Leslie's Storr Takes Down MHSAA Record
May 4, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Kanen Storr began his varsity career with a 58-0 record as a freshman in 2012-13 and finished with a 58-0 record this winter in winning his third MHSAA individual championship for Leslie.
Along the way, Storr also joined the MHSAA career wins list with a final 227-3 record and set a career takedowns record with 1,185.
The Iowa State University recruit also made career lists with 1,223 team points, 146 pins and 126 two-point near falls. His championships came at 103 pounds as a freshman, 135 as a junior and 145 during this final high school season.
Click to see where he ranks in all categories of the MHSAA wrestling record book, and see below for more recent record book additions for baseball, girls and boys basketball and boys soccer.
Baseball
Jackson’s Trevor Polewka finished his high school career in 2015 with a second single-season entry for stolen bases, with 51, and now the fifth spot on the career stolen bases list with 147 over four varsity seasons. He plays currently at Kellogg Community College.
Karyssa Austin made the MHSAA records with 71 3-pointers in 183 tries over 20 games for Marine City this winter. The junior also has 156 3-pointers over three varsity seasons to make the career list with another season to play – and with a similar showing as this winter would finish among the top 10 all-time in the category.
Kent City continued to earn entries in the team 3-pointer records lists with games of 18, 16 and 13 3-pointers this season – the 18 against Hesperia on Dec. 11 were second-most for one game behind the program's 23 in a game in 2013. Kent City’s 722 attempts in 24 games this winter rank third on that list, and its 194 made 3-pointers rank fourth.
Boys Basketball
Brandon Dingman finished his Mancelona career in 2015 with 2,050 points over 86 varsity games and four seasons, for an average of 23.8 points per game. The 6-foot-2 guard also made MHSAA records lists with 375 career free throws (in 469 attempts) and for his free throw percentages both during his sophomore season (.851) and over his career (.800) – his career percentage is tied for 13th highest.
Demetrius Lake’s outstanding junior season this winter at Holland included a record list-making performance during a 69-56 loss to Holland Christian. Lake scored 44 points, including 24 during the fourth quarter to tie for 11th on the MHSAA list for points in a quarter.
Paw Paw sophomore Luke Toliver set an MHSAA Tournament record with 12 3-pointers in a District Semifinal win over Vicksburg on March 7, with his 50 total points tying for seventh-most in one game in MHSAA postseason history. Those 12 3-pointers also tied for third most for one game, regular or postseason.
St. Ignace’s Gage Kreski finished among the most productive players in MHSAA history on both ends of the floor. His 2,178 points in 90 varsity games over four seasons (24.2 ppg) are 16th most on the career scoring list. But his 450 steals are most impressive – his total cleared the previous career record, set in 2000, by 87 steals, and his 137 this winter were third only to two others who also broke the previous record this season. Kreski also made the career lists with 425 free throws and 904 rebounds, and the single-game steals list with 11 twice over the last two seasons. Kreski, also a 6-foot-2, 195-pound quarterback and defensive back on the Saints’ football team, will join the Central Michigan University football program as a preferred walk-on.
Howard City Tri-County senior Dylan Matulis had 13 steals in an 84-72 win over Newaygo on Jan. 15 to tie for second on the single-game steals list, and his 156 steals this winter set the MHSAA record (two others also broke the previous record this season, but Matulis' total cleared the field by 10). Teammate Colton Harris was added for scoring 22 points (out of 40 total) during the fourth quarter of a 71-55 win over Kent City.
Boys Soccer
Lapeer East’s Colin Owen, already entered into the MHSAA records for 13 shutouts as a junior and 17 as a senior, now also sits seventh on the career list in that category with 43 from 2008-11. He went on to play at Jackson Community College.
PHOTO: Kanen Storr flashes three fingers to the crowd after winning his third MHSAA individual championship this season. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
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.)