Eastern, Kearsley Write Winning Endings
March 4, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
CANTON — The movie McFarland, USA was based on the real story of a championship cross country program in California, but embellished one important detail.
For the sake of drama, Disney condensed the championship-building process into only one season for the fledgling program. In reality, it took eight years for McFarland to win its first state title.
The story of the Lansing Eastern boys bowling program reads like a work of fiction, but is a true story that doesn't need Hollywood to jazz it up.
In only the second season after their program was restored, the Quakers won the MHSAA Division 2 championship in a showdown with two-time reigning champion Flint Kearsley on Friday at Super Bowl. Eastern had a score of 1,444 to Kearsley's 1,288.
"We were definitely gunning for it this year, for sure, but in the back of our minds we weren't expecting to win it, especially in this kind of fashion," said Dennis Crump, who rolled a team-best 246 for Eastern in the regular game. "It's definitely nice to win it."
It was the first MHSAA championship for Eastern's athletic program since the softball team beat Warren Cousino, 8-0, to capture the 1981 Class A title.
Kearsley's girls were able to successfully three-peat, beating Jackson by a score of 1,249 to 1,111.
Kearsley is a tournament-tested program, but Eastern didn't even have a program for three years from 2011-12 to 2013-14. In their former incarnation, the Quakers never sent a team to the MHSAA Finals, though they did have four individual qualifiers from 2007-11.
Current coach Billy Salazar has no idea why Eastern dropped bowling, but he knew the school needed to put a team back together when he saw the level of talent coming up in the ranks. The Quakers finished fourth in the Regional in their first season back, one spot behind Ionia for the final berth in the MHSAA Finals.
"We had a core of guys who were going into their freshman year," Salazar said. "A mom wanted high school bowling, so I thought it would be kind of a shame to let that kind of talent not have a bowling team. When she asked me to coach, I agreed to coach. We were very close last year to getting through the Regional, and everybody came back."
It was anybody's championship to win following two Baker games, as Eastern held a 452-445 edge over Kearsley.
"That Baker set, we knew we had to keep it close, because we knew they were going to give us a run for our money in the team game," Crump said. "During the team game, a lot of our guys stepped up and we went on a run and just sailed on that momentum."
It was still a close match through six frames of the regular game, with Eastern leading by 22 pins. The Quakers broke it open from there to knock off the Hornets, who beat Eastern by 110 pins to take the Regional championship.
"Our team chemistry was really off," Eastern senior Victor Riojas said of last year's team. "It took a lot of time for us to get the bond we have now."
In the final game, Crump rolled 242, Juan Medellin 212, Riojas 202, Justin Genson 182 and Kyle Lewis 150 for Eastern.
Phil Hawes rolled 190 to lead Kearsley. Brandon Wheeler rolled 184, Zach Timm 158, Brice McKerchive 157 and Chad Stephen 154 for the Hornets.
"We kind of ran into a buzzsaw," Kearsley coach Bart Rutledge said. "We made a few mistakes, and they capitalized on them and built on them. We just weren't able to keep up."
In the girls tournament, Kearsley won its fourth championship in the last five years. Only the boys cross country program, with five, has won more MHSAA titles for Kearsley than the girls bowling team has managed in the 13-year history of its sport’s tournament.
A fifth title could be coming soon for the Hornets, as they were led by freshman Alexis Roof, who rolled a 200. No. 1 bowler Hannah Ploof had an off day, rolling a combined score of 161 with freshman Mary Wheeler, who had a spare after Ploof's strike in the 10th frame. Karlee Griffin was the primary bowler in a score of 164, which she split with Emma Boychuk. Barbara Hawes was the main bowler who split a 158 with Kayla Ward. Alexxa Flood rolled a solo 150.
Roof had five strikes and three spares in the first eight frames before rolling a gutter ball in the ninth. She turned away from the lane, put her head down and laughed. She could afford to when she was bowling so well and her team had built a formidable 416-262 lead after two Baker games.
"I was just kind of like, 'Whatever, I'll come back the next frame,'" Roof said. "I had a good feeling that we had it after those Baker games.
"I was kind of nervous at first, but then I remembered the coach kept saying to act like it's just a practice, it's not that big of a deal. I went out and did what I could; I did my job."
Kearsley coach Robert Ploof knew all about Roof before she got to high school, because he is best friends with her father.
"I was thinking about retiring this year, because my daughter is gone, but I've got to stick around because his daughter is here," Ploof said. "It's just an incredible feeling; winning never gets old."
Hannah Ploof is the only member of the team to compete in the Finals during each of Kearsley's three straight MHSAA championships. Her 238 last year in the Finals carried the team. On Friday, she rolled well below her average of 220.
"It's a team thing," Ploof said. "My team had to hold me up; that's what they did. They did what they had to do."
In the Regional, Kearsley finished second behind only Mason. Mason finished 11th in qualifying, three places below a berth in the Quarterfinals.
"We had a really young team this year, but we did it," Ploof said. "We started out winning the conference. We got to Regionals and had a rough day there. We finished second, but we did it. I'm so proud of them."
Jackson hadn't reached the Final in an MHSAA bracketed sport since the 1980 girls basketball team lost 52-46 to Flint Northern in the Class A championship game. After reaching the Semifinals in 2014 and the Quarterfinals in 2015, the girls bowling team made it to the final by beating Charlotte by a 1,284 to 1,231 margin in the Semifinals.
"They're a great team," Jackson coach David Rodriguez said. "That's why they're three-peat champs. We gave it what we had. I think my girls ran out of gas. It was a great ride this season. I've got four coming back. I see they're only losing two, so we'll do it again next year."
Jackson's Joz Hunt had the best score of the final, rolling a 212 that included four straight strikes in frames six through nine. Callie Mollitor rolled 198, Kaylee Collier 164, Morgan Bradley 146 and Jamie Bleiler 129 for Jackson.
Click for full boys results and full girls results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Lansing Eastern’s boys bowling team. (Middle) Flint Kearsley’s girls bowling team. (Photos by Bill Khan.)
Bowling Finals: Ready to Roll
March 1, 2012
Few MHSAA sports end with as many unexpected champions as emerge at the Bowling Finals, which will be contested this weekend at four sites around the state.
Below is our rundown of some of the favorites in each division -- and guesses at a few surprises as well.
Team competition is Friday and individuals roll Saturday. Click for boys qualifiers and girls qualifiers, and results for both as they come in.
Girls Division 1
Team: Of the top five teams in the final rankings, only one didn’t qualify for this weekend. Reigning champion New Baltimore Anchor Bay is back, but runner-up Taylor Kennedy moved into Division 2 this season. Top-ranked Davison, No. 3 Muskegon Mona Shores and No. 5 Brighton all won Regionals, and unranked Oxford did as well – ahead of four ranked teams.
Singles: Three of last season’s top four are back: reigning champion Tori Ferris of Portage Central, runner-up Kate Gladstone of Lake Orion and semifinalist Danielle Robson of Howell. Ferris won her Regional ahead of three placers from Davison, but finished just 12 pins better than senior Erin Brown – whose 531 series was third-best in the state this season according to the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association. Brighton senior Marissa Campbell and Ann Arbor Huron’s Allison Morris tied for just fifth at their Regional, but both have been among the top scorers this winter; Morris posted the fourth and eighth-best series in the state.
Boys Division 1
Team: Reigning champion Macomb Dakota is ranked just No. 6 and finished as a Regional runner-up to unranked Utica. Wayne Memorial also is unranked, but was a semifinalist last season and posted the top Regional team score in all of Division 1 by 54 pins. Top-ranked Davison had the second-best Regional score, and No. 2-ranked Sterling Heights Stevenson also qualified with a third-place finish at its Regional.
Singles: This might seem a little wide open with none of last season’s semifinalists back. The favorite could be Brownstown-Woodhaven senior Dustin Rose – his Regional score of 1,419 was 40 pins better than anyone else’s in Division 1, and his high two-game series this season of 548 is eighth-best in the state. Watch for Wayne Memorial senior Elliot Arnold, another Regional champ whose two-game 577 is the second-highest series statewide this season. Davison senior Tyler Greene and New Baltimore Anchor Bay seniors Shawn Bibee and Sean Mariotti also could be in the mix.
Girls Division 2
Team: All four semifinalists from 2011 are back, with reigning champion Charlotte, top-ranked Tecumseh and No. 2 Flint Kearsley all Regional champions last weekend. Charlotte was unranked entering the postseason, but placed three individual Finals qualifiers – and that group didn’t include arguably the team’s top two bowlers. Kearsley has four individual Finals qualifiers, while Tecumseh and Bay City John Glenn – last season’s other semifinalist – also has three. Also qualifying as a team was Taylor Kennedy, last season’s Division 1 runner-up.
Singles: This field is loaded, led by reigning champion and Flint Kearsley senior Lindsey Ploof. She finished second to Lapeer East senior Justice Schihl at the Regional. Tecumseh’s Jordan Richard made the semifinals last season and won her Regional last weekend – and her 548 series was second-best in the state this season. Charlotte sophomore Ciarra Landry has three of the top 22 series in the state this winter – and finished only eighth in a strong Regional.
Boys Division 2
Team: This is ripe for a surprise champ. Top-ranked Richland Gull Lake qualified, but after finishing only third at its Regional. No. 2-ranked Owosso and No. 3 Taylor Truman both failed to make the Final. Bay City John Glenn was a semifinalist last season and won its Regional with a Division 2-best 4,256 despite coming into the postseason ranked only No. 8.
Singles: John Glenn senior Zach Fylling came in only seventh at his Regional, but is the reigning Division 2 champion. Hazel Park senior Charles Zelechowski turned in the best Regional score in Division 2, a 1,323, although South Lyon East senior Anthony Dinsmore was just behind, both at the Regional and statewide, with a 1,319. Watch for Richland Gull Lake sophomore Collin Rickey. He won his Regional with a 1,305, and posted the third (568) and tied for fifth-best (555) two-game series in the state this season.
Girls Division 3
Team: All four semifinalists from 2011 are back, with Wyoming Kelloggsville again ranked No. 1 after winning the championship last season. Kelloggsville won its regional last week, as did Ovid-Elsie – which although unranked, also made the semifinals last season and beat No. 4 Richmond in the process of qualifying for Friday’s Final. In fact, Ovid-Elsie and Richmond had the highest Regional scores in all of Division 3, both by more than 400 pins.
Singles: Last season quarterfinalists Rebecca Jasinowski of Jackson Lumen Christi and Jessica Lubbers of Kelloggsville are contenders. Juniors Loretta Hinds of Battle Creek Pennfield and Lindsay Risden of Flat Rock both made match play last season and won Regionals last weekend. Also, watch for Ovid-Elsie senior Leah Hartman, whose 524 series was fifth-best in the state this winter
Boys Division 3
Team: Among regional champions were top-ranked Muskegon Orchard View and No. 3 Richmond, but also unranked Flat Rock and Birch Run – the teams Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard beat on the way to winning last season’s title in the semifinals and championship match, respectively. The top Regional score of 3,936 came from No. 6 Pinconning.
Singles: Ishpeming senior Spencer Leivo and Grand Rapids Catholic Central senior Henry Huvaere both made the semifinals in 2011 and are back – Huvaere missed the championship match by only five pins last season. Nine bowlers total rolled at least 1,200 at their Regionals, with Almont senior Jason McKelvey topping the list at 1,254. His series of 543 was 11th-best in the state this winter.
Girls Division 4
Team: All but one of the top 10 teams entering the postseason are in the field. After finishing 1-2 at last season’s Final, Vandercook Lake and Sandusky are ranked as such again. The only Regional won by an unranked team was claimed by Ithaca – but the Yellowjackets made the 2011 semifinals and are led by a veteran in senior Farrand Schneider, an individual Regional champ.
Singles: Although the reigning champion is not in this weekend’s field, the runner-up and two other semifinalists return. Sandusky senior Lillie Miller will attempt to move up one more spot after losing last year’s individual Final by just nine pins – and falling to teammate Bryanna Mater in last week’s Regional by 14. The other two returning semifinalists had mixed success at Regionals – Grandville Calvin Christian senior Allison Velzen won hers, while Bellaire junior Kristen Schlegel tied for fifth at her tournament. The high Regional scorer in Division 4 was Vandercook Lake sophomore Malloree Ambs, with a 1,231.
Boys Division 4
Team: Sandusky fell by only 24 pins to eventual champion Grass Lake in a Quarterfinal last season, but entered the postseason ranked No. 1 and posted the second-highest Regional score in this division. But no team in Division 4 last week got within 300 pins of No. 7 Rogers City, which posted a 4,225 and also made the quarterfinals last season. Reigning runner-up St. Louis is back, as is semifinalist Bad Axe. And don’t forget about No. 2-ranked Pewamo-Westphalia, another Regional champion.
Singles: This could be wide open as well. Rogers City junior Zach Hazel, Riverview Gabriel Richard senior Justin McClain and Sandusky senior Tyler Johnston are the only three of 16 from last season’s Division 4 Final match play who qualified this time – and none made the 2011 Quarterfinals. Hazel had the second-highest Division 4 Regional score last weekend, 1,257, behind only senior brother Justin Hazel’s 1,331.
PHOTO courtesy of High School Sports Scene.