Performance: St Charles' Kyle Tuttle
March 11, 2016
Kyle Tuttle
St. Charles junior – Bowling
Only one bowler has won multiple singles championships during the 13 years of MHSAA Boys Bowling Finals. Tuttle also became the first to win three straight when he claimed Division 4 again Saturday with a 418-381 victory over Genesee’s Luke Cantrell at Royal Scot in Lansing. His three-peat win earned Tuttle the Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week and set him up to further make history next year as a senior.
Tuttle's latest Finals run differed greatly from his first two. He squeaked out a nine-pin win in the Semifinals as a freshman to set up his first title, and won his championship match as a sophomore by a mere pin. This time, Tuttle finished second in qualifying to Vandercook Lake freshman Korey Reichard, only 16 pins off the pace, and then won his matches by 126, 31 and 46 to set up his deciding match against Cantrell.
Tuttle, who also carries a 3.87 grade-point average, practices five days a week and two to three hours each session. He’s served as St. Charles’ anchor all three seasons, and coach Mark Faupel noted his leader continues to work on his craft by studying video of professional bowlers and participating in a sport shot singles league during the summer that allows him to compete on tougher lane conditions. St. Charles has won two Regional championships during Tuttle’s high school career and kicked off this year’s Finals by finishing team runner-up to Sandusky on Friday.
Coach Mark Faupel said: Kyle works harder than anyone else on the team and is so knowledgeable about the sport. He is constantly thinking about not only the next shot, but the next game. He knows the lanes continuously go through transition, and he wants to be in the best position to score when that transition occurs. He knows exactly what he wants to do when he steps up on the approach. All the thinking and preparation has taken place between shots. He lives for making the clutch shot in the 10th frame, although he is not demonstrative. He has a very quiet approach to the game and hardly ever shows emotion. If he makes a bad shot, he will quickly get over it and move on to the next shot. If he makes a really good shot, he will acknowledge his teammates and show very little emotion. I always tell my team members that when you strike, act like you have done if before, and he definitely displays this. … Kyle is the type of athlete that comes around once in a lifetime. He is dedicated, hard-working, athletic, and extremely talented. The only goal left for Kyle is to get that elusive first team tournament title for St. Charles and win an unprecedented four singles titles.”
Performance Point: "I never really struggled (Saturday). Just how calm I was the whole time, I never was under too much stress. Compared to the last two years, that was rare. I think I enjoyed it more because I was more relaxed. ... I think I surprised myself with the first (title); as a freshman I didn't really expect to win. (Last year) I had more confidence from the previous year."
Same way, every day: "I'm really consistent, and that helps. Anybody can have a good day and make it to the Finals. If you consistently do well, you're expected to be there and normally do well. I just like to pride myself on consistency."
Drive for 4: "I haven't really thought about it all too much. I'm taking it as it comes. ... A lot of people have brought it up. I wanted to win this year so I have the opportunity to do that. It's pretty cool."
Right choice after all: "When I was 5, I didn't do a whole lot. My parents wanted me to do something, and there's a bowling alley in St. Charles so it was convenient. They threw me in a league and I didn't want to. I had bowled when I was younger, and I didn't want to do it every Saturday. I was kinda scared. I remember crying the night before the first day; that's how badly I didn't want to do it. But after the first day, I loved it. It was just fun. Now it's 12 years later."
Scientific strategy: "I think I'll get a bachelor's in the engineering field and then think about med school. If I end up not wanting to be a doctor, I can fall back on the engineering degree. I like real-world application stuff; I love physics. It's interesting to make the connections (between physics and bowling.)
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2015-16 school year, Second Half and the Michigan National Guard will recognize a “Performance of the Week" from among the MHSAA's 750 member high schools.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer. This training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our Nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Previous 2015-16 honorees
March 2: Brittney Schnicke, Caledonia girls bowling - Read
Feb. 24: Kamari Newman, Detroit East English boys basketball - Read
Feb. 17: Jason Whitens, Powers North Central boys basketball - Read
Feb. 10: Rachel Hogan, Grand Ledge gymnastics - Read
Feb. 3: Nehemiah Mork, Midland Dow swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 27: Mardrekia Cook, Muskegon girls basketball - Read
Jan. 20: Sage Castillo, Hartland wrestling - Read
Jan. 13: Rob Zofchak, Dexter swimming & diving - Read
Jan. 6: Tyler Deming, Caro wrestling – Read
Dec. 15: Jordan Weber, East Jordan boys basketball – Read
Dec. 8: Kaitlyn Geers, Kent City girls basketball – Read
PHOTO: (Top) Bowlers prepare for the start of the MHSAA Division 4 Team Finals on March 3 at Royal Scot in Lansing.
Vandercook Lake Rolls to D4 Sweep
March 3, 2017
By Dick Hoekstra
Special for Second Half
LANSING – One was for the first time and the other for a sixth.
But the Vandercook Lake boys and girls bowling teams swept the Division 4 team championships Friday at Royal Scot Lanes.
The Jayhawks boys earned the school’s first MHSAA Finals title by keeping Sandusky from repeating as champion, 1501-1367.
The Vandercook Lake girls team captured its sixth title by keeping St. Louis from claiming its second crown in three years, 1233-1167.
The Jayhawks girls also earned MHSAA titles in 2011, 2013 and 2014 in Division 4 as well as 2009 in Division 3 and 2005 in Class C-D.
“We got a couple breaks where they didn’t in the Baker games,” said Vandercook Lake girls bowling coach Todd Reichard, whose team pulled ahead by 69 pins with 177-159 and 188-137 Baker game wins. “Then we just stayed steady with them. We tried to fill frames. It was two good teams. We just got lucky in the Bakers.”
Senior captain Ariel Robinson rolled a 211 and sophomore Mackenzie Johnson a 202 in the Final for the Jayhawks, who were seeded No. 1 after qualifying and defeated No. 8 Dryden and then No. 5 Rogers City 1239-1166 to reach the championship match.
“These young ladies just refuse to lose,” Reichard said. “I lost four seniors last year. I knew I had a lot of work with a new group this year. This is number six for me, and I tried to do it with depth, because I didn’t have a superstar. Mackenzie (sophomore and individual Regional champion Mackenzie Johnson) might be my best bowler, but everybody chipped in today. I’m still amazed how we got here.”
St. Louis emerged as the No. 2 seed after morning qualifying before defeating No. 7 seed Traverse City Christian and then No. 3 seed Schoolcraft.
The Sharks actually edged Vandercook Lake 871-868 in pins over the Peterson games as senior Emily Thelen threw a 231.
“We just had a lot of bad breaks with some nasty splits in the Baker games, and that’s what came back and got us,” St. Louis girls bowling coach Brittney Mizer said. “The girls didn’t bowl bad. They should be super proud of how they did. I know I am.”
The No. 2-seeded Sandusky boys after morning qualifying were trying to become the first repeat champion in Division 4, and seemed poised after edging No. 3 seed St. Charles 1356-1343 in a Semifinal that was a rematch of last year’s championship match.
But Vandercook Lake topped No. 4 Rogers City 1324-1127 in the other Semifinal, and then became the eighth new champion in the eight years a Division 4 tournament has been held. (There were only three divisions from 2006-2009 and just two in 2004 and 2005.)
“We bowled really well in the St. Charles match, and it felt like a state final,” Sandusky boys bowling coach Del Shea said. “It was pretty exciting. I’ve been coaching 12 years, and I don’t remember anybody defending. That’s what we were trying to do. We almost got there.”
The Redskins fired a 254 to Vandercook Lake’s 192 in the first Baker game, but the Jayhawks answered with a 290 to Sandusky’s 160 in the second Baker game to take a 68-pin lead.
“We came back, and we were only 20 pins down in the middle of that (Peterson) game,” Shea said. “We almost got it back, but we ran out of steam. Everybody bowled really well, especially our seniors Brandon Hughes, Jared Jagotka, Cody Johnston.”
Vandercook Lake boys bowling coach Libie Ambs said the Jayhawks also had to come from behind in their Semifinal with Rogers City.
“But the match with Sandusky was the toughest,” she said. “Korey Reichard bowled well all day. He shot 257 the last game. All of them bowled well. Everybody at least had one game over deuce (200).”
Ambs’ first year coaching the Jayhawks boys was 2009, when they finished as runners-up in Division 3.
“Last year, we got knocked out in the Semifinals,” she said. “This year they kind of had a mission. Korey kept them pumped after every shot, and kept them going.”
Click for full girls results and boys results.
PHOTO: The Vandercook Lake girls and boys teams stand together after sweeping the Division 4 championships at Lansing’s Royal Scot.