas City, said he's stayed plugged into the high school basketball scene in Kansas.

With each of his kids currently or formerly attending Blue Valley Northwest, Grosdidier paid attention to the Huskies boys and their multiple championship runs over the last decade. But he's paid closer attention to the girls team as all four of his daughters play basketball. His daughter Ava Grosdidier is a junior playing for the Huskies this season.

Despite his kids attending a 6A school, Grosdidier still feels a strong connection to basketball in the smaller classes. Because of that, he also took comfort in the player who broke his blocks record hailing from a 1A program, even if it was a private school instead of a rural school like the one he attended way back when.

“It’s always neat to watch a small town kid get put on the map a little bit because it’s good for all the small schools out there," Grosdidier said.

Honarvar said it felt good to receive the honor, especially with Grosdidier on hand to present him the trophy ball at midcourt.

“I really respect the guy that came before me,” Honarvar said. “I didn’t really know much about him, but got to know him in the last week or so.”
 

Honarvar didn’t get to meet Grosdidier in person until shortly before the game against Burlingame. But he said based on their short conversations and finding out more about Grosdidier’s backstory, Honarvar is interested in staying in contact with this accomplished individual who he hopes can serve as mentor for him going forward.

“I don’t try to look at the stats like ‘I’ll have a triple-double this game,’” Honarvar said. “I’m just trying to play, go out there and do as best as I can.”

His introduction to Grosdidier already seems to have positive effects on Honarvar’s game.

In what became a back-and-forth battle with Burlingame, Honarvar delivered a stat line of 25 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 blocks. Most of those numbers have been fairly standard for the senior center. Honarvar has averaged a double-double for each of the past three seasons with more than 14 points and 14 rebounds per game for each of the last two years.

But with his team unable to shake the Bearcats, Honarvar gave his team an early spark by unleashing another dimension of his game and showing his range. He hit four 3-pointers in the first half. 

The Seahawks needed all of those as they trailed 32-31 at the break. Seabury would go on to take a one-point lead into the fourth quarter before pulling away for the 64-56 victory.

“That was probably his most confident game,” said Trey Johnson, Bishop Seabury head coach. “Like, we all know he can shoot. In practice, he does that all the time. In games, he doesn't always shoot those. Today, he was just feeling good.”

Johnson saw a direct correlation between that atmosphere around the award ceremony and that confidence on the court.

“I think it helps,” Johnson said. “We had a bunch of extra family and friends here, so he just came and played and we needed him to do that, right? Without that, I think we would've gotten beat. But it is awesome.”

Maybe the pregame ceremony activated his confidence in this game, but it was all of Honarvar’s work in the offseason that allowed him to massively improve that aspect of his game this season.
 

Honarvar started working on his range over this last summer. That’s when he got the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles and work with Charlie Torres, an NBA skills coach and trainer who has worked with players such as former Golden State Warrior Klay Thompson.

Honarvar started this season 10 of 30 from 3-point range through the team’s first 14 games of the season. But after getting pumped up during a pregame ceremony celebrating his accomplishments as rim protector, Honarvar decided to fire away from deep on offense against Burlingame.

Honarvar went 5 of 10 from 3-point range, which actually pushed his 3-point percentage slightly ahead of Smith for the best on the team this season. That distinction was short-lived as Honarvar followed up with an 0-of-4 performance in the team’s next outing.

In addition to Honarvar’s 25 points against Burlingame, senior guard Jace “Boogie” Smith added another 17 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists while junior forward Marion Stubbs contributed 14 points, 11 rebounds, an assist and a steal. The final member of Seabury’s Big 4, junior Jace Hoffman, was held scoreless in the first half before knocking down a pair of 3-pointers and a pair of free throws down the stretch.

Burlingame has become a mini-rival for the Seahawks over the last few years. Two years ago, Seabury saw its season end at the hands of the Bearcats. The Seahawks beat Burlingame by 16 at the end of regular season, but Burlingame returned the favor with a 67-56 win in the sub-state semifinals.

Last year Seabury earned an 18-point victory in another late season matchup with Burlingame. It looked like Burlingame might have been able to keep the pattern going as these two teams faced off in the sub-state semifinals again. The Bearcats put up a great fight, but Seabury was able to hold on for a 57-55 overtime victory as the Seahawks made a run to the state championship game.

Johnson pointed to Honarvar’s consistency as a big factor in the team weathering the storm early against the Bearcats this time around, ultimately opening up opportunities the team’s other top players found their footing in the second half.

“When he's confident and plays like that, everybody else feeds off of that energy too,” Johnson said. “So I think it's just a really good thing to have as a teammate to just have a guy that's always gonna try to give his all every game.”

Johnson said Honarvar, Smith, Hoffman and Stubbs generally play the entire time. Senior Zephyr O’Hara has served as the fifth starter for each of the past two seasons. Sophomore Lucien Brockhoff and freshmen AJ Campbell and Elliot Ardery lead a group of guys who rotate into that fifth spot, or into the rare relief minutes for the Big 4.
 

Over the last three years, Smith has led the team in scoring with Honarvar not too far behind him.

As sophomores, Smith finished slightly ahead of a pair of seniors Enzo Karam and Truman Hill as all three finished above 11 points per game. Honarvar averaged 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with his 6.2 blocks per game.

Seabury reached the sub-state semifinals that year before losing to Burlingame. The Seahawks finished the regular season with a 70-54 win over Burlingame, but lost the playoff rematch 67-56.

During their junior year, Smith pushed his scoring output to 16.8 PPG while also pushing his assists from 4.2 to 5.4 per game as he took over as the primary playmaker at guard following the graduation of Karam. Hoffman took a big jump from his freshman campaign by doubling his PPG with a 15.4 average. 

Honarvar had no qualms about remaining outside the top-two scorers on the team. Of course, he still got his looks as he delivered career-high averages of 14.7, 15.3 rebounds and 7.5 blocks per game. Aidan Page gave the team a fourth player averaging at least 14.0 PPG after averaging 9.5 as the previous year as a junior.

Seabury rode that group to a 21-5 record and a state runner-up finish in 1A DI. The Seahawks lost to South Gray 73-63 in the finals.

“Right after we were done last year, they started back in the gym with their summer ball and AAU stuff,” Johnson said. “Then when we started this year, that’s going to be our goal right? Win state. We were one gamey away, a couple points here or there. But it’s not as hard to motivate them because they were there and now they know what it is and they want to go back.”

Johnson said the team approached last year’s postseason as an experience with much less pressure.

“We were just like, ‘Let’s just see what it is,’” Johnson said of the team’s mentality. “That experience was awesome and everybody had a blast, so I know that they want to go do it again.”

The team still could have taken a step back with Page graduating, but the addition of Stubbs helped keep the Seahawks on track and set their sights on returning to the state championship game.
 

With three players measuring in at 6-foot-4 and above, Seabury leans on their height and speed which is not common at any level in Kansas high school basketball, let alone in 1A DI.

“We’re just big and quick,” Johnson said. “So you can usually guard one of the two bigs. Even if you can guard one, the other one’s going to have a good day and they like passing to each other all the time, which is fantastic.”

Johnson said it’s very difficult for opponents to limit the offense of all four of those players, especially for a full 40 minutes of game time.

“I know a couple games ago (Honarvar and Stubbs) both had 20 rebounds,” Johnson said. “It’s an enjoyable thing. It makes my job way easier, honestly.”

It also makes Honarvar’s job easier. He’s seen his stats dip a little from last year’s career highs, but that’s no problem to him.

“Everyone else has been improving, right?” Honarvar said. “So my role, I’m not really going to score much more. I’m not going to need to rebound much more because we got another forward that we didn’t have last year that’s going to get some rebounds. 

“But what I think has improved more in my game is the assists, the playmaking. I’m able to see who’s open, get them the shot rather than me having to take it.”

On defense, his block numbers went from 7.5 last year to a shade under 7.0 this season. But that’s also not anything that Honarvar is worried about.

“Last year I was really the only big on the team, so I was the main one in the paint,” Honarvar said. “Now we have another big that came to our team and really helped out the block numbers.”

With Stubbs helping with rim protection and interior defense overall, Honarvar can focus his efforts on other parts of his game.
 

On offense, few opponents will be able to match their size and athleticism.

“One of us is going to get the big switched on us,” Honarvar said. “Whoever that is, the other one’s going to have a mismatch.”

Johnson also credited Stubbs with easing his own transition to the team by sharing the same team-first mentality displayed by leaders on his own new team.

“(Stubbs) just came in and just fit right in with what we needed,” Johnson said. 

“Like tonight, Jace Hoffman was not really having his normal game,” Johnson said. “But Chase had a fantastic game. Marion was a little lower than he normally is. Boogie was having a great game. So putting it all together, where everybody’s having a great night at the same time is just the next step for us, I think.

“If we ever had a game where all four of them were on …”

Johnson trailed off before he finished describing what a game like that might look like, with all four of his top players delivering their A-game on the same night. Just the thought of it caused Johnson’s smile to widen.

Of course, he’s also very happy with what this quartet has been able to achieve already with their current dynamic. The Seahawks once again have four players averaging more than 14 points per game with Honarvar, Smith, Hoffman and now Stubbs. Smith leads the way once again as he averages 17.8 points per game.

“But it's good because they all pick each other up too,” Johnson said. “It works out most of the time.”

It’s also why Honarvar’s teammates seemed even more psyched than he did during the pregame ceremony celebrating his blocks record.
 

“His teammates love him and so it's just fun and exciting all the time,” Johnson said. “They're all happy and proud of him too. There's no jealous people on our team. They just want everybody to be successful and be good as a team.”

Johnson described the ceremony as a “super awesome experience” that he’s glad he could be a part of as Honarvar’s coach. But really, Johnson feels like his enjoyment in that moment is just a small part of his extremely enjoyable role coaching this group lead by Honarvar.

“That was super cool, super awesome that the school would do something like that and that (Grosdidier) would come back and do that for us,” Johnson said. “I think he’s had it for what, 30 years? I think it’ll be one of those things that doesn’t get broken anytime soon, the way that high school basketball seems to work around here.”

Johnson also appreciated that the ceremony gave the team another way to get psyched up for a regular season game. He said although the team has definitely benefited from this group’s determination to return to the state championship game, sometimes that big-picture focus produces a few lapses in focus on the team's short-term goals.

“It’s hard to keep them necessarily focused on the current game sometimes because they’re looking ahead to sub-state games and those matchups might work,” Johnson said. “But they usually trail off a little bit and then we refocus them back to the current situation.”

Johnson pointed to the team’s game the next day against Heritage Christian Academy. 

“Tomorrow we have a game to win our conference,” Johnson said. “So that’s what we’re focusing on now.”

Johnson ended up sounding prophetic as his team ended up losing to the Chargers 59-53 in overtime.

Seabury will have a couple more chances to seal up the Kaw Valley Conference championship. First the Seahawks will face Northland Christian on Feb. 14 before finishing up this three-game road stretch by playing Kansas City Christian four days later. Finaly, the team will wrap up the regular season hosting Maranatha Christian Academy on Feb. 20.