Zeeland East's TerHaar Leads Hit Parade
July 18, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Trevor TerHaar’s Zeeland East baseball career ended this spring in a 3-1 District loss to Hudsonville Unity Christian. But it also concluded with an MHSAA record for hits in a season.
TerHaar tied and then broke the previous record (set in 1998) during his final game to finish with 81 hits total in 39 games this season. He also made the MHSAA record book with a career average of .452. He will continue his athletic career on the Hope College football team.
Also for Zeeland East this season, teammate Kainan Bayn made the record book with seven triples, and the Chix tied the MHSAA team record with 25 triples while also earning listings with 410 hits and a .370 team batting average in finishing 23-16. In addition, 2015 graduate Dan Pohanka was added for being hit by pitches 24 times during a three-season varsity career.
Click the baseball heading below to see that record book in full and read on for more recent additions in that sport, football, girls lacrosse, girls soccer and softball.
Baseball
Kingsley earned two entries in the records in the hit-by-pitch category. Noah Cole is the first known Michigan player to be hit by pitches more than once in the same inning, with two during the third inning of a game against Traverse City Central on April 28. Teammate Alex Parker also was added for getting hit by 15 pitches this season.
Pitcher Brandon Reed, Jr., capped his career at Millington this spring by making the season ERA list with a 0.93 over 60 1/3 innings pitched, and the career ERA list with a 1.82 over 226 2/3 innings the last four seasons. Junior teammate Lukas Selich made the hit-by-pitch list with three in one game May 3, and Jakob Selich made the career list in that category with 28 over his four seasons. Millington as a team also made the hit-by-pitch list with 53 in 32 games this spring. Reed will continue his career at Jackson College.
Football
Ida’s Nick Levicki scored a school-record and single-season MHSAA list-making 35 touchdowns in leading the Bluestreaks to a 10-2 finish last season. Former teammate Eric Bugg formerly held that record for Ida, and he was entered on the MHSAA career touchdowns list for 70 from 2013-15. Bugg plays at Concordia-Ann Arbor.
Clinton’s Mathew Sexton played 48 varsity games from 2012-15 and earned eight record book listings. He made the single-season rushing list with 2,392 yards on 209 carries as a senior, after also making the single-season receiving list with 1,082 yards on 37 catches as a sophomore. His 602 career points rank 12th all-time, and his 99 career touchdowns are tied for seventh most. Former teammate Erik Bouse also made the records for seasons of 46 and 61 extra points and 132 total over his three-season career from 2014-16. Sexton plays at Eastern Michigan University.
Three more recent Tri-County Conference standouts joined the Clinton pair with recent entries. Morenci’s Bobby Black was added for kicking 45 extra points in 2014, and Petersburg-Summerfield’s Eric Cogan was added for his 1,219 receiving yards in 2009. Ottawa Lake Whiteford’s Jesse Kiefer was added for his 35 touchdowns and 244 points last fall and 76 touchdowns and 526 career points over a four-season varsity career. Cogan went on to play basketball at Siena Heights, while Black joined Defiance College's program after high school.
Girls Lacrosse
Sophomore Kate DeYoung found the net 10 times for Grand Rapids Christian in a 17-14 win over Portage Northern on April 21. Her goals tied for seventh most in one game.
Girls Soccer
Fenton’s Abby Quesnelle finished a fine four-season career this spring with 36 shutouts to make the career list for keepers after previously making the single-season shutouts list. She will continue her career at Notre Dame College in Ohio.
Softball
A pair of Comstock sophomore standouts were added for doubles this spring – Abby House with 16 and Grace Gostlin with 22. Gostlin also is on the career doubles list with 37.
Howard City Tri-County junior Dayoni Mahlich added three entries to the softball records with one power-packed performance. Mahlich hit three home runs in three straight at bats against Morley Stanwood on May 23, including two home runs during the fourth inning. She finished 4 for 5 after flying out in her first at bat.
PHOTO: Zeeland East’s Trevor TerHaar prepares for a pitch during a game this spring. (Photo courtesy of the Zeeland East athletic department.)
Whiteford's Title Team Runs Into History
April 25, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Ottawa Lake Whiteford’s perfect season last fall concluded with its first MHSAA title.
The Division 8 champion also finished with a number of lasting record book accomplishments.
Whiteford set MHSAA 11-player records with 6,570 total yards and 5,167 rushing yards, and also set the record with 103 total touchdowns. The Bobcats also were added recently for a record 672 rushing attempts from 2016, when they finished Division 8 runners-up.
Read on for more recent additions to the MHSAA football record book, and click the heading to view those listings in full.
Football
Bloomfield Hills senior receiver Ty Slazinski made the record book with 14 catches twice during the early weeks of the 2017 season, but that was just the start. Slazinski set the single-game record for receptions with 22 in a 58-39 win over Oak Park on Oct. 20. Slazinski also made the record book with 224 yards receiving on Sept. 1 against West Bloomfield.
As Ionia completed the biggest comeback in MHSAA history Oct. 13, coming back from a 32-0 deficit at halftime to defeat McBain 41-40, John Meyer did his share to move the Bulldogs down the field. The senior quarterback completed 29 of 65 passes for 406 yards, making single-game lists in all three categories – the 65 attempts are tied for fifth-most in one game.
Suriya “Susu” Davenport Jr. quarterbacked Wyoming Godwin Heights to the playoffs as both a junior and then a senior last fall, making the MHSAA records with 2,414 yards and 25 touchdowns passing in 2016 and 2,173 yards passing last season. He also made the career passing yardage listing with 4,846 yards, with 259 more from his sophomore campaign. Teammate MarShawn Kneeland, a junior, was added to the records for 16 sacks and 26 tackles for loss this past season as well. Davenport will continue his career at Davenport University.
Reed City’s rush to its first Semifinal this past fall came in large part on the legs of junior Phillip Jones. His 266 total points ranked 11th for one season, and his 42 touchdowns tied for 11th. Jones also ran for 2,335 yards and 37 of those scores (tied for 11th-most rushing touchdowns), including six TDs in a game against Stanton Central Montcalm.
Milan’s Hunter Aeschbacker returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in his team’s 51-45 win over Carleton Airport on Oct. 13. The junior’s scoring sprints both came in the fourth quarter.
Dakota Knieper joined eight others who have recorded 99-yard rushing touchdowns, adding his against Hanover-Horton on Oct. 13. The Addison senior scored after an interception gave his team the ball inside its 1-yard line, and his sprint contributed to a 38-3 win that helped Addison clinch its first Cascades Conference title since 2008.
A trio of Homer quarterbacks from this decade were added in multiple categories. Alex White was added for 2,333 yards and 30 touchdown passes over 13 games in 2013, while Caleb Drumm was added for 2,400 yards and 33 TDs in 11 games in 2015 and Jordan Sherman was added for 2,237 yards and 30 TDs as well over 10 games this fall. White went on to play football and golf at Kalamazoo College.
Lawrence has been one of the top 8-player programs in Michigan since the sport began at the start of this decade, and a number of standouts were added for passing game accomplishments. Among throwers, Connor Murney now has the records for single-game (521) and single-season (3,236) passing yards, single-game (66) and single-season (276) passing attempts, single-game (40) and single-season (176) passing completions and he sits tied for the single-season passing touchdowns record of 45. Derek Gribler and Hunter Coombs also were added in multiple passing categories, Gribler most notably for 2,607 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2014 and Coombs for 2,179 yards and 33 TDs in 2015. Matthew Cammire, the go-to receiver in 2013 and 2014, moved to the top for career receiving yardage (2,832), career receptions (126) and career touchdowns (53) among other entries. Gribler and Jacob Alburtus also were added for single-game receiving accomplishments. Murney went on to play baseball at Olivet College, and Gribler plays baseball at Lake Michigan College.
Mayville senior Jackson Schenk earned the first entry for tackles for loss in the 8-player record book with 26 in the fall. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound defensive end had six in a Sept. 22 win over Burton Madison Academy to make the single-game list as well.
PHOTO: Ottawa Lake Whiteford lines up for a snap during last fall’s Division 8 Final at Ford Field.