Gobles' Brunner Closes with 3rd Title, Nouvel's McCarthy Locks Up No. 1
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2023
BATTLE CREEK — A few minutes after making history, Gobles senior Morgan Brunner was calm.
No loud celebration, just smiles all around Saturday after becoming the first competitor in the 20-year history of MHSAA girls bowling to win three Singles Finals titles in a row.
“She’s very even-keeled,” said her mother and coach, Karrie Brunner. “She knows she’s got a job to do, and she comes to do it. But she comes to have fun. That was a big part of today. She relaxed and had fun.”
Morgan Brunner rolled to the title, taking first in qualifying and defeating Traverse City Christian’s Brooke Smith 415-303 in the Division 4 final.
But that’s not to say she was expecting an easy time of it.
“I clinched it early, but I was definitely nervous,” she said. “I was nervous all day.”
Brunner dealt with the nerves by concentrating on the task at hand.
“I just tried to stay calm and make my best shots,” she said.
Brunner helped organize the Gobles program, and Saturday’s third-straight title was the latest achievement in a journey that began when she was 2 years old.
“As soon as she could walk,” Karrie Brunner said. "She was pushing the ball down there. I don’t know how many strikes she threw, but she was knocking pins down.”
Morgan hasn’t stopped since.
In the moments after the feat was accomplished, she said it felt like a weight off her shoulders.
“I don’t think it’s going to set in for a while,” she said of her accomplishment. “But it's nice to win.”
Saginaw Nouvel sophomore Alex McCarthy, meanwhile, jumped for joy as he threw the final ball of his boys match.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said afterward. “It’s hard to put it into words right now.”
McCarthy defeated Bryce Cadaret of Allen Park Cabrini, another sophomore, 433-393 in the final.
McCarthy finished 10th in qualifying, then won two matches before meeting Cadaret in the championship.
Cadaret came out hot, starting the match by rolling three strikes in a row.
“It got me back in the match mentally,” McCarthy said.
After a conversation with coach Brian Montini, McCarthy found his groove and never looked back, right through the final ball, which knocked down six pins as he celebrated.
“I had all these thoughts of my coach and all the other coaches and all the hard work I put in through the years,” he said.
Montini, for his part. wasn’t entirely surprised.
“The experience last year helped him,” Montini said, noting McCarthy’s quarterfinal run as a freshman. “We had it in our minds that he was going to do this. And he pulled through.”
Hillsdale's Manifold Strikes Early, Strikes Again to Close Championship Run
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2024
JACKSON — In the first game, Chloe Manifold showed she can make spares.
In the second game, she showed she could strike.
Put them together, and the Hillsdale High School senior walked out of Jax 60 on Saturday with the Division 3 Singles Finals championship.
Manifold had eight spares in the first game of the championship for a 180 before a ball change turned those spares into strikes in the second game. She opened that with a five-bagger and eventually settled with 226 to defeat Flint Powers Catholic senior and top seed Elizabeth Teuber 406-387.
“It means the world to me,” Manifold said. “I went into today feeling confident. My dad sat with me all day, encouraging me. It’s an incredible feeling to see the work I put so much into pay off.”
If she was feeling confident coming into the day, her first game sent the confidence meter into overdrive. Manifold opened the six-game qualifying session with 11 of 12 strikes, the only “blemish” a single-pin spare in the third frame, to tie her high game of 279.
She rode the hot start to the second seed with a total of 1,272 — behind only the 1,357 posted by Teuber. Manifold defeated Fremont senior Sophia Romine 404-288 in the first round, then topped Armada senior Kenzi Nieman 423-335 in the Quarterfinals. She earned a spot in the championship match with a 388-354 victory over Clinton senior Paige Shankland.
In the first game of the championship, Teuber outstruck Manifold 5-2, but Teuber was stung by four open frames, all splits, and finished with 162 to trail by 18. In the second game, with a different ball, Manifold struck six times and picked up three single-pin spares before opening in the 10th to allow Teuber a chance to strike out and win.
Teuber left a wobbly 2-pin on her first effort of the 10th and was denied her second individual title after winning as a freshman and finishing runner-up two years ago.
Manifold credited the ball change — and her father, Lance — for carrying her to victory.
“He’s had such an incredible impact on me,” Manifold said. “All season he believed in me, taking me to lessons, helping me truly find it within myself to be the best version of me. I can’t thank him enough. I owe it all to him.”
Teuber reached her third career individual championship match by beating Three Rivers freshman Jayna Larson 418-314 in the first round and Dundee junior Abigail DeBruyne 361-336 in the Quarterfinals. She faced teammate and fellow senior Lillee-Ann Jacobs in the Semifinals and won 404-332.
Manifold’s championship capped a four-year stretch of her qualifying for the Singles Finals. As a freshman, Manifold reached the Quarterfinals before falling to her sister, Karissa, who was a senior.
She failed to make match play her sophomore year before making it to the Semifinals last year and falling to the eventual champion, Onsted’s Sydney Nichols, who is also Manifold’s best friend.
Manifold would not be denied in her final shot at a title.
“This year has been a knockout season for me,” she said. “Everything has been lining up well. I’ve been putting in so much time on the lanes, so to see it pay off is awesome.”
Manifold said she’d like to bowl collegiately but has not decided on a destination.
“I love bowling and want to continue it for as long as I can,” she said.