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Wassink Joins Elite MHSAA Passers

January 14, 2015

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Grand Rapids South Christian quarterback Jon Wassink capped his high school career this fall by leading the Sailors to the Division 4 championship – after taking his team to a runner-up finish in 2013 and watching injured from the sidelines as South Christian won the 2012 title.

For the second straight week, we lead "Records Report" with a history-making quarterback among recent submissions to the MHSAA record books for five sports – football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball and wrestling.

Wassink will graduate as one of the most accomplished passers in state history despite playing only three seasons as the varsity starter. His name appears 17 times in the MHSAA football record book including second all-time with 8,124 passing yards, third with 884 career passing attempts, second with 584 career completions and fifth with 76 career touchdown passes. Over those three seasons he completed 66 percent of those pass attempts and also ran for 3,252 yards and 50 scores. He is expected to sign with Western Michigan University next month. 

Click the football heading below to see the entire record book in full, and read on for more of the recent additions.

Football

  • Ithaca’s fifth straight drive to the MHSAA Finals this fall again featured a number of record-book performances. Quarterback Jake Smith made the listings with 2,134 passing yards and 27 touchdowns, while receiver Spence DeMull qualified with 66 catches, 1,193 yards and 16 TD grabs including four in a win over St. Louis. The Yellowjackets scored 591 points total this season and saw their consecutive wins streak end at 69, second-longest in MHSAA history; it was the longest active 11-player winning streak nationally when it ended.

  • Lowell football coach Noel Dean reached the 200-win milestone during the 2013 season and sits at 211-61 after coaching Burton Bendle from 1991-95 and the Red Arrows beginning in 1996. Lowell finished 10-2 in 2014, its 12th season over the last 15 with at least 10 victories.

  • Brighton junior Joey Clifford scored six rushing touchdowns in a 49-27 win over Waterford Kettering on Oct. 17, becoming the 18th to run for six or more scores in a game. Total, he ran 23 times for 232 yards that evening.

Boys Soccer

  • New Haven’s Dolan Bonkowski, a senior midfielder, earned his school’s first entries into this MHSAA record book. He had six goals (plus two assists) in a game against Madison Heights Madison in September, 43 goals this season and a total of 65 points in 20 games.

Girls Soccer

  • Battle Creek Pennfield’s Elizabeth Jarrard is the latest to be listed and first from Battle Creek among those who scored more than 100 goals during their varsity careers. The 2013 graduate scored 106 over her four seasons including 35 as a freshman. She went on to play at Kellogg Community College.

Volleyball

  • A trio of Cheboygan athletes were added for their accomplishments over the first half of this decade. Molly Warren made lists for five aces in a three-game match win over Rudyard in 2010, her aces total of 135 that season and 1,272 assists also that fall; teammate Darcie Melching was added for her 168 blocks in 2010. Kaitlyn Dobrowolski made lists for her 1,270 assists this fall and 3,680 over four seasons, which ranks 10th in MHSAA history. Warren has gone on to play for Division II Tiffin University and just finished her junior season. Dobrowolski led her team to a 50-13-3 record with its second-most victories in program history.

  • DeWitt sophomore Lexi Nordmann finished this fall with 239 blocks – third on the MHSAA single-season list since the beginning of the rally scoring era in 2004-05. She helped the Panthers to a Class A District championship.

Wrestling

  • Goodrich’s CC Weber made headlines as a senior in 2009 as the highest-placing girl ever at the MHSAA Individual Finals when she took fourth in Division 3 at 103 pounds. Her 58 wins (with five losses) also was good enough to tie for sixth-most in school history and make the MHSAA single-season statewide record list. She finished 162-34 over her four-year varsity career.

  • Retired longtime Yale coach Jim Peltier made the all-time coaching list for wrestling, which includes those who have led programs to at least 400 dual wins. He coached in 1984-85, then returned for 1988-89 and retired after the 2012-13 season with a record of 448-259.

PHOTO: Grand Rapids South Christian quarterback Jon Wassink prepares to unload a pass during November’s Division 4 Final against Lansing Sexton. (Click for more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com). 

Bridgman Bats Earn Homes in History

July 25, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

A pair of Bridgman underclassmen helped the Bees to their first MHSAA team record book listing for softball this spring, while also earning individual entries as well.

Sophomore Sydney Payne had seven RBI during a win over Benton Harbor, and freshman Madelyn Oman had six in a win over New Buffalo as Bridgman made the team RBI record list with 275 over 39 games. Payne and Oman’s record entries also were firsts for the school on the sport’s individual lists.

The Bees finished 25-14 this season and advanced to their Division 3 District Final.

Click the heading below to see where they rank in the softball record book as a whole and also for more recent record additions in that sport and baseball. 

Baseball

Canton became the 21st team to make the all-time best ERA list for clearing 1.70, posting a 1.69 in going 34-6 this spring. Seth Marano led the way with a 0.66 ERA in going 7-1, while Dean Dawson and Turner Donlin also were 7-1 on the mound.

Pellston senior Maxwell Cleaver entered a May 15 game against Boyne Falls and hit a home run, and then hit home runs in his first two at bats May 17 against Newberry. His three straight homers made the list for most in consecutive at bats.

Holt tied for 12th in MHSAA history with a 1.48 team ERA this spring in finishing 30-8. The Rams were led by senior Jesse Heikkinen (who will play at Michigan State and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers), who finished 8-1 with a 0.97 ERA.

Potterville’s Sam Traver finished his four-season career in 2015 among all-time leaders in wins, ERA and strikeouts. For his career he was added for 34 victories (against 14 losses), a 1.16 ERA, 531 strikeouts over 311 2/3 innings pitched and 11 shutouts – the strikeouts rank seventh on that list and the shutouts tied for 10th most. He also was added for ERAs of 0.28 in 2015 and 0.82 in 2014, 178 strikeouts in 2015 and six shutouts that season. He recently finished his second season at Grand Rapids Community College.

Softball

Madison Jones finished her Romeo career this spring among the MHSAA’s all-time great power hitters, adding 15 home runs to individual records listings of 18 in 2015 and 11 last year. She finished with 47 home runs, tied for fifth most all-time, and also tied for second with 10 RBI in a game this season against Howell. She also earned listings for a .528 career average and 170 career RBI. She’ll continue her career at Oakland University.

Audrey Petoskey also finished off a four-season slugging career this spring, coming in seventh all-time with 43 home runs for Milford. She added 13 this season and also was listed for 10 in 2016 and 12 in 2015, plus for hitting back-to-back home runs three times during her career. Petoskey will continue her career at Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee.

Lauren Kanai and Alex Herold helped Ada Forest Hills Eastern to a 28-10 record this season especially with their bats. Kanai was added for 10 home runs and 20 doubles, while Herold was added for 72 hits, 21 doubles and a 20-game hitting streak. Herold also made the doubles career list with 34, while Kanai made career lists with 52 doubles, 155 RBI and 202 hits. Kanai will continue her career at Taylor University in Indiana.

Howell posted one of the strongest offensive seasons in MHSAA history in 2017, and a number of record book entries have followed. The Highlanders finished 38-3, scoring 466 runs (fourth all-time) with 513 hits (third), 102 doubles (third), 38 triples (fourth), 388 RBI (third) and a team .441 batting average (sixth all-time). Veronica Pezzoni capped her three-season varsity career making single-season lists with 67 runs, 76 hits and 15 triples and career lists with 187 runs, 207 hits, 25 triples, a .542 batting average and for streaks of 84 straight stolen bases and hits in 38 consecutive games. Teammate Emma Johnson earned entries this spring with 69 runs and 71 hits and career listings for 172 runs and 34 doubles over her four-year career. Maddie Gillett (23) and AJ Militello (16) were added to the single-season doubles list for their work this spring. Pezzoni will continue at University of Tennesee-Martin, while Johnson will play at Hillsdale College.

Byron earned a number of record book listings for offensive production this spring, scoring 406 runs with 437 hits, 95 doubles, 293 RBI and with a .437 batting average. Junior Alexis Andrews finished her season on a 31-game hitting streak and hit 10 home runs, while sophomore Greta L’Esperance enjoyed a 28-game streak and batted .691 while scoring 74 runs. Parker Viele hit 18 doubles this season and finished her four-year career with 911 strikeouts; she’ll continue at Lake Erie College in Ohio.

PHOTOS: Sydney Payne (left) and Madelyn Oman both made the single-game RBI list in helping Bridgman to a team record book listing. (Photos courtesy of Bridgman High School.)