Girls Singles Finals: Four Strikes
March 4, 2012
BATTLE CREEK – Ann Arbor Huron freshman Allison Morris has been in pressure situations before.
She’s an accomplished youth bowler, and she’s bowled in matches with the Huron boys team. But not much could prepare her for the deficit she found herself in during the MHSAA Division 1 Girls Singles championship match Saturday at M-66 Bowl.
Morris trailed Clinton Township Chippewa Valley junior Kristen Young by 50 pins heading into the second game of the two-game singles match, and was rattled.
“I was kind of out of it. I didn’t know what to do, but my coaches just said don’t worry about it; bowl like you know how to do. Throw strikes. You can do it.”
Fans were scoreboard watching as Morris mounted her comeback. But she was unaware of the ground she made up in game two.
Morris ended with four straight strikes to finish with 224 and the first bowling title for Huron High School.
“I wasn’t looking at the score. I had no clue, I thought I was down. It was really nerve-wracking,” she said.
“It feels really good. I’m just really happy that I came back and won it.”
Division 2 at Century Lanes
WATEFORD – Tecumseh’s girls now have three Singles champions in nine years of bowling being an MHSAA-sponsored sport.
But even after reaching the Semifinals last season as a freshman, Jordan Richard never expected to become that third winner from her school – or second from her family.
With sister and 2010 champion Kara Richard cheering her on, Jordan finished first in qualifying and then edged reigning champion Lindsay Ploof of Flint Kearsley 425-413 in the Semifinal. Richard defeated Flint Northwestern’s Alonna Tipton 469-382 in the championship match – winning their first game by 15 and second by just two pins.
“Going into today, I never imagined winning. There are a lot of girls out there that are just as good as I am,” Richard said. “Everyone always says I’m following in (Kara’s) footsteps. But it’s really good to have Kara there behind me."
Tecumseh also finished runner-up to Ploof’s Kearsley team in Friday’s Team Final.
"Going into yesterday’s finals, we weren't expecting to win,” Richard said. “Flint Kearsley is a great team. We're all sophomores. So yesterday was just a learning experience, and I learned from it and took it to today."
Division 3 at Airport Lanes
JACKSON – Wyoming Kelloggsville was not going to leave Airport Lanes without an MHSAA championship. After Saturday’s Singles Semifinals, that became guaranteed.
The Rockets fell in Friday’s team Semifinals, ending their 2011 title defense. But on Saturday, seniors Chelsey Purdum and Jessica Lubbers faced off in the Singles Final.
Purdum, last season’s runner-up, edged Lubbers – the 2010 Singles champion – with a two-game score of 370-353.
“While this is my last year of high school bowling, I have been blessed at Kelloggsville High School to have talented bowlers year after year,” Purdum said. “And to go out with a state championship and runner-up is unbelievable.”
Purdum will continue her bowling career next season at Grand View University in Iowa.
Division 4 at Century Lanes
WATERFORD – Unionville Sebewaing's Kyleigh McCarthy was the only freshman to make the Division 4 match play Sunday.
She had to wait an extra day to compete -- a power outage at Sunnybrook Lanes pushed the Singles Final back a day -- line up to bowl at a different center, and then take on the favorite in the championship match.
None of that seemed to bother her.
McCarthy scored her first MHSAA title in her first high school season, defeating Sandusky senior Lillie Miller 342-332 in the Final. Miller, a senior, also was runner-up in 2011.
PHOTO of final eight match players at the Division 1 Final. Click for detailed results from all MHSAA Singles Finals.
One Streak Extends, Another Begins in D1
February 28, 2014
By Jon Malavolti
Special to Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – For one champion, it was that same old story. And for the other, it was a long time coming.
The MHSAA Division 1 Bowling Team Finals saw Davison High’s girls three-peat, and the boys from Detroit U-D Jesuit begin what they hope will be a similar streak in claiming their respective trophies Friday at Sunnybrook Lanes.
On the girls side, Westland John Glenn gave the two-time reigning champion Cardinals all they could handle in the Final. Davison eventually won 1,509-1,447.
“That was very competitive,” Davison junior Brooklyn Greene said. “John Glenn did great.”
Cardinals coach Tracy Greene said the squad bowled “a lot of tournaments all year to get them prepared for the pressure of head-to-head competition. … It all paid off.
“We lost three seniors from last year, but we had two great freshmen. To come back and do a three-peat was awesome. Unbelievable. The girls bowled so good, I’m proud of them.”
Greene, the team’s anchor bowler, said the squad felt plenty of pressure to repeat once again as they entered the Finals with a target on their backs and a drive to win again.
“There was pressure, but we pulled through,” she said.
Myranda Livingston, Davison’s lone senior, subbed in for Greene for the final frame of the championship match, sealing the win with a few emotional throws.
“It was like the best feeling in the world, and the worst feeling, because it was my last ball I’ll ever throw for high school,” Livingston said.
The senior said watching her teammates bowl in the close Final was “very nerve-wracking,” but she did what she could to keep them calm and focused.
“I keep the girls motivated,” she said. “I do whatever I can to keep them pumped up. I think these girls are very talented, and honestly, next year I think they can come back and win it, because I’m the only one that’s leaving. So they’re basically going to be the same team.”
Greene echoed her teammate’s sentiments, hoping the Cardinals would be the first school to win four straight MHSAA team bowling titles. Tecumseh’s girls won three straight as well in Division 2 between 2008-2010.
“I definitely think we have a great chance of winning next year as well,” she said.
Westland John Glenn’s Emily Dietz nearly bowled a perfect game in the Final, throwing nine straight strikes before leaving two pins standing in the 10th frame to finish with a 277.
Davison was led by Taylor Davis’ 247 in the Final.
In the boys competition, meanwhile, the chants of “Shave the beard!” began as soon as U-D Jesuit wrapped up its 1,409-1,360 win against Grand Haven.
Cubs coach Darrin Flowers had promised his team he would shave the long beard he’d been growing for a year-and-a-half if they won the title. So out came the razor as the team celebrated.
“I said, ‘If you win states, I’ll shave it off on the lanes,’” Flowers said. “So I started with a beard this morning, now it’s gone.”
But he, and the rest of the team, gladly traded it for the championship trophy, as the Cubs have been razor-close all season to winning one, but fell just shy taking second place recently in the Catholic League finals and MHSAA Regional.
“We’ve come in second in a lot of past tournaments, and we’ve been really disappointed,” Jesuit junior Ben Szmatula said. “Just being here, holding up the trophy, it’s just amazing. Just knowing we’re the best in the state shocks me.
Despite the earlier tournament disappointments, Szmatula said the Cubs had a “fire” inside them to keep going.
“We’ve always had a sense of confidence that I don’t think any other team has had,” he said. “It was something that we’ve always wanted a lot. We were so close all those times, it took a while to get there, but we got there.”
Cubs senior Lloyd Lyons was somewhat at a loss for words when describing his feelings after four years of striving for this moment.
“I can’t believe it,” he said. “It’s indescribable right now. It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do the past four years. To finally accomplish it, there’s no explaining it. To get here and obtain it is amazing. It’s something we can always look back upon.”
While his beard had been around for a while, Flowers’ tenure with the program is longer. He bowled for the school, graduating in 2001. He’s been coaching Jesuit for four years – the whole time aiming to take the Cubs to the top.
“I started with our senior Lloyd Lyons, and I promised him that I’d get him there,” Flowers said. “So it’s more than just a championship for these guys. It’s priceless.
“I am beyond proud of these guys. Just to see how hard these kids have worked to get here is amazing to me. As a coach, what more can you ask for? Hard work, dedication. These kids grinded it out today. Execution got us here. And execution brought us that trophy. These guys took it to the next level.”
And while it’s been a long time coming, the Cubs were hoping to take a page out of Davison’s book and keep the championships coming.
“I know this will not be our last time here,” Flowers said.
Keith Reid led Jesuit with a 247 in the Final. Justin White bowled a team-high 229 for runner-up Grand Haven.
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTOS: The Davison girls and Detroit U-D Jesuit boys bowling teams pose with their MHSAA championship trophies. (Photos by Jon Malavolti.)