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.
Senior Twins Power Lansing Catholic Surge, Junior Star Paces Flint Powers Title Run
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 3, 2023
Jeff Wheeler said he has a “built-in best friend for life” in his twin brother, James.
At the urging of their mother a decade ago, they learned how to bowl. They endured unspeakable loss in 2018 when Melissa Wheeler died of cancer. And they persevered through a challenging six months in 2020 when Jeff developed and beat stage 4 Burkitt lymphoma.
On Friday, for their mother, they celebrated and cried together after leading Lansing Catholic to the Division 3 boys bowling Finals championship at Jax 60 in thrilling fashion.
After staking a 39-pin lead after two Baker games against Ogemaw Heights in the Final, the Cougars shook off a sluggish start to the team game just in time to snatch away the championship by a 1,239-1,216 margin.
“We’ve been through a lot in our life, a lot of rough times and we just always try to get through it, so doing this just means the entire world to us,” James Wheeler said. “It feels great.”
The senior twin brothers provided huge strikes when Lansing Catholic needed them most, which proved to be in the 10th frame of the championship. Trailing by about 80 pins entering the final frame, James Wheeler and Jeff Wheeler both doubled, Jeff’s first strike sealing the title and sending the Cougars faithful into a frenzy.
“I knew I needed the first shot just to get me hype and the team hype,” Jeff Wheeler said. “Our mom got us into it, and we finished our senior year strong. We did it for Mom.”
Jeff Wheeler’s 199 game with seven strikes led all scorers in the final game. After five opens in the first seven frames, James Wheeler changed balls and threw four straight strikes for 164. Charlie Gates delivered 179, Ethan Wolcott struck out in the 10th for 171 and Jack Hernly’s 158 rounded out the Cougars in the final.
Danny Gassman had 198 and Derek Malone 197 for Ogemaw Heights. Colin Matheson shot 178.
Cougars coach Doug Moore lauded his team’s resilience after it missed qualifying for the Finals last year by seven pins. They advanced out of their Regional by four pins last weekend and took advantage of the opportunity by qualifying third for Friday’s match play. They won their quarterfinal handily over Yale, and then squeaked out a 23-pin victory over 2022 champion Gladwin in the semifinal.
“All day we just said, ‘This is our time,’” Moore said. “Don’t worry about them, just bowl one frame at a time and do your game. This is awesome. I think we’re all going to start bawling.”
Ogemaw Heights qualified fifth, beat Napoleon in the quarterfinals and topped eighth-seeded Chesaning in the semifinals. Chesaning pulled off the upset of the day by ousting top seed and 2021 champion Armada in the quarterfinals by 15.
On the girls side, Flint Powers Catholic earned a narrow but fulfilling victory over Ishpeming Westwood, 1,024-1,007. Junior Elizabeth Teuber delivered a clutch strike in the ninth frame of the team game to complete a three-bagger.
Four years ago, the Chargers’ lineup was only four strong — and current seniors Lauren Harrold, Libby Hagan and Olivia Tremaine were three of them. Two years ago they added Teuber and Lillee-Ann Jacobs as freshmen, and the seeds for success were planted.
That’s only partially true, actually. Coach Matthew Wheeler, a graduate of high school bowling powerhouse Flint Kearsley, cultivated those seeds when he took over at Powers five years ago.
“Everything I learned about coaching, I learned from (Kearsley coach) Rob Ploof, who calls himself the Bill Belichick of high school bowling, and I don’t argue that point at all,” Wheeler said. “My aspiration was to build a program behind his theories and drive, and it’s nice to see it rewarded. These girls worked hard.”
Flint Powers reached the Finals last year, bowing out in the semifinals. They qualified fifth this year, defeated Midland Bullock Creek in the quarterfinals, 1,024-906, and earned a spot in the championship by beating top seed Napoleon, 1,176-1,115.
In the championship, Ishpeming took a 13-pin lead after the Baker games but had no answer for Teuber, who shot 221. Jacobs added 164 and Harrold had 147.
For Teuber, it was another highlight in a bowling career already full of them. She won the Division 3 Singles Final as a freshman and was runner-up last year. She will compete for another individual title Saturday after winning her Regional, but this team title was something special.
“This is what I’ve always wanted for my team, and now that we have it, it’s an amazing feeling,” she said. “With my win freshman year, I didn’t understand it. Now that I’m a junior and I understand how big a deal it is, it is incredible that they get to experience it, too.”
Kylie Junak shot 188 and Elise Ketola had 175 for Westwood, which earned the second seed in qualifying. The Patriots defeated Boyne City and Shepherd to reach the championship.