Preview: Contenders New and Old
March 5, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
All eight MHSAA bowling champions from 2014 will return for this weekend’s Team Finals on Friday, and four who have won individual titles will compete in Singles Finals on Saturday.
But that hardly means we should expect everything to fall into place as it has in the recent past.
Contenders old and also new abound for this weekend’s tournaments, the 12th since bowling became an MHSAA-sponsored sport in 2004. Read about them below.
All Team Finals are Friday, and Singles Finals are Saturday. Click for the full list of qualifiers, and come back to Second Half all weekend for coverage from all four Finals sites.
Girls Division 1
Team: Davison is rolling on a three-year championship streak and enters the weekend as again a Regional champion – although its 3,376 qualifying score was only third highest in the division as a whole. Macomb Dakota (4,194) and Westland John Glenn (4,141) both broke 4,000 pins and have plenty of experience at this level – John Glenn was runner-up to Davison last season, and Dakota fell to Davison in the Semifinal. Dakota sophomore Tamera Robinson (1,271) won the individual Regional title at Star Lanes in Sterling Heights while three more teammates finished among the top nine; John Glenn placed four among the top eight and three among the top four at Canton’s Super Bowl.
Singles: Last season’s MHSAA Final was a matchup of John Glenn bowlers, and both return – junior Emily Dietz, the champion, was eighth at her Regional with a 1,183, while junior Julia Huren was second at 1,333. Total, nine of last season’s 16 match play finalists will compete again this weekend, but four of the top five Regional qualifying scores were by bowlers not part of that group – Canton sophomore Megan Macunovich (1,345), Brighton freshman Natalie Klein (1,331), Zeeland sophomore Olivia Hoeksema (1,308) and Caledonia freshman Macalin Rodriguez (1,300).
Boys Division 1
Teams: Reigning champion Detroit U-D Jesuit will be back after rolling a 3,705 to finish second at its Regional at Woodhaven Lanes. But 12 qualifiers broke 4,000 pins, with Saginaw Heritage (4,325) and Canton (4,231) topping the list. Heritage went on to place four individual qualifiers among the top 10 of that competition, led by senior Derrick Norman; his 1,569 easily was the highest Regional score in any division. Reigning runner-up Grand Haven and semifinalist Oxford both also made the field, although both finished as Regional runners-up last weekend.
Singles: Norman made the quarterfinals last season, and he’ll be joined in the field this weekend by Grand Haven sophomore Jimmy Mitchell, a semifinalist in 2014. Clarkston junior Jacob Kersten, Hudsonville senior Travis Schreer and Macomb Dakota senior Justin Taylor also are back after making last winter’s match play, Kersten as a Regional champion last weekend. Flint Carman-Ainsworth junior Jordan Nunn would’ve been at any other Regional, with his 1,400 placing second to Norman at Lansing’s Royal Scot.
Girls Division 2
Team: This follows a similar theme as Division 1, with reigning champion Flint Kearsley seeking its third championship in four seasons and entering as a Regional winner – although with only the sixth-best score from last weekend. Warren Regina (3,645) topped the list, with Grand Rapids Northview (3,591), Charlotte (3,517), Bay City Western (3,517) and Tecumseh (3,492) also joining Kearsley (3,490) as winners. Western, last season’s Finals runners-up, then placed four among the top five in the singles standings with co-champs in juniors Alexia Richard and Storm Butler.
Singles: Kearsley returns two of last year’s 16 match-place qualifiers including semifinalist Hannah Ploof, a junior, who won her Regional rolling 1,140. Regina sophomore Madchen Breen will return for her second Finals after rolling the highest Regional score in any division – 1,267 – with Coldwater senior Patricia Neely posting the second-highest in Division 2 at 1,182. Kearsley senior Dani Doolan, Charlotte junior Malorie Kiplinger and West Branch Ogeamw Heights senior Riley Griffin also are among qualifiers who made Finals match play in 2014.
Boys Division 2
Team: Ortonville Brandon was the lone qualifier to break 4,000 pins at a Division 2 Regional, its 4,403 more than 70 pins better than anyone else in the division after it made match play but fell to eventual champion Kearsley in the Quarterfinals last season. Kearsley also won a Regional title last weekend at 3,971, the second-highest score in Division 2, and with junior Chad Stephen and senior Anthony Kelley making the Singles Finals.
Singles: Stephen and Trenton senior David Owens were quarterfinalists last year, and they’ll be joined in the field by four more 2014 match play qualifiers: Kelley, Marysville senior Tyler Fields, Parma Western senior Andrew Mulliken and Jackson Northwest senior Brian Lewis. Fields rolled a division-best 1,388 to win his Regional at Westland’s Oak Lanes, while Bay City Western junior Dylan Brown rolled a 1,355 to win at Monitor Lanes in Bay City and come in with the division’s second-highest singles pinfall.
Girls Division 3
Team: Ishpeming is storming back into the Finals after making its first championship match and finishing runner-up to Croswell-Lexington last season. The Hematites had a Division 3-best Regional score of 3,410, with Jonesville next-highest winning at 3,385 at Monroe’s Nortel Lanes. Three of Ishpeming’s five bowlers from last season’s run are back and also made the Singles Finals – seniors Kaylee O’Connor and Kassy Harsila and junior Kassey Kytola.
Singles: Corunna junior Hannah Eldridge finished first in the 2014 qualifying block and made the Semifinal, and she’ll return this weekend after qualifying 10th at her Regional. Croswell-Lexington senior Katie LaPorte and Standish-Sterling junior Dayna Schmidt also will be back from last season’s match play, Schmidt as a Regional champion last weekend. Dundee sophomore Breanna Johnson (1,155) and Leslie senior Tiffany Hills (1,117) were the high scorers at Regionals for this division; neither made the Finals a year ago.
Boys Division 3
Team: Fremont is the reigning champion and has won two of the last three seasons, but will have some heavy competition after qualifying second from its Regional. Jackson Lumen Christi (3,937) and Armada (3,909) both won Regionals to pace Division 3 after both falling in last season’s Quarterfinals. The favorites will be keyed by standouts; Fremont is led again by senior Sam Brandt, last season’s high roller for his team in the Team Final and then Singles Final champion. Lumen Christi has a collection of strong seniors including Zach Ulicny, the reigning Singles Final runner-up. Reigning Division 4 champion Jonesville qualified third behind Lumen Christi and Flat Rock at Nortel Lanes.
Singles: Last season’s finalists will be joined this weekend by four more who made the 2014 match play: Essexville-Garber senior Chase Badalamenti, a returning semifinalist, plus Portland junior Marcus Zinn, Wyoming Godwin Heights junior Zac Vos and Lumen Christi senior Matt Nicoson. Cheboygan senior Matt Duffiney won his Regional by nearly 150 pins with a division-best 1,331, and Romulus Summit Academy freshman Ryan Wright burst on the scene with a 1,275 to win his tournament.
Girls Division 4
Team: Vandercook Lake, Sandusky and Rogers City have dominated Division 4 since its creation in 2010, with Vandercook Lake the two-time reigning champion and owner of four MHSAA titles total. But the Jaykawks posted only the second-highest Regional score (3,538), with St. Louis rolling a 3,545 to edge Ithaca by a mere eight pins at Mount Pleasant’s Riverwood Resort. Rogers City (3,483) again was a Regional champion after finishing Finals runner-up a year ago, and Burton Bendle (3,409) also broke 3,400 to win its Regional by nearly 400 pins.
Singles: Although all four of last season’s semifinalists graduated, seven match play qualifiers are again in the field. Sandusky senior Keri Malloy, Unionville-Sebewaing senior Kyleigh McCarthy and Rogers City junior Rebecca Bannasch and junior Alana Wirgau all bowled in the quarterfinals last season, while Hanover-Horton junior Emma Davis, St. Ignace senior Sharman Colegrove and Oscoda senior Paige Huebel also made the Round of 16. Clinton junior Miranda Porath and Sandusky junior Leslie Williams made the Finals but missed match play in 2014, but they’re back with the top Regional scores in the division of 1,143 and 1,121, respectively.
Boys Division 4
Team: Three teams broke 3,900 to win Regional titles – Sandusky (4,057), St. Charles (3,988) and Hanover-Horton (3,923). St. Charles, winner of the first Division 4 title in 2009, is led by sophomore Kyle Tuttle, last season’s Singles Final champion. Reigning team champion Jonesville is in Division 3 this season and runner-up Ithaca didn’t qualify, but Sandusky was a semifinalist a year ago and also had three make the Singles Finals led by junior Brett Hancock.
Singles: This session of the entire weekend might have the most returning star power. Joining Tuttle are Rogers City junior Bailey Budnik, the 2013 Singles champ, and St. Louis senior Zach Fenby, last winter’s runner-up. Riverview Gabriel Richard junior Austin Kraemer made the semifinals last season and won his Regional last weekend with a division-best 1,372. Hanover-Horton senior Alex Wyckoff, Kalamazoo Hackett senior Zack Isaacs, Galesburg-Augusta senior Joshua Wayne and St. Louis senior Jeffrey Fisher also are back from last season’s match play. Pewamo-Westphalia senior Chase Thelen didn’t make last season’s Finals – but did break 1,300 as well last weekend to win his Regional.
PHOTO: Rogers City’s Bailey Budnik was the Division 4 Singles champion in 2013 and returns as a contender this weekend.
Preview: Past Contenders, Potential-Packed Newcomers Ready to Roll at Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 2, 2023
This weekend's MHSAA Bowling Finals will be a new experience for many, but also a return opportunity for plenty.
Seven of last year's eight team champions will return for Friday's competition. Only three returning singles champs will bowl in Saturday's tournaments – but 58 of last season's 128 match play participants are in the field again, and those three reigning singles title winners will be joined by two more who won in 2021.
Below is a look at possible contenders for all 16 championships, team and singles. Action begins both days at 8:25 a.m., with Division 1 at Allen Park’s Thunderbowl Lanes, Division 2 at Waterford's Century Bowl, Division 3 at Jackson’s Jax 60 and Division 4 at Battle Creek’s M-66 Bowl. Click for the full list of qualifiers, and come back all weekend for coverage from all four Finals sites on MHSAA.com.
DIVISION 1 GIRLS
Team: Reigning champion Macomb Dakota will return this weekend after winning its Regional at Sterling Heights’ Five Star with a 3,064, and 2021 champion Zeeland also was a Regional winner at Station 300 in Grandville with a 3,259. They, Grand Haven and Sterling Heights Stevenson were the only Division 1 teams to break 3,000 pins during Regional competition; the Buccaneers are seeking their first Finals championship, and Stevenson its first since 2009. Traverse City West, Canton, Lake Orion and Taylor also won Regional titles with more than 2,950 pins, Taylor just three off 3,000.
Singles: Zeeland senior Alyssa Fortney was last season’s singles runner-up and returns after placing seventh at her Regional among five teammates who qualified. New Baltimore Anchor Bay senior Melanie Straub, Hartland senior Carlie Mitchell, Southfield Arts & Technology junior Samantha Mason, Zeeland sophomore Hayden Pompey-Oshinski and Westland John Glenn senior Karley Chouinard all made Finals match play last season and qualified to return this weekend. Straub rolled the highest Regional score in Division 1 at 1,334 pins at Five Star, with Novi sophomore Maddy Gazzarari next at 1,227 to win at Super Bowl Lanes in Canton. Caledonia junior Emma Whitman, Traverse City West junior Taylor Phillips, Oxford senior Macey Strevel and Monroe sophomore Alexis Woolridge-Lang all won Regional singles titles as well.
DIVISION 1 BOYS
Team: Although reigning champion Livonia Franklin did not advance this time, reigning runner-up Utica Eisenhower is back after winning its Regional at Five Star by 252 pins ahead of 2021 Division 1 runner-up Dakota. Belleville posted the second-highest team score in Division 1 last weekend at 3,611 to win at Super Bowl Lanes by 166 pins, and Jenison, Davison, North Farmington and St. Clair Shores Lakeview also won Regional titles all by at least 100 pins.
Singles: Dakota senor Connor Rogus repeated in winning his Regional, this time with a score of 1,331, and is the lone returnee who reached at least the quarterfinals last season. However, Rockford senior Tony DeLuccia and Wyoming senior Nate Vanderbeek both will be back after also making match play. Holt junior Nick Schaberg created some buzz in winning his Regional last weekend at Royal Scot with a 1,528 – 247 pins better than the field. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix senior Anthony Fotis, Plymouth senior Aidan O’Callaghan, Waterford Mott junior Brendan Riley and Monroe sophomore LJ Robinson also were Regional champs.
DIVISION 2 GIRLS
Team: Flint Kearsley has won eight of the last nine Division 2 team titles, including the last two, and rolled a 3,105 at Richfield Bowl in Flint to set the pace for all six Regionals in this division. Sparta (3,046) and Carleton Airport (3,002) also broke 3,000 to claim championships, and Bay City John Glenn was runner-up to Kearsley at 3,045. Mason is the lone team to win a Finals during Kearsley’s run and also finished Division 2 runner-up the last two years; the Bulldogs qualified third at a tightly-contested Regional at Wyoming’s Spectrum Lanes, where Allegan was first with Charlotte four pins back and Mason 36 off the lead. Marshall and Waterford Kettering also won Regional titles, Marshall just 37 pins ahead of annual contender Tecumseh.
Singles: Last year’s champion and runner-up graduated, but this field remains loaded. Wayland senior Kadence Bottrall will be back after reaching the 2022 semifinals. She won her Regional at Spectrum Lanes with a 1,317, 103 pins better than the field. Warren Woods-Tower senior Kayla Tafanelli was a Division 1 singles semifinalist last season and also will be part of this bracket after finishing second last weekend at Waterford’s 300 Bowl to Marysville senior Sophia Santo, a quarterfinalist last winter. Allegan junior Leah Snyder, Livonia Clarenceville sophomore Caitlyn Johnson and Goodrich junior Rebekah Muzyk all made quarterfinals as well last season and will return, Johnson as the Regional champ from Oak Lanes in Westland. Tecumseh junior Wendy Ketola, Bay City John Glenn sophomore Caeli Schultz, Cedar Springs senior Chloe Fisk and Kearsley senior Sara Ritchie also are back after making the match play last year, Ketola as the Regional champ out of Continental Lanes in Kalamazoo. Kearsley junior Ava Boggs and Grand Rapids Northview senior Courtney Delaney also won Regional titles.
DIVISION 2 BOYS
Team: Reigning champion Grand Rapids Northview will be pursuing a repeat coming off a Regional title by 109 pins at Westgate in Comstock Park and will attempt to break a string of seven different champions over the last seven seasons. New Boston Huron could do the same after winning in 2019 and coming off a Regional victory and Division 2 second-best 3,652 last weekend at Westland’s Oak Lanes. Tecumseh rolled a 3,679 to set the pace for the entire division at Continental, and Flint Kearsley, Waterford Kettering and Mason also won Regional championships.
Singles: Northview senior Kyle Pranger won the championship in 2021 and reached last year’s final before falling in a tie-breaker roll-off. But he’s set up well to take the title-clinching step one more time, entering off another Regional championship. Tecumseh junior Owen Williams also is back from last season’s semifinals and won his Regional last weekend, and Flint Kearsley senior Howie Hammond made the quarterfinals last year and will return after finishing Regional runner-up at Richfield Bowl to Bay City John Glenn senior Logan Larive, another match play returnee. Grand Rapids Christian junior Zeke Heerema, Carleton Airport junior Colin Peterson and New Boston Huron senior Donnie Jacobs also made the match play in 2022, and Jacobs also was a Regional champ last week along with Mason junior Jonathon Hendershot and Warren De La Salle Collegiate senior Drew Gohlke.
DIVISION 3 GIRLS
Team: Reigning champion Shepherd rolled a division-high 2,912 at Bay City’s Alert Bowling Lanes to edge Midland Bullock Creek by 12 pins for that Regional title, and 2022 runner-up Cheboygan also will be back after finishing second to Ishpeming Westwood at the Regional at its home Sparetime Lanes. Three Rivers moved to Division 3 from Division 2 and was another Regional champion, edging Olivet by six pins at M-66 in Battle Creek. Clinton, Armada and Grand Rapids West Catholic also won Regionals, Armada and Clinton both by more than 200 pins and West Catholic by 97.
Singles: Flint Powers Catholic junior Elizabeth Teuber won Division 3 as a freshman and was runner-up last season, and she’s back after winning her Regional at Strikers Entertainment in Richmond with a 1,220 – 159 pins ahead of the field. Comstock Park senior Ashley Hunter, Clinton junior Paige Shankland and Midland Bullock Creek senior Brooklyn Marshall all made match play quarterfinals last season and will be back, Shankland off a Regional title at Flat Rock Lanes and Marshall after finishing second and just seven pins off the lead at Alert Lanes. Shankland’s Regional title win came by 19 ahead of senior teammate Noelle Ray, who also made the match play in 2022, and Boyne City sophomore Victoria McGeorge also is back after reaching matches last winter. Napoleon junior Sydney Gallagher won the Regional at M-66 by three pins ahead of Three Rivers sophomore Tayler Mohney – who made the Division 2 match play last season – while West Catholic senior Kayla VanLinden, Ovid-Elsie senior Gracie Schultz and Ishpeming Westwood senior Kylie Junak also won Regional titles.
DIVISION 3 BOYS
Team: Reigning champion Gladwin is coming off a Regional championship last weekend at Sparetime Lanes and also advanced three to the singles Finals. Armada, the 2021 champion, was another Regional champion, and Clinton posted the division’s best score of 3,363 to win at Flat Rock Lanes. Napoleon edged Three Rivers by a pin at M-66 and Hudsonville Unity Christian got past Muskegon Orchard View by four to win at Sherman Lanes in Muskegon. Sanford Meridian rounded out the Regional winners at Alert Lanes, where 2022 Finals runner-up Bullock Creek came in third after Chesaning as well.
Singles: Cheboygan senior Cole Swanberg and Ogemaw Heights senior Tyler Downs met in last season’s championship match, won by Swanberg, and also at last weekend’s Regional where Swanberg was second and Downs fourth. Gladwin’s Brady Weston was ninth at their Regional at Sparetime and also made the semifinals last season, as did Almont senior Matthew Redmond, who also qualified for this weekend. In fact, the top eight from last year’s match play all are returning, with those four joined by Standish-Sterling senior Donovan Leamon, Adrian Madison senior Collin Hickman, Napoleon senior Dustin Moeckel and Lansing Catholic senior James Wheeler. Hopkins sophomore Charlie Brown III and Bullock Creek junior Anthony Davis also qualified again after making match play last year, and Cheboygan senior Tommy Jones, Frankenmuth junior Mayson Knop, Portland sophomore Alec McGinnis, Almont sophomore Hunter Ross, Coloma senior Brodie McQuillan and Blissfield sophomore Blake Terrill were last weekend’s Regional champions, Terrill with a Division 3-best 1,316.
DIVISION 4 GIRLS
Team: Bronson is the reigning champion and has won three of the last four team titles, but made the cut this time as a third-place Regional finisher although three bowlers qualified in singles the next day. Traverse City Christian, the 2021 champion, won its Regional at Gaylord Bowling Center with 2,836 pins, second in the entire division only to Jonesville’s 2,880 at Jax 60 – Jonesville made the Division 3 Quarterfinals last season. Taylor Trillium Academy, Burton Atherton, Ravenna and New Lothrop also won Regional titles last weekend, while Beaverton’s 2,655 to finish second at Gaylord was the third-highest team score in all of Division 4.
Singles: Gobles senior Morgan Brunner will bowl for a third-straight singles championship and won her Regional at Wyoming’s Park Center Lanes with a 1,099 – 191 pins higher than the field. Pittsford senior Brooke Vanous also will return after making the semifinals last season, and Jonesville senior Abigail Gutowski made the Division 3 quarterfinals last year while Beaverton senior Becca Claypool and Bronson sophomore Morgan McConn are returning quarterfinalists in Division 4. Traverse City Christian senior Brooke Smith, Vandercook Lake senior Brianna Langley and Allen Park Cabrini senior Jordan Downham also return after making the match play and all three won Regional championships last week, and Bronson junior Hadassah Bloom, Bad Axe senior Destiny Ranquist, Trillium junior Abbey Slaven and Maple City Glen Lake senior Chloe Crick also are back after making match play in 2022. Bad Axe freshman Jasmyn Ranquist and Pewamo-Westphalia junior Kennedy Cassel also won Regional titles last weekend.
BOYS DIVISON 4
Team: Plymouth Christian Academy moved to the forefront last season with its first championship and returns this weekend coming off a Regional title at Ten Pin in Tecumseh. Grass Lake has won two Finals championships (2021 in Division 3) and finished runner-up over the last three seasons, and also won a Regional title last weekend, at Jax 60. Saugatuck, Burton Atherton and Benzie Central were Regional champions by similarly comfortable margins, while Saginaw Nouvel won at Northern Lanes in Sanford by just 26 pins over New Lothrop.
Singles: Reigning champion Jackson Kremer will return as a senior after qualifying 10th at Jax 60, and he’ll be joined by Atherton junior Matthew Miller and Nouvel sophomore Alex McCarthy among bowlers who made at least the quarterfinals last season. Allen Park Cabrini sophomore Bryce Cadaret also will be back after making last year’s match play. New Lothrop junior Cole Bradshaw was the top-rolling Division 4 Regional champion at 1,326, and Houghton Lake junior James Wright, Baldwin senior Jake Cutler, Capac senior Tim Bochatyn, Jonesville senior Adam Martinez and Detroit Loyola freshman Cody Champion also won their Regionals.
PHOTO Ishpeming Westwood’s Elise Ketola, here at this season’s U.P. Bowling Conference tournament Jan. 21, will compete with her team and in singles in Division 3 this weekend. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)