Seniors Standouts Cap Careers with D1 Wins
By
Jason Schmitt
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2019
ALLEN PARK – The minute she saw the match play draw at Saturday’s Division 1 Bowling Singles Finals, Oxford’s Megan Armbruster’s eyes lit up. She had already mentally circled a name on her half of the draw.
A year ago Armbruster’s dreams of winning an individual championship were dashed by Jenison’s Lauren Slagter, who ousted Armbruster in the first round of match play. It’s something that did not sit well with the Wildcats senior. So when she saw a potential semifinal matchup at this year’s Finals, she was all in.
“(Slagter) had knocked me out last year and I was upset,” Armbruster said. “After I won the quarterfinal match here today, I noticed that I had to play her and I just wanted to get revenge.”
She certainly got her revenge, and then went on to defeat St. Clair Shores Lake Shore sophomore Dani Decruydt in the title match, 416-367, at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park.
“It feels so awesome to finish my career off like that,” said Armbruster, who was seeded 12th out of the qualifying round. “It was super quiet out there, and my legs were shaking, but I didn’t feel my nerves at all. I just kept throwing the ball, staying super calm and shooting the ball one at a time.”
Armbruster collected four strikes in her first five frames of the final and did not have an open frame the entire first game. She led Decruydt by 34 pins after Game 1 and calmly pulled away for the first Finals singles bowling title in Oxford history.
“I’m especially proud of Megan. Her brother (Eric) bowled for me when she was like in the sixth grade,” said her coach, J.R. Lafnear. “She saw her brother bowl … and she fell in love with the sport.
“So she began working with us. Her mom and the rest of her family are outstanding supporters of our program. For her it’s special.”
Armbruster defeated Taylor’s Abigail Bird in her first match of the day before ousting Flushing’s Evelyn Cano in the quarterfinals.
Decruydt was the seventh seed after six games of qualifying action. She defeated Farmington-Harrison’s Carrington Beaman in her first match and followed it up with wins over Holt’s Gabriella Van Horn and Jenison’s Anna Bartz to reach the Final.
“Dani never gets too high or too low,” said her coach, Jeff Villasurda. “The great thing about Dani is that nothing ever really fazes her. Nothing’s too big for her. So she wasn’t really fazed by what was going on out there. The other girl just made a couple extra shots.”
Over on the boys’ side, Brownstown Woodhaven senior Jeff Lizewski went out in style, catching fire at just the right time.
After piecing together a mediocre qualifying block score of 1,210 – good for just the 15th seed – Lizewski averaged a 222 over eight games of match play, capping things off with a 453-322 victory over Jenison senior Nick Slagter.
Lizewski strung together five straight strikes to open the final and never really had to look back.
“I came out of qualifying 15th, and I started off real bad. I didn’t have a good look at all in the first game,” said Lizewski, who reached the quarterfinal round last year as a junior. “I made a big ball switch, and I threw it until I came home with a win.”
Lizewski, who will be bowling at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater next year, narrowly edged the 2-seed, Abery Thomas of Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, in his first match, 445-440. He then got past Macomb Dakota’s Kyle Finn, 443-435, in the quarterfinals and downed Salem’s John Hall, 433-325, in the semifinals.
Slagter defeated Saline’s Dallas Casey and Walled Lake Central’s Nick Casagrande and Jarrod Willbur in his next two matches to reach the final.
“If there was one person I’d want to lose to over there it would be Lizewski,” said Slagter, who wrapped up his high school career Saturday. “I have bowled against him in some out-of-season tournaments, and he’s filthy.
“I feel like I bowled great this weekend. I tried my best in the team event yesterday, and we fell just a little short in making the cut. But today, I did fall a little short in the championship match but I’m really happy overall. I had fun.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
Holt's Cadwell Completes 58-Pin Comeback to Claim Singles Title
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2024
ALLEN PARK – Facing a 58-pin deficit heading into Game 2 of Saturday’s Division 1 singles championship match, Holt sophomore Emma Cadwell needed some help if she was going to catch and Flushing’s Hannah Reid.
Reid – the 2023 Division 1 runner-up – had won the first game of the Final 216-158.
But while Reid struggled in the second game, Cadwell rallied – and prevailed with a two-game 362-359 win at Thunderbowl Lanes.
“I just tried to stay focused,’’ said Cadwell. “I really didn’t see this happening my sophomore year. We went with a ball change in the second game, and it paid off. I kind of felt the momentum change early in the second game. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I just tried to execute my shots.’’
Reid, after dispatching Utica freshman Ava Mazza in the Semifinals, 418-387, found herself in the championship match for the second-straight season.
But in nearly a reversal of the first game, Cadwell emerged with a 204-143 advantage in the second to lock up the title.
Rockford freshman Sofia DeLuccia was the top qualifier for match play at 1,338 pins, five more than Reid.
She was eliminated in the first round by 16th seed Haley Streatmans, from Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, 339-338. Streatmans advanced to face Cadwell, who had bested Amber Spicer of Belleville, 316-290.
Caldwell moved on to the Semifinals by defeating Streatmans, 365-359, and then eliminated Zeeland’s Brianna Fortney, 332-326, to reach the Final.
Reid held serve at the two-seed, defeating Holt’s Madison Rue, 356-287, to face Grace Polega from Utica Ford, a 428-366 winner over Lauren Zalenski from L’Anse Creuse North. Reid continued her march to the Final with a 364-362 victory over Polega.
Livonia Franklin’s Brooklyn Hannah was third in qualifying at 1,296 pins, and Traverse City West’s Alyssa Tanner was fourth at 1,264. Macomb Dakota’s Haylie Patterson jumped into the field with games of 223, 241 and 193 to jump to the 14th seed and a showdown with Livonia Franklin’s Brooklyn Hannah.
Fortney, who helped Zeeland to the team title Friday, qualified 12th at 1,172. She had to face teammate and senior classmate Rylee Smith in the opening round. Tied at 359, the two had a roll-off with Fortney advancing 49-18. Fortney moved on to take on Tanner, who had won 398-331 over Sophia Matheson of Utica Eisenhower. Fortney jumped ahead early and prevailed, 474-370 to face Caldwell.
Mazza, the daughter of former Professional Bowlers Association star John Mazza, qualified sixth at 1,261. She then eliminated Samantha Mason of Southfield Arts & Technology 407-361 to take on Patterson, who had raced past Hannah, 401-340. Mazza was good, ending Patterson’s run 410-361.