Mona Shores Rides Air Show to Playoffs

April 16, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Muskegon Mona Shores made the MHSAA football playoffs for the first time in 2013, boosted by the highest-scoring offense in school history.

Two of the top contributors now appear on the MHSAA records lists as well, with more sure to come this fall for the one running the show.

Quarterback Tyree Jackson ranks on the MHSAA career lists with 328 completions, 611 attempts and 61 touchdown passes after three seasons and with one more to play; he threw 31 TD passes last season alone.

Receiver Asantay Brown, who will continue at Western Michigan University, finished his two-season varsity career in the fall with two listings on the single-game receiving yards list, plus the 19th-most receiving yards for a season (1,281) and 20th-most for a career (2,120). He also finished with 109 career receptions and 23 career touchdown catches. 

(Former Mona Shores receiver Aaron Doriot also was added to the single-game receiving yardage list twice during this round of record book updates.)

See below for additional recent entries to the MHSAA football and other record listings, and click on the headlines to see all entries for those respective sports.

Football

  • Lowell seniors Kyler Shurlow and Ben Bigham also capped their careers in the fall with big numbers through the air. Shurlow completed 140 of 250 passes for 2,501 yards and 28 touchdowns – and the latter three of those four statistics made MHSAA single-season lists. Bigham caught 53 passes for 1,043 yards and 10 scores; his season yardage made the list for receivers.

Baseball

  • It’s never too late to submit for the record book: Grandville’s Terry Johnson finished his pitching career in 1979 and sits tied for the fourth-lowest career ERA of 0.78. He also made the single-season list as a senior with a 0.58 ERA. He finished a combined 16-1 over those two seasons.

  • Brady Johnson made the single-season stolen bases list with 49 last season for Union City, and the single-game list with six against Athens. Twice after walks and a third time after an error, Johnson stole both second and third base. His team won 9-8.

Girls Basketball

  • Ashley junior Meggan Andrews became one of only nine players in MHSAA history to grab 30 rebounds in a game, doing so Jan. 31 against Holt Lutheran. Andrews finished the 62-32 Bears victory with 27 points, 30 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

  • East Jordan senior Tori Goodrich became one of 11 players to make nine 3-pointers in a game, doing so in a Class C District opener Feb. 24 against Mancelona. She finished with 27 points in leading her team to a 70-46 win.

Boys Basketball

  • Dundee’s Aaron Anthony joined a group of shooters who have made at least 150 free throws in one season, sinking that many in 212 attempts for a success rate of nearly 71 percent. Total, he averaged 21.4 points per game this winter.

Hockey

  • Two of the four longest games in MHSAA hockey history were added, and both included schools from the Traverse City area. The second longest, reported in detail on Second Half this winter, was a seven-overtime marathon lasting more than 103 minutes before Traverse City West edged Traverse City St. Francis (Bay Reps) 2-1. The fourth-longest game, stretching more than 90 minutes, was a five-overtime loss by Traverse City Central to Toledo St. John’s Jesuit of Ohio on Dec. 30, 2011.

Softball

  • North Muskegon’s Taylor Fris, now a sophomore at Grand Valley State University, finished her high school career in 2012 on career lists with 34 doubles, 28 home runs and 164 RBI, and also made the single-season home run list with 12 as a senior. Her career home runs rank 13th on that list. Also, former teammate Corinne Witham, now at Alma College, finished her career in 2011 with 50 career doubles – 17th on that list. 

Volleyball

  • Madeline Rysztak was the leading hitter as Traverse City St. Francis finished 40-15-1 this fall, but also a top server, making the single-season aces list with 128. 

PHOTO: Muskegon Mona Shores quarterback Tyree Jackson (3) unloads a pass toward receiver Asantay Brown (6) during a game last season. (Photo courtesy of Mona Shores High School). 

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.)