Records Report: Rams Star Tops in G-Lax

August 17, 2012

Rockford grad Andi Raymond is the most prolific scorer in the young history of MHSAA girls lacrosse, with her accomplishments from 2007-10 now entered into the MHSAA record books.

Raymond, who will be a junior next spring for Towson University in Maryland, owns the top spot for career goals (267) and points (460) and tallied the second-most career assists (193). Girls lacrosse became an MHSAA sport in 2005. 

Below are highlights from recent submissions to the MHSAA record books. Click to see the girls lacrosse record book, or the headings below to see records listings for those sports.

Softball

  • Breckenridge's Samantha Willman had one of the best pitching seasons in MHSAA history this spring, with 10 no-hitters including a string of three straight. Her 18 strikeouts in a six-inning game tied an MHSAA record.
  • Allendale's Michelle Dornan finished her career with 35 home runs over four seasons, good for fifth in MHSAA history. She had back-to-back HRs twice during her career. 
  • Springport's Sam Bates improved to 73-9-1 pitching over the first two seasons of her high school career, and her 76 runs scored were good for fourth-most in one season. Springport's 479 hits this spring were third-most for a season and its 453 hits in 2011 were seventh on that list. 
  • Mason County Eastern's Alyssa Bryan finished her career this spring with 58 doubles (tied for eighth for a career) and 188 RBI (also eighth, alone).
  • Imlay City junior Erin Combs hit 22 doubles this spring, good to tie for ninth for one season.
  • Howard City Tri-County hit 33 triples in 2011, tied for sixth among team single-season totals.

Wrestling

  • Carleton Airport grad Ronnie Szuch has joined the 200-win club. He tallied a 207-27 record from 2003-07, including a 64-0 mark as a senior.

Baseball

  • Bath sophomore pitcher Ryan Orr allowed a mere three bases on balls in 74 innings pitched this spring, the fewest ever according to the MHSAA listing. The others in that category are from 1942 and 2004.

PHOTO: Rockford's Andi Raymond helped the Rams to a 19-11 win over Rockford in the 2010 Division 1 Girls Lacrosse Final.

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.)