D3 Champs Emerge After Rough Starts
March 5, 2016
By Chip Mundy
Special for Second Half
JACKSON – Daniel Higgins of Olivet and Kayla Jackson of Flat Rock made their first appearances in the match-play portion of the MHSAA Division 3 singles bowling tournament Saturday at Airport Lanes.
The lack of experience in the MHSAA Tournament – and a subpar start in their qualifying rounds – did not slow them down a bit.
Jackson, a Regional champion, exploded for a 706 series in the final three games of the six-game qualifying block to earn the No. 2 seed for girls. Higgins, meanwhile, had games of 235 and 238 in the fourth and fifth games of qualifying to grab the No. 12 seed in match play.
From there, they rolled to the titles, although there were challenges along the way.
Higgins, a junior, defeated Bailey Neal of Battle Creek Pennfield 404-340 in the two-game championship match. Higgins led by five after the first game but wrapped up the championship with six strikes in a row from the third through eighth frames of the second game.
“I was struggling with my release throughout the day,” said Higgins, a right-hander who averaged 200.7 over 14 games Saturday. “Once I found the release that I was consistent with, I could follow through more consistently.
“I struggle with being consistent with my hand, so it was a struggle to keep it consistent all day.”
The road to the championship wasn’t easy for Higgins as he faced two opponents with a history of success in the MHSAA Tournament.
Higgins opened match play with a 377-363 victory over defending champion Tyler Kolassa, and in the Quarterfinals, Higgins topped Jonesville lefty Jonah Root 395-385. Higgins needed a mark in the 10th frame of the second game to defeat Root, a semifinalist a year ago.
In the Semifinals Saturday, Higgins had back-to-back games of 211 and 226 to defeat Robbie McKinnon of Birch Run 437-396. Neal, who had the second-highest Regional score in Division 3, awaited Higgins in the final.
Neal had a slight lead going into the 10th frame of the first game, but Higgins threw a double and 8-count for a 188-183 victory. Then he used the six-bagger in the second game to breeze to the 64-pin victory.
“Coming in, I just wanted to make the top 16,” Higgins said. “I’ve been in situations before when I get placed into a bracket and come out in the first round or second round and go home, but today was totally different.
“I was able to keep my composure throughout the day and come out with the championship.”
Higgins, who averaged 184 in his high school league, was trying to take it all in after the final match.
“I definitely didn’t think this was going to happen,” he said. “I just took it one shot at a time. I didn’t try to set any goals, I just came in and tried to execute. I’ve been doing well this past month.
“I’m just trying to keep calm, and it’s probably going to hit me sooner or later. Right now, I’m still trying to keep myself from freaking out and destroying the place.”
Jackson, a senior, struggled in her second and third games of qualifying before making a big adjustment.
“I did a ball change because I bowled a 148 my second game and I bowled a 175 in my third,” she said. “I changed my ball and moved to the right and it just happened to work out.”
Saying “it just happened to work out” is an understatement. Jackson finished qualifying with games of 268, 215 and 223 for a 706 series – the first 700 of her life. Jackson, who carried a 182 average this year, averaged a shade below 207 for the six-game qualifying block.
“That gave me a lot of confidence because I knew I found my line on the lanes,” said Jackson, a right-hander who averaged 201.4 for the 14 games Saturday. “As long as something didn’t change dramatically, I knew I was going to be pretty set for the day.
“I kept the same line the rest of the day and just had to make some small adjustments.”
Jackson won her first match 369-347 over Kylie Helms of Ovid-Elsie and ran into Alma freshman Sarah Gadde in the second round. Gadde, a member of the Alma team that won the team championship Friday, opened with a 10-pin victory over Jackson, who rebounded with a 213 in her second game for a 378-350 victory.
Jackson wasn’t seriously challenged in the Semifinals as she used a 240 second game for a 401-319 victory over Mikayla Kewley of Menominee. Jackson kept her momentum into the championship match, and her opponent, Sabrina Ball of Coloma, proved to be a tough opponent.
Ball had an early four-bagger in the first game but had three open frames in the final four as Jackson secured a 205-182 victory. But Ball wasn’t finished as she had five strikes in her first seven frames of the second game to make it a tight match. She ran into a split in the eighth frame and failed to convert, and Jackson took advantage of the opening.
Jackson, who had struck in the ninth, just needed five pins in two shots in the 10th to win the title, and she won it in style with a strike as she finished with 225 and a 430-400 victory.
“It felt good. I was so happy,” Jackson said. “I was nervous. I knew I had to get some strikes in a row, but I was making my spares.”
It was the third appearance in the Singles Finals for Jackson, whose previous finish was 18th when she missed the cut by 16 pins a year ago.
Aside from the championships, the big news of the day was a 300 game thrown by Freeland senior Brendan Welsh. It was the eighth 300 game thrown in the MHSAA bowling singles tournament and just the third since 2008.
The perfect game came in Welsh’s sixth and final game of qualifying and helped him earn the No. 1 seed with a 1,302 total. He lost in the Quarterfinals to McKinnon, who finished his second game with five strikes and an 8 count to beat Welsh by three pins, 397-394. Welsh had won the first game 211-171 but went home with the second 300 game of his life.
“At the beginning of the game, I moved a board left because the lanes had dried up a little bit,” he said. “I just hit 10 board all day.
“I was dead flush except for the first one in the 10th frame – it was a stone 7 pin, but a pin came down and hit it off the lane, and I was like, ‘Whew.’ The second one in the 10th was dead flush, and the third one I came in a little bit high and a pin slid across the lane and knocked down the 6-10.”
Welsh, who averaged 215 this season and had his first 300 game in October at Starburst Lanes in Saginaw, said bowling a perfect game in front of a large crowd for the MHSAA Tournament was challenging.
“It was nerve-wracking,” he said. “I was shaking and trying to breathe in and out and stay calm. I just did what I had to do.”
Click for full boys results and girls results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Flat Rock’s Kayla Jackson and Olivet’s Daniel Higgins. (Middle) Freeland’s Brendan Welsh. (Photos by Chip Mundy.)
Boys Bowling: Final Knockdown
March 2, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Macomb Dakota’s Division 1 championship defense got off to a slow start Friday at M-66 Bowl.
So slow, that it looked like the Cougars might not survive the qualifying round.
But once they found their groove, the favorites began to fall.
Dakota, ranked No. 5 at the end of the regular season, qualified fifth of eight teams to move on to match play. The Cougars then topped No. 7 ranked Detroit Catholic Central and top-ranked Davison before beating unranked Canton in the championship match 1,305-1,105.
“It’s unbelievable. I never expected it. I can event describe it,” Dakota senior Nick Mikaelian said. “We started out bad, but we figured out where to play the lanes. Everybody just moved together, and it gave us the best chance.”
Mikaelian, also a member of the 2011 champion team, bowled a 206 in Friday’s Final. Teammates Mike Jachcinski and Justin Taylor teamed to roll a 216.
It was the third straight season Dakota advanced to the championship match. The Cougars beat Westland John Glenn last season, but finished runner-up to Detroit Catholic Central in 2010.
Click for full Division 1 results.
Division 2 at Century Lanes
WATERFORD – This was not supposed to be Mason’s season to win an MHSAA championship.
The Bulldogs traditionally are strong – and had made the Finals four years running heading into this winter.
But they had graduated five from last season’s semifinalist team. And they entered the postseason unranked in the state Division 2 poll.
Mason didn’t bowl like a team with four starters competing their first MHSAA Final. Despite qualifying just seventh for match play, the Bulldogs cruised through a Quarterfinal win, won their Semifinal by just 46 pins, and then squeaked past No. 8 Bay City John Glenn 1,216-1,213 in the championship match.
“Being a senior, this state title means a great deal to me,” Mason’s David Smithern said. “For four years, my team made it to the state finals and could never quite prove just how good of a team we were. This year was different. We came and threw every shot like the state title depended on it, and ended up victorious.”
Smithern rolled a 189 in the Final to lead Mason, with teammate Nick Carl adding a 185. Nathan Moszyk rolled a 182 for John Glenn, and Alex Ouillette had a 181.
The teams split the Baker games, and the final result remained in doubt until the end.
“I didn’t know we’d won until I saw the score sheet,” Mason coach Jim Valentine said.
“This was won with four new starting bowlers. We graduated five seniors last year. That group made states every year. This group won it all. I’m very proud of them.”
Click for full Division 2 results.
Division 3 at Airport Lanes
JACKSON – Fremont could feel its run at an MHSAA championship about to end early as it began the final game of qualifying Friday.
Then something clicked. And just in time.
Fremont rolled a 934 in the final block of qualifying to move from nearly missing the cut to fifth heading into match play. From there, the Packers seemed to get only stronger in winning their three matches by an average of 84 pins – including a 1,297-1,241 victory over Corunna in the Final.
"Today we didn't start off too well. But in the last game of the qualifiers we realized that we had to pick it up and bowl,” Fremont junior Ethan Brummel said. “After we bowled that final game, we were shocked that we were fifth seed. We had been eighth place and on the edge of the cut.
“The (Semifinal) round went well, and we were amazed that we beat the first seed team. After that, we really didn't care if we placed first or second, but we were ecstatic that we won. It was a great way to end the season."
Mike Margol bowled a 214 to lead Fremont, followed by Brummel’s 195. Austin Mowinski had a 205 for Corunna.
Fremont previously finished Division 2 runner-up in 2006.
Click for full Division 3 results.
Division 4 at Sunnybrook Lanes
STERLING HEIGHTS – Rogers City left no question which team was the best in Division 4 on Friday – and arguably the best at any MHSAA Final.
The Hurons finished first in qualifying by 119 pins. They won their Quarterfinal by 149 and eliminated No. 1-ranked Sandusky in the Semifinal with an 80-pin victory. Rogers City then finished the day off with a 1,462-1,351 win over Jonesville in the Final.
All five Rogers City bowlers rolled at least 182, led by Zach Hazel with a 258, Ken Wirgan with a 221 and Justin Hazel with a 200.
Jonesville also had three roll more than 200 in the Final: Reed Baker with a 231, Wyatt Tolbert with a 212 and Trevor Haas with a 206.