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.)
Mercy Star Scores Record in 1st Season
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 28, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Few freshmen in any sport have broken onto the scene like Farmington Hills Mercy’s Jillian Smith did in girls lacrosse in 2018.
The now-sophomore earned 20 entries in the MHSAA record book, including the top spot for points in one game when she scored 12 goals and tallied three assists for 15 points against Detroit Country Day last March 26.
Smith scored 12 goals in a game (tied for third most) three times, and her 132 goals for the season ranked third. Her 155 points over 17 games tied for sixth most all-time as she led Mercy to the Division 2 Semifinals.
See below for more recent MHSAA record book additions in girls lacrosse, girls soccer, boys basketball and football. Click the headings to see those record books in full.
Boys Basketball
A few seasons after hoisting his final high school shots, Drew Zuidema has an updated and rightful place on the career 3-pointers list. He made the list initially after his first three seasons at Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian, but with his senior total from 2013-14 now included Zuidema ended with 226 3-pointers – good to rank 16th in the category. He went on to play at Spring Arbor University.
A pair of standouts put up record book numbers over four seasons for Ann Arbor Skyline as they led the team to the Class A Regional Finals in 2017-18. Brandon Wade was added for making 352 of 486 free-throw attempts over 87 games, and also for his 210 career steals (his 469 career assists just missed that list). Jack Ammerman was added for connecting on 227 3-pointers in 533 attempts also over 87 games. Wade is playing at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, and Ammerman is continuing his career at Northwood.
Football
Hemlock junior quarterback Brady Devereaux enjoyed a game worthy of record book recognition this past season, rushing for six touchdowns in a 47-12 win over Saginaw Nouvel. He finished with 183 yards on 22 carries.
Clare senior Aidan Boyd tied for sixth with 159 extra points for his career over just three seasons, finishing this past fall with 159 in 171 attempts over 32 varsity games. He also made the single-season list for extra points all three, with a high of 55 in 61 attempts as a junior.
Three St. Joseph kickers were added for field goals in a season this decade – Cullen Hoffman for 10 in 2013 and nine in 2014, Sean Akins for nine in 2015 and senior Antonio Buhrfiend for nine this past fall. Hoffman also was added to the career list with 19 field goals in 25 attempts over three varsity seasons (all 25 tries came during his final two years). Additionally, then-senior Jack Turak was added for 43 carries in a playoff game (for 391 yards) against Sturgis on Nov. 1, 2013, and 40 carries two weeks earlier (184 yards) against Portage Central.
Schoolcraft junior Kobe Clark made statewide headlines with his MHSAA record nine rushing touchdowns on Sept. 28, and he finished the fall with 38 rushing touchdowns (tied for eighth) and 45 scores total (sixth). Clark’s 270 points scored ranked 10th all-time for one season.
While Holland Christian defeated Ada Forest Hills Eastern 40-16 on Aug. 30, Forest Hills Eastern senior Brady Doyle earned a slight statistical advantage – and record book entry – in a matchup of busy receivers. Doyle caught six passes for 266 yards (and two touchdowns), making the single-game yardage list. Holland Christian’s Brady Howe just missed the cut-off for that list with nine catches for 217 yards and a score.
Girls Lacrosse
A number of entries were added for the history of Rochester lacrosse, most notably for Kendall Jordan, Jessica Leininger and goalies Kyleigh McCarthy and Aly Rosenau. Jordan’s 96 goals in 2017 are tied for ninth most, and her 272 goals over four seasons through last spring rank third. She also ranks 10th on the career points list at 294. Leininger is tied for 17th on the career points list with 215, with her 211 goals 11th on that list. McCarthy had 207 saves last spring, tied for third most, and took over the career saves lead with 560 through three seasons with one more to play. Rosenau had 488 career saves from 2010-12, including a high of 189, ranking sixth, in 2012. Martha Koch, Julia Koch, Sarah Mattingly, Maggie Ng, Claire McPherson, Jessie Lannan and Laura Hein also were added for achievements. As a team Rochester was added for scoring more than 200 goals four times with a high of 242 in 2017, and has the record for goals in a game with 27 against Harrison Township L’Anse Creuse in 2006. McCarthy has signed to continue at Northern Michigan University. Julia Koch played ice hockey at Amherst College in Massachusetts.
Girls Soccer
New Baltimore Anchor Bay made the team record list giving up only nine goals last spring as it finished 18-2-3. Then-junior keeper Ally Gaunt was added for 16 shutouts to go with her 14 as a sophomore – and she was joined by 2015 graduate Emily Zweng, who made lists with 13 shutouts as a senior and 32 over her three-season varsity career. Michelle Dear, a 2013 graduate, was added for 83 career goals over four seasons with a high of 30 as a junior. Dear went on to play at Michigan State, Zweng played at Oakland and Gaunt has signed with Saginaw Valley State.
PHOTO: Farmington Hills Mercy’s Jillian Smith (24) considers her options during a game last season. (Photo courtesy of the Farmington Hills Mercy athletic department.)