D4 Filled with Pin Falling, History Making
March 7, 2015
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
LANSING – Kyle Tuttle felt the target on his back all weekend at Royal Scot Bowl, but it was the Xs he marked in the late frames Saturday afternoon that really hit the sweet spot.
The St. Charles sophomore became only the second bowler in MHSAA competition to win back-to-back singles championships by edging Bad Axe junior Ethan Sobczak by one pin, 379-378, in the Division 4 title match.
Jordan Richard of Tecumseh won consecutive Division 2 singles titles in 2012 and 2013.
Tuttle trailed by 15 pins (175-160) after an uncharacteristically well-below-average first game, and then compounded matters by committing a line violation in the opening frame of game two.
“But that’s when he shows how mentally tough he is,” said St. Charles coach Mark Faupel. “Kyle is an extremely hard worker, he’s mature, meticulous and very precise. Anybody else might have packed it in at that point.”
Trailing by eight pins heading into the eighth frame, Tuttle reeled off four straight strikes (he left three pins standing on his last ball) to finish with a 219. He then had to sit and watch Sobczak take aim at the title.
“I thought he was going to double and win it,” Tuttle said.
Sobczak cleared he deck with his first throw in the 10th but left one standing on his second attempt. He cleaned up the spare, but it wasn’t enough to dethrone Tuttle.
“I had a terrible start, no doubt about it,” Tuttle said. “But thankfully I was able to pull it together when it counted.”
Tuttle, who carried a 210 average into the weekend, defeated Oscoda freshman Grant Huebel in the Semifinals, 433-402, and Dryden senior Patrick Kaliszewski in the Quarterfinals, 418-329.
Tuttle was seeded second to Bailey Budnick of Rogers City – the 2013 Finals champion – after the morning qualifiers.
“We talked before the second game, and I told him he needed to go get it,” Faupel said of Tuttle, whom he’s helped coach since the sixth grade. “(Sobczak) was not going to let it get away. Kyle had to go out and win it.”
Sobczak, who also received a second-place team medal Friday, reached the Singles Finals by defeating St. Louis senior Zach Fenby in the Quarterfinals, 370-329, and Riverview Gabriel Richard senior Christian O’Callaghan in the Semifinals, 411-395. Sobczak closed out that match with four straight strikes.
The other two Quarterfinal qualifiers in the boys competition were Niles Brandywine senior Jakob Azilagyi and Hanover-Horton sophomore Zach White.
Hanover-Horton junior Emma Davis made it look easy in the Division 4 Girls Singles Finals, as she cruised home with four victories in bracket play by a combined pinfall of 469.
Davis, who came out of the qualifying round seeded second behind Ithaca senior Chelsea MacLennan, strung together two-game totals of 532, 408, 444 and 384, the last of which defeated runner-up Rebecca Bannasch of Rogers City by 43 pins.
“I really felt good all day and was able to put together some solid games at the right time,” said Davis.
Solid is an understatement. Davis rolled 245-287 to defeat St. Ignace senior Sharman Colegrove in the round of 16; 221-187 against New Lothrop junior Jenna Johnson in the Quarterfinals; identical 222s versus Oscoda senior Paige Huebel in the Semifinals; and 213-171 over Bannasch in the title match.
“Her consistency, from start to finish, was right where it needed to be,” said Hanover-Horton coach Rob Davis. “She had a couple of great games in the round of 16 and from there it was all Emma. She was focused and throwing the ball really well.”
Davis qualified for the round of 16 last year but did not advance further.
“I slowed things down a bit more this time, and it seemed to work well for me,” Davis said.
Bannasch reached the Final by defeating Mason County Central senior Lindsay Koch, 361-298, in the round of 16; Ithaca junior Arianna Woodrow, 346-267, in the Quarterfinals; and Portland St. Patrick senior Madison Schrauben, 332-324, in the Semifinals.
Clinton junior Elizabeth Heimerdinger and Rogers City junior Sarah Meredith also earned medals for reaching the Quarterfinals.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Johnson, Cantrell Rally for D4 Victories
March 3, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
BATTLE CREEK – MacKenzie Johnson wanted to thank Vandercook Lake girls coach Todd Reichard for making her into a championship bowler. And she wanted to thank assistant Kenla Kelly, her “emotional coach.”
But after feeling her spirits dive with a 125 game to start match play at Saturday’s Division 4 Singles Finals, she needed a little more help.
“I said to myself, what would Dad say to me, because freshman year he passed away four days after this event,” Johnson said. “And he’d tell me to calm down and really just be myself, and if I was myself, I could beat anyone.
“I just became myself, I made my shots, I calmed down and I let my emotions go.”
Brad Johnson died after a fight with inoperable brain cancer March 9, 2016. Just under two years later, his daughter came back to average 186 over her final seven match play games at M-66 Bowl and win this season’s championship.
“He’d say he’s very proud,” Johnson said. “This is all he ever wanted for me, to give it my best, and today I gave it my all.”
Johnson defeated Beaverton senior Victoria Ivey 410-323 in their championship match, rolling a match play-best 231 in her final game.
On the boys side, Genesee senior Luke Cantrell claimed the title with a 356-354 win over Vandercook Lake senior Keegan Campbell.
Campbell led the match 204-157 after the first of the two-game series. But Cantrell improved 42 pins over his final 10 frames for a second straight close finish – he also won his semifinal by just 10 pins.
Cantrell closed his career with four Finals singles appearances and had finished runner-up to St. Charles’ three-time champion Kyle Tuttle in 2016.
“I struggled, but I picked myself up,” Cantrell said. “In the qualifying (I) shot a couple 170s that kinda hurt me. My coaches helped a lot. I made a couple ball changes, and controlled my speed a little bit more.
“(I) just throw the ball good and never give up. In the ninth frame I had a really good feeling, and it came my way I guess.”
Johnson rolled her team’s high regular game as the Jayhawks won the team championship match Friday against Brown City.
She’d clinched the singles victory by the 10th frame Saturday, but still banged through three strikes to finish the day.
“I couldn’t believe our team did it yesterday; we all did it as one. Today, I surprised myself by doing this,” Johnson said. “At any point I could’ve opened, and she could’ve got me. It wasn’t over until that third shot in the 10th frame.
“I never count myself out, but I never count myself in until it’s done, either.”
Click for full girls results and boys results.