Franklin Boys Claim 1st Bowling Title, Dakota's Girls Return to Top of D1
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2022
ALLEN PARK – Livonia Franklin’s boys bowling team made history Friday at the MHSAA Division 1 Finals at Thunderbowl Lanes.
In just its fourth year of existence, the Patriots’ program claimed its first title, pulling away from Utica Eisenhower 1,451-1,214 behind junior Ian Wright’s 267 and senior Ian Cain’s 251.
Franklin led Eisenhower 390-361 after the two Baker games.
“They’ve been bowling with each other since they were little guys,’’ Franklin coach Dan Hejka said. “We’ve worked very hard over the last four years. We almost got here two years ago, then we had a setback at Regionals last year. This is amazing for the seniors.’’
Said Wright: “We grinded through everything. Our second match we struggled. We had to put up some numbers, even if it meant staying clean and making our spares.’’
Macomb Dakota senior Jillian Lipinski shot 185 in the championship game and got a big boost from sophomore Haylie Patterson to hold off Davison’s girls team 1,222-1,120 and claim a first Finals title since 2015.
“This is a fantastic experience for me; we really had to fight for it,’’ said Lipinski. “It’s amazing it happened my senior year. Through tough times this year we really rocked it.’’
Patterson – whose father Chris and grandfather Curt are 200-average bowlers in Macomb County – rolled a match-high 223 in the title decider.
Davison’s downfall was 10 straight open frames in the fifth and sixth, ending any chance at a championship. Dakota had only a slim 362-351 lead after the Baker games.
Franklin’s boys advanced to the championship match by eliminating Davison, 1,383-1,278 while Eisenhower beat Midland with a huge number, 1,616-1342.
Davison’s girls advanced to the final by out-rolling Farmington, 1,364-1,049 while Dakota edged Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, 1,255-1,146.
Midland was the top qualifier in the boys division with a score of 3,748, followed by Franklin at 3,695 and Davison third at 3,563. Macomb Area Conference schools Utica Eisenhower (3,512) and Macomb Dakota (3,504) were fifth and sixth.
Franklin was the first boys team to advance to the semifinals with a 1,460-1,208 victory over seventh-seed Rockford. Davison eliminated Dakota, 1,312-1,284 to advance on the other side of the boys bracket..
Midland, the top boys’ seed, advanced to the semifinal with a 1,435-1,168 win over Jenison; while Utica Eisenhower topped Holt, 1,318-1,292 to face Midland in the semifinal.
On the girls, side Holt qualified first at 3,504 followed by Dakota at 3,382 and Zeeland third (3,218). MAC schools Macomb L’Anse Creuse North (2,988) and Sterling Heights Stevenson (2,949) qualified sixth and seventh, respectively.
Sixth-seeded L’Anse Creuse North knocked off third-seed Zeeland 1,385-1,324 to advance to the semifinals against MAC rival Dakota, which had eliminated Stevenson 1,345-1,087.
Dakota’s girls were 2-0 head-to-head against LCN during the regular season and made it 3-for-3 with their semifinal victory. Davison advanced to the semis with a 1,200-1,148 decision over Grandville, and Farmington edged top-seeded Holt 1,177-1,173 to advance and face the Cardinals.
PHOTOS The Livonia Franklin boys (top) and Macomb Dakota girls (middle) bowling teams celebrate their Division 1 championships Friday. (Click for more from Champions Photography.)
Vanier Finishes Sizzling Finals Weekend Adding Singles Title to Team Win
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2024
WATERFORD — Flint Kearsley boys bowling coach Bart Rutledge had a premonition fairly early about sophomore Jameson Vanier during the Division 2 Singles Bowling Finals.
After Vanier finished as the fifth seed coming out of the qualifying block, Rutledge said he turned to his assistant during the round of 16 match against Sparta junior Josiah Reister and offered this proclamation.
“I told my assistant coach in the second game that he’s going to win (the state title),” Rutledge said.
Rutledge’s instincts proved accurate, as Vanier continued a hot stretch to finish the season by rolling to the individual title.
Vanier was sizzling in the Final, bowling scores of 254 and 235 to earn a 489-362 victory over Madison Heights Lamphere junior Nolan Pepper.
It was easy for Rutledge to believe in Vanier, given that over the final three weeks of the season Vanier averaged around 240 and bowled a 300 game.
“He’s been on fire,” Rutledge said.
Following a 407-322 win over Reister, Vanier went on to beat Carleton Airport senior Colin Peterson in the Quarterfinals (419-388) and Grand Rapids Northview junior Cadyn Pranger in the Semifinals (499-409), rolling a 275 in the second game.
Vanier said when he was in eighth grade, he decided to switch from a one-handed throw to a two-handed method, and it has produced wondrous results.
“I thought I threw the ball a lot better, and I thought my potential was higher,” he said. “I got it right. It was comfort, and I scored a lot higher doing it.”
In the Final, Vanier only had two frames in the first game where he didn’t throw strikes, starting with three in a row and ending with three in a row.
Vanier struggled in the first part of the second game, but caught fire again late, finishing with seven straight strikes and letting out a furious yell after bowling a strike on his final ball in the 10th frame as teammates came to mob him.
Pepper was seeded seventh out of the qualifying block and earned wins over Bay City John Glenn junior Nathan Gwizdala (374-346) in the round of 16, Warren Woods Tower senior Clinton Harris in the Quarterfinals (403-390) and Tecumseh junior Parker Ziemer in the Semifinals (395-344) before running into the buzzsaw that was Vanier in the Final.
It was an unbeaten weekend for Vanier, who was a part of Kearsley’s second-straight team championship as well.
With two more seasons left, Vanier might be a good bet to win another individual title. But for now, the multi-sport athlete will turn his attention to strikes of a different kind as a member of Kearsley’s baseball team.
“It was a strike just about every time,” Vanier said. “I felt good every single time.”