photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Bishop Seabury senior center Chase Honarvar grabs a rebound in a 64-56 win over Burlingame at Seabury Academy on Monday, February 10, 2025.

Bishop Seabury center Chase Honarvar found out about two weeks before his game against Bishop Ward that he was approaching the state’s all-time block leader.

For over 30 years, Jarrett Grosdidier held that state record with 420 blocks. Grosdidier initially didn’t know that he set the record but was told a couple of years after graduating from St. Paul High School in 1993. Grosdidier — who played football for Kansas State before becoming a dentist in Overland Park — said that every few years, he’d check the record books and see if his name was still at the top.

“I had some football records, too, but those kind of fell off quickly,” Grosdidier said. “This one hung on for a while… but 30 years is good. It’s time for somebody else.”

Honarvar overtook Grosdidier during a 10-block game against Bishop Ward on Saturday. The Seahawks returned home to host Burlingame on Monday, where Grosdidier started the game by handing Honarvar a commemorative basketball to celebrate the new record holder.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Bishop Seabury center Chase Honarvar, right, and Jarrett Grosdidier shake hands before a Bishop Seabury game against Burlingame at Seabury Academy on Monday, February 10, 2025. Honarvar passed Grosdidier to become the state’s all-time leader in blocks.

“I’m ecstatic — it’s cool to have your name in a record book somewhere,” Honarvar said. “It’s timing, just trying to time shots. I played volleyball for a year, and I think that really helped with timing.”

Bishop Seabury coach Trey Johnson says Honarvar is one of the most humble players he’s coached. It isn’t often that players are defense-first. Honarvar is more than happy playing defense and letting others take charge on the offensive end.

Growing up, Honarvar and his father, Mehdi, used to watch tape of Dennis Rodman, an NBA forward who specialized in rebounds and blocks. That’s where Honarvar gets his play style from. It was ingrained in him at a young age to rebound and play defense. With the Seahawks, he has averaged between six and seven blocks per game since his sophomore year and over 15 rebounds per game in the last two years.

“(The record) wasn’t something we ever thought about,” Johnson said. “Last year was cool because he was blocking everything. I’ve known him since third grade, and looking at him now, he’s huge. He’s so good. Defense is his thing.”

Johnson said that Honarvar does the dirty work. He’s setting screens on offense. He gets blocks on defense and moves on to the next play. They allow him to be the rim protector without any help on defense. Johnson likes the odds of a one-on-one with Honarvar at the rim.

Often, Johnson has to remind Honarvar to be more aggressive on offense, but in Monday’s game against Burlingame, Honarvar had 25 points with five 3-pointers to go along with 13 rebounds and five blocks. It was a good night to make an offensive statement.

Whether his record lasts another 30 years or not, Honarvar has more on his mind. The Seahawks finished last season as the runner-up in the 1A state tournament. This year, he wants the Seahawks to go for it all. They have four games left on the schedule to tweak some things before they move on to the postseason.

“The group of guys I’ve been with… we all know each other’s game and know how we’re going to compete,” Honarvar said. “We’re trying to win it all and do what we did last year.”

Monday was the first time Grosdidier got to see Honarvar play basketball. After the first half, Grosdidier was impressed with the new record holder.

“He’s a great basketball player,” Grosdidier said of Honarvar. “He can hit the ball from outside. If anybody has to get (the record), I have no problem with it being him.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Bishop Seabury senior center Chase Honarvar contests a shot in a home win against Burlingame on Monday, February 10, 2025.