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Kraatz' Goal: Set Teammates Up to Score

April 10, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Allen Park Inter-City Baptist's Evan Kraatz will graduate this spring as the most accomplished passer in MHSAA history. 

And that's not just because of Kraatz' publicized accomplishment this winter. 

The Chargers' senior made headlines in reportedly breaking the MHSAA career basketball assists record (that milestone will be added to the records upon confirmation). But Kraatz also had a flare for dishing on the soccer field, finishing with 102 career assists on the pitch – second only to his assistant coach Nathan Chatfield’s total of 105 tallied during the latter’s career at Burt Lake Northern Michigan Christian. 

Kraatz also made the MHSAA single-season assists list three times with a high of 30 during Inter-City Baptist’s Division 4 championship season of 2011. His 185 points total (including 83 goals) rank 12th on the MHSAA career list for that category.

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

Boys Soccer

  • As Kraatz led that 2011 Inter-City Baptist team in assists, teammate Steven Fiema was added for his 43 goals and 59 points during the title run. Fiema now plays for NAIA Grace College in Indiana. 

  • St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic junior Danny McEachen is climbing the career points list as well with 143 over his first three seasons. His 52 goals and 64 points this fall both made the single-season lists for those categories, and total he’s scored 103 goals for Lake Michigan Catholic.

  • Bellaire’s Drew Emery also has a talent for setting up teammates, posting a school-record 26 assists this fall and finishing his four-year career with 72 – good for ninth on that list. Teammate Denny Hall was added to the single-game assists list for tallying five in a 6-1 win over Roscommon on Sept. 19. Emery will play at Albion College this fall.

Boys Basketball

  • Jake Daniels ranked 22nd on the single-season free throw percentage list, making 84 of 98 for a .857 success rate for Holly this season. Daniels, a junior, was one of the top scorers in the Flint Metro League.

Football

  • A pair of Comstock Park quarterbacks and a receiver they both enjoyed were added for multiple categories. Jake Brown was included additionally to previous listings after finishing his career in 2012 with 368 completions in 646 attempts for 5,189 yards. Pat Naughton, the quarterback last season, completed 153 of 252 passes for 2,282 yards to make those single-season lists. Receiver Jake Bush caught 80 passes – 10th on the single-season receptions list – in 2012, and 141 passes – tied for 15th most in a career – from 2011-13.

Softball

  • Comstock Park’s Casey Cherry was added to a group of 15 who have thrown back-to-back no-hitters. Cherry held Cedar Springs hitless in both ends of a doubleheader on May 7, 2009, as her team won 10-0 and 8-1. She struck out 13 over the two games.

Volleyball

  • New Buffalo’s Jade Madison is finishing off an outstanding three-sport career that’s included all-state recognition in basketball and an MHSAA discus championship in track and field – she’ll continue to compete in that sport at Western Michigan University. Madison also left her mark on the volleyball court with 1,502 career kills, including 579 as a senior.

  • Frankenmuth’s Lindsey Mertz had a record-setting performance to finish off her freshman season this fall. She totaled 48 assists in a Class B District match to make that single-match list, although the Eagles fell in four games to Mount Morris.

Wrestling

  • Durand’s Roger Wildmo won three MHSAA championships and 118 straight matches before graduating in 2011. He’s listed for various accomplishments, including 59-0 seasons as a junior and senior, a 230-2 career record and 163 career pins. Teammate Evan Lowell made the single-season escapes list with 77 and career list with 152 before also graduating in 2011. Wildmo now wrestles at Michigan State University.

  • Imlay City had a pair added to the career record list – Sam Lyscas, who won 209 matches before graduating in 2012, and Kevin Ahrens, who won 192 before graduating in 2009. Ahrens also made the career pins list with 119. 

PHOTO: Allen Park Inter-City Baptist's Evan Kraatz (10, in blue) pushes the ball upfield during his four-year career that came to an end this fall. (Photo courtesy of the Inter-City Baptist soccer program.)

St Francis Standouts Net Record Entries

April 18, 2017

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Traverse City St. Francis missed tying for a Lower Peninsula Division 4 championship in girls tennis by a point in 2016, but continued adding big winners to the MHSAA record book.

Amanda Bandrowski capped her high school career as a Division 4 semifinalist at No. 1 singles and on the career wins list with a record of 117-10 – tied for 11th-most victories – and with 26 wins by a score of 6-0, 6-0 over her four seasons. She’s now playing at Hope College.

Anne Bandrowski, then a sophomore who finished runner-up at No. 3 singles, was added to the record book with a 35-3 record last spring, and senior Rosemary Wilson was added with a 34-4 record after winning the No. 4 singles title.

Click to see the MHSAA girls tennis record book in full, and read on for the latest additions in baseball, boys and girls basketball, football, softball and volleyball.

Baseball

Austin Yager was hit by pitches three times during the first game of a doubleheader last season against Lake Fenton. The Durand now-senior tied for second-most times being hit by a pitch in a game, and also had a single in his only other plate appearance in the 11-2 win.

Wyoming Lee’s Jose Cruz, Jr., also was hit by pitches three times in a March 28, 2016, game against Byron Center Zion Christian. Cruz ended up scoring two runs and driving in two runs in the 9-7 loss despite not getting a hit; one of his hit-by-pitches came with the bases loaded. Cruz was a junior at the time.

Boys Basketball

Bear Lake just missed an MHSAA record in its 81-62 win over Custer Mason County Eastern on Feb. 10. The Lakers scored 46 points during the third quarter – tied for second-most ever for one quarter and just two shy of tying the record set in 1966. Bear Lake also made 18 3-pointers in the game, good to make that record book single-game list as well. With Mason County Eastern’s four 3-pointers that game, they combined to make the list for most 3s for two teams in one game; Bear Lake also made 12 in a March 2 game against Walkerville, which had 10 to give the two teams 22 total and another listing.

Girls Basketball

Kaylee Benge finished her high school career this winter among the top 3-point shooters in MHSAA history, totaling 156 on 477 attempts during her four seasons for Sand Creek. She made a career-high 57 in 170 attempts this season while averaging 14.7 points per game.

North Muskegon senior Mya Duncan this season tied the third-longest consecutive free throw streak, making 37 straight over nine games beginning Dec. 20 and ending Jan. 27. As a junior, Duncan made the record book with 16 straight free throws in one game.

Bethany Baldwin went over 1,000 career points this winter as only a junior at Watersmeet, so it’s not entirely a surprise that she’s also put up multiple 50-point games. She had 52 in a Jan. 19 win over Republic-Michigamme and then 56 in a Class D District loss to Wakefield-Marenisco on Feb. 27. The 56 rank seventh for one game in MHSAA history.

Football

Milan’s Trace Lindeman capped his career in the fall among the leading rushers in MHSAA history with 5,483 yards over 42 games the last four seasons. His yardage ranks 13th on that career list, and his 75 rushing touchdowns rank ninth while also qualifying him for the overall career points (450) and touchdown lists.

Softball

Linden’s now-junior Elizabeth Rakowski earned an entry in the record book as a sophomore last spring with a 27-game hitting streak from March 30-May 23. The all-league outfielder finished the season with a .476 average over 36 games.

Volleyball

Brooke Binkley had 60 assists in DeWitt’s 3-2 Regional Final loss to Portage Central on Nov. 10, those assists good for seventh most in one match since the beginning of rally scoring in 2004-05. Binkley, a junior, finished this season with 1,376 assists to also make the single-season list.

PHOTO: St. Francis' Rosemary Wilson returns a volley during her Division 4 championship match last spring. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)