KRENZ CIRCLED THE GAME ON HIS CALENDAR — a matchup with the Buffalo Bandits at the 2018 Wheelchair Lacrosse USA Nationals at Wheel Park in Aurora, Colorado.
“I don’t like them, at all,” he said. “They are the kings of smack-talking.”
On a concrete gray court in the shape of an ice rink, Krenz glided through multiple defenders, pick-and-rolled to the net, threw several head fakes that got the defense spinning its wheels in the wrong direction and slotted the ball stick-side low into the back of the cage to score the first of his nine goals on a 90-degree day in late August. Milwaukee defeated Buffalo 14-1.
Although the Eagles couldn’t advance to the championship game, Krenz was honored as the tournament’s most valuable player at the closing banquet in Denver. He received a certificate with his name on it and a USA Lacrosse backpack. He brought Latawiec on stage with him.
“I gave Aaron the backpack and held up the certificate with him and took pictures,” Krenz said. “Every time I do something crazy or have a good game, it means the world that I get to do it for these guys and the coaches, just because of the people that they are. They love the game, too.”
Krenz has played wheelchair lacrosse for about eight years. His first sport was golf, then he found basketball through the Wisconsin Adaptive Sports Association. He played wheelchair basketball at UW-Milwaukee but wanted a new challenge.
Debbie Krenz found out about the Milwaukee Eagles. Led by Dr. Kenneth Lee, the program perennially sends teams to wheelchair nationals and has fostered long-term relationships across Milwaukee.
Krenz found a sport that was even more physical than basketball, and he gravitated to it immediately.
“Even when I got home from practice, I didn't want to put it down,” he said. “I had a spare room set up in my dad's house with a mattress that we weren't using. I drew targets on it with a tennis ball, and I would play a wall ball across this spare room in my house, working on my accuracy and my shooting."
At age 20, Krenz was the fastest player on the court. He had a killer instinct.
“I want my matchup to quit,” he said. “That’s how I work.”
Those watching Krenz as he developed within the Eagles program saw rapid progress. Most had never seen a wheelchair lacrosse player operate at such a high level.
“He’s so hard to cover. He's very slick,” Courcelle said. “He explodes in and out of his dodges. His spirit has only gotten stronger since I've known him. What he does is so rare.”
“Dodging is extremely difficult in wheelchair lacrosse. Marko has the ability to weave through defenders while somehow still accelerating and protecting the ball,” said Shawn Maloney, a USA Lacrosse regional manager who plays and coaches for the Colorado Rolling Mammoth. “More impressively, he is an intense competitor who covers every inch of the floor. He’s pushing the boundaries of the sport and challenging the rest of us to get better in the process.”
Krenz’s upper body strength allows him to maneuver his chair using both hands while maintaining control of the ball. He can score from either side. His signature head fake lures defenders the wrong way and creates space to shoot.
“They fully bite on it, their chairs turn and I’m gone,” he said. “Then, it’s pump fake and fire.”
Krenz, who also organizes and coaches youth wheelchair basketball clinics, says lacrosse has deepened his connection to the community.
“I'm so thankful for sports to be my outlet because the time thinking, ‘I don't want to do this. I’m tired. How am I going to take care of myself?’ is more than cut in half,” he said. “Lacrosse has given me common ground with others with crazy complicated stories, growing up and overcoming adversity.”
Krenz knows that challenges lie ahead as he continues to live with spina bifida — more trips to the hospital, more times stuck at a 30-degree angle to let his hip heal and more trips to the sideline to catch his breath. He’s equipped to go with the grain, never taking his life and the people in it for granted. Determined to be the best son, brother, teammate and friend.
“Whatever needs to get done, it will be done,” Debbie Krenz said. “He’s going to have peaks and valleys in his life, but right now he has had great moments in lacrosse. Mark just keeps pushing forward.”