Preview: Expect the Unexpected
March 3, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Few MHSAA tournaments are tougher to analyze and predict than the Girls and Boys Bowling Finals.
The top scorers from last weekend’s Regionals included a number of unranked teams, and two of the No. 1-ranked lineups at the start of the postseason didn’t qualify for Friday’s Team Finals to be contested at four bowling centers – Division 1 at Sterling Heights’ Sterling Lanes, Division 2 at Canton’s Super Bowl, Division 3 at Jackson’s Airport Lanes and Division 4 at Lansing’s Royal Scot.
Saturday’s singles competition will feature a few more familiar faces. St. Louis’ Kyle Tuttle is going for his third championship, and past champion Bailey Budnik of Rogers City is in the Division 4 field. Three of the other seven reigning champions also will return with repeats in mind.
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: Macomb Dakota broke Davison’s three-season hold on Division 1 last year (Davison finished runner-up), and Dakota has remained ranked No. 1 this winter – although the Cougars finished only second at their Regional at Sterling Lanes. Fourth-ranked Davison did win its division with a score of 3,736, which ranked fifth of 18 qualifying teams total. Unranked Bay City Western led the way with a Division 1-best 3,876 – the Warriors are in Division 1 this season after finishing runner-up in Division 2 in 2014 and 2015. Second-ranked Westland John Glenn, No. 5 St. Clair Shores Lakeview and unranked Farmington also were among top Regional scorers.
Singles: Of last season’s four semifinalists, only champion Allison Morris of Ann Arbor Huron graduated. The other three all are back; Davison junior Taylor Davis won her Regional with the second-highest score in Division 1, 1,283 pins, while Canton junior Meghan Macunovich and Caledonia sophomore Macailin Rodriguez also qualified again. Farmington junior Candyce Bradley paced the division with a 1,290, and Brighton sophomore Natalie Klein was right behind winning her Regional with a 1,278. Total, nine bowlers rolled between 1,240-1,290 last weekend, which could be an indicator of a tight race Saturday.
Boys Division 1
Team: Reigning champion Wayne Memorial is unranked but back in the mix after finishing second at its Regional at Super Bowl in Canton. But 11 of 18 qualifiers rolled 4,000 or higher last weekend, led by also-unranked Roseville, which with 4,248 pins held off No. 4 Macomb Dakota (4,198) in a Regional that produced the day’s two highest Division 1 scores. Both finished ahead of top-ranked Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, which also impressed with a 4,158. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, also unranked, had the day’s best score outside of Sterling Heights, winning its Regional at Royal Scot in Lansing with a 4,193.
Singles: L’Anse Creuse North senior Kyle Hayes was the only non-senior in the semifinals last season – he ended up runner-up – and he won his Regional last weekend with a Division 1-best 1,416 to clear the Sterling Heights field by 160 pins. Swartz Creek senior Chase Kaufman was one of only two other non-seniors to make the quarterfinals last season, and he posted the second-highest Regional score this time with a 1,393 at Royal Scot.
Girls Division 2
Team: Flint Kearsley has won the last two Division 2 championships and three of the last four, but entered the postseason ranked only No. 3 and finished second at its Regional to Mason by 136 pins. Top-ranked Jackson justified its spot with the top Division 2 Regional score in the state, 3,866, and No. 2 Tecumseh also showed its ranking to be true with the second-highest Division 2 score of 3,831. Only Mason, Charlotte and Sturgis (the latter two following Jackson at Kalamazoo’s Continental Lanes) also approached 3,800.
Singles: Last season’s Division 2 champion, Kayleigh Gonzalez of Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, also was a senior. But 2015 runner-up Kayla Wild is a senior now at Tecumseh and rolled a Regional-winning 1,299 last weekend. Flint Kearsley senior Hannah Ploof, a semifinalist in 2014, won her Regional in a Division 2-best 1,318, and Taylor Kennedy freshman Abigail Bird also made an impression finishing second to Wild with a 1,297 at Score Lanes in Taylor. Jackson junior Jamie Bleiler emerged as champion from a tight race in Kalamazoo that saw five qualifiers roll 1,206 or higher.
Boys Division 2
Team: Fourth-ranked Flint Kearsley also has owned the boys competition with two straight Finals championships and won its Regional with a 4,266 that was the second-highest score in all of Division 2. Unranked Taylor Kennedy earned the top statewide honor with a division-best 4,392 to win its Regional at Score Lanes. Total, seven teams cleared 4,000 pins at Regionals, including No. 2 Tecumseh, No. 3 Coldwater, No. 5 Sturgis and No. 9 Owosso – and also unranked Lansing Eastern, which finished second to Kearsley and with the third-highest score in the entire division of 4,156. Top-ranked St. Clair Shores Lake Shore also was a Regional champ rolling a 3,898 at Oak Lanes in Westland.
Singles: Reigning champion Chad Stephen, a senior at Kearsley, finished third at his Regional with a 1,269 behind junior teammate Bryce McKerchie (1,273) and Lansing Waverly junior champion Nick Behrens (1,275). The top two Regional scores from the division came out of Taylor, where New Boston Huron senior Cody Farr rolled a 1,361 and Melvindale sophomore Marcus McClain followed him with a 1,311. Sturgis senior Michael Fitzsimmons was a quarterfinalist last season and just made the cut this time with a ninth-place finish, but junior teammate Austin Robison won the Regional at Kalamazoo with a 1,295 that was the third-highest score in the division for the day.
Girls Division 3
Team: Top-ranked Croswell-Lexington, the champion in 2014, was a Regional champion this time by more than 350 pins with a score of 3,478. But unranked Flat Rock made the biggest impression, rolling a 3,847 to win its Regional at Flat Rock Lanes by more than 600 pins. Reigning champion Corunna also was a Regional winner, as was No. 3 Yale, No. 6 Hudsonville Unity Christian and unranked Cheboygan.
Singles: Reigning runner-up Breanna Johnson, a junior at Dundee, is the lone semifinalist back as the other three last season were seniors. She finished runner-up at last weekend’s Regional to Flat Rock senior Kayla Jackson, who rolled the highest score in Division 3 of 1,189. Saginaw Swan Valley junior Becca Curtis just missed that honor, winning her Regional with a count of 1,186, and Grand Rapids West Catholic junior Katelyn LaBelle was right there too winning her Regional with a 1,173.
Boys Division 3
Team: Second-ranked Jonesville (4,056) and unranked Croswell-Lexington (4,027) were the only teams in Division 3 to break 4,000 pins last weekend, both winning Regionals in the process. Top-ranked Corunna just missed qualifying for the Finals, while reigning champion Armada is in Division 2 this season and reigning runner-up (and No. 4-ranked) Richmond also didn’t qualify. Third-ranked Essexville Garber should also be in the mix after winning its Regional with a 3,747, and three more teams cleared 3,800 pins.
Singles: Reigning champion Tyler Kolassa of Warren Lincoln is back, placing third at the Regional after winning Division 3 as a sophomore. Jonesville’s Jonah Boot was a semifinalist last season and won his Regional with a 1,168. Total, seven competitors last weekend including Kolassa cleared 1,200 pins; Marine City’s Jonathan Dean scored highest with 1,238 also at Kolassa’s Regional at Cherry Hill Lanes in Dearborn Heights. Battle Creek Pennfield junior Bailey Neal had the second-highest Division 3 score, winning his Regional at Eastland Bowl in Kalalamazoo with a 1,242.
Girls Division 4
Team: After making only the Quarterfinals last season and seeing its two-year title streak come to an end, Vandercook Lake is a favorite again to win its fourth Division 4 title in six seasons. The Jayhawks cleared the rest of the Division 4 field with a Regional score last week of 3,708 – nearly 300 pins better than the next best, reigning Finals champion St. Louis (3,433). However, six more teams cleared 3,300 pins and will be hoping Vandercook Lake stays close to the pack Friday.
Singles: They Jayhawks also had the two highest-scoring singles in Division 4, freshman Mackenzie Johnson at 1,192 and senior Lillian Warner and 1,162. Hanover-Horton senior Emma Davis was the Division 4 singles champion last season, and she should be among those chased again; her 1,136 Regional score was fourth-best for all of Division 4 and third at her Regional behind only the Vandercook Lake pair.
Boys Division 4
Team: None of the last three Division 4 champions qualified for team competition Friday, and neither did top-ranked Ithaca. Second-ranked Vandercook Lake did, as Regional runner-up to Hudson, which had the second-highest score in Division 4 (3,817) to unranked Rogers City (3,840). St. Charles and St. Louis, ranked Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, took the top two spots at the Regional where Ithaca finished outside the top three, and Nos. 5 and 6 Bad Axe and Sandusky both broke 3,700 pins to take the top two places at Bay Lanes in Bay City.
Singles: The two bowlers who combined to win the last three championships are both back – two-time reigning winner Kyle Tuttle, a St. Charles junior, won his Regional with a score of 1,270, while 2013 champ Bailey Budnick of Rogers City just made the Finals one more time with a 10th-place finish at his Regional. Only 12 bowlers in Division 4 broke 1,200 pins last Saturday, but only Adrian Madison senior Isaac Solis broke 1,300 – he won his Regional with a 1,307. The two bowlers Tuttle beat in the final rounds last season both also will be back – Oscoda sophomore Grant Huebel was a semifinalist in 2015 and qualified fifth from his Regional, and Bad Axe senior Ethan Sobczak is the reigning Finals runner-up and finished one spot ahead of Huebel last weekend at Bay Lanes.
PHOTO: The Flint Kearsley girls and boys bowling teams pose with their trophies after both repeated as Division 2 champions last season.
Performance: Flint Kearsley's Imari Blond
January 24, 2019
Imari Blond
Flint Kearsley junior – Bowling
A two-time all-stater and last season’s MHSAA Finals singles runner-up in Division 2, Blond is well on her way to building one of the most impressive bowling careers in state high school history. Sunday saw her add to the pile of accomplishments – Blond rolled a tournament-best 749 series including a perfect 300 games at the Flint Metro Championships to earn the Michigan Army National Guard “Performance of the Week.”
Blond is averaging 219 pins per game with a match play record of 20-1 for the Kearsley dynasty – the Hornets have won five straight MHSAA Division 2 championships and carry a 115-match winning streak as they seek their 10th straight undefeated conference finish in the Flint Metro League. Blond made the Division 2 singles quarterfinals as a freshman before last winter advancing to the championship match, where she was edged by Wayland senior Sydney Urben in two-game pin fall 409-356. Her 300 game Sunday was only the fourth in Kearsley’s storied girls bowling history, and she’s also won the two other tournaments she’s bowled in this winter, with a 653 series at the Bay City John Glenn Holiday Tournament and teamed with Lawson Boshaw at the Davison Holiday Mixed Doubles Tournament.
Blond started bowling early, learning from her mother Duwana Ragland and older brother Quinton and sister Quinisha Burnett. Blond still holds the Flint youth city record with an 810 series she rolled as a seventh grader in 2015. She’s anticipating following her siblings into college bowling – both competed at Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne – and is interested in studying elementary education.
Coach Robert Ploof said: “This girl gets it. She is so mature for her age, and she totally understands the team concept and she understands that she needs each and every one of her teammates for her to be successful. She has great sportsmanship as she is always rooting on the competition as well as her own teammates. She is a natural leader and was named a team captain as a freshman; this year she is a co-captain with our only senior on the team Alexis Roof. Imari and Alexis are most likely the best two girl bowlers in the state, and they work well together and both understand their roles. Imari has a very special talent, but if you spoke to her she will not tell you how good she is – she is very humble and in fact continues to work hard to be better. Imari is going places; the college coaches are calling and showing up to watch, she will be offered a big scholarship someplace, but none of that has changed her focus. She is just an incredible teammate and just a great kid, and we are very blessed to have her at Kearsley.”
Performance Point: “I got excited (about the perfect game) because I did joke around with my coach Rob before we even started the game,” Blond said. “I was like, "I'm about to shoot 300 this game" and I actually did, so I was pretty excited about that. I was just kidding around, so I was actually really surprised when I actually did it. … I'm actually very proud of how the year is going. I didn't expect it to be this good, but I started the season off with a pretty good average and I was hoping that I could keep it up there. … Right now, I just try to get better. I feel like I can be better than I am now. I always want to be better than somebody else. I look up to other bowlers like Jordan Richard (of Tecumseh High and now Professional Women’s Bowling Association fame), or other famous bowlers, and I just try my hardest to be like them or be more than them.”
Final step: “I made a really big goal for myself to try to win (the Division 2 Finals) this year. I was ready last year, I thought, but I guess my mindset just wasn't up to where it's supposed to be. I feel like I'm ready this year though. … Thinking too much is really the worst thing you can do, stressing about it. I have my sister as an assistant coach, so she helps out more with my attitude and stuff like that, and not to think too much on things and just do my game.”
Carrying on the dynasty: “I'm really happy to be welcomed into the (Kearsley) team and welcomed into the winning streak that we have. When we won the state title my freshman year, we were already planning to win the next one the year after. That's just a mindset thing. We already have it set in our minds that we're going to dominate. I honestly think it's the team themselves. If the team doesn't get along, then they won't work together. And I feel like our team gets along very well. Our spirits are always high. Usually when someone bowls badly, there's always someone else to pick you up. And we always compete with each other, so that really keeps us up.”
Following family: “My mom used to bowl in a couple leagues, and she put my brother into bowling and he was just naturally good. We didn't have a lot of coaching. He had to figure stuff out by himself. ... I was 4 when I started, and my mom usually just encouraged me to keep it on the lane and get pins. And then, more as I developed into getting into the technical things, my brother started coaching me a little more (and) my sister got into coaching a little bit.”
Student, also teacher: “I work well with kids. I work at the Richfield Bowling Alley, and I work with kids, teaching them how to bowl. Most of them are just there to be there, but some of them really care about bowling and I like that. So I try to encourage them to do better, to go and practice more and try to get more serious about it. I tell them all the time – you can get scholarship money, you can do big things with bowling.”
- Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Every week during the 2018-19 school year, Second Half and the Michigan Army National Guard recognizes 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 protect lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
Past 2018-19 honorees
January 17: William Dunn, Quincy basketball - Read
November 29: Dequan Finn, Detroit Martin Luther King football - Read
November 22: Paige Briggs, Lake Orion volleyball - Read
November 15: Hunter Nowak, Morrice football - Read
November 8: Jon Dougherty, Detroit Country Day soccer - Read
November 1: Jordan Stump, Camden-Frontier volleyball - Read
October 25: Danielle Staskowski, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep golf - Read
October 18: Adam Bruce, Gladstone cross country - Read
October 11: Ericka VanderLende, Rockford cross country - Read
October 4: Kobe Clark, Schoolcraft football - Read
September 27: Jonathan Kliewer, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern soccer - Read
September 20: Kiera Lasky, Bronson volleyball - Read
September 13: Judy Rector, Hanover-Horton cross country - Read
PHOTOS: (Top) Flint Kearsley's Imari Blond competes earlier this month. (Middle) Blond and her teammates hoist the Division 2 championship trophy to conclude last winter. (Photos courtesy of the Kearlsley girls bowling program.)