VanderHaag on the way to being 10th Spartan boy to score 1,000 points

Cole VanderHaag posing on his home court.

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

SCOTTVILLE — After scoring 24 points Friday night against Holton, helping to secure a Spartan win, Mason County Central senior Cole VanderHaag is 16 points away from becoming the 10th boy in Scottville/MCC history to hit 1,000 varsity career points. The Spartans will play top-ranked North Muskegon on Monday at home. Based on his per-game average of 19.6 points, he is very likely going to hit 1,000 during that game.

“This has been a long-time goal for me since I joined the varsity when I was a sophomore,” Cole said. “It’s something that I’ve worked hard at over the last three years, but, of course, I couldn’t get to this point without my teammates.”

Cole’s coach, who is also his father, said Cole has always been a driven player since he was in elementary.

“It’s not easy to hit 1,000 points in a varsity career,” Coach VanderHaag said. “It’s often easier to score volume when you’re a sophomore because you aren’t as noticed by the other teams at that level. But, as you move up the grades, the other teams start to pay attention and press much harder.”

Cole said any given game, he is being guarded by two opponents.

“They press me pretty hard,” he said.

Mike Hankwitz. Submitted photo

The first MCC boy to achieve 1,000 points in the school’s history was Mike Hankwitz in 1966. Hankwitz ended his Spartan career with 1,312 points, ranking him third all-time scorer at MCC and 15th in Mason County.

“I never really thought about it that much,” Hankwitz said. “I never knew what my accumulative total was. Coach (Duane) Ingraham used to give us that at the end of the season, but we didn’t really know during the season.”

Hankwitz said his achievement couldn’t have been done alone, though.

“We had a dang good team back then,” he said. “And a really good coach. In 1965, Hankwitz’s junior year, the Spartans advanced to the regional finals but were defeated by Gaylord, Hankwitz said. In 1966, his senior year, the Spartans went to the state semi-finals and were defeated in overtime.

While at MCC, Hankwitz earned 13 letters. He excelled at basketball, football and track. He played baseball his freshman year but the sport conflicted with track, he said.

“That entire team was very coachable but Mike was exceptional,” recalled Coach Ingraham. “We had a very good team. When those boys were either in eighth or ninth grade, we went to a summer basketball camp in Monticello, NY. It was being put on by Wilt Chamberlain. The boys just loved that and it was pretty inspirational. We could tell that that entire team, from that grade level on, had great potential.”

Ingraham said the 1966 team had been the underdog all the way through the championship, defeating Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart, Shelby, and West Michigan Christian.

Cole is guarded heavy by Shelby players at a recent game.

“Mike Hankwitz is on the short list of the greatest athletes in Scottville/MCC history,” said George C. Wilson, who, along with his father, George F. Wilson, used to work radio play-by-play coverage of MCC games for MCC. “He was a dominant basketball and football player.  He had leaping ability and speed that belied his large frame. With all that he was probably the smartest athlete of his era, if not all time.  He played smart. He knew where he was at all times and his leadership on the court made everybody on the team better.  That sort of leadership ability led to a half century success story as a college football coach at major institutions. This came after a four year football playing career at the university.”

Following high school, Hankwitz chose football as his sport, and played for the University of Michigan. He then went on to have a career as a Division 1 defensive coordinator, ultimately coaching at seven different universities ending retiring as one of the top defensive coordinators (over 400 games) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The next Spartan to score 1,000 points was Chris Raven in 1975, coached by Jack Shriver. Raven ended his high school varsity career with 1,066 points.

“Chris Raven was a smooth scoring machine for the Spartans in the mid 1970s,” Wilson, a 1979 graduate of MCC said. “Had he played in the three point era he would have finished with many more career points. He led Coach Jack Shriver’s Spartans with a fluid style that opened up the offense. A heady player adept at scoring in the transition on the fast break,  he scored a fair amount of points off of offensive rebounds.  Chris parlayed high school success into a good career at Grand Valley State College leading the Lakers to the NAIA Division 1 final four in 1977.”

VanderHaag shoots 2 against the Ludington Orioles

In 1983, Frank Tuka was the third Spartan to hit 1,000 with a career total of 1,016. Coached by Tom Kudwa the Spartans of the early 80s were a power-house team.

“Frank Tuka was long armed and a master of scoring in the paint,” Wilson said. “A complete player on a  good roster that also featured Jeff Elliot as well. The team fell short of the state title game.  Frank was a great rebounder and he used grit and speed to finish fast breaks he started on the defensive end.  Not a common trait for a player of his height in the post.”

In 1994, Jeremy Holmes broke Hanwitz’s 28 year record of being the Spartans’ top scorer. Holmes hit a career total of 1,353 points. Holmes was coached by Wally Sodosty his first three years then Tim Genson his senior year.

Genson, a 1985 graduate of MCC, served as MCC athletic director for 31 years, retiring in 2023. He also coached varsity boys basketball for 24 seasons. His career included taking the team to the state semi-finals in 1997 and state finals in 1998.

During his career, Genson coached more top MCC boys scorers than any other coach. They included Holmes, Chad Pleiness (1,288 career points, 1998), David Soraci (1,024 career points, 2011), Jeffery Carrier (1,422 career points, 2020) and Will Chye (1,291 career points, 2023). Genson was not Soraci’s coach when he scored his 1,000th point, but coached Soraci on varsity his freshman and sophomore years.

“There are a lot of factors that go into being a top scorer,” Genson said. “Probably the most important is having a good team to back you up. Scoring 1,000 points is certainly a major achievement, but the reality is, some players just don’t reach that for various reasons. That doesn’t mean those players aren’t excellent players, though. But, as a top scorer, you have to be a skilled player, a good finisher at the basket and you have to be given the opportunities to score.”

Genson has fond memories of his players hitting 1,000 points.

“I remember with Chad Pleiness, we were getting close to his 1,000 point mark and came up against West Michigan Christian at an away game. They knew he was getting close and they were doing what they could to slow him down. It worked out because he ended up scoring 1,000 at home, at the AO Carlson Gym. That was quite a moment. Chad was just gifted with size and a well-rounded athlete. He was a natural competitor in anything he did. He would race you to the doorway just to beat you.”

Pleiness is the only Mason County athlete to earn first team All West Michigan Conference, All-Area and All State honors in football, baseball and basketball. He went on to Central Michigan University, initially to play football, which he played for one year. He played four years of baseball and three years of basketball for the Chippewas.

Carrier, who is also the current boys junior varsity basketball coach, ranks as the all-time highest point earner at MCC with 1,422 points.

MCC High School Principal Jeff Tuka spent six seasons as the boys varsity basketball coach from the 2009-2010 season to the 2014-2015 season while Genson coached prior to and after Tuka.

Tuka coached David Soraci (1,024 points, 2011) and Kodi Ambrose (1,247 career points, 2014) when they broke the 1,000 point marks.

“Those two guys lived and breathed basketball,” Tuka said. “They were there whenever there was an open gym. It could have been in the middle of summer and 90 degrees outside and 100 in the gym, it didn’t matter. They were gym rats. They lived to play the game.”

Tuka said he is not only a proud coach of the players he had who are all-time high scorers, but he’s also a proud principal.

“I love basketball and I love Mason County Central basketball. For me to have a brother (Frank Tuka) that’s in that club, two players that are in that club, then to have students, Jeffery Carrier, Will Chye — plus girls Rachel Allen (1,021 points, 2019) and Mallory Miller (1,008 points, 2025) — and now Cole, it really makes me proud. I have watched Cole play and come up the ranks since he was in fourth grade.”

MCC boys top scorers

Chronological

• Mike Hankwitz: 1,312, 1966
• Chris Raven: 1,066, 1975
• Frank Tuka: 1,016, 1983
• Jeremy Holmes: 1,353, 1994
• Chad Pleiness: 1,288, 1998
• David Soraci: 1,024, 2011
• Kody Ambrose: 1,247, 2014
• Jeffery Carrier: 1,422, 2020
• Will Chye: 1,291, 2023

Ranking

1. Jeffery Carrier: 1,422, 2020
2. Jeremy Holmes: 1,353, 1994
3. Mike Hankwitz: 1,312, 1966
4. Will Chye: 1,291, 2023
5. Chad Pleiness: 1,288, 1998
6. Kody Ambrose: 1,247, 2014
7. Chris Raven: 1,066, 1975
8. David Soraci: 1,024, 2011
9. Frank Tuka: 1,016, 1983

MCC girls top scorers

Chronological

• Glenda Gruno: 1,043, 1977
• Rhonda Bedker: 1,267, 1988
• Rachel Schroeder: 1,167, 2000
• Lauren Geers: 1,059, 2007
• Maddy Geers: 1,308, 2014
• Rachel Allen: 1,021, 2019        
• Mallory Miller: 1,008, 2025

Ranking

1. Maddy Geers: 1,308, 2014
2. Rhonda Bedker: 1,267, 1988
3. Rachel Schroeder: 1,167, 2000
4. Lauren Geers: 1,059, 2007
5. Glenda Gruno: 1,043, 1977
6. Rachel Allen: 1,021, 2019        
7. Mallory Miller: 1,008, 2025

Rankings provided by Mason County Sports Hall of Fame.

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