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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.)

MCC's Holt Ties National HBP Record

December 8, 2016

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Muskegon Catholic Central’s runs to the 2015 Division 4 baseball championship and 2016 Quarterfinals relied for obvious reasons on the ability to limit opponents’ hits – but also to take them.

The Crusaders set an MHSAA record in 2016 by being hit by pitches 87 times after also setting the record with 74 HBPs in 2015. Jacob Holt, who graduated this spring, tied the national record and broke the previous MHSAA record by eight with 65 times being hit by pitches over his four-season varsity career.

In addition, MCC was added to the MHSAA record book for a 1.13 team ERA and 161 stolen bases during the 2015 title run. Nicholas Holt, a senior on that team and Jacob’s brother, finished his pitching career 37-3 to make the career wins list and won 28 straight games over his final three seasons to tie for third on the list for consecutive pitching victories. Also, teammate Anthony Woodard was added for scoring 65 runs in 2015.

Nicholas Holt played this spring at Hope College, and Jacob is playing at Aquinas College. Woodard is playing at Benedictine University in Illinois.

See below for more recent record book additions, and click the headings to see those sports’ record books in full.

Baseball

Homer’s Brock Ridgeway finished his four-year varsity career this spring on MHSAA career lists for runs scored (163), hits (184), RBI (142) and being hit by pitches (47) after being hit by 18 pitches this past season and three times in one April game. The 47 career HBP is tied for fourth-most all-time, and he also just missed the career pitching wins list with 32. Homer as a team this spring made season lists with a .354 batting average and 53 HBPs. Ridgeway is a freshman on the Central Michigan University baseball team.

A pair of senior pitching aces from the 2008 Grass Lake team that finished 34-6 and won the Division 3 championship were added for performances that season. Charlie Fisher made the ERA list at 0.96 and also had seven shutouts that spring to make the list in that category. Casey Hall was added for his 0.57 ERA. Grass Lake as a team ranks fourth for its 354 strikeouts that season. Hall went on to play at Western Michigan University and Fisher played at Hillsdale College.

Boys Basketball

Jordan Weber knocked down 73 3-pointers last season for East Jordan to finish his four-year varsity career with 278 – fifth-most in MHSAA history. He made nearly 34 percent of his 818 career attempts and averaged 17.1 points per game total as a senior.

Football

A pair of Gaylord athletes were entered for impressive scores more than 30 years ago. Kurt Kakaviska made the records for his 90-yard punt return touchdown against Petoskey in 1982, while Mark Johnston was added for two interception touchdowns in one quarter in a 1986 game, also against Petoskey. Johnston actually scored a third defensive touchdown in that same third quarter, on a fumble recovery. Kakaviska went on to play at Northern Michigan University. 

Cody Richardson played a significant part in Athens’ 12-0 shutout of Bellevue in the teams’ opener Aug. 26. Richardson, a junior, had four interceptions to tie for fourth-most in one game.

Softball

A pair of Reese hitters were added for batting prowess. Emily Schrader made the single-season hits list with 72 in 2010, while Monica Hagen – already on the single-season list with 73 in 2014 – was added to the career hits list with 209 over 132 games from 2011-14. Schrader went on to play at Delta College.

Grosse Pointe South's Grace Foster picked up her first record book listing as a sophomore this spring, hitting 19 doubles in 35 games. She hit .500 for the season.

Kennedy Kunnert joined the list of those who have hit back-to-back home runs, drilling hers out of the park for Pinckney in the first and second innings of a 12-5 loss to Hartland on May 11. Kunnert was a junior this spring.

Wrestling

Hastings coach Mike Goggins joined the group with more than 400 coaching wins last season, moving to 415-137 since taking over the program at the start of the 1998-99 season. His team finished 26-11 last winter with league and District championships. 

PHOTO: Muskegon Catholic Central's Jacob Holt watches after connecting with a pitch during the 2015 Division 4 Baseball Final.