History Made in D1 as Senior Champs Strike

By Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com

March 27, 2021

ALLEN PARK – Reigning Division 1 singles champ Izaac Goergen almost met his fate in the ninth frame of his second game in the boys semifinal Saturday at Thunderbowl Lanes.

A 3-7-9 split paved the way for Holt’s David Schaberg to reach the final. Goergren’s 233 could have been beaten if Schaberg struck out. But Schaberg left a seven-pin on his first shot in the 10th and his 245 game left him three pins short of advancing, 467-464. 

“I threw three good shots in the 10th and I wanted to make him earn it if he beat me,’’ said Goergen. “I did that and was lucky enough to advance.’’

Schaberg, meanwhile, was stunned: “I wanted to stay aggressive. I thought it was down. In that situation, you have to stay aggressive.’’

Goergen emerged with an opportunity to make MHSAA Finals history – and took advantage. The Midland senior faced junior Ian Cain from Livonia Franklin in the championship and became the first Division 1 bowler (and second across all divisions) to repeat in singles, claiming his second straight title, 463-384.

“This means everything to me,’’ said Goergen. “With the pandemic and how the season went, there were things going on that weren’t in my favor.’’

In the girls division, Westland John Glenn senior Anna Maxwell, who shot a 278 in the semifinal, knocked off the top seed on her way to the final. There she faced South Lyon’s Ava Crumley, who had stopped second-seed Melanie Straub of New Baltimore Anchor Bay to advance.

Maxwell came out firing in the championship, throwing the first 10 shots for strikes to shoot a 289 and build a 54-pin lead on her way to the title, 470-389.

“The big lead gave me some room,’’ said Maxwell. “(Crumley) is a friend, so even if she won I would’ve been fine.

“This means so much considering what we have been through.’’

Cain advanced to the championship by knocking off Nick Johnson of Swartz Creek 377-331.

Goergen was the top qualifier at 1,361, 10 pins higher than Northville’s Brandon Leavitt, whose 279 in the sixth game shot him up to second in the qualifying block.

Jacob Vernier of Wyandotte Roosevelt was the final qualifier at 1,210, one pin better than Gabe Johnson of Plymouth and three more than Patrick McLetchie of Clarkston.

Despite a split in the 10th frame of his second game, Goergen advanced to the quarterfinal with a 383-371 victory over Vernier.

The toughest match pitted Franklin teammates Cain and Kenneth Kloth Jr. Cain advanced to the quarterfinal with a 399-368 win to face junior Brandon Leavitt of Northville in a semifinal.

“It was tough, especially with him being a senior,’’ said Cain. “I just concentrated on my game. The lanes are really tough.’’

Schaberg moved into the semifinal by eliminating sophomore Jermiah Swain of Hudsonville 445-308.

Nick Johnson of Swartz Creek shot 254 in his second quarterfinal game and beat Andrew Martin of Utica Ford 489-434. 

Goergen reached the semifinals by eliminating Shane Legeret of Macomb Dakota 388-335.

Grace Meyer of Oxford was the top girls qualifier at 1,271, 17 pins better than sophomore Straub.

Meyer eventually met her match and fell to Maxwell in the quarterfinal, 411-282.   

Meyer had eliminated Sarah Lyeria of Lapeer, 432-351, to get to Maxwell, while Straub moved past Alexis Thompson of Grand Haven, 466-365.

Belleville, the team runner-up on Friday, had two singles advance to the quarterfinal. Junior Sydney Allison eliminated Carrington Beamon of Farmington, 426-308, while teammate Asia Wells beat Kaitlyn McGovern of Midland, 352-345.

Straub, who hadn’t bowled a game under 210, beat Wells, 441-393, to advance to the semifinal to face Crumley, who had defeated Morgan Smith of Zeeland East 415-335. Allison, meanwhile, was stopped by Monroe’s Nataleigh Eagle, 368-319, in the other quarterfinal.

Click for full singles scores.

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.

Click for full results.