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.)

Coleman Scores Records Recognition

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 21, 2020

With Jaden Berthume playing a leading role, Coleman made three straight Division 4 Semifinals trips in softball from 2017-19 – and her work has resulted in her ranking among the best in multiple MHSAA record book categories.

Berthume has entries for 189 runs, 257 hits (tied for 12th all-time) and 175 RBI over 166 games and four seasons before graduating in 2019. Coleman as a team was added to the records for winning 35 games both in 2017 and 2019 and for a variety of other stat totals over her career.

Additionally, teammate Faith Barden was added for striking out 14 Ashley batters in a five-inning game in 2018 and driving in six runs in a 2019 win over Morrice, and Liz Dana was added for six RBI in a 2017 win over Carson City-Crystal.

Berthume plays at Northwood University, and Barden plays at Lawrence Tech. Barden graduated in 2018, and Dana graduated in 2017.

Click to see the softball record book, in full and check out below more recent record book additions in girls basketball, hockey, boys soccer, boys tennis and volleyball.

Girls Basketball

Stephenson’s Tori Wangerin had one of the most prolific rebounding games in MHSAA history Feb. 3, 2015 against West Iron County. Wangerin grabbed 28 rebounds in the 51-28 win. She went on to play at University of Wisconsin at Marinette.

Plymouth was added to the team record book for attempting 482 3-pointers and making 155 over 23 games last season, led by then-junior Ella Riley’s 75 3-pointers to make the individual record list. She had seven as Plymouth made the single-game list with 14 3-pointers in a Jan. 17 win over Salem.

Hockey

Nicklas Lockhart became the second player in the category for two goals scored during the shortest amount of time. He tallied two over six seconds for Caledonia/Lowell against East Kentwood on Feb. 8, at 13:19 and 13:13 to play in the second period, as his team went on to a 7-2 victory. 

Boys Soccer

Zachary Cepo completed one of the most notable high school careers in Michigan history last fall, finishing his fourth varsity season at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central with 41 goals, 33 assists and 74 points. All three made record book lists, as did his career numbers of 102 goals, 146 assists and 248 points. The career assists extended the MHSAA record he reached as a junior; he also owns the single-season assists record set as both a sophomore and junior. His career points rank third all-time.

Boys Tennis

The No. 2 pair of Trevor Teunis and Jared Berghorst and No. 4 of Chad Koenig and Josh Sommers were among strong doubles that helped Hudsonville qualify for last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals. Teunis and Berghorst made the record book finishing 28-6, as did Koenig and Sommers finishing 31-5. Both No. 2 players were seniors last fall, and both No. 4 players were sophomores.

Volleyball

Spring Lake setter Kyla Kobylak finished her sophomore year last fall with an MHSAA record after tallying 71 assists over five games against Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Oct. 8. Spring Lake won 25-27, 31-29, 25-23, 21-25 and 15-11.

Melina Robertson just missed making the single-season assists list as both a junior in 2018 and a senior last fall, when she totaled a career-high 1,054 for Sault Ste. Marie. But with those four seasons together, Robertson ranks 21st with 3,730 career assists.

Hopkins senior Brianna Miller will be working to move up the MHSAA career lists in kills and aces this fall after reaching both as a junior. She has 1,435 kills and 289 aces over 405 games and three seasons with one to play, and she also was added for 675 kills last year. Teammate Ashley Bultema also was added to the records last fall as a senior with 11 aces during a two-game win over Grand Rapids Union on Oct. 12.

Makenzie Bonnell finished her Marshall four-season varsity career last fall with the ninth-most assists in rally scoring history, 4,225, and three listings on the single-season assists list. Her single-season high came as a senior, with 1,293, and she also topped 1,200 as both a sophomore and junior.

PHOTO: Coleman’s Jaden Berthume crosses the plate during a 2019 Division 4 Semifinal at Secchia Stadium.