McBride, Buck Come Back to Shine
March 3, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – The 2018 Division 1 Singles Finals turned out to be all about a pair of lefties who ended up crying tears of joy after crying tears of grief previously at the MHSAA tournament.
Macomb Dakota junior Danielle McBride and Rockford sophomore Matt Buck were crowned the new individual champions to cap off varying degrees of rebound stories.
For McBride, it was a rebound of less than 24 hours.
During Friday’s team competition, McBride in the final frame of the championship match against Oxford bowled an unfortunate split, which ultimately opened the door for Oxford to win in the final frame.
Obviously crushed and shedding tears with her teammates after that defeat, McBride this time shared hugs and tears of joy with teammates who supported her through her championship run.
McBride qualified as the No. 3 seed and then earned a 473-403 win over Rachel Doran of Farmington-Harrison in the Round of 16, a 432-416 win over Anna Maxwell of Westland John Glenn in the quarterfinals and a 418-382 win over Lauren Slagter in the semifinals to set up a finals match with Caledonia senior Macailin Rodriguez.
Armed with a 211 average, McBride bowled well beyond that to easily defeat Rodriguez.
McBride bowled a 245 and 243 for a final score of 488 that outpaced the 385 bowled by Rodriguez.
“I was just focusing on hitting my spares and hitting my marks,” McBride said. “I tried to stay smooth in everything. I kind’ve lost confidence and thought I could have done better (Friday). I knew I could do better today.”
The Dakota girls won the team title in 2015, but this was the first individual title for a Dakota girl bowler.
McBride finished 10th at last year’s Final.
To further put McBride’s performance in perspective, she didn’t have a match total of less than 400 pins in her four after qualifying, in essence beating the top boys as well with her performance.
Buck also had his rebound story, as he recalled leaving the alley after last year’s MHSAA tournament crying after struggling in the qualifying portion and finishing 46th.
“I came out here to have fun,” Buck said. “Last year, I was a little low and I did cry. But I learned from that experience.”
Buck finished as the No. 12 seed out of the qualifying block this time before earning a win over David Decruydt of St. Clair Shores Lake Shore in the Round of 16, a 403-328 win over Oxford senior Christian Cartner in the quarterfinals and a close 413-405 win over No. 1 seed Trevor Morgan of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in the semifinals to earn a match against Detroit U-D Jesuit senior Ryan Reid in for the title.
The difference turned out to be the first game, which saw Reid struggle and Buck take a 196-152 lead going into the final game.
Reid came out hot to start the finale, bowling five consecutive strikes to signal he wasn’t going away.
“I just had to keep up with him,” Buck said.
Buck did that, starting the game with three strikes himself before ultimately seeing Reid cool off in the later frames.
Reid ended up winning the second game 218-201, but it wasn’t enough to erase the deficit as Buck earned a 397-370 victory and an MHSAA Finals championship.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Bronson's McConn Caps 4th Finals Trip with 1st Singles Championship
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MUSKEGON – “It’s so surreal.”
Morgan McConn’s journey has led her to MHSAA Finals on multiple occasions, but this season victory became a reality as the top seed at the Division 4 singles championships brought home the crown.
The Bronson senior had reached the Finals all of the past three years, with a trip to the quarterfinals as a freshman her previous best run. This season saw McConn capitalize on the culmination of the work she has put in during her high school career.
With her vast Finals experience, McConn recognizes the difficulty and pressure that goes into succeeding at the highest level.
“You can say all year that you're going to go to state, but you don't really know until Regionals. And then when I got here (I’m) obviously really nervous. I just had to stay positive,” she said.
McConn’s junior season ended in the first round of bracket play as she fell to Burton Atherton’s Reagan Baker. In this year’s championship match, McCann defeated Baker 407-302 amid the intense Northway Lanes atmosphere.
“It’s been a pleasure to have Morgan on my team. This is like accumulation of all her work. (I’m) so proud of her,” said Bronson head coach Leah Friedel.
As the senior’s career comes to a close, McConn recognized that the last frame would cap her final high school meet.
“I knew I won,” McConn said, “but all I could think about was how it is my last time in high school with friends.”