Kraatz Passes Turner on Assist List

April 22, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Arguably the biggest individual headline this boys basketball season was made by Allen Park Inter-City Baptist senior Evan Kraatz.

Also one of the all-time assist leaders in MHSAA boys soccer history, Kraatz broke the boys basketball career assists record that had stood since Eric Turner graduated from Flint Central in 1981.

Kraatz finished his career with 803 assists – including 218 this winter – to move to the top of a career list where his father Mark Kraatz (Inter-City Baptist 1982-85) sits fourth. Evan also finished this season with 115 steals – ninth most for one season – to end second on that career list with 358. His dad ranks right behind again, fourth for career steals.

See below for a number of additional recent entries to the MHSAA boys basketball record listings – including a pair from schools no longer in existence – plus a few more for boys soccer and wrestling. Click on the headers to see all entries for those respective sports.

Boys Basketball

  • Ottawa Lake Whiteford senior Colin Lake also finished his career this season among the leaders in steals, just behind Evan Kraatz with 348 to place third on that career list. Lake also finished with 488 free throws over his four seasons – seventh most on the career list in that category – with a fifth-longest streak ever of 42, and he also made the career 3-pointers list with 191. Total, Lake scored 1,925 points during his career and averaged 31.7 per game as a senior. 

  • Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest’s Andy Lewis had a triple-double in a 1989 win over Plymouth Christian, tallying 27 points, 12 rebounds and 20 assists as his team won 95-77. His 20 assists tie for fourth-most in one game, and his 197 assists that season tied for 14th on that list. 

  • Another high assist mark was submitted by a former coach now living in South Carolina for a player who made his mark more than 30 years ago at a high school that no longer exists. Rodney Savage had 19 assists in a 90-79 win for Muskegon West Shore Christian Academy against Covert on Dec. 11, 1982. In fact, the newspaper report from the game compared Savage’s performance to something reminiscent of Eric Turner, mentioned above.

  • Grand Rapids Covenant Christian tied for 15th all-time with 193 3-pointers this season, on 527 attempts. Covenant Christian made a game high of 14 and connected on 13 on Feb. 21 against Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian – which with NorthPointe’s nine 3-pointers contributed to a total of 22 that made the list for the most by two teams together.

  • Britton-Macon statistics from the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons showed Phil Benedict with 532 and 483 rebounds, respectively, those winters – with the 532 third-most on the MHSAA list. Britton-Macon, now part of Britton-Deerfield, won Class D championships both seasons with the 6-8 Benedict at center. His 1,015 career rebounds grabbed during just those two seasons rank ninth on the career list for that stat. He earned a basketball scholarship from Duke University and later transferred to Bowling Green State University.

  • Temperance Bedford’s Jeremiah Harris also made the single-season rebounding list this winter with 341.

Boys Soccer

  • Three years after his final high school assist, Dansville’s Jay Witchell has been recognized as the MHSAA career leader in that category. His 38 assists in 2009 and 32 in 2008 rank fifth and tied for 11th, respectively, on the single-season list, and his 106 from 2007-10 are the career record, by one.  His 146 career points rank 19th and are just eight fewer than the total by his brother Josh, who graduated from Dansville in 2005. Jay Witchell went on to play at Division III Aurora University in Illinois.

Wrestling

  • Josh Wendling and Taylor Krupp finished their high school careers this winter by helping New Lothrop to an MHSAA team championship. They also finished with a few marks in the record book: Krupp made the single-season wins list after going 59-0 this season, and Wendling set the single-season technical falls record with 29. Both finished with more than 200 wins for their careers – Krupp at 218-21 and Wendling at 202-24.

  • Fife Lake Forest Area 130-pounder Matthew Elliott finished his high school career this winter with a school-record 160 wins. His 113 career pins also are a school record and made the MHSAA listings in that category.

PHOTOS: (Left) Allen Park Inter-City Baptist’s Evan Kraatz drives past a defender during this winter’s game against Southfield Christian. (Right) Flint Central’s Eric Turner (25) led his team to the Class A championship in 1981. (Kraatz photo courtesy of Inter-City Baptist.)

Record-Setting Saving, Historic Scoring Send Grosse Ile to 2018 Boys Soccer Finals

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

May 17, 2024

Grosse Ile’s Division 3 runner-up season in 2018 included multiple MHSAA team records for defensive and offensive success.

The Red Devils set a record with 21 straight shutouts and 24 total over 29 games, and also finished third all-time scoring 158 goals.

Their 23-game winning streak that season remains tied for seventh-longest as Grosse Ile finished 27-2.

See below for more recent additions to the MHSAA boys soccer record book, and click the heading to see the record book in full.

Boys Soccer

Keeper Ethan DeJager and Grandville Calvin Christian were nearly unbeatable in 2020, finishing 19-1-2 and runner-up in Division 4. They set a record allowing only four goals for the season, while DeJager is fourth on the season shutouts list with 19 over those 22 games and tied for the second-longest shutout streak at 13. DeJager was a senior that season.

Seth Davidson capped his four-year varsity career this past fall on three records lists for shutouts – 15 over 22 games this past season, 26 for his career and nine straight as a senior. Berkley as a team also made the fewest goals allowed list, giving up only 11 in finishing 18-2-2.

Caden Saxton capped a memorable four-year Flint Kearsley varsity career in the fall with four entries in the record book. He made the assists list with 27 over 21 games as a senior and also the single-season points list with 65, and made career lists in those categories with 63 assists and 149 points, respectively, over 71 games.

Jonesville advanced in its District this past season with an 8-5 overtime win over Blissfield on Oct. 12, and Warrick Elder played a big part scoring six goals. He’s a senior.

Kalamazoo Hackett Catholic Prep’s run to the Division 4 Semifinals saw contributions from several players, and junior James Whiting was among those leading the way. He made the assists list with 30 over 22 games, and also the total points list with 49. He also sits on the career assists list after three seasons with 66 and one more season to play.

Holland Christian made the team list for 12 straight shutouts from Sept. 8-Oct. 19, and 15 shutouts total over 20 games this past season. Junior Adam Bergman was in goal for all 15 including the 12 consecutive.

Muskegon Oakridge senior Arturo Romero-Serrano capped his career in the fall with his second season reaching 40 goals, netting 42 total to finish his four-year career with 105 and also on the MHSAA career points list with 125. He also added a second six-goal game, against Muskegon Catholic Central on Aug. 25.

Monroe Jefferson’s season came to an end Oct. 11 in a District game against Riverview, but senior Gabe Gelso finished with a state record. He made 49 saves in the 9-0 defeat as the Bears had only eight players total.

Ian Klenk added eight more shutouts in goal this past fall to finish his three-season varsity career with 25 in 60 games and make the career list in that category. He’ll continue his career at Kuyper College.

PHOTO Grosse Ile's keeper Brendan Ebler (1) gathers the ball and charts his next move during the 2018 Division 3 Final.