Cook Caps Career of Setting for Success
October 9, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Freeland setter Betsy Cook graduated this spring after a four-year run of setting her teammates up for success – and in the process became one of the most successful doing so in MHSAA history.
Cook finished with 3,738 assists over four seasons – ranking 15th all-time – and including 1,362 assists as a senior to earn two of her seven entries in the MHSAA record book. She also had a match high of 54 assists among four entries on that list.
Cook also made the single-season aces list with 110 last season, and then-sophomore teammate Caitlinn Pistro made the list with 122. Cook is continuing her career this fall at Madonna University.
See below for more recent record book additions for volleyball, baseball, softball, boys basketball and girls soccer, and click on the headings to see those record books in full.
Baseball
Nick Johnson finished his career at New Lothrop this spring as one of the most accomplished hitters in MHSAA history, ranking among the highest achievers on a number of record book lists. His 227 runs scored over 164 games and four varsity seasons rank fourth all-time, while his 256 hits are second and only one off tying the record set by Brighton’s Drew Henson from 1995-98. Johnson’s 56 career doubles also rank fourth, and his 78 hits as both a junior and senior are tied for third-most for a single season. Johnson also finished with 13 career triples and a career .491 batting average. He’s continuing his career at Adrian College.
Holland Christian’s Chris Mokma joined his brother Mike, who graduated in 2016, among four pitchers who have tossed at least two perfect games in a season. Chris’ came this spring against Hudsonville Unity Christian and Grandville Calvin Christian. He also was added to the records for a 0.55 season ERA. He’s now a senior and has committed to Michigan State.
Vassar then-sophomore Addison Hansard earned his school’s first baseball records listing since 1992 with 48 stolen bases over 32 games this spring. He was caught only twice in 50 attempts.
Boys Basketball
Mason Saubert will start his senior season next month at Wakefield-Marenisco with some impressive all-time credentials after a sharp-shooting junior year. Saubert finished 2017-18 with 98 3-pointers (in 227 attempts), his makes good for sixth most in one season. He had a career-high 11 3-pointers in a 75-30 win over Baraga on Jan. 24.
Girls Soccer
Elysia Mattos closed her four-season varsity career at Muskegon Reeths-Puffer with 14 shutouts as a senior in 2017 to make the single-season list in that category. She also finished with 47 shutouts, which ranks 15th all-time. Mattos is playing basketball at Muskegon Community College.
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian has its first record book entry for girls soccer, with Lauren Turner added for 32 goals in 2016 and 33 in 2017 and for 123 career goals from 2015-18. She’s playing at Indiana Wesleyan University.
Softball
Utica Eisenhower made team record lists with 60 doubles, 32 home runs and 261 RBI over 33 games this spring, with a pair of sluggers contributing big to the latter two totals. Now-senior Paige Kolinski made the single-season home runs list with 16 and also the single-game RBI list twice with eight and six, respectively. Aspen Starr also made the RBI list with two games of six apiece. Starr is continuing her career at University of Michigan-Dearborn, and Kolinski has committed to sign with Saginaw Valley State University.
Pinckney’s Britney Lapum also was added to the RBI list for seven in her team’s 15-5 win over Ann Arbor Huron on April 18. The senior was 3-for-5 with a double and a triple.
Volleyball
Burr Oak senior Zoe Lewis served 17 aces in only three games against Litchfield on Sept. 6. Those 17 aces are tied for seventh most for a best-of-five match in MHSAA history.
PHOTOS: Freeland’s Betsy Cook sets during a match last season against Saginaw Swan Valley. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Bay City Central's Smith Caps Career Among Top Rebounders, Shot Blockers
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 13, 2022
Bay City Central senior Alecsis Smith capped a highlight-filled career this winter with 12 girls basketball record book entries including some of the top rebounding performances of all time.
The 6-foot-2 standout three times made the single-season rebounds list with a high of 362 as a freshman, and her 1,276 total over four seasons and 79 games rank fifth on the career list. Her 31 rebounds against Midland that freshman season are tied for seventh on the single-game list for that statistic.
She also made the career free throws list with 377, the single-season blocked shots list with 129 this past winter and the career blocks list with 349, which rank 13th all-time. She’ll continue her career at Delta College.
See below for more recent additions to the girls basketball record book.
Girls Basketball
Three teams were entered for big 3-point shooting nights this winter. Midland Dow made 17 against Lapeer on Jan. 11, and four days earlier Belleville drained 14 3-pointers against Dearborn Fordson. On Dec. 21, Mackinaw City also drilled 14 3-pointers against Alba.
On Dec. 17, Larissa Gibson became Otisville LakeVille Memorial’s first to earn an entry in the girls basketball record book. The sophomore grabbed 28 rebounds in a win over Mayville.
Theryn Hallock joined an elite group of scorers with 50 points for Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central against Greenville on Feb. 22. She’ll be continuing next season at Michigan State.
Au Gres-Sims’ Emily Freehling also made the single-game rebounds list this winter, grabbing 29 in a Feb. 18 win over Hale. She’s a junior this school year.
Howell junior Molly Deurloo this winter joined the list of top free-throw shooters, posting the eighth-highest percentage for a single season at .885. She made 46 of 52 attempts over 22 games.
Parma Western’s Reece Hitt tied for the 10th-most 3-pointers in a game Feb. 11 against Battle Creek Pennfield, draining 10 of her 14 attempts. The Western senior finished with 38 points total. Plymouth senior Morgan Miller also earned her way onto that list with nine 3-pointers on 23 attempts Feb. 24 during a win over Westland John Glenn. She scored 29 points total.
Essexville Garber senior Lauren Walker posted a career-high 152 steals this season to make the single-season list in that category. That total also pushed her into a tie for 18th on the career steals list with 438 over four seasons and 77 games. She’ll play soccer at the college level, at Central Michigan.
Krista Ridgeway was a defensive force for St. Clair Shores Lakeview against Royal Oak Shrine Catholic on Feb. 24. Along with 21 points, the senior guard had 16 steals – tying for 11th-most in one game – in the 52-24 victory.
Jaxi Long finished a highlight-filled career this winter that included helping Newaygo to the Division 2 championship game in 2021. She made the record book for 69 3-pointers as a senior and 180 over four seasons and 93 games. She also was added for connecting on 89.8 percent of her free-throw attempts this winter – good for fifth-best all-time – after making the list with an .878 percentage as a junior.
Saline finished a combined 35-8 over the last two seasons, and strong shooting helped drive the success. The 2020-21 team that finished 18-2 connected on 74.4 percent of its free-throw attempts – good for second-best success rate all-time. This past season’s team made the team lists for 3-pointers made and attempted, with 156 makes in 602 tries, and senior Sophie Canen was added for her 65 3-pointers this winter. She will continue at Hope College.
PHOTO Bay City Central’s Alecsis Smith puts up a shot in the post. (Photo courtesy of the Bay City Central athletic department.)