2 x Flint Kearsley, 2 x Champions

March 6, 2015

By Sarah Jaeger
Special for Second Half

WATERFORD – Friday’s Division 2 Bowling Finals at Century Lanes ended in a repeat for 2014, as both the Flint Kearsley girls and boys teams successfully repeated as MHSAA champions.

The Kearsley girls had to defeat a familiar foe, 2014 Finals runners-up Bay City Western.

"I thought this was déjà vu all over again," said Bay City Western senior Anna Kuehne, "but I kind of hoped the ending was different."

After losing three bowlers to graduation last year, Western welcome three new members to the roster including a senior bowling with the team for the first time and a junior who had never picked up a ball until six months ago.

The Warriors came out strong with their Baker games, and Kearsley soon found itself down 69 pins after the set.

"I knew they were good," said Kearsley coach Robert Ploof. "I knew they could put up some scores in their Baker games."

But the Hornets made each frame count and never gave up. "You just got to chip away," Ploof added. "They didn't worry about throwing strikes, just filling frames, and that's what we did and it paid off."

Kearsley was able to overcome the deficit and win 1242-1212.

"You got to give Bay City Western credit though, they gave us everything we could handle,” Ploof said. “They had us, they really did. They had us."

Junior Hannah Ploof led Kearsley during the final game with a score of 238 despite battling an injury to her foot. "She's kind of a mess right now. So for what she did out there, that's pretty amazing," said Robert Ploof, also her father.

"I iced it all day, and I tried not to think about it," Hannah said. "The last match it was more like my adrenaline kicked in, so I didn't feel it."

On the boys side, Western also was Kearsley’s championship match opponent – and the last obstacle keeping Kearsley from becoming the first Division 2 boys team to win back-to-back titles.

With close Baker matches of 160-152 and 173-168, the Western boys took the lead going into the regular game.

But experience in the Finals came in handy for the Hornets.

"We only lost one senior from last year," said Flint Kearsley coach Bart Rutledge, "so we had the same team coming back."

Not only was it primarily the same team from 2013-14, but most of the bowlers had been competing together for the last six years.

"Our school started middle school bowling," said Kearsley senior Anthony Kelly, "so we've been bowling together ever since seventh grade."

And for his last game with his teammates, Kelly rolled a 226, allowing Kearsley to edge Western, 1351-1344.

"To be completely honest, at the start of the year I didn't think we had it in us. And now that it's over I wouldn't change anything," Kelly said.

While Kearsley’s boys will have one lone bowler returning next season from their back-to-back championship teams, Bay City Western does not have a graduating senior.

They already have set their sights on the prize.

"It's not the result I wanted, but it's a lot farther than I thought we were going to make it," said Dylan Brown, a junior for Bay City Western.

"Next year I think it's ours," he added. "We're a young team, we really are. Next year we'll be a lot more mature."

Click for full girls results and boys results.

History Made, History Ended in D1

March 6, 2015

By Jon Malavolti
Special for Second Half

STERLING HEIGHTS – Macomb Dakota’s girls ended Davison’s MHSAA title streak, while Wayne Memorial’s boys topped Saginaw Heritage in their Division 1 Bowling Final on Friday at Sunnybrook Lanes.

Davison was looking to become the first school to win four straight MHSAA team bowling titles. But Dakota had other plans when the squads met in the Final. 

The Cardinals took a two-pin lead following the pair of Baker games to open the match, but the Cougars took over from there, filling up the frames with strikes and spares.

“We were completely determined,” said Dakota’s Sierra Stade, one of five seniors who bowled in the Final. “We came in here saying we want to win this, it’s our last year, and we did. To finally win was amazing.” 

Led by sophomore Hannah Forton’s 228 and Stade’s 222, the Cougars won 1,321-1,228, avenging last year’s loss in the MHSAA Semifinals to Davison.

“You can see at the end, they fired back, Hannah and Sierra shot those awesome games to keep us on fire,” Dakota coach Kevin Wemyss said. “How do you put it into words? It’s awesome. All in all, they bowled great all day.”

The title is the program’s first. 

“It’s really exciting, I’m really happy,” Forton said. “We did really good in the last game.”

While it was a bittersweet end of the run for Davison, Cardinals coach Tracey Greene was proud of how far the squad got this season. 

“Actually, I didn’t know if we’d get to the Finals,” he said, noting the team’s overall youth. “They’ve been working hard all year to get to where they got, but it wasn’t quite enough in that last game. Dakota … they had a good start and we just could never catch them. Hopefully we’ll get back here again next year.”

The team’s lone senior, Brooklyn Greene, a member of the previous three championship teams, also was impressed with the team’s effort.

“I think getting second was awesome. I didn’t really expect to get this far,” she said. “I’m so proud of them.” 

In the Boys Final, Wayne Memorial coach Bob Jawor said his bowlers “never quit.”

“We were down a couple of times, and they bounced back. They never stopped trying,” he said. “They fought hard all year. I’m really happy for them because they deserve it. I’m really proud of them.”

Junior Conner Weber led the way for the Zebras with a 231 in the final game, helping them top Heritage 1,281-1,229.

“It’s honestly mind blowing, it’s crazy,” he said about winning the title. This is one thing I’ve always been wanting, especially the team … it’s big. It really brings it home. This team started from the bottom, and we got there, we got on top.” 

Heritage coach Todd Hare believed his bowlers gave it their all during the long day of intense competition.

“We bowled really well most of the day,” he said. 

The coach noted that the Hawks “turned it up a notch” late in qualifying before making their run. “And then we just couldn’t quite get it rolling,” he added.

The Finals appearance was the second in three years for the Hawks, as Hare noted it was the end of an impressive era for his five seniors.

The title is Wayne Memorial’s first, after the Zebras lost in the 2009 Final. 

Click for full girls results and boys results. Photos will be added Saturday.