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Davison Girls, Salem Boys Reign in D1

March 3, 2017

By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half

STERLING HEIGHTS – In a sport filled with so much unpredictably, the Davison girls bowling team continues to be a model of incredible consistency.

For a sixth straight year, Davison advanced to the championship round of the Division 1 tournament Friday. Once there, the Cardinals improved to 5-1 in those championship matches, earning a 1,368-1,189 win over Oxford at Sterling Lanes to repeat as champions and win their fifth title in six years.

The only blemish was a loss to Macomb Dakota in the 2015 championship match.

“The girls are all dedicated and they know when come into our program, they need to give it their all,” Davison coach Bryan Davis said. “We have a great youth program. You get a couple or three good bowlers every year; it feeds into itself.”

In the boys event, Salem won its second MHSAA title with a 1,285-1,232 win in the championship match over a Hudsonville team that also was seeking the program’s second title.

Salem won it all in 2013, while Hudsonville was the champion in 2004.

“They were strong all season,” Salem coach Kathie Hahn said of her team. “I have four seniors so I was hoping for a good ending to their year. I was a little nervous and then as the (Final) came on, I was more nervous because if they started stringing (strikes), it could’ve been hard. We weren’t really stringing strikes today. But they held in there, they never gave up and were tough all the way. I can’t be more proud of them.”               

The Davison girls dominated the entire day, finishing first out of the qualifying block with 3,572 pins and then starting its run to the Final with a 1,237-1,104 victory over Utica in the Quarterfinals.

The Cardinals then knocked off Rockford in the Semifinals by a score of 1,272-1,039.

Oxford finished third out of the qualifying block with 3,079 pins, and started a run to its first-ever Final with a 1,177-1,053 victory over St. Clair Shores Lakeview in the Quarterfinals.

Facing a Macomb Dakota team that knocked off No. 2-seeded Lake Orion in the Quarterfinals, Oxford earned a crack at Davison with a 1,230-1,169 win over Dakota.

Oxford head coach JR Lafnear knew the force his team was up against in Davison, and could only admire the brilliance of the Cardinals in the Final.

“That’s a juggernaut,” Lafnear said. “They are tough to beat, and we would’ve had to have been at the top of our game. We are happy with our performance. Of 100 teams in Division 1, 98 would rather be where we are. We are pretty pumped up about it. I’ve got two sophomores and a junior coming back out of this group, so we are excited about the future.”

Like the Oxford girls, the Salem boys finished third out of the qualifying block and began the elimination round with a 1,293-1,132 win over St. Clair Shores Lakeview in the Quarterfinals.

Salem then beat Grand Haven in the Semifinals, 1,312-1,149.

Hudsonville had all sorts of momentum going into the Final after knocking off the reigning Division 1 champion and No. 1 seed out of the qualifying block Wyandotte Roosevelt in the Semifinals by a score of 1,366-1,227.

But Salem was too much for Hudsonville to overcome.

“The boys showed up today,” Hudsonville coach Paul Bentley said. “They bowled good all day. We just ran into a good team in Salem. They bowled well that match.”

Click for full girls results and full boys results.

PHOTOS: (Top) The Davison girls raise their Division 1 trophy after repeating as champs. (Middle) Salem's boys celebrate the second MHSAA title in program history.

Perfection, Goals Achieved Highlight D1

March 5, 2016

By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half

STERLING HEIGHTS – When Davison junior Taylor Davis was 8 years old, her father Bryan pulled her aside and asked her what she wanted out of her short bowling career. 

Mind you she was only 8 at the time, but the answer she gave proved she was way wise beyond her years.

"I want to win a state championship and bowl a 300 game," she said.

Little did Bryan know those words would become reality nearly a decade after she said them, as Taylor Davis became only the fourth in MHSAA girls bowling history to bowl a 300 game in the singles portion of the tournament, and the first in a Final on Saturday at Sterling Lanes in Sterling Heights.

Davis captured the Division 1 title with a 479-410 victory over Julia Huren of Westland John Glenn.

Davis also helped Davison capture the team title Friday.

"I knew it was going to happen eventually, but to bowl your first 300 game on high school bowling’s biggest stage is almost unheard of," Bryan Davis said. "To see my daughter step up and roll that final strike for her first 300 game was almost surreal. Then to watch her win a state championship is something I will always remember."

Taylor Davis admits she had butterflies in her stomach, but knew if she threw a good shot good things would happen.

"It was amazing,“ Taylor Davis said. “I’ve always wanted to shoot a 300. I was always wondering when I would be able to. To shoot it at the state finals is the best feeling ever. ... After I bowled in the final four on (lanes) five and six I kind of found a new shot. I tried it on seven and eight and it was fine. It worked.”

Kara Richard of Tecumseh had a 300 game twice in 2008 in Division 2 during qualifying and then the Round of 16, while Rachel Ringrose of South Lyon accomplished the feat in 2007 qualifying and Felicia Goll did the same for Harper Woods Regina in 2005.

Davis summed up the weekend's efforts in one statement.

"To be able to win a state title with my team, then come back and win an individual championship and then shoot my first 300 game with my friends and family watching is something I will always remember," she said. 

"I can't wait to get back here and do it all over again next season."

For Warren Mott’s Brad Delmarle, the long grind of a 14-game day came to an end as he downed junior Gabe Cassise of Wyandotte Roosevelt, 459-393, to claim a title for the Marauders.

“It was a grind,” said Delmarle. “This is a big accomplishment. A lot of practice, and I’m very proud of what I was able to accomplish.”

Delmarle started both games of the Final with a three-bagger, forcing Cassise to play catch up. In the end, Delmarle was too strong down the stretch and came away with the championship.

"The state finals is all about mental preparation," he said. "We are all tired out there, but you can't let that get to you. You have to keep focus and continue to throw good shots. I couldn't be happier with my performance today."

In the girls Semifinal, Farmington Hills Harrison’s Candyce Bradley had Davis on the ropes after the first game, up 29 pins going into the second. Davis would later prevail 392-358 over Bradley.

In the other Semifinal, Huren dominated Stephanie Schalk of St. Clair Shores Lakeview, posting a 257 game on the way to winning 430-361.

Open frames were Jordan Nunn’s undoing in a boys Semifinal. The Flint Carman-Ainsworth senior fell to Cassise, 444-415. Delmarle prevailed in his semifinal over Mike Maguran of Sterling Heights Stevenson, 423-370.

"I couldn't string together anything in the semis and I fell behind," Nunn said. "I qualified fifth on the day, and I was extremely happy to get as far as I did. Watching Taylor throw 300 today was pretty cool. It was definitely a great day for the Saginaw Valley League."

Click for full boys results and girls results.

PHOTOS: (Top) Davison’s Taylor Davis unloads the final roll of her 300 game at Saturday’s Division 1 Final. (Middle) Davis, right, and boys champion Brad Delmarle of Warren Mott. (Photos by Scott Keyes.)