Finals Dreams Come True for D4 Winners
March 6, 2015
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
LANSING – St. Louis senior Riley Smith ended her first and only season of varsity bowling with an MHSAA Division 4 Finals championship and a smile as wide as Lane 52 at Royal Scot Bowl.
Smith’s high game of 190 – more than 30 pins above her season average – helped the Sharks defeat Clinton 1,197 to 1,072 on Friday afternoon for the school’s first-ever team title.
“We were very nervous,” Smith said, “but in the end we were able to relax and have fun. As a team, I think that made a big difference for us.”
St. Louis advanced out of the qualifying rounds in seventh place, 92 pins ahead of Clinton. The Sharks defeated Sandusky (1,179-1,168) in the Quarterfinals and Tri-Valley Conference West rival Ithaca (1,143-1,122) in the Semifinals en route to the title match.
Clinton, meanwhile, dispatched top-seeded Rogers City (1,087-1,057) and Burton Bendle (1,111-1,072) after having qualified for the final eight by a mere 13 pins over Flint Beecher.
“Our goal was to come in and take it one step at a time,” said St. Louis coach Kyle Woodcock, “but we almost didn’t make it through the qualifying. We struggled in the Baker games early on.
“But I told the girls, once you get into the brackets it’s anyone’s game. We covered our spares and made the shots we needed.”
St. Louis rolled Baker games of 185 and 188 before closing with a regular game of 824. Clinton had Baker games of 177 and 178, and a team game of 717.
Smith had plenty of help from her Sharks teammates: Kodi O’Boyle (177), Kaitlyn Howd (176), Jasmine Lowe (148) and Kaycee Paksi (133).
Woodcock has led St. Louis to the MHSAA Finals four times in 12 years, but this was the first time the Sharks advanced beyond the round of eight.
“It’s a pretty special group of girls,” said Woodcock, whose team finished the regular season 14-2 overall and second in the TVC West behind Ithaca. “We had a really strong team last year and everyone graduated. So, with the exception of Jasmine Lowe, this was a completely new group.”
Junior Miranda Porath, who won the singles title at the Jackson Regional, tied Smith for high-game honors at 190. Alissa Ayling (147), Amanda Briggs (147), Elizabeth Heimerdinger (132) and Ashley Richardson (101) completed the scoring for Clinton.
Sophomore Zach White, meanwhile, helped Hanover-Horton complete its ‘dream’ season by defeating Bad Axe 1,319-1,273 in the Division 4 boys championship match.
White’s strike in the final frame closed out the victory for Hanover-Horton, which got off to a slow start in the qualifying rounds but finished seventh to secure a spot in the Quarterfinals.
Hanover-Horton edged St. Louis 1,277-1,266 to reach the Semifinals, and then took down Whittemore Prescott 1,125-1,114 to gain the Final.
“Back-to-back win by 11 pins each was a little too close for comfort,” said Smith of the first two rounds in bracket play.
His match-winning strike, though, was never in doubt.
“I’ve dreamed about holding the ball at that particular moment, on these lanes, for the entire year,” said White, who rolled a game-high 247 in the Final. “I wasn’t going to let it get away.”
Hanover-Horton coach Joe Childs said afterward he thought the Regional championship the week before was going to be the highlight of the season. Trailing Bad Axe by 54 pins in the Final after the two Baker games, he decided to flip his lineup from bottom to top.
“I was going to be either a hero or zero,” Childs said.
Scott Vacek’s 212 gave Hanover-Horton a strong pair of scores at the top, but Childs was also quick to praise the games of Sam Wyckoff (188), Alex Wyckoff (171) and James McVay (168) in the 986-886 title winner.
“Last year we were more talented and had depth on the bench,” said Childs, who has recovered fully after having suffered a stroke in December 2013. “This team really meshed well. They were happy to be here and performed well.”
Bad Axe qualified fifth and then defeated Dryden (1,402-1,302) and Niles Brandywine (1,260-1,123) in bracket play. The Hatchets, who rolled Baker games of 202 and 185 in the Final, combined for a balanced scoresheet led by Nick Kociba (185), David Errer (184), Jeryl Reed (181), Ethan Sobczak (176) and Jason Osantowski (160).
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Performance: Ford's Kensington Holland
January 27, 2020
Kensington Holland
Utica Ford senior - Bowling
The Ford senior and four-year varsity standout earned her top achievement of many this winter, winning the Macomb County Singles Tournament championship Jan. 19 to earn the MHSAA “Performance of the Week.” for the week of Jan. 13. Holland won the final by 10 pins over reigning Division 1 runner-up Dani Decruydt of St. Clair Shores Lake Shore.
Holland made the MHSAA Singles Finals as a freshman in 2017 and narrowly missed returning as a sophomore, falling just 26 pins shy with a 13th-place Regional finish. A pair of rough games doomed last season’s Regional effort, but Holland has raised her game for her final high school season. She rolled five games (out of nine) of 200 or higher at the County tournament, including a 212 in the semifinal and 205 in the championship match. Holland’s overall average this season prior to this past weekend was 188.5, with a high game of 279 and high series of 657. She’s finished among the top 10 at five tournaments total this winter, including also as runner-up at the Utica Singles event.
Holland began bowling at age 3, following her parents into the sport. Her father James Holland coaches Ford’s girls varsity under Roger Beaty, who oversees the school’s entire bowling program. Holland also has played softball most of middle and high school – not coincidentally, using her powerful right arm as a pitcher – and she may play softball again this upcoming season after taking off last spring to focus on honing her bowling skills. Holland carries a 3.26 GPA and would like to study marketing and business at the college level, where she also hopes to continue her bowling career.
Coach Roger Beaty said: “This weekend proved to Kensington, and her local area, that she is a force to be reckoned with. She has always been buzzing near the top tier of girls bowlers, but this year she is seeing the results from her years of hard work. She is a grinder and always has a game face on. This win is exactly what she needed to catapult her into Regionals preparations. Her goal this year was to qualify for States. She will keep working to be ready. I feel she can be a top bowler in the state. She does not let her emotions get to her during competition, and she has a solid technical game.”
Performance point: “Just rolling the last shot and realizing I'd won, and being able to look up at that scoreboard and see that I won the game,” Holland recalled as her best memory from the County win. “Because I didn't think that I was going to. She started off doing better than me, and I wasn't too sure. I just tried to make sure that I was doing the best that I could until the game was over. Anything could've happened, which it did.”
Bowling boost: “I have to make sure to do my best and try my best because since I won this, I know I can do a lot more. It let me know I'm capable of winning a lot more tournaments ... because this was a really important one. … I've been bowling for a long time now. It comes natural to me, so I know what I can do. I know I'm capable of winning things when I really set my mind to it.”
Dad taught me: “To take my time. He taught me a whole bunch of techniques. And to try my hardest (because) I can do anything. … Sometimes I would just go to (my parents’) leagues and just watch them and see how much fun they had. … It’s just a fun sport for me. I just love to do it. I love being in bowling alleys. It’s a fun environment.”
Firing fastballs: “(As a pitcher) I’m able to throw the ball a little faster because I’m used to carrying a 15-pound bowling ball. (Bowling) helps with the swing of my arm; I swing the ball back when I bowl.”
Postseason plan: “To make it past Regionals and hopefully do good in states. I just know I need to try to score my highest, change my techniques if I have to for the different oil patterns.”
– Geoff Kimmerly, Second Half editor
Past honorees
Jan. 17: Claycee West, White Pigeon basketball - Report
Jan. 10: Seth Lause, Livonia Stevenson hockey - Report
Dec. 5: Mareyohn Hrabowski, River Rouge football - Report
Nov. 28: Kathryn Ackerman, Grand Haven swimming - Report
Nov. 21: Emily Van Dyke, Southfield Christian volleyball - Report
Nov. 14: Taylor Wegener, Ida volleyball - Report
Nov. 7: Carter Solomon, Plymouth cross country - Report
Oct. 31: Jameson Goorman, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian soccer - Report
Oct. 24: Austin Plotkin, Brimley cross country - Report
Oct. 17: Jack Spamer, Brighton cross country - Report
Oct. 10: Kaylee Maat, Hudsonville volleyball - Report
Oct. 3: Emily Paupore, Negaunee cross country - Report
Sept. 26: Josh Mason, South Lyon soccer - Report
Sept. 19: Ariel Chang, Utica Eisenhower golf - Report
Sept. 12: Jordyn Shipps, DeWitt swimming - Report
PHOTOS: (Top) Utica Ford's Kensington Holland begins her approach during the Macomb County Tournament bowled the weekend of Jan. 17. (Middle) Holland poses with her award after winning the championship. (Photos courtesy of the Macomb Daily.)