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.)
LaDuke's Defense Aids Ludington Rise
December 20, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Ludington’s run to the Class B championship game last winter was the result of a number of contributions – including senior Sam LaDuke’s on defense.
The now-graduated guard finished last season with 141 steals, third-most in MHSAA history, and with two games of 11 steals apiece (against Traverse City Central and Cadillac) that made the single-game record book list in that category.
LaDuke, who is continuing his career at Calvin College, also averaged 10.4 points per game as Ludington advanced to an MHSAA Finals for the first time since 1953.
Click to see the boys basketball record book in full and read on for more recent additions in football, girls and boys soccer, softball, volleyball and wrestling.
Football
Austin Brown set an MHSAA record on the first night of this recently-completed season, throwing eight touchdown passes for Madison Heights Madison during the first half of a 54-7 win over Warren Lincoln on Aug. 24. His six TD tosses in the second quarter tied another record, and those eight total also tied for second-most in one game. The junior quarterback finished the night 18 of 20 passing for 352 yards despite not playing during the second half.
Mesick senior Ethan Humphreys became the first entry on the list for longest fumble recovery touchdown in 8-player history when he snagged a Baldwin handoff and returned it 97 yards for a score on Sept. 8. It was one of Humphreys’ many contributions on the night – he also threw for two touchdowns, ran for two more scores and grabbed an interception in the 54-8 victory.
Girls Soccer
Kelly Bertera was a freshman on the first Southgate Anderson girls soccer team in 1996. Her nine goals in an 11-0 win over Taylor Truman that spring are tied for second-most in one game; she also had two assists in the victory.
Boys Soccer
Ithaca’s Cavun Beck scored eight goals in an Aug. 22 win over Durand, tying for the third-most scored in one game. The Yellowjackets senior also became the first to score at least that many in one contest since 2004, and he also assisted on the ninth goal as his team won 9-5.
Softball
Richland Gull Lake then-sophomore Lauren Esman was one of three players across the state to break the previous MHSAA record for home runs in a season last spring, and she ranks third on the list after knocking 21 (two others hit 22). She also has been added to the record book for 74 runs scored, 81 hits, 24 doubles, 91 RBI and a .675 batting average last season – her RBI rank fourth and her doubles tied for eighth on those lists. Esman has 25 home runs over her career so far and also was added seven times for single-game homers or RBI. Teammate Ashton Whitman (now a senior) also made the records with 20 doubles last season and six RBI in a game, and Shelby Martell (also now a senior) was added for six RBI in a game as well. Esman already has committed to sign with University of Michigan.
Utica Ford’s Meagan VerVaecke finished her career in the spring with a couple of notable accomplishments. Her 17 doubles over 37 games made the single-season list in that category, and her two third-inning home runs against Almont in a May 6 win were added to lists for two consecutive homers and in the same inning. VerVaecke is continuing her career at Saginaw Valley State.
Recent Sterling Heights graduate Shelby Segar earned a spot in the record book with eight RBI in her team’s 19-16 loss to New Haven on May 17. She finished 5 for 5 in the game with pair of doubles. Segar was a four-year varsity player.
Volleyball
Ludington senior Mackenzie Luce dominated a three-set win over Muskegon Heights Academy on Sept. 19, setting a pair of serving records with 20 aces in one game and 32 over the best-of-five match as her team won 25-5, 25-0, 25-7. Luce’s single-game record broke that of another Ludington athlete, Madisyn Brockelbank, who had 17 aces in one game during a 2013 match.
Wrestling
Connor Charping became the latest four-year standout to be added for more than 200 wins, finishing last winter with a career record of 204-24. He also made the career pins list with 119 over those 228 matches. In addition, freshman teammate Sam Rickman was added to the records for tying the fastest pin at 112 pounds, earning a victory in six seconds on Dec. 10, 2016. An MHSAA Finals runner-up in 2016, Charping is continuing his athletic career as part of the Western Michigan baseball program.
PHOTO: Ludington’s Sam LaDuke (10) applies defensive pressure during last season’s Class B Semifinal win over River Rouge.