History Made, History Ended in D1
March 6, 2015
By Jon Malavolti
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – Macomb Dakota’s girls ended Davison’s MHSAA title streak, while Wayne Memorial’s boys topped Saginaw Heritage in their Division 1 Bowling Final on Friday at Sunnybrook Lanes.
Davison was looking to become the first school to win four straight MHSAA team bowling titles. But Dakota had other plans when the squads met in the Final.
The Cardinals took a two-pin lead following the pair of Baker games to open the match, but the Cougars took over from there, filling up the frames with strikes and spares.
“We were completely determined,” said Dakota’s Sierra Stade, one of five seniors who bowled in the Final. “We came in here saying we want to win this, it’s our last year, and we did. To finally win was amazing.”
Led by sophomore Hannah Forton’s 228 and Stade’s 222, the Cougars won 1,321-1,228, avenging last year’s loss in the MHSAA Semifinals to Davison.
“You can see at the end, they fired back, Hannah and Sierra shot those awesome games to keep us on fire,” Dakota coach Kevin Wemyss said. “How do you put it into words? It’s awesome. All in all, they bowled great all day.”
The title is the program’s first.
“It’s really exciting, I’m really happy,” Forton said. “We did really good in the last game.”
While it was a bittersweet end of the run for Davison, Cardinals coach Tracey Greene was proud of how far the squad got this season.
“Actually, I didn’t know if we’d get to the Finals,” he said, noting the team’s overall youth. “They’ve been working hard all year to get to where they got, but it wasn’t quite enough in that last game. Dakota … they had a good start and we just could never catch them. Hopefully we’ll get back here again next year.”
The team’s lone senior, Brooklyn Greene, a member of the previous three championship teams, also was impressed with the team’s effort.
“I think getting second was awesome. I didn’t really expect to get this far,” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”
In the Boys Final, Wayne Memorial coach Bob Jawor said his bowlers “never quit.”
“We were down a couple of times, and they bounced back. They never stopped trying,” he said. “They fought hard all year. I’m really happy for them because they deserve it. I’m really proud of them.”
Junior Conner Weber led the way for the Zebras with a 231 in the final game, helping them top Heritage 1,281-1,229.
“It’s honestly mind blowing, it’s crazy,” he said about winning the title. This is one thing I’ve always been wanting, especially the team … it’s big. It really brings it home. This team started from the bottom, and we got there, we got on top.”
Heritage coach Todd Hare believed his bowlers gave it their all during the long day of intense competition.
“We bowled really well most of the day,” he said.
The coach noted that the Hawks “turned it up a notch” late in qualifying before making their run. “And then we just couldn’t quite get it rolling,” he added.
The Finals appearance was the second in three years for the Hawks, as Hare noted it was the end of an impressive era for his five seniors.
The title is Wayne Memorial’s first, after the Zebras lost in the 2009 Final.
Click for full girls results and boys results. Photos will be added Saturday.
Knop Finishes Frankenmuth Boys' Weekend Sweep with Singles Win
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2024
JACKSON — Three frames into the game, Mayson Knop was in a pickle.
The Frankenmuth High School senior had already opened the frame prior and was staring at a monstrosity of a split — the 3-4-6-7-9-10 — and the prospect of digging an early hole against a bowler who had just shot a two-game series of 499.
Knop lined up, sent his ball toward the pins and slapped all six down. He then struck on eight of the next nine shots for a 237 game and a 62-pin lead that he rode to the Division 3 Singles Finals championship Saturday at Jax 60.
“I thought (the split conversion) was pretty big,” Knop said. “I didn’t know how the rest of the game was going to play out, but I knew that every pin counted.”
Knop needed just about every pin as Gladstone junior Matt Meyer clawed back after his opening 175 game but could ultimately not come up with the strikes he needed as Knop finished the second with 157 for a two-game total of 394 to Meyer’s 364.
Knop threw a strike in the 10th frame of the second game to seal it, and the emotions that had been building over two days that saw Frankenmuth sweep the team and individual trophies spilled over.
“I can’t even describe it,” Knop said. “Yesterday we went out and won team states, and it took a team effort. I’ve never in my entire life of bowling been more focused in a game (than the individual Final). It’s an incredible feeling, there’s no word to describe it.”
Coach Ron Krueger came up with a word: composure. Krueger said Knop joined the team as a sophomore and was a “raw” two-hander, but he soon inserted Knop into the anchor position and the experience he gained there showed up this weekend.
“The young man has worked incredibly hard; he bowls four days a week,” Krueger said. “He kept his composure. It’s a senior thing. When you get out here, there’s so much pressure and he kept his composure.”
Knop qualified 10th for match play after six qualifying games, starting with 224 and 247 and finishing with a total of 1,205. Teammate Miles Paetz was the top seed at 1,325, and Liam Liddle made it 3-for-3 Eagles in the top 16 by qualifying fifth with 1,241.
Knop defeated Lake Odessa Lakewood senior Phillip Butler in the first round 397-327, then advanced to the Semifinals with a 404-328 win over Croswell-Lexington freshman Joshua Gunderson.
He reached the Finals after overcoming an early deficit and defeating Milan sophomore Kendel Carpenter 411-385. After getting up early against Meyer, Knop found the going rougher in the second game of the Final, opening in three of the first seven frames before finishing strike-spare-strike-spare to secure the victory.
Meyer was the ninth seed after shooting 1,215 for the six games of qualifying. A one-handed bowler with massive revolutions on his resin ball — a stark contrast to the many two-handed bowlers throwing urethane — Meyer flawlessly advanced through the bracket with a 400-306 victory over Allegan junior Anderson Zoch, a 414-363 win over Paetz and a monstrous 499-309 victory over Midland Bullock Creek senior Anthony Davis.
Meyer shot games of 265 and 234 against Davis, by far the highest two-game set of match play. Davis’ 446 in the Quarterfinal over Grand Rapids Catholic Central junior Dom Danneffel’s 433 was second-highest in bracket play.
Knop said he tried picturing himself open bowling alone at Stardust Entertainment Center in Saginaw to calm himself, and the trick worked. He plans to bowl collegiately at Concordia University. Absent that, he said he’ll bowl PBA regional events with the ultimate goal of bowling on the PBA Tour.
For now, he plans to relish what was a dream weekend on the lanes.
“It’s been amazing. I love my team,” he said. “They’re amazing bowlers and amazing teammates. It’s a perfect way to end my last season of bowling.”