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.)
Lawton's Rueff Caps Career Among State's All-Time Leading Rushers, Scorers
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 28, 2023
Lawton’s run to the 2021 Division 7 championship game frequently came on the legs of then-senior Jake Rueff, who posted some of the top performances in MHSAA football history.
He scored 298 points – fifth-most in 11-player history – with his 49 total touchdowns ranking fourth and his 46 rushing touchdowns third. He also made records lists with 2,370 rushing yards, 71 career touchdowns and 430 career points.
Lawton as a team scored 92 touchdowns, tying the record with 10 in one game, gained 5,662 yards of total offense and ran for 4,725 yards over 14 games.
Rueff plays at Michigan Tech.
See below for more recent additions to the 11-player football record book:
Football
Aiden Brunin stacked up many contributions on both sides of the field for Cedar Springs in 2021. But his less frequently-mentioned punting earned the senior a spot in the record book as he booted an 83-yard punt during a Nov. 6 playoff win over Muskegon that ranks as the fourth-longest in state history. The kick flew 62 yards in the air before taking a series of bounces and rolls. Brunin currently is a freshman baseball player at Spring Arbor.
Sturgis’ Jacob Thompson became the 10th to return two kickoffs for touchdowns in one game as a junior in 2021, scoring from 97 and 83 yards out against Paw Paw. Thompson also was added to the records for six rushing touchdowns in a Sept. 9, 2022, win over Plainwell – and he also threw for a score in the 55-34 victory.
Twenty years later, Coleman’s Joshua Moore has been added for a pair of interception returns for touchdowns Oct. 11, 2002, against Mount Pleasant Sacred Heart. Moore was a senior that season and scored off those turnovers during the third and fourth quarters.
Nearly a decade later, Cheboygan’s Ben Pearson also was added to the record book for a 99-yard rushing touchdown that tied the record for longest run. Pearson took the handoff deep in his own end zone and scored against Gaylord on Aug. 29, 2013. Pearson, a senior that season, went on to play at Northwood.
A trio of past Grand Ledge standouts have been entered for their achievements going back decades. Mitch Gulker made the record book for 1,002 receiving yards as a senior in 1976. Nick Kissane was added for his 170 completions, 297 pass attempts, 2,452 yards and 29 touchdowns through the air in 2008. Corey Arnouts made the tackles for loss list with 28 as a senior in 2011. Grand Ledge’s Division 1 championship run in 2000 came in part on the arm of Matt Bohnet, and he’s been added for his 2,052 yards passing that season. He went on to play at Iowa and Eastern Michigan. Arnouts went on to play at Ferris State, and Kissane went on to play baseball at Aquinas College.
Justin Brown had multiple returns for touchdowns as a junior at East Lansing in 2018, including a 99-yarder on Sept. 14. That kickoff return tied the record for longest on a list that now stands at 20 players.
Carson Roose earned his 10th record book listing when he threw for five touchdowns during the first half of Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett’s 58-22 win over New Haven on Oct. 22, 2021. Roose graduated last spring.
Frankenmuth’s run to the Division 6 championship game in the fall saw the Eagles make team record book lists with 544 points and 72 touchdowns over 14 games, featuring as well a kicker who will bring an impressive extra point streak into the upcoming season. Junior Will Soulliere made 69 of 70 extra-point tries and has connected on 61 straight as he prepares for his senior season. Additionally, the Eagles’ defense was added after not allowing a first down during its Semifinal win over Detroit Country Day. Sam Barger was added for a 98-yard kickoff return in 2021, and Ryan Brenner was added for 45 extra points during the abbreviated 2020 season. Barger also is a senior this school year.
West Bloomfield’s run to the 2021 Regional Final was fueled in part by a tough defense, including a pair of pass rushers who rank among the all-time leaders in single-season sacks. Michael Williams II recorded 24 that fall, tied for fourth-most for one season, while Brandon Davis-Swain tied for 12th with 18. Williams, a senior that fall, plays for South Florida, while Davis-Swain is finishing his junior year at West Bloomfield.
PHOTO Lawton’s Jake Rueff (22) breaks into the open during his team’s Division 7 Final matchup with Pewamo-Westphalia in 2021.