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.)
Loy Norrix Hopes to Roll to MHSAA Finals
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
February 16, 2016
KALAMAZOO — Three years ago, 12-year-old Trevor Morgan became the youngest bowler in the Kalamazoo area to throw a sanctioned 300 game.
So far Morgan hasn’t duplicated the feat except in practice, but the sophomore is the top scorer on his Loy Norrix team with a 202 average.
After starting the season with a 1-2 record, the Knights rallied to a second-place finish in the Southwest Michigan High School Bowling Conference’s top division this season, winning their last five matches.
Portage Northern (8-0) won the division.
As teams head into the MHSAA Division 1 Regionals Feb. 26-27 at Royal Scot Golf and Bowl in Grand Ledge, Morgan has two goals: He hopes to return to the MHSAA Finals as an individual, and he would be thrilled if the team also qualified.
“It would be awesome,” he exclaimed. “We have Connor (Thomas) who’s a junior and Bailey (Brandt) who’s a sophomore and didn’t bowl last year.
“Trentin (Hohler) is a newcomer and I’d love to go to states this year as a team. It would be awesome.”
Morgan missed the final cut by four pins last year, but the experience was eye-opening.
“I learned that there’s a lot of other good bowlers out there,” he said. “I’m not the only one.
“I know I can bowl around here, but I got there and bowled against all those kids who are seniors and who have been bowling just as long, if not longer, than I have.”
Morgan started bowling at age 2, but his father would not allow him to use the bumpers.
“He would stand out there, put his finger on second arrow and say ‘Hit my finger, hit my finger,’” he said.
Although he’s bowled in junior leagues and tournaments, Morgan said he loves the excitement of high school bowling.
“In high school, I feel my team supports me,” he said. “We all support each other. In junior leagues, it’s like go up, throw a shot, turn back around, high five.
“On the team, we get loud. You throw a strike, you get loud. You just get pumped up. You’re basically bowling for yourself in junior leagues.”
Experienced leaders at the top
All of that experience led to coach Mike Brandt naming Morgan captain last year as a freshman and this year as well.
“It’s not so much because of how he bowls, but how he acts and helps out,” said Brandt, who has coached the team for almost six years.
He took over midseason when his son, Zach, was a freshman and the team had no coach.
“I’ve been a (United State Bowling Congress) certified coach for about 20 years, so I knew how to coach,” Brandt said. “I just didn’t know that much about high school.
“Zach is (now) an assistant and he’s helped me build the program. All five years, either boys or girls finished first or second in league.”
Brandt said he doesn’t like to cut anyone from the team because, “I have what I call a practice squad. I feel if I cut kids, they have no chance to get better.
“Once I know a match is won, I pull the starters as soon as I can and let the others play to give them the experience.”
He also starts each practice with stretching exercises and drills such as a bowler’s approach.
“I stress fundamentals and spare shooting,” he said. “I’m a very big spare-shooting coach.”
With no seniors and just one junior among the starting five, Brandt knows he has a young team but has seen improvement throughout the season. He also knows the challenges of regional and state competition.
“There are a lot of nerves,” he said. “The east side of the state is huge. It’s very difficult to beat those guys.”
Thomas’ 185 average is second-best on the team while Brandt, the coach’s son, is third at 181 and Hohler, a sophomore, fourth at 151.
Currently, freshman Steve London (139) bowls in the fifth spot.
Others on the team are seniors Haruto Kumasaka and Seth Harding; sophomores Peyton Spinney and Harry Norder and freshman Brandon Worden.
“Trevor probably has the most experience and a willingness to win,” the coach said. “He and Bailey are probably the best at that.
“When they’re up there, even if they’re in a bad mood, they give it their all.”
It’s a team game
Once in high school, the teens had to learn a new form of bowling: Baker games where the first person bowls the first and sixth frames, the second bowls the second and seventh, and so on.
Morgan usually bowls the fifth and 10th frames.
“I like (Bakers),” he said. “I think it’s a challenge because you have to put five guys together who have to collaborate. You have to watch the person in front of you bowling.
“I normally bowl anchor and Bailey’s in front of me, so I can base off what the oil pattern is doing for Bailey and he bases off the guy before him and so on.”
In league competition, bowlers have two regular and two Baker games, but in Team Regionals it’s three regular and six Baker.
“I keep them going, make them bowl more games than they want,” the coach said. “These next two weeks, they’ll bowl more games than they ever had in practices. I’m very much into drills.
“My philosophy is we work in practice so we can have fun on the lanes on Saturdays. You have to have fun because this is a game. If you’re not having fun, there’s no use doing it.”
Thomas, who has bowled on the team all three years and is usually the leadoff bowler, said for the team to qualify for the Finals, “it’s going to take a lot of spares and a lot of people focusing in and actually committing to making it.”
It’s Bailey Brandt’s first year on the team, but having his dad as his coach is nothing new: “He’s been my coach my entire life,” he said.
Hohler is also in his first-year on the team, sparked by some friends from his junior league team.
“They were bowling on the team at Portage Central and Portage Northern,” he said. Unfortunately for him, “We lost to both of them this year.”
Coach Brandt said Hohler has improved a lot.
“We made a lot of changes with him, and he’s stepped up,” Brandt said. And that’s one of the reasons Hohler likes the high school league.
“It’s more organized, and you learn a lot more,” he said. “I started out bowling straight, and now I’m hooking it.”
Thomas also enjoys high school bowling.
“Your teammates can hold you up when you’re not having a good day,” he said. “Even if you don’t take your point, you can help toward the total team score.”
Pam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.
PHOTOS: (Top) Trevor Morgan works through a drill during a recent Loy Norrix practice. (Middle) Coach Mike Brandt, Trevor Morgan, Connor Thomas. (Below) Bailey Brandt rolls during one of the team's practice drills. (Photos by Pam Shebest.)