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.)

Coleman Scores Records Recognition

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 21, 2020

With Jaden Berthume playing a leading role, Coleman made three straight Division 4 Semifinals trips in softball from 2017-19 – and her work has resulted in her ranking among the best in multiple MHSAA record book categories.

Berthume has entries for 189 runs, 257 hits (tied for 12th all-time) and 175 RBI over 166 games and four seasons before graduating in 2019. Coleman as a team was added to the records for winning 35 games both in 2017 and 2019 and for a variety of other stat totals over her career.

Additionally, teammate Faith Barden was added for striking out 14 Ashley batters in a five-inning game in 2018 and driving in six runs in a 2019 win over Morrice, and Liz Dana was added for six RBI in a 2017 win over Carson City-Crystal.

Berthume plays at Northwood University, and Barden plays at Lawrence Tech. Barden graduated in 2018, and Dana graduated in 2017.

Click to see the softball record book, in full and check out below more recent record book additions in girls basketball, hockey, boys soccer, boys tennis and volleyball.

Girls Basketball

Stephenson’s Tori Wangerin had one of the most prolific rebounding games in MHSAA history Feb. 3, 2015 against West Iron County. Wangerin grabbed 28 rebounds in the 51-28 win. She went on to play at University of Wisconsin at Marinette.

Plymouth was added to the team record book for attempting 482 3-pointers and making 155 over 23 games last season, led by then-junior Ella Riley’s 75 3-pointers to make the individual record list. She had seven as Plymouth made the single-game list with 14 3-pointers in a Jan. 17 win over Salem.

Hockey

Nicklas Lockhart became the second player in the category for two goals scored during the shortest amount of time. He tallied two over six seconds for Caledonia/Lowell against East Kentwood on Feb. 8, at 13:19 and 13:13 to play in the second period, as his team went on to a 7-2 victory. 

Boys Soccer

Zachary Cepo completed one of the most notable high school careers in Michigan history last fall, finishing his fourth varsity season at Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central with 41 goals, 33 assists and 74 points. All three made record book lists, as did his career numbers of 102 goals, 146 assists and 248 points. The career assists extended the MHSAA record he reached as a junior; he also owns the single-season assists record set as both a sophomore and junior. His career points rank third all-time.

Boys Tennis

The No. 2 pair of Trevor Teunis and Jared Berghorst and No. 4 of Chad Koenig and Josh Sommers were among strong doubles that helped Hudsonville qualify for last season’s Lower Peninsula Division 1 Finals. Teunis and Berghorst made the record book finishing 28-6, as did Koenig and Sommers finishing 31-5. Both No. 2 players were seniors last fall, and both No. 4 players were sophomores.

Volleyball

Spring Lake setter Kyla Kobylak finished her sophomore year last fall with an MHSAA record after tallying 71 assists over five games against Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Oct. 8. Spring Lake won 25-27, 31-29, 25-23, 21-25 and 15-11.

Melina Robertson just missed making the single-season assists list as both a junior in 2018 and a senior last fall, when she totaled a career-high 1,054 for Sault Ste. Marie. But with those four seasons together, Robertson ranks 21st with 3,730 career assists.

Hopkins senior Brianna Miller will be working to move up the MHSAA career lists in kills and aces this fall after reaching both as a junior. She has 1,435 kills and 289 aces over 405 games and three seasons with one to play, and she also was added for 675 kills last year. Teammate Ashley Bultema also was added to the records last fall as a senior with 11 aces during a two-game win over Grand Rapids Union on Oct. 12.

Makenzie Bonnell finished her Marshall four-season varsity career last fall with the ninth-most assists in rally scoring history, 4,225, and three listings on the single-season assists list. Her single-season high came as a senior, with 1,293, and she also topped 1,200 as both a sophomore and junior.

PHOTO: Coleman’s Jaden Berthume crosses the plate during a 2019 Division 4 Semifinal at Secchia Stadium.