MHSAA Announces Revised Format for 2021 Bowling Tournaments

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

February 26, 2021

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has revised its 2021 girls and boys Bowling Regionals and Finals, scheduled for next month, in an effort to reduce the mixing of communities and spread of COVID-19.

Regional competition, traditionally a two-day event with team competition Friday and singles Saturday, will be a two-day competition still but with boys competing Friday, March 19, and girls Saturday, March 20. Instead of bowling separate competitions to determine qualifiers for the team and singles Finals, all Regional participants will bowl four regular games on their designated day, with those scores determining the Finals qualifiers for both formats.

No Baker games will be rolled at Regionals; instead, 20 regular games will be counted toward a team’s score. Those 20 regular games may be bowled four each by five bowlers or subs, with the maximum of four games per bowler. A bowler must roll four games to qualify for Finals in singles.

Two teams – instead of the traditional three – and 10 singles will advance to the MHSAA Finals to be bowled March 26-27. At the Finals, teams will compete Friday and singles Saturday, as in the past. The 10 singles qualifiers from Regionals also is the same number as usual. At the Finals, the traditional scoring for team competition of regular and Baker games, with qualifying and match play, will continue to be used.

Bowling the boys and girls on separate days for Regionals will allow host bowling centers to spread competitors out among twice as many lanes. Fewer team qualifiers for Finals also will limit congestion at those four sites.

Spectator limits at Regionals and Finals will be determined locally following Michigan Department of Health and Human Services orders and fire marshal capacity limits at centers. Spectators will not exceed one per participant.

2021-22 Parade of Champions Features 98 Schools, Multiple 1st-Time Title Winners

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 27, 2022

A total of 98 schools won one or more of the 128 Michigan High School Athletic Association team championships awarded during the 2021-22 school sports year, with two teams earning the first Finals championship in any sport in their schools’ histories. 

Hillsdale Academy celebrated its first MHSAA Finals championship by winning the Lower Peninsula Division 4 boys cross country title Nov. 6. That same day, Wyoming Potter’s House Christian claimed its first Finals title by winning the Division 4 boys soccer championship.

A total of 21 schools won two or more championships this school year, paced by East Grand Rapids’ five won in girls cross country, girls lacrosse, girls track & field and both girls and boys swimming & diving. Ann Arbor Pioneer and Marquette were next with four Finals championships. Pioneer won in girls cross country, girls tennis and both girls and boys swimming & diving. Marquette won in boys cross country, boys track & field and both girls and boys swimming & diving.

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood and Hudson both won three Finals championships. Winning two titles in 2021-22 were Allen Park, Ann Arbor Greenhills, Brighton, Detroit Catholic Central, Escanaba, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Hart, Hartland, Houghton, Ishpeming Westwood, Lansing Catholic, Munising, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian, Powers North Central, Warren De La Salle Collegiate and Williamston.

A total of 29 teams won first MHSAA titles in their respective sports. A total of 45 champions were repeat winners from 2020-21. A total of 20 teams won championships for at least the third-straight season, while six teams extended title streaks to at least four consecutive seasons. The Lowell wrestling program owns the longest title streak at nine seasons. 

Sixteen of the MHSAA's 28 team championship tournaments are unified, involving teams from the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, while separate competition to determine titlists in both Peninsulas is conducted in remaining sports.

Click Here for a sport-by-sport listing of MHSAA champions for 2021-22.