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.
Gobles' Brunner Repeats as D4 Champ, Lumen's Kremer Begins Reign
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 5, 2022
BATTLE CREEK – Gobles junior Morgan Brunner admitted she had some nerves entering Saturday’s Division 4 Singles Finals at M-66 Bowl, and really all season. The expectation after winning last year’s championship had followed her.
But Brunner justified all the anticipation, entering match play as the fourth seed and repeating as the Division 4 girls champion with a 408-380 win over Bronson senior Idalia Hernandez in the final.
Jackson Lumen Christi junior Jackson Kremer also earned the opportunity to know life as a reigning champion. He entered match play as the third seed, started strong and then sweated through a cool streak before finding his stroke again in defeating Grass Lake senior Clayton Weir 441-398 in their title match.
“I got into match play, and I usually get a little more competitive in match play,” said Brunner, who became just the third repeat girls champion in 19 seasons of MHSAA Bowling Finals. “I definitely missed some spares that could’ve helped me, but I just tried to stay in a good mood and a good attitude and keep doing what I was doing.
“I went through a lot of ball changes in match play, and found one after they re-oiled that was good. (But) just having a good attitude really helped me with shot making.”
Brunner had rolled games of 223 and 212 during qualifying to earn that fourth seed, one behind Hernandez, who broke 200 three times during qualifying with a high of 230. Allen Park Cabrini junior Jordan Downham was first in qualifying, and Maple City Glen Lake junior Chloe Crick was second.
Brunner opened match play with a 216 and added a 213 and 224 in her next two wins. Hernandez won the first regular game of the final 220-198, but Brunner’s 210-160 advantage in the rematch sealed the repeat.
She joined Tecumseh’s Jordan Richard (2012-13) and Vandercook Lake’s MacKenzie Johnson (2018-19) as back-to-back Finals winners.
Kremer opened qualifying with a 278 and added a 224 in his fifth game to move on to match play as the third seed, while Weir rolled games of 227 and 223 on the way to advancing as the No. 4. Kremer opened match play with games of 228 and 208 to earn his way to the quarterfinals, then skated through a 341-317 victory and a 379-334 win in the semifinal as Weir rolled 432, 432 and 488 on the other side of the bracket.
But Kremer found his shot just in time, rolling 212 and 229 to edge Weir’s twin 199s in the title decider.
Kremer had reached the match play at the 2021 Final, but said he didn’t hit the lanes over the summer and had just picked up practicing again during the school year. He caught back up quickly – even if he didn’t give his skills enough credit in the moments after Saturday’s memorable win.
“Mainly just getting lucky strikes and lucky spares too – that really helped me keep going,” Kremer said. “I don’t really know.
“I thought I was going to be tired (Saturday) because of how early and how far we had to drive to get here. After that first game when I shot a 278, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s going to be good.” And then my next two games were 170s, and then I woke up and found it again.”
PHOTOS (Top) Gobles' Morgan Brunner unloads a shot during Saturday's Division 4 Singles Finals at M-66 Bowl. (Middle) Lumen Christi's Jackson Kremer attempts to pick up a spare. (Click for more from Champions Photography.)