Preview: Challengers in Striking Distance
March 1, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
On one hand heading into this weekend’s MHSAA Bowling Finals, we have the Flint Kearsley girls – winners of five of the last six Division 2 titles and top-ranked again.
On the other, we’re guaranteed at least three new team champions Friday – including both in Division 1 – and five of eight singles winners Saturday could be new as well.
Below is a look at possible contenders for all eight championships. This season's Finals will be bowled at the following centers: Division 1 at Sterling Heights’ Sterling Lanes, Division 2 at Canton’s Super Bowl, Division 3 at Muskegon’s Northway Lanes and Division 4 at Battle Creek's M-66 Bowl. Click for the full list of qualifiers, and come back to Second Half all weekend for coverage from all four Finals sites. Action begins both days at 8:25 a.m.
Division 1 Girls
Team: Davison has won the last two Division 1 championships and five of the last six, but did not qualify for Friday’s team tournament. Macomb Dakota, the 2015 champ, rolled the highest Division 1 Regional score of 3,783 and was ranked No. 1 in the most recent coaches poll. Also winning a Regional title and just behind on total score was unranked Caledonia, which posted a 3,781. Jenison also broke 3,700 in finishing runner-up to Caledonia at Bowlero in Battle Creek.
Singles: Six of eight quarterfinalists from last season graduated. But Brighton senior Natalie Klein will be back after finishing runner-up, as will 2017 match play qualifiers Heather Buck from Rockford, Carly Scanlon from Dakota and Lexi Smigiel from Clinton Township Chippewa Valley. Buck, a junior, won her Regional with a score of 1,304, 61 pins more than anyone else bowled in the division during singles competition last weekend.
Division 1 Boys
Team: Reigning champion Salem did not qualify this year, but five teams rolled over 4,000 pins last weekend including reigning runner-up Hudsonville. The No. 9-ranked Eagles still finished only third at their Regional behind unranked Caledonia (4,127) and Jenison (4,028). No. 3 Macomb L’Anse Creuse North rolled the highest score of the weekend at 4,144, followed at its Regional by unranked St. Clair Shores Lake Shore at 4,061. Top-ranked Wyandotte Roosevelt also qualified, and was a semifinalist at the 2017 Final.
Singles: Roosevelt senior Gabe Cassise, Hudsonville senior Brendan Bentley and Bay City Western senior Ryan Blanchard all made the quarterfinals last season and will be back for Saturday’s Final, Cassise coming off a Regional title. Four champions and a runner-up broke 1,300 pins last weekend – Wayne Memorial senior Anthony Kaminski-Thibodeaux (1,353), Jenison junior Dustin Smith (1,346), Traverse City Central sophomore Wyatt Beckstead (1,341), Chippewa Valley senior Keegan Ratobylski (1,332), and Davison senior Brandon Kreiner (1,317), who was runner-up to Beckstead but also made the Finals match play last year.
Division 2 Girls
Team: Kearsley dominated its Regional, winning by 317 pins at 3,783. But Coldwater was a little bit better by total score, winning its Regional at 3,799, and Carleton Airport took a title with a similarly impressive 3,756. Kearsley was top-ranked in the latest coaches poll, while Coldwater – a semifinalist last season – was No. 7 and Airport was unranked. No. 2 Battle Creek Pennfield also qualified, third at the same Regional with Coldwater.
Singles: All four semifinalists last season graduated, but Kearsley sophomore Imari Blond, junior teammate Alexis Roof and senior teammate Barbara Hawes and Gaylord junior Amber Daoust all are back from the quarterfinals. All four bowled in the same Regional last weekend, won by Blond with a 1,207. Airport junior Makayla Souva (1,262), New Boston Huron senior Danielle McComb (1,257) and Adrian junior Shayleen Helf (1,240) posted the top three Regional singles scores taking the top three places, respectively, at Nortel Lanes in Monroe. Battle Creek Pennfield junior Haley Hooper also qualified after winning Division 3 last season.
Division 2 Boys
Team: Reigning champion and currently top-ranked Lowell will be back after qualifying second at its Regional, but this weekend’s competition looks to be as strong as in any division. Reigning runner-up but unranked Eaton Rapids was a Regional champion and one of five teams that went over 4,100 pins. No. 7 Sturgis won its Regional at 4,107, while No. 5 New Boston Huron had the highest score in all of Division 2 at 4,366, followed at its Regional by Riverview (4,287) and No. 3 Tecumseh (4,241), the latter a semifinalist last season. Reigning Division 3 champion Battle Creek Pennfield was right behind Sturgis at 4,079 and could be in the mix.
Singles: Riverview senior Johnathan Cole may be the favorite; he won his Regional by just a pin over New Boston Huron junior Drake Bazzy, 1,431-1,430, and also is the lone quarterfinalist from last year who will be back Saturday. The next closest Regional score last weekend was a 1,368 by Sturgis junior Zachary Gage. Pennfield junior James Ruoff was runner-up at his Regional after winning the Division 3 championship last season.
Division 3 Girls
Team: Birch Run won its first championship in 2017 and is ranked No. 3, and qualified second to No. 2 Alma (3,453) at their Regional at Candlelite Lanes in Bridgeport. The Panthers posted the top score in Division 3 overall, five pins ahead of No. 5 Caro, a semifinalist last season. Reigning runner-up and current No. 4 Gladwin also will be back, and top-ranked Coloma qualified third at its Regional at M-66 Bowl in Battle Creek.
Singles: With Hooper and Pennfield in Division 2, only two of last season’s quarterfinalists will be back in the field – Caro senior Corrine Schmaltz and Ishpeming senior Caitlyn Lee. Birch Run senior Tessie Birchmeier rolled the highest Regional singles score in Division 3 at 1,159, with Muskegon Oakridge senior Zoe Cerchiori just behind at 1,149 and Lee’s junior teammate Megan Wilkins also a Regional champ at 1,146. Wilkins made the Finals match play in 2017.
Division 3 Boys
Team: Reigning champion Pennfield as noted above is in Division 2 this season. Cheboygan was a Division 3 semifinalist last year and might be a favorite to win its first team title since claiming Division 2 in 2009 – it won its Regional by more than 100 pins with a 4,039 last week. But Canton Prep rolled 251 better in winning its Regional at Flat Rock Lanes, and Monroe Jefferson had the second-highest Regional score in the division despite finishing runner-up, at 4,166. None of those teams are ranked; three of the top four in the poll did qualify for this weekend, but only top-ranked Ithaca (3,610) as a Regional champ.
Singles: With Ruoff in Division 2, last year’s semifinal opponent and now-junior Adam Jackson from Caro is the highest returning placer. Also back from the quarterfinals will be Wyoming Kelloggsville senior Matt Postma. Jonesville senior Grant Baker posted the top Regional score, 1,267 at Flat Rock Lanes, and Jefferson senior Dillon Tocco (1,252) followed him with the second-highest Regional score in the division.
Division 4 Girls
Team: Vandercook Lake re-emerged last season for its first team title since 2014 and fifth championship overall in 12 years of MHSAA bowling. Despite being ranked No. 10, the Jayhawks won their Regional by 274 pins with a score of 3,498 – second-best in Division 4 last weekend behind only No. 4 Dryden’s 3,502. Top-ranked Unionville-Sebewaing also was a Regional champion, at 2,981, 14 pins ahead of No. 2 Brown City at Bay Lanes in Bay City.
Singles: Five of last season’s eight quarterfinalists graduated, and the reigning champion didn’t qualify for this Saturday’s Final. But Vandercook Lake junior MacKenzie Johnson rolled a 1,196 to win her Regional after making the final eight a year ago, and Rogers City junior Chasta Ganski also qualified for Saturday as a returning quarterfinalist. Johnson and junior teammate Preslee Stahl (1,166) rolled the two highest Regional scores in Division 4, followed by Burton Bendle senior Faith Lynn (1,131), another Regional champ.
Division 4 Boys
Team: Vandercook Lake matched the success of its powerhouse girls team with its first title last season, and the No. 3 Jayhawks posted the highest Division 4 boys Regional score at 4,071 last week. No. 7 Unionville-Sebewaing also topped 4,000, winning its Regional at 4,017. Top-ranked Bronson finished runner-up to Vandercook Lake, and No. 2 St. Charles – a semifinalist last year – finished third at USA’s Regional to qualify. Rogers City also was a semifinalist last year and won its Regional last weekend.
Singles: Bronson junior Brandon Hyska is the reigning champion after a dominating performance in 2017, and he won his Regional last week by four pins, 1,338-1,334 over Homer senior Evan Howell. Jayhawks junior Korey Reichard, who advanced to the semifinals last season before facing Hyska, also will return. Genesee senior Luke Cantrell (1,303) and USA junior Nicholas Lutz (1,306) also broke 1,300 in winning Regional titles last week. Niles Brandywine junior Dustin Ward rolled a 1,316 to finish third at Airport Lanes in Jackson behind Hyska and Howell, and Ward also made the Finals match play in 2017.
PHOTO: Flint Kearsley has won five of the last six Division 2 girls bowling championships – leading to an impressive display of trophies. (Photo courtesy of the Kearsley girls bowling program.)
Pennfield, Birch Run Shine at Title Time
March 3, 2017
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – For 52 weeks, the Battle Creek Pennfield boys bowling team has been on a mission.
On Friday, its mission was accomplished. The Panthers, who felt frustrated a year ago after finishing second at the MHSAA Division 3 Final, left little room for error.
After winning its Regional a week ago, Pennfield led qualifying Friday morning to earn the No. 1 seed for the eight-team match play. After winning two matches – each by more than 100 pins – Pennfield led Corunna from start to finish in the championship match to register a 1,312-1,189 victory on its home lanes at M-66 Bowl.
“That was the focus all year,” Pennfield coach Mike Roach said of winning the title after finishing runner-up a year ago. “It really was the main goal. They were a little disappointed last year in the Finals as they didn't bowl as well as they had all year. Last year, we missed nine one-pin spares in the first four frames.”
“Every single tournament they've just gotten it done, getting ready for this. We had 948 the last game. You can't beat that.”
Sophomore James Ruoff led the way with 231 in the final game. He started the game with four strikes in a row to help jump on Corunna, which had four opens in the first frame.
“It was so good to get off to an early start, and everything settled in,” said Ruoff, who won the Regional singles championship last weekend. “There were nerves a little bit, but this is my home alley, and I spend more time here than I do my own house.”
Pennfield had a 1-2 punch of 200-plus scores in the title game as junior Sean Young rolled 222. Young struck in seven of the first nine frames before missing a spare in the 10th.
“I realized that we were going against a tough team,” Young said. “Corunna is a big team for us and a big challenge, and I've seen them the past three years.
“Our biggest goal at the beginning of the year was to win state. We said to each other, 'This is where we were last year. We need to step it up.' That's when I thought in my mind that I needed to step it up and hit my mark.”
Senior captain Max Jackson, a left-hander, made his last team game a memorable one. After a spare in the first frame, Jackson had opens in his next three frames, leaving him with 43 through four frames.
“I’m not happy at all,” Jackson said of his thoughts at the time. “I'm struggling, and it's my last chance. I have to give it all I've got. I just mentally regrouped and knew it was time I needed to step it up a little bit. I'm the captain, and I need to show my team the way.”
After having just 43 in the fourth, Jackson finished with 187, and the resiliency he showed did not surprise his coach at all.
“He's done it all year,” Roach said of Jackson, who qualified third individually in the Regional. “He finished with six in a row. This year he really stepped up his game.”
Pennfield also had junior Joe Larsen with 158 and senior Bailey Neal with 150. Neal finished second individually last year. Nick Hohnberger and Trace Davis also got into the match late as substitutes.
Corunna, which qualified third, was paced by four bowlers bunched in the 160s as it had 782 in the final game.
The 39-foot Kegel “Allen Pattern” presented a challenge for the players. The last spot in match play averaged 171.1, and the Panthers averaged a tournament-best 182.9 over the eight Baker games and two regular five-player games.
“This is a hard house to score in,” Roach said. “But I always say no matter where we are, everybody is bowling on the same condition. We give ourselves an advantage because all year we bowl on the high-school pattern – our dual matches, we go to tournaments that have it – so we practice on it all year.”
The Birch Run girls figured out the pattern better than the others as they won the first bowling MHSAA Finals championship in school history.
“It was a very tough shot, and I enjoy it as it brings out the best in everybody,” Birch Run coach Teddy Villarreal said. “It's more gratifying to know that because this shot is what we practiced for. We practice this shot.”
After finishing seventh in the qualifying session, Birch Run downed No. 2 seed Alma and topped No. 6 seed Hudsonville Unity Christian to earn a spot in the Final against top-seeded Gladwin.
Birch Run had a 20-pin lead after the two Baker games and seemed to have the match in hand going into the 10th frame. But two of the first three Panthers opened in the 10th, while all three Gladwin bowlers either struck or picked up their spares.
That set the stage for senior Tessie Birchmeier, who sewed up the championship with three strikes in the 10th frame for a team-high 195 as Birch Run defeated Gladwin 1,053-1,013.
“It was really nerve-wracking, and in that 10th frame I was freaking out,” Birchmeier said. “I felt like I was going to pass out, but I didn't, luckily. It was very nerve-wracking.”
After winning the title, the nerves were gone but the excitement remained.
“Oh my gosh, it's like the best thing I've ever felt,” she said. “After we won, it was so relieving, and all we did was cry.”
Sophomore Madison Hoffman was second for Birch Run with 171.
“It's very overwhelming. Definitely,” she said. “I had to make a lot of adjustments during the game. You just kind of have to take it by time and keep going.
“I really didn't feel a lot of nerves going into the last game. It really didn't even feel like a state championship. It just felt like a regular tournament, but it didn't feel like a regular tournament when we won. It felt great.”
The third-best score on the team came from senior Kendra Grady, who bowled 153 in the championship match on the day before her 18th birthday.
“This is what I wanted for my birthday,” she said. “And there is the Individual Finals, too. That could be the frosting on the cake.”
Denise Bryce added 125 and Madison Barlow shot 109 in the title match for Birch Run, and Morgan Hawkins got to bowl late in the match. Gladwin was led by Bailey Weston with 165.
Birch Run had to overcome a stumble early in qualifying as it shot 113 in the third Baker game before reeling off games of 193 and 171.
“I just let them know it was a bad game and to get over it and move on, and they did,” Villarreal said. “This is something we planned, and we talked about what we needed to do to get here. It was to practice on things like spares and the mental part of our game and dedication.
“To get to this level, all year we've been doing that and winning titles. This is one of those stepping stones where we knew we could do it, we believed we could do it – I knew we could do it – and the girls put it together and it's done.”
The title meant a little more to Villarreal for reasons he would not disclose.
“This team went through a lot of adversity this year that I won't get into,” he said. “They fought, and they fought, and they fought, and they never gave up. That's what I love about this team.”
It seems champions often share one common bond: The ability to persevere and rise to the occasion when it is needed the most.
Jackson, the Pennfield senior captain who finished with six strikes for a 187, summed it up.
“We've been talking about it since Day 1,” he said of the championship. “We've always talked about this being our ultimate goal, and to get here and do it is just amazing.
“We had the team, and we had the opportunity, and we grabbed it.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Battle Creek Pennfield boys celebrate their Division 3 title Friday at M-66 Bowl. (Middle) Birch Run’s girls claimed their first MHSAA championship in the sport.