Grandville Girls Go Distance Twice in Match Play to Secure 1st Finals Title
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2025
ALLEN PARK – Paiton Thompson couldn’t stop crying.
The senior anchor bowler helped Grandville’s girls bowling team to its first Division 1 title with a 3-2 championship match victory Friday at Thunderbowl Lanes.
The Bulldogs shot just 116 in the first game against Holt, but won three of the next four, including 158-153 in the finale.
“I told them we had to start making spares,’’ said coach Nick Watkins. “We started throwing and making spares.’’
Said Thompson: “We didn’t get down on ourselves. I can’t stop crying. Being a senior makes this everything to me.’’
There was a clear favorite.
Utica United, a cooperative of bowlers from Utica High and Utica Eisenhower, brought a talented lineup, led by Hadley Clark, Sophia Matheson and Ava Mazza.
All three also qualified for Saturday’s singles championship.
After a series of close calls Friday, the top-ranked Utica squad fell in the semifinals to an inspired Holt team, ranked seventh in the state. That set the stage for the championship against fifth-ranked Grandville, which had raced to the finals by defeating Rockford, 3-0, with the last game a 190-189 thriller.
In the first game of the championship, Grandville had seven opens in the first nine frames in falling to the Rams,153-116.
Still with open frames galore, Grandville tied the match at 1-1, with a 148-132 win in the second game. Holt then took the lead again with a 210-161 verdict in the third.
However, Grandville rallied to tie the match 2-2 with a 181-133 fourth-game win, and then clinched with the five-pin victory in Game 5.
With three of the best bowlers in the Macomb Area Conference Red, Utica United dominated the qualifying round, shooting a 3,404, which was almost 200 pins better than No. 2 seed South Lyon’s 3,220. Macomb Dakota was third at 3,101 and Holt fourth at 3,069.
In the quarterfinals, Utica had a miserable first game, shooting 115 and losing, but rallied to down Walled Lake Northern, 3-1. Meanwhile, Rockford eliminated Dakota, 3-2, winning the deciding game by three pins.
Holt stopped Westland John Glenn, 3-2, to advance against Utica. Grandville was the last team to reach the semifinals, defeating South Lyon, 3-2, to face Rockford.
Bronson's McConn Caps 4th Finals Trip with 1st Singles Championship
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MUSKEGON – “It’s so surreal.”
Morgan McConn’s journey has led her to MHSAA Finals on multiple occasions, but this season victory became a reality as the top seed at the Division 4 singles championships brought home the crown.
The Bronson senior had reached the Finals all of the past three years, with a trip to the quarterfinals as a freshman her previous best run. This season saw McConn capitalize on the culmination of the work she has put in during her high school career.
With her vast Finals experience, McConn recognizes the difficulty and pressure that goes into succeeding at the highest level.
“You can say all year that you're going to go to state, but you don't really know until Regionals. And then when I got here (I’m) obviously really nervous. I just had to stay positive,” she said.
McConn’s junior season ended in the first round of bracket play as she fell to Burton Atherton’s Reagan Baker. In this year’s championship match, McCann defeated Baker 407-302 amid the intense Northway Lanes atmosphere.
“It’s been a pleasure to have Morgan on my team. This is like accumulation of all her work. (I’m) so proud of her,” said Bronson head coach Leah Friedel.
As the senior’s career comes to a close, McConn recognized that the last frame would cap her final high school meet.
“I knew I won,” McConn said, “but all I could think about was how it is my last time in high school with friends.”