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.
D4's Best Win in Dramatic Fashion
March 4, 2017
By Dick Hoekstra
Special for Second Half
LANSING – It took the third highest series of bracket play to do it, but Bronson sophomore Brandon Hyska eliminated three-time reigning champion Kyle Tuttle of St. Charles 482-456 in a Quarterfinal match and went on to capture the Division 4 individual championship in boys bowling Saturday at Royal Scot Lanes.
In the girls Final, senior Kendra Schuitema of Ravenna bowled strikes in frames 5-10 and an extra frame to pull away from senior Paige Kortz of Napoleon and also earn an individual title.
Hyska, the No. 2 seed after morning qualifying, rolled his best series of 487 in the first round of bracket play to set up the match with the No. 7-seeded Tuttle.
“He was making good shots so I had to keep making good shots,” Hyska said. “We were both striking. It was a high-scoring match. I knew he would put up a good fight. So I knew I had to put up a good score to beat him.”
Tuttle was disappointed, especially after his St. Charles team lost by just 13 pins in a team Semifinal a day earlier.
“Qualifying was a grind after starting off with a 154, but I slowly came back from that,” Tuttle said. “That was a good match (with Hyska). I missed a spare on a 10-pin in the first game. I could have won in the 10th, but I 2-8-10ed. That’s what it came down to was bad shots. But he bowled well with a 482.”
Hyska then defeated No. 3-seeded sophomore Korey Reichard of Vandercook Lake 318-268 in a Semifinal and No. 1-seeded senior Chase Elkins of Grass Lake 453-377 in the Final.
“I got off to a good start, and had a 50-pin lead,” Hyska said. “So I had to stay clean, make strikes and spares, and throw good shots.”
Hyska felt he could be a contender after throwing the best score of 1206 of the six Division 4 regionals the previous weekend. He also had the experience of making the final 16 as a freshman a year ago before losing in his first match of bracket play.
“I knew I had a good chance to come out here, do what I can do, and shoot good scores,” Hyska said.
Schuitema, on the other hand, never expected her success.
“I was a champion at Regionals last year, but I never thought I would be a state champion,” she said.
She placed fifth at her Regional this year and came into bracket play as the No. 7 seed after morning qualifying.
“Coaches just kept saying you can beat any girl here,” Schuitema said. “I didn’t believe it, but I did it. What a way to end up senior year.”
She defeated No. 10-seeded Melissa Steinbis of Bad Axe 369-313, and then No. 2-seeded Mackenzie Johnson of Vandercook Lake 419-402. Johnson’s series was the third best of the day, but Schuitema managed to throw her best series to beat her. Then she overcame a 10-pin deficit to edge Jennifer Stratton of Hudson by just eight pins at 360-352 in a Semifinal and recorded her second-best series of 410 to earn the title.
Schuitema started to believe she could win it all with the Semifinal victory. But it wasn’t until the sixth frame of her second game, which was the second of her seven straight strikes, that she felt she had it won.
Kortz, who held a slim 172-167 lead after the first game of the Final, qualified fifth and defeated the No. 12 seed Victoria Ivey of Beaverton 367-323, No. 13 seed Chasta Ganski of Rogers City 373-348, and then No. 1 seed Shaierica Gould of Flint Beecher/Mount Morris 364-305 to make the Final.
“I was mainly focusing on not showing my emotions, and getting my spares, because the lanes are getting harder,” Kortz said. “I got a couple bad breaks that were mentally tough. At the end, she found out what line to shoot. I was still struggling to find the line.
“I wanted to leave it all on the table my senior year. I made it to state two previous times, but never made the cut.”
Elkins finished fourth in a Regional won by Hyska, but secured the No. 1 seed Saturday by 27 pins after morning qualifying. He defeated No. 16 seed Drake McFarland of St. Charles 482-318 with his best series of the day, and then won two super close matches. He edged No. 9 seed Cody Johnson of Sandusky (who was coming off a spectacular 526 series) 469-461 in a Quarterfinal and No. 5 seed Chase Castro of Beaverton 413-407 in a Semifinal to reach the Final.
“I actually missed more opens in those two games than I did all day,’ Elkins said of the Final. “I think the nerves got to me, and the adrenaline. But I’m happy with my performance today.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Bronson sophomore Brandon Hyska with his supporters Saturday. (Middle) Ravenna senior Kendra Schuitema stands with her supporters at Royal Scot.