Jankoska Takes Place With Scoring Elite
January 13, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Former Freeland star Tori Jankoska has had a week filled with milestones, setting two Michigan State women’s basketball records Tuesday against Ohio State. The 2013 Miss Basketball Award winner also was added this week to the MHSAA record book four times for her scoring prowess.
Jankoska now ranks 13th for her 741 points (30.9 ppg) as a high school senior in 2013, ninth for her 2,333 points (24.1 ppg) over a four-year varsity career, seventh for 237 3-pointers over those 97 games and 10th with 436 career free throws in 585 attempts.
A four-sport athlete, Jankoska also played volleyball, soccer and participated in track & field for the Falcons. Against the Buckeyes, she set the Spartans’ single-game (42) and career (1,818) scoring records.
Click to see the MHSAA girls basketball record book in full, and read below for more recent additions in football, boys lacrosse, boys soccer and volleyball.
Football
Najon Moore had one of the busiest rushing nights in MHSAA history Sept. 16. The Warren Fitzgerald senior ran 46 times to make the record book for single-game rush attempts, finishing with 291 yards in his team’s 24-20 win over St. Clair Shores South Lake.
Ewen-Trout Creek helped fill out significantly the recently-created 8-player individual record book with a number of entries for senior quarterback Austin Berglund and junior receiver Jacob Witt. Berglund was entered six times, once each for his 257 attempts and 2,020 passing yards this fall, and also for 52 attempts and 29 completions against Ontonagon on Oct. 7, seven touchdown passes against Baraga on Sept. 9 and six scoring passes against Eben Junction Superior Central on Oct. 15. Witt was added 11 times. His seven touchdown catches against Baraga made two categories, and he was added for 249 receiving yards that game, 325 against Superior Central and 232 against Pickford on Oct. 1. His 1,698 yards and 25 touchdowns this season made both the single-season and career lists in those categories, and he also is listed for 71 catches this season and six touchdown grabs in that Superior Central game.
New Haven Merritt Academy's Matthew Shather also was added to the 8-player records for some impressive pass-catching this fall. He had 234 yards in an Oct. 14 game against Carsonville-Port Sanilac, and also is listed for 21 touchdowns this season in 11 games and 23 over his four-year varsity career.
Boys Lacrosse
Although Grandville had a tough afternoon last April 29 against Holland West Ottawa, Bulldogs goalie Zach Tykocki shined. The then-sophomore had 26 saves – tied for third-most in MHSAA history – in his team’s 12-4 loss.
Boys Soccer
Zach Cepo made quite a debut in high school soccer in the fall. The freshman midfielder totaled an MHSAA record 48 assists in helping Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central to 142 goals – fifth-most in MHSAA history – and a 23-2-2 record. Cepo also had 10 goals to make the season points list with 58.
A record was tied this fall for fastest goal scored after the start of a game. Dansville junior Gerald Schmidt sent the opening kickoff into the back of the net from midfield for the Aggies against Hillsdale Will Carleton Academy on Oct. 11. The kick took four seconds to score.
A boys soccer state record also was set in Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s 10-3 win over Lutheran Northwest on Sept. 29. Nathaniel Pardo broke the previous single-game assist record by one with eight total, while teammate Malachi Zuhorski made the single-game goals record list with seven – which tied for fifth in that category. Both are seniors.
Volleyball
Zeeland East junior Sophie Riemersma has joined the elite hitters both in the state currently and in MHSAA history. With a season to play, she’s made the career kills list with 1,579 over three seasons but mostly over the last two; her 592 kills as a sophomore and 819 as a junior both made the single-season kills list, this year’s total ranking 15th all-time. She also made the single-match kills list twice, with 36 in a District win over Grandville on Nov. 1 and then 39 in another 3-1 District victory over Jenison on Nov. 5. The 39 kills tied for eighth most since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004.
Grand Rapids West Catholic’s Brooke Norder was a sharp server Sept. 6 against Comstock Park. Norder, a junior, made the single-match aces list with 10 in a four-set win.
PHOTO: Tori Jankoska works to get past an opponent during a game her senior season at Freeland. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Vassar Star Leaves Multi-Sport Legacy
April 20, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Vassar’s Tyler Humbert finished outstanding football and basketball careers during the 2015-16 school year, making the MHSAA record books in both sports.
Humpert quarterbacked the Vulcans’ football team to one of its most successful seasons in school history in 2015, an 8-2 finish with a return to the playoffs after two seasons away. He made the MHSAA records with 445 passing yards in a 56-21 win over Cass City in Week 6, and for 2,197 passing yards and 153 completions total over those 10 games.
In addition to his football contributions, the 6-foot-7 Humpert finished a four-season basketball career in 2016 with 733 rebounds over 86 games, good to make the MHSAA career list in that category. He averaged 8.5 per game over his career in addition to 10.3 ppg. He currently plays football at Saginaw Valley State University.
Click to see the football and boys basketball record books in full and the headings below to see all listings for more sports with recent additions: baseball, girls basketball, football, boys and girls soccer, softball and volleyball.
Baseball
Birmingham Groves finished 31-10 this season, making the MHSAA record book with a team total of 48 times hit by pitches. Twelve players were hit by a pitch at least once, with a team individual high of 12 HBPs.
Girls Basketball
Fruitport Calvary Christian and Muskegon Heights Academy combined on Feb. 12, 2015, for the seventh-highest scoring game in MHSAA history. Calvary Christian won 103-63, and those 166 combined points also ranked as the highest-scoring game since 2008.
Football
Gaylord St. Mary became the first team in MHSAA history to intercept seven passes in one game, doing so in a 30-6 win over Bay City All Saints on Sept. 1. Four players contributed to the total: Brady Hunter had three interceptions, Alex Cherry had two, and Andrew Greif and Drew Long each had one.
Boys Soccer
Lincoln Alcona junior Conner McCoy upped his MHSAA single-season saves record this past fall while also making the single-game saves list twice. McCoy, who formerly set the single-season record with 391 as a sophomore in 2015, had 401 saves in 24 games this season. Along the way, McCoy had 35 saves in a District win over Saginaw Nouvel and 34 in a loss to Tawas early in the regular season.
Girls Soccer
Kylie Lanser earned McBain Northern Michigan Christian’s first entry into the girls soccer record book with 30 goals in 18 games as a senior last spring. She had a game high of four.
Softball
Schoolcraft’s Lydia Goble amassed nine record book listings over her first two seasons, placing her name in five categories. Most notably, she had eight RBI in a game as a freshman in 2015, tying for eighth most on that list, and her 73 RBI in 35 games last spring as a sophomore rank 10th all-time for one season. Goble plays shortstop and also is listed for 17 doubles and 12 triples as a freshman and 13 home runs a year ago.
Volleyball
Adair Cutler and Paige Porter joined the Lansing Christian varsity during their freshman seasons and finished their careers in the fall among the state’s top offensive achievers. Porter had 589 kills in her final campaign to make the single-season list and 1,464 kills to make the career list in that category. Adair made the single-match assists list three times (with a high of 54 in a 3-2 Regional Semifinal win on Nov. 8) and the career list with 3,300 – which ranks 17th since the start of rally scoring in 2004-05. Cutler also made the single-match aces list with 10 three times, the season aces list twice (with a high of 156 as a junior) and finished with 396 career aces, which rank seventh all-time. Cutler has committed to continue her volleyball career at Hope College, and Porter has signed with Spring Arbor.
Reese Weslow’s 31 kills in a five-set win over Lowell were enough to make the single-match list and helped Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central secure first place in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White. Weslow is a senior.
The Schuitema sisters have owned the setter spot at Grant this entire decade, and both now have entries in the MHSAA record book as well. Both were added for single-match assists – current senior Sierra Schuitema with a high of 57, and 2014 graduate Summer Schuitema with a high of 46. Sierra made the single-season list in that category with 1,302 this past fall, and both made the career assists list with 3,987 over four seasons for Sierra and 2,524 over three seasons for Summer. Summer also made the single-match aces list with 12 in 2012 and both made the single-season aces list – Summer with a high of 151 in 2012 and Sierra with a high of 115 in 2015. They couldn’t get closer on the aces career list; Sierra had 388 and Summer 387. Sierra’s career assists rank fifth since the start of rally scoring, and the sisters rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in career aces. Summer Schuitema plays for Campbell University in North Carolina. Sierra has signed with Cedarville University in Ohio.
PHOTO: Vassar’s Tyler Humpert looks for an open receiver during the Vulcans’ 2015 playoff game against Ithaca. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)