Lenawee Christian Standout Scores with State's All-Time Best
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 27, 2021
Bree Salenbien finished one of the most memorable careers in MHSAA girls basketball history this season as one of the leading scorers of all time – and despite playing two shortened seasons to finish her run at Adrian Lenawee Christian.
Salenbien suffered a knee injury in the regular-season finale in 2019-20, and missed out on three games before COVID-19 ended that season prior to the Regional Final. This winter, with its late start, led to Lenawee Christian playing only 17 games including the postseason.
But appearing in 92 games over four seasons makes her 2,059 career points, including 425 free throws, and 287 blocked shots that much more impressive. The Gonzaga signee is joined in the record book by teammates Libby Miller and (also sister) Dani Salenbien, who made the career 3-pointers list with 185 and 157, respectively, over four varsity seasons before both graduated in 2020. Dani Salenbien plays at Hillsdale College.
The Cougars also made the team record book for a number of accomplishments over the last five seasons, including with 202 3-pointers (sixth-most) in 2019-20 and 175 in 2018-19. The 2018-19 team also made the fifth-most free throws, 308, at a fourth-best percentage of .730, on the way to winning the Division 4 championship.
Click to see the girls basketball record book in full and see below for recent record book additions in boys basketball and volleyball.
Boys Basketball
A pair of Bellevue standouts were added for achievements over either their senior seasons in 2019-20 or careers. Grant Morgan tied for ninth all-time with 12 steals in a game against Colon on Jan. 13, 2020, and he also made the single-season steals list with 105. Teammate Carson Betz was added to the career lists with both 809 rebounds and 256 steals over four varsity seasons.
Morrice made the record book list with a school-record 17 3-pointers March 3, 2020, in a 69-23 win over Akron-Fairgrove. The Orioles attempted 56 shots from beyond the arc and were led by Hunter McGowan with 15 points all on long-range shots.
Greg Esler retired last summer after more than three decades of coaching boys varsity basketball and with a record of 558-235. He led St. Clair Shores Lake Shore from the 1987-88 through 1993-94 seasons, and then Warren De La Salle Collegiate through 2019-20.
Jager Mix quickly made an impact on Onaway’s success in 2019-20. Just a sophomore that season, he made the record book with 321 rebounds.
Tyler Eedy may be best at golf – he’s a freshman at Michigan State – but he’s part of the MHSAA record book in basketball after connecting on 41 straight free throws as an Ogemaw Heights senior. He also made the records list for free-throw percentage, connecting on 92.1 percent (82 of 89) of his attempts in 2019-20. The percentage ranks fourth all-time, and the streak is seventh longest.
Carson Irwin scored 25 points including making all 20 free throws he shot in Dundee’s 61-56 win over Clinton on March 17. The junior made the list for most free throws in a game and tied for third-most consecutive free throws in one contest.
Nearly 60 seasons have passed since Tom Pacynski averaged 38.8 points per game for Bay City St. Mary during the 1963-64 season. But with an assist from the Bay City Times, his average – which ranks fourth-highest for a single season, all-time – was added as well as his 62 points in a game that season against Pinconning St. Michael. Pacynski went on to play at Boston College.
Volleyball
Andelyn Simkins completed her Schoolcraft career in 2019 on career lists with 2,574 kills and 310 aces. The kills rank ninth on that list and include season highs of 760 as a senior and 748 as a junior. She’s playing currently at Western Michigan.
West Bloomfield senior Grace Allread closed her four-season varsity career in the fall on the career assists list with 2,524 over 395 games. She has signed to continue at Liberty.
PHOTO: Adrian Lenawee Christian’s Bree Salenbien pushes the pace against St. Ignace during the 2019 Division 4 Final at Calvin College.
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.)