![](/sites/default/files/imported/Photos/190301_D1b_2H.jpg)
D1's Best Celebrate 1st Finals Titles
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2019
ALLEN PARK – Blake Ryntz had no clue that the tears he was shedding late Friday morning in his father’s arms would – five hours later – morph from ones of sadness to those of triumph.
But that’s what the sport of bowling can do to a person.
Ryntz, a senior on the Farmington-Harrison Unified bowling squad, thought his team had missed qualifying for Finals match play. But he and his teammates actually barely had made the cut and then proceeded to crush the competition, defeating Oxford in the championship match to claim the program’s first-ever MHSAA boys bowling championship.
“To me, it’s motivating. Barely making it in, you’ve got to show them who’s number one,” said Ryntz, who fired a 269 in his team’s final game against the Wildcats. “I went in thinking it was a fresh start. Everything that happened this morning, just forget about it. Inside me, I knew I could drop three really good games to help us get to the Finals.”
That he did, as sixth-seeded Farmington-Harrison cruised past Macomb L’Anse Creuse North in the quarterfinals and then Salem in the semifinals to set up the showdown with their rivals from the Oakland Activities Association. The team shot 1,463 and 1,435 in its first two wins before putting up 1,453 in defeating Oxford.
“It’s surreal,” said Farmington-Harrison head coach Dennis Hermani, whose team shot Baker games of 225 and 221 and a team score of 1,007 in the final. “These kids have bought into our mantra of “This isn’t bowling, it’s family.’ We had alumni from 10-12 years ago drive here today, took the afternoon off from work. JV kids, parents from years ago. They really bought in and support our program.”
Farmington-Harrison entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the state, having posted the highest Regional score a week ago. The team struggled a bit in its Baker games and bowled sub-par in its two team games. But it snuck past Roseville, Oxford and Macomb Dakota – which narrowly missed qualifying by just five pins.
“I’m so proud of them. We barely made the cut today, by nine pins,” Hermani said. We did not bowl very well this morning, and they were feeling the pressure. All they kept saying (was) that they wanted to get in this (Stadium) room. Once they got in this room, they performed outstanding.”
Along with Ryntz, Evan Yards (202), Jonah Musial (184), Sean Ronald (183) and Christian Dorsey (169) also scored for the team in the final. Devon Osborn and Ryan Wrublewski were also a part of Hermani’s championship squad.
Justin Sisson (208) and Luke Acton (191) led the way for Oxford, a team with no seniors on its roster. Coach JR Lafnear was happy for Hermani and his team, but just as excited about his team’s future.
“I’ve got all juniors and sophomores here and they’re all coming back, so we couldn’t be happier,” said the coach, whose team made its first appearance in the championship match. “The boys battled hard all day. We won the OAA and set our sights in here on doing the best we could. And we were runner-up to an outstanding team from Harrison. I’m not disappointed at all.”
Oxford defeated top-seeded Westland John Glenn is its first match before knocking off Jackson in the semifinals.
Across the alley, Jenison captured its first MHSAA girls bowling championship, knocking off two-time champion New Baltimore Anchor Bay 1,307-1,200 in the title match. The Wildcats were seeded fourth after qualifying and had to knock off top-seeded Taylor in the semifinals before bouncing the second-seeded Tars in the championship match.
“All season long, I’ve always asked the girls, ‘Just give me your best,’ and today they did that,” Jenison coach Kim Becker said. “They just pulled it out. Everything started falling our way; they pumped each other up. The momentum got going, and it just carried through.”
Jenison led Anchor Bay by 38 pins after two Baker games, but then things began to go against Becker’s team. The Wildcats had six open frames through their four turns in the regular game, and the Tars began clawing their way back into the match.
But then the “Bowling Gods,” as Becker put it, started looking down on her Jenison team. Her anchor bowler, Lauren Slagter, picked up an ugly split in the fifth frame and then used a little luck to strike in the seventh to help right the ship. Up to that point in the game, her team had picked her up. So she hoped that her stretch from the fifth through the eighth frames could do the same for her teammates.
“I was just trying to do my best to make up for what I did in that first half of the game,” Slagter said. “It ended up OK. I’m happy with the turnout.”
Alexis VanWayckhuyse led all bowlers with an individual game of 244, helping her team to a 941 team score. Anna Bartz had a 209, while Sarena Overbeek (182), Racquel Kranenberg (155) and Slagter (151) rounded out the Wildcats’ scoring.
Jenison, the fourth seed in the draw, defeated Rockford in the quarterfinals.
Anchor Bay, which previously had won Division 1 titles in 2007 and 2011, was seeded second in the draw and beat Sterling Heights Stevenson and Westland John Glenn on its way to the final. Kate Kaltz fired a 193 to lead her team against Jenison. Amanda Fsadni (189), Emily Fulgenti (182), Kaitlyn Cavender (168) and Merisa Batkins (140) also scored for their team.
“These girls bowled fantastic,” said Anchor Bay coach Buddy VanWieringen. “This is the best team I’ve had in quite a few years. I’ve had a lot of great coaching help this year. It’s been a fun season.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
![](/sites/default/files/imported/Photos/161223_bowl_2H.jpg)
Boys Aim to Add to Vandercook Lake Legacy
By
Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
December 23, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
JACKSON – At Vandercook Lake, bowling is family.
The girls coach has a son and a nephew on the boys team.
The boys coach has a daughter who was part of three girls teams that won MHSAA Finals championships.
In fact, the girls have won five Finals titles – while the boys are still searching for their first.
And in the middle of it all, both teams had to find a new home.
OK, maybe it sounds a little like a dysfunctional family, but that is far from the truth. And this year, the boys have a high-scoring team that is capable of contending for that first championship.
“We're trying to bring one home for the boys,” sophomore Korey Reichard said. “We're trying to break that barrier.”
Vandercook Lake won the Division 4 title in girls bowling in 2011, 2013 and 2014. Reichard's sister Kelsea was on those teams, as was Malloree Ambs, daughter of boys coach Libie Ambs.
“My first year when I took over the boys, we were state runner-up,” Libie Ambs said. “It's always in the back of my head. My daughter bowled on three of those championships teams, so I know what's there, and I want one for the boys.”
Last year, Vandercook Lake made it to the Division 4 Semifinals before losing, and it lost just one person from that team. In December of 2015, the Jayhawks slipped into the state record book with a team game of 1,228 – No. 10 in state history, regardless of division, according to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association. Four of the five bowlers on that team are back this winter.
Just a week ago, Reichard had a two-game total of 520 – a 260 average – but he was second on his team to senior Zach Cecil, who averaged 267 for a 534 two-game total.
Those explosive scores, paired with last year's runner-up finish and the school's rich tradition in bowling, make the Jayhawks a team to watch at most events, especially around Jackson.
“We've always said there is a target on our back,” Libie Ambs said. “People know about the program and what's coming out of it, and there are people who watch and pay attention to our scores.
“Some of the boys don't worry so much about it. I tell them to keep their composure. People are going to watch you and talk about you, and you are going to have big crowds behind you. Those are the things they need to get used to.”
Making a splash
Vandercook Lake is far from a one-person team, but one person has a better resume than the others: Reichard, who already has been featured in the “Faces in the Crowd” section of Sports Illustrated. On Jan. 21, 2012, Reichard bowled games of 265, 257 and 278 for an 800 series becoming, at age 10, the youngest bowler in history to reach 800 for three games.
“That 800 gave me a lot of confidence, but I didn't really understand what I did the first few years,” he said. “Now I know what it means.”
Reichard's top series since was 780, and on Oct. 15, he bowled his first 300 game, which he said was a greater thrill.
“Because I hadn't done it yet,” he said. “The 800 was kind of like a shock, and I didn't understand it as much because I was 10.”
Reichard's parents, Todd and Jill Reichard, have been top bowlers in the Jackson area for many years. His older brother, Casey, and older sister, Kelsea, had success on the high school team, so he had plenty of role models growing up.
“My mom and dad have been a huge influence, especially my dad,” he said. “He's coaching the girls now, and I've watched probably 10 years now with my brother and sister on the teams, and now I'm in my second year.
“My mom just watches the high school matches, but she plays a bigger role in the tournaments that I bowl in on weekends.”
Reichard also participates in the Michigan Junior Masters Association and the West Michigan Junior Gold Tour. The experience he has gained in those tournaments has helped him learn different lane patterns and gain experience.
“There are lots of tough patterns that we bowl on,” he said. “Every shot is tough, and there are some really good players, especially in the MJA, and that is great competition.
“There are a lot of state bowlers there, bowlers of the year, state champions. It has helped ground me and help me to get better because there's always somebody better than you. I keep working every day just to get better.”
Last year as a freshman, Reichard averaged 231.2 over six games during the Division 4 Finals qualifying block to earn the top seed in match play. He showed great consistency in the qualifying with games of 223, 229, 245, 232, 242 and 216, but he lost in the second round of match play when he rolled back-to-back games below 200.
“My goal is to bring a state title home and try to get academic all-state,” he said. “Academics are first in my mind.”
Teammates helping teammates
Coach Ambs said the most gratifying part of this team is how they help each other on the lanes.
“I am most proud of these guys for their ability to work together,” she said. “When somebody sees something, he will come back and say something like, 'My ball did this,' or 'My ball did that.' They talk to each other about the lanes, and they do that quite a bit.”
Reichard leads the team with a 241 average, while Cecil is second at 232 and sophomore Conner Lackey – Reichard's cousin – is third at 220. Three juniors round out the team: Tyler Strawser (182), Keegan Campbell (180) and Hunter Storm (173).
“We always talk to each other,” Cecil said. “We're always giving each other advice.”
Lackey said they all know each other's games so well that it makes it easy to help a teammate when he is struggling.
“I think having a supportive team – with our bowling background – has helped a lot,” he said. “We know everybody's game so well that if somebody throws a bad shot, we know the adjustment that needs to be made.”
Perhaps the trickiest part of Ambs' job as coach could be working with Reichard while his father, Todd, is on hand coaching the girls. But they make it work quite smoothly.
“Todd and I have worked together for enough years that if I have a question about Korey – and Korey and I can't talk about it – I will ask Todd,” she said. “Or Korey will say, 'I'll go ask my dad,' or Conner will say, 'I'll go ask my uncle.'
“It is a little bit of a challenge with him being right there, but it's not a bad challenge. If they need or want him, then I will let them talk to him, or I will go stand with the girls and he can go and talk with them. However it has to happen. We do coach very well as a team, and that's the good thing about it.
“It's nice to have him there.”
Losing a home, finding a new one
It wasn't that long ago that Jackson was home to five bowling establishments. It is down to two, and one of the losses was Summit Lanes, a 50-lane house located just a mile or so from Vandercook Lake High School. It was the Jayhawks' home house, and when Summit closed in the summer of 2014, the team moved to Airport Lanes in Jackson.
“When it first closed, I was a little bit devastated because for the three of us, it was pretty much our second home,” Lackey said. “We'd had tournaments at Airport, but overall we didn't bowl a lot here. I feel like we've adjusted, and it's starting to become our second home.”
Cecil said, “It was tough at first and kind of a shock. It came out of nowhere. We picked each other up from that big blow, and here we are.”
The core of the team began bowling years ago in the Saturday morning youth leagues at Summit.
“We all grew up together,” Cecil said. “We were good friends growing up, and bowled on the same team in youth leagues, and now we're a team again."
Chip Mundy served as sports editor at the Brooklyn Exponent and Albion Recorder from 1980-86, and then as a reporter and later copy editor at the Jackson Citizen-Patriot from 1986-2011. He also co-authored Michigan Sports Trivia. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Jackson, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Vandercook Lake’s Zach Cecil watches one of his rolls. (Middle) The Vandercook Lake boys bowling team, with coach Libie Ambs (right). (Top photo courtesy of MLive/Jackson Citizen Patriot; middle photo by Chip Mundy.) (Below) WXYZ-TV reported on Korey Reichard's 800 series in 2012.