Top Seeds Take D2 Top Honors
March 2, 2013
By Sarah Dorow
Special for Second Half
WATERFORD – History was made Saturday in Waterford as Jordan Richard, a junior from Tecumseh, became the first MHSAA Finals back-to-back singles champion.
"It's amazing," Richards said. "We wanted it as a team, too, but unfortunately it didn't work out so well."
She led the qualifying block with a score of 1,370 and high game of 268.
On her journey back to the finals she ousted number 16 seed Samantha Eldridge from Owosso (424-375), the eighth seed Samantha Knight from Richland Gull Lake (427-381) and Kayla Emmendorfer, the fourth seed from Flint Kearsley (425-400).
The last bowler who stood in the way of Richard's back-to-back championships was sixth-seeded senior Sabrina Senninger from Grand Rapids Northview.
In the semifinal round, Senninger knocked out Richard's teammate, junior Lauren McKowen, by a single pin.
But after the excitement, Senninger had to prepare to face the top-seeded defending champion.
"I knew that I would be going against Jordan, and I just told myself I needed to bowl my best and do what I could," Senninger said
And that included leaning on her fans for support.
"I think having my parents and family there definitely helped,” she added.
However, Richard's experience proved too much and she beat Senninger 450-326.
With her senior year on the horizon, Richard already is looking ahead toward a three-peat and what she plans to work on in the offseason.
"Spares, because I've been struggling with my 10 pin lately, and I've missed quite a few this weekend," she said.
This was the fourth MHSAA singles championship won by a Tecumseh bowler over the past five seasons. In addition to Richard's win in 2012, her older sister, Kara Richard, won in 2010 and Tawni Vollmer took the title for the Indians in 2009.
Holly's Andrew Anderson didn't begin competing this season until six weeks ago. But his credentials spoke for themselves: He had made the top 16 singles at the MHSAA tournament his freshman year, the quarterfinals his sophomore year, and is a member of the 2012 Junior Team USA.
The senior made the most of his Finals opportunity and beat Bay City John Glenn junior Alex Ouellette for the singles championship Saturday.
After the morning qualifier, which included a 299 game, Anderson was sitting in first with Ouellette second.
But Anderson and Ouellette, who also had made it to the quarterfinals before, knew positioning didn't guarantee a win.
"I just knew that qualifying didn't mean anything because if you bowl against the 16th or the first, they're still good bowlers, and you have to go out and do your own thing and make shots," Ouellette said.
Ouellette was able to lean on his strength of making spares and eased his way into the finals while Anderson was almost knocked out in the quarterfinals by Sault Ste. Marie senior Nick Beatty with a nail-biting score of 415-412.
"I was ahead and he, just like the match before, he came out striking 246 against me," Anderson said. "But I knew that I was going to have a chance being up by 40 pins. He gave me a chance to throw the first one and shut him out."
Once in the finals, Anderson had the carry and threw the first 10 strikes.
"You know the bowling gods liked me today,” he said. “Let's just say that."
While Anderson was striking, Ouellette applied his own strategy and did not watch his opponent's shots.
"You can't do anything about what the other person does, so if they go through the nose or throw a good strike it doesn't matter," Ouellette said. "It's still a strike. You can't do anything about how they throw it."
In the end, Anderson’s 289 game to start the finals match proved too much to overcome, and he beat Ouellette 518-406.
With Anderson ending his high school career on a high note, junior Ouellette is looking to do the same next year.
"I want to win it," said Ouellette. "So I'm going to use this as motivation that I've gotten here, I've gotten close and I know what it takes to win."
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Taylor Trillium Girls Hoist 1st Title Trophy, Grass Lake Boys Add to Collection
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2023
BATTLE CREEK — Joe Slaven had a good idea his girls bowling team could do something special in Friday’s Division 4 team championship at M-66 Bowl.
“I talked to our athletic director, and I told her I noticed we don’t have a trophy case,” he said. “She said, ‘If you win a state title, we’ll build you one.’”
As of Friday afternoon, Trillium AD Deanna Doede has another item on her to-do list after Trillium bested Beaverton 1,074-1,051 to win the school’s first state championship.
It wasn’t easy. After finishing first in qualifying, Trillium eked past Allen Park Cabrini by two pins, 1,016-1,014, to get to the final, and trailed Beaverton by 13 pins after Baker play.
The final was closely contested for six frames before it all came together.
“Their adrenaline kicked in for the first five frames of the final,” Slaven said. “But around the seventh frame, they settled in.”
Slaven had scheduled his team so it would be ready for tournament pressure.
“I got them in tournaments with Division 1 schools, and we won some of those tournaments, came in second. came in fourth. I wanted them to see the big picture, the big dance. and they showed up today.”
His daughter, Abbey, didn’t celebrate until the last pin fell.
“You never know in bowling,” she said. “We’ve been down a lot in other matches, or it seemed like it, and then we come back and perform our best. So you never really know in bowling.”
Joe Slaven, meanwhile, extols both his team’s talent, but also their demeanor.
“What I’m most proud of is, yes, we won a state championship, but I’m most proud of is the way they represent their school, and the way they represent themselves.” he said. “These girls are so coachable, so athletic, so smart.”
And likely to contend again, too: Most of Trillium’s bowlers should be back next year.
Alivia Schmer led Trillium with a 179, while Emily Yagley rolled a 172.
Ellie Minkin paced Beaverton with a 176.
If winning a title was a first for Trillium’s girls, it was more of the same for the Grass Lake boys, who won for the third time in four years Friday, defeating New Lothrop 1,253-1,123.
Grass Lake was the Division 4 runner-up last season, won the Division 3 title in 2021 and took the Division 4 crown in 2020.
And it’s not inconceivable to think they’ll be back next year, with just one senior on this season’s roster.
In fact, Warriors coach Jeff Wyers was so confident in his team’s overall talent that he gave sophomore Tyler Paul his first varsity start Friday.
“These kids work their butts off,” the fifth-year mentor said. “These kids, the camaraderie they have, they work together and they never give up. If one guy is off, the others pick him up. These guys are amazing.”
The Warriors had their challenges during the day, but won all three matches by comfortable margins, including the final, taking a 73-pin lead after Baker play and never looking back.
“It feels great knowing we have a buffer,” co-captain Cayden Dewitt said. “So if we miss, we miss. And (if) we win, it feels amazing.”
Grass Lake also has a strong team chemistry.
"Our coach does a really good job of projecting a good positive environment onto everything,” co-captain Brice Sandoval said. "Even in practice or just open bowling with no coaches, there’s good vibes, good energy, and we seem to turn it on when we need it most, and it works out for us.”
Sandoval led Grass Lake with a 198, while Dewitt rolled a 193. Cole Bradshaw led New Lothrop with a 204.