Seniors Lead Winning Efforts in D4
March 1, 2014
By Andrew Frushour
Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – Jonesville’s boys bowling team made it all the way to the championship match at the 2012 Division 4 Bowling Team Final before falling to Rogers City.
The Comets pledged to return and win the school’s first MHSAA title in any sport.
And then, last season, they failed to advance from their Division 4 Regional.
That only added Jonesville’s resolve this winter – especially with four key seniors competing together for the last time. Their run through Friday’s Team Final was not an easy one – the Comets qualified seventh for match play, won their Quarterfinal by only a pin and trailed in the championship match after the Baker set.
But by the sixth frame of the individual games, those seniors knew.
Jonesville outlasted Ithaca 1,1153-1,094 to claim that first championship. Meanwhile, on the girls side, Vandercook Lake added its third MHSAA title in four seasons.
“It’s unexplainable, really. It’s been our goal all year, been our goal since last year. Sophomore year we finished second, and it was a goal for us ever since,” Jonesville senior Reed Baker said. “Up and down, crazy. We battled it, really battled it.”
Ithaca’s boys, who also didn’t make the Finals in 2013, dominated Friday’s tournament up until the final match.
The Yellowjackets finished first in qualifying play, then beat Burton Bendle by 241 pins in the Quarterfinal and reigning champion Riverview Gabriel Richard by 126 in the Semifinal. Jonesville, meanwhile, got by Grass Lake only 1,207-1,206 in the quarter and Sandusky by 30 in the semi.
All five Comets rolled between 160-186 in the Final, led by Drew Baker at 186. Joe Whittaker paced Ithaca with a 172.
“All along, we said we were doing it for the seniors. We said we’re going to send you off with a state championship,” Jonesville boys coach Matt Molinaro said. “As soon as we made match play, we looked like the weight of the world was off our shoulders. It was a whole different team. We really bowled badly in the morning and still made it. As soon as we figured out we made it … we just kept fighting.”
Vandercook Lake’s girls also were keyed by an incredible senior group that made its fourth straight MHSAA championship match – lead-off bowler Malloree Ambs, Jessica Bunch and Kelsea Reichard, daughter of coach Todd Reichard.
Ambs, who won the Division 4 Singles title in 2013, was the lead-off bowler in all four of her MHSAA Team Finals – and that was by design. Todd Reichard told her during middle school that she would be his lead-off some day – the bowler who would made good shots, pick up spares and give his team the lead every turn.
Vandercook Lake finished 244 pins better than the field during qualifying and won its Quarterfinal and Semifinal matches by 236 and 228 pins, respectively, before defeating Rogers City in the Final 1,273-1,031.
Ambs rolled a 203, with Bunch leading with a 244 and Kelsea Reichard adding a 180 in the championship match.
“I think it was one of the most dominating performances I’ve ever seen,” Todd Reichard said. “Any one of the three is going to bowl good, and once one of them gets lined up, I think everybody gets comfortable. They just make spares and throw strikes, and it’s fun.”
The Jayhawks had matched up against Sandusky the last three MHSAA championship matches, and Sandusky finished second to Vandercook Lake in qualifying. But Rogers City threw a wrench into another potential rematch by beating Sandusky by 37 in their Semifinal.
Nicole Bannasch led Rogers City with a 179 in the Final.
“There’s still good competition out there for us. Rogers City surprised us and gave us a run for our money in the Bakers,” Ambs said.
“Our team is young. Most of the kids we have right now are sophomores – it’s just our three seniors – and that makes me feel like they are going to (continue our run).”
Click for full boys results and full girls results.
PHOTOS: The Jonesville boys and Vandercook Lake girls pose with their MHSAA championship trophies. (Photos by Andrew Frushour.)
One Streak Extends, Another Begins in D1
February 28, 2014
By Jon Malavolti
Special to Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – For one champion, it was that same old story. And for the other, it was a long time coming.
The MHSAA Division 1 Bowling Team Finals saw Davison High’s girls three-peat, and the boys from Detroit U-D Jesuit begin what they hope will be a similar streak in claiming their respective trophies Friday at Sunnybrook Lanes.
On the girls side, Westland John Glenn gave the two-time reigning champion Cardinals all they could handle in the Final. Davison eventually won 1,509-1,447.
“That was very competitive,” Davison junior Brooklyn Greene said. “John Glenn did great.”
Cardinals coach Tracy Greene said the squad bowled “a lot of tournaments all year to get them prepared for the pressure of head-to-head competition. … It all paid off.
“We lost three seniors from last year, but we had two great freshmen. To come back and do a three-peat was awesome. Unbelievable. The girls bowled so good, I’m proud of them.”
Greene, the team’s anchor bowler, said the squad felt plenty of pressure to repeat once again as they entered the Finals with a target on their backs and a drive to win again.
“There was pressure, but we pulled through,” she said.
Myranda Livingston, Davison’s lone senior, subbed in for Greene for the final frame of the championship match, sealing the win with a few emotional throws.
“It was like the best feeling in the world, and the worst feeling, because it was my last ball I’ll ever throw for high school,” Livingston said.
The senior said watching her teammates bowl in the close Final was “very nerve-wracking,” but she did what she could to keep them calm and focused.
“I keep the girls motivated,” she said. “I do whatever I can to keep them pumped up. I think these girls are very talented, and honestly, next year I think they can come back and win it, because I’m the only one that’s leaving. So they’re basically going to be the same team.”
Greene echoed her teammate’s sentiments, hoping the Cardinals would be the first school to win four straight MHSAA team bowling titles. Tecumseh’s girls won three straight as well in Division 2 between 2008-2010.
“I definitely think we have a great chance of winning next year as well,” she said.
Westland John Glenn’s Emily Dietz nearly bowled a perfect game in the Final, throwing nine straight strikes before leaving two pins standing in the 10th frame to finish with a 277.
Davison was led by Taylor Davis’ 247 in the Final.
In the boys competition, meanwhile, the chants of “Shave the beard!” began as soon as U-D Jesuit wrapped up its 1,409-1,360 win against Grand Haven.
Cubs coach Darrin Flowers had promised his team he would shave the long beard he’d been growing for a year-and-a-half if they won the title. So out came the razor as the team celebrated.
“I said, ‘If you win states, I’ll shave it off on the lanes,’” Flowers said. “So I started with a beard this morning, now it’s gone.”
But he, and the rest of the team, gladly traded it for the championship trophy, as the Cubs have been razor-close all season to winning one, but fell just shy taking second place recently in the Catholic League finals and MHSAA Regional.
“We’ve come in second in a lot of past tournaments, and we’ve been really disappointed,” Jesuit junior Ben Szmatula said. “Just being here, holding up the trophy, it’s just amazing. Just knowing we’re the best in the state shocks me.
Despite the earlier tournament disappointments, Szmatula said the Cubs had a “fire” inside them to keep going.
“We’ve always had a sense of confidence that I don’t think any other team has had,” he said. “It was something that we’ve always wanted a lot. We were so close all those times, it took a while to get there, but we got there.”
Cubs senior Lloyd Lyons was somewhat at a loss for words when describing his feelings after four years of striving for this moment.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s indescribable right now. It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do the past four years. To finally accomplish it, there’s no explaining it. To get here and obtain it is amazing. It’s something we can always look back upon.”
While his beard had been around for a while, Flowers’ tenure with the program is longer. He bowled for the school, graduating in 2001. He’s been coaching Jesuit for four years – the whole time aiming to take the Cubs to the top.
“I started with our senior Lloyd Lyons, and I promised him that I’d get him there,” Flowers said. “So it’s more than just a championship for these guys. It’s priceless.
“I am beyond proud of these guys. Just to see how hard these kids have worked to get here is amazing to me. As a coach, what more can you ask for? Hard work, dedication. These kids grinded it out today. Execution got us here. And execution brought us that trophy. These guys took it to the next level.”
And while it’s been a long time coming, the Cubs were hoping to take a page out of Davison’s book and keep the championships coming.
“I know this will not be our last time here,” Flowers said.
Keith Reid led Jesuit with a 247 in the Final. Justin White bowled a team-high 229 for runner-up Grand Haven.
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTOS: The Davison girls and Detroit U-D Jesuit boys bowling teams pose with their MHSAA championship trophies. (Photos by Jon Malavolti.)