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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.)

Tabit Tops MHSAA, National Record Lists

August 13, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Mount Morris’ Sarah Tabit soon will have a national record to celebrate as part of one of the most impressive runs through MHSAA volleyball history.

The 2016 graduate had 1,076 kills in 181 games as a senior to set MHSAA and National Federation records for kills in one season, and she finished her four-season varsity career with 2,835 kills – which would’ve ranked second in MHSAA history at the time during the rally scoring era (beginning in 2004-05) and now sit fourth on the list.

She’s joined by a number of Mount Morris greats past who were recently added to the record book, including Spencer Stokes, whose 1,782 assists in 2011 rank second all-time. Stokes also was added for 3,833 assists from 2008-11, while Hannah Tabit (2,835 from 2012-15) and Brooke Watts (2,766 from 2008-10) also made that career list.

Lauryn Gibbs’ 212 aces in 2015 rank fifth all-time, and Sarah Tabit made the list in that category for 166 that season. Tabit’s 428 aces are seventh on the career list, while Stokes is eighth with 425 and Gibbs 12th at 393. Hannah Tabit also is on the career aces list with 309.

Additionally, Katee Farlow was added for 161 blocks in 2009, and Brittney Childers made the kills list with 834 in 2007. Sherrell Atkins is 13th on the career kills list with 2,244 from 2008-11, and Margo Joubran also made that list with 1,667 kills from 2010-13.

Both Tabits have continued their careers at Saginaw Valley State University, while Stokes played at Cornerstone University, Childers and Farlow played at Mott Community College, Atkins at Oakland Community College and Joubran at Adrian College. Gibbs is beginning her career at Michigan State this fall.

Click to see the volleyball record book in full and read on for more recent record book additions in baseball, boys basketball, girls lacrosse and softball.

Baseball

Ryan Sharpley (0.90 in 2007), Logan Brigham (0.93 in 2016) and Evan Asselin (0.75 in 2018) all were added to the single-season ERA list after shining for Marshall. Sharpley went on to play at Notre Dame.

Bryce Davis finished a fantastic four-season varsity run for Sparta in 2017 with four record book entries. As a senior he went 9-1 with a 0.34 ERA and 162 strikeouts, the latter two figures making single-season lists, and he made career lists with a 0.99 ERA and 365 strikeouts over 204 2/3 innings pitched. Davis plays at the University of Toledo.

Grand Ledge’s Cal Johnston finished his four-season varsity career this spring on the MHSAA career lists with 30 home runs, 134 RBI and 32 times hit by a pitch. He will continue his career at Central Michigan. As a team, Grand Ledge made the records with a .377 average, 75 doubles, 312 RBI and a 1.66 ERA in finishing 34-4.

Boys Basketball

With three seasons down and a season to play, Dansville 6-foot-10 senior Caleb Hodgson is climbing career records lists in free throws (353), rebounds (838) and blocked shots (258). His blocks rank 12th all-time and include 12 in a game last season against Fowler.

The evening of January 8, 1988, was memorable for Birmingham Seaholm as it scored 109 points in a win over Berkley. It also was a record-setting night for a pair of Maples. Steve Sheckell made 11 3-pointers, one of two players statewide to connect on that many in one game during the first season the MHSAA employed a 3-point arc. Teammate David Marcinkowski finished with 34 rebounds in the game to make the single-game list in that category. Sheckell for the season connected on 88 3-pointers – at a 55-percent success rate – and remains on the list for most 3-pointers in a season. Both teammates went on to play at Albion College

Girls Lacrosse

Then-junior Cameron Stilson stopped 24 shots as Brighton downed then-undefeated Hartland 15-9 on May 1, 2017. Stilson’s saves rank third all-time for a single game. She will continue her career at Northern Michigan University.

Softball

Midland’s Allison Gray finished her four-year varsity career in the spring with a pair of entries reflecting her team’s offensive punch. She made the career lists with 79 walks and 176 runs beginning in 2015.

Clare sophomore Brooklyn Tocco joined a group of players tied for second with three homers in one game when she drilled three in a 26-15 win over West Branch Ogemaw Heights on April 24. She also made the list for RBI in one game, finishing with six.

Frankfort sophomore Haley Myers added another season’s worth of accomplishments to a growing record book resume with 75 runs, 17 doubles and 13 home runs this spring to make single-season lists in those categories – and with the runs tied for 10th all-time. She also moved up the career doubles list with 35 over two seasons. Additionally, junior teammate Natalie Bigley was added for 10 home runs this spring.

PHOTO: Mount Morris’ Sarah Tabit aims to split a pair of blockers on a kill attempt during her high school career that concluded in 2015. (Photo courtesy of the Mount Morris athletic department.)