Juniors Thrive in Sweeping D2 Finals
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 7, 2020
WATERFORD – Warren Woods Tower bowling coach Craig Geml isn’t bashful about proclaiming what a bright future Noah Tafanelli has in the sport.
“He’s definitely going to bowl at a high-level college program,” Geml said of his junior standout.
Anyone at Century Bowl who witnessed Tafanelli’s performance Saturday at the MHSAA Division 2 Singles Finals could certainly see that likely will be the case.
Tafanelli dominated from start to finish, earning the top spot out of the qualifying block and staying hot from there, winning the title with relative ease.
Tafanelli didn’t have a score lower than 213 nor a margin of victory less than 46 pins on the way to his first title.
“The first couple of rounds, I was nervous,” Tafanelli said. “But I got on my pace the last couple of rounds.”
In the final, Tafanelli beat Grand Rapids Northview senior Dan Frey 494-410. That followed a 466-409 win over Northview freshman Kyle Pranger in the semifinals, a 466-366 win over Lowell senior Collin Clark in the quarterfinals and a 439-393 win over Chelsea junior Luis Carvallo in the round of 16.
“My sophomore year, I placed 11th,” Tafanelli said. “It helped me a lot. Just recognizing the format and recognizing the people around.”
On the girls side, another junior took home a Finals title for the first time.
Flint Kearsley’s Megan Timm found a groove in the elimination round after finishing 15th out of the qualifying block, eventually beating Carleton Airport freshman Ryan Giese in the final, 374-353.
Timm held a 182-141 lead after the first game before holding off a hard-charging Giese, who won the second game 212-192.
But it wasn’t enough to topple Timm, who left the alley with tears of joys less than a day after leaving in tears of sorrow after Kearsley’s team saw its run of sixth straight titles come to end with a semifinal loss.
“I couldn’t tell you how I feel,” Timm said. “I can’t believe it just happened. I don’t believe it happened. I just worked hard and made my spares.”
Timm’s run began with a 355-327 win over Cedar Springs senior Omani Morales in the round of 16, then continued with a 343-329 win over Bay City John Glenn sophomore Julia Struck in the quarterfinals.
Timm then ran up against Woods Tower freshman Kayla Tafanelli, Noah’s sister, in the semifinals, earning a 390-363 victory to advance to the final.
“She’s been great all season long,” said Kearsley coach Rob Ploof. “She got a new ball in the first (part) of February and that’s the ball she won a state title with. My nephew drilled it up for her. She’s just a great kid and deserves that.”
Both Noah Tafanelli and Timm will prepare next for an offseason of figuring out college plans and planning for repeat opportunities in 2021.
Tafanelli was the first boys bowler from Woods Tower to win an MHSAA Finals title, while Timm was Kearsley’s third girls bowler to win it all.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Grass Lake Boys, Birch Run Girls Enjoy Title Time Again
March 26, 2021
JACKSON – Grass Lake got to experience a Finals championship in Division 4 last season. And that was something they didn’t want to miss this weekend – regardless of a switch into Division 3 for this winter.
The Warriors may have faced larger opponents this time at Jax 60, but the result indeed was the same as they clinched their second-straight championship and third overall defeating Boyne City 1,357-1,179.
Meanwhile, Birch Run’s girls claimed their first championship since 2017 after finishing runner-up two seasons ago, out-rolling Armada 1,200-1,152.
“We’ve had that feeling right from the beginning of the year,” Grass Lake coach Jeff Wyers said. “These boys wanted it bad. It’s been in their system since last year.”
A year ago the Warriors entered match play as the top seed and defeated Farwell in the final by 153 pins.
Grass Lake entered match play as the second seed this time and immediately got a challenge from Portland before prevailing by 21 pins. Then came a 282-pin win over Napoleon in the semifinal before the Warriors swept both the Baker (366-329) and regular game (991-850) portions of the final.
Junior Jack Marshall led three Grass Lake bowlers over 200 in the regular game with a 238, followed by junior Brenton Cochrane with a 228 and senior Sean Wyers with a 208. Senior Michael Deming rolled a 185 to lead Boyne.
Sean Wyers is his team’s only senior.
“We wouldn’t have made it here if everybody hadn’t pitched a little bit in,” he said. “It wasn’t just one of us, it was all of us. Everybody had their time to shine.”
Marjorrie Marlett and her teammates had been waiting to enjoy their own championship as Birch Run last won when these seniors were in eighth grade in 2017.
“I’ve been waiting four years for this, and I finally got it with my team,” said Marlett, who joined the varsity as a freshman. “We were just coming in to have fun and experience states just for states – having fun and enjoying ourselves and putting up a fight and never just getting down.”
Armada took the Bakers 365-343. But Birch Run followed junior Jillian Inman’s 215 and junior Cheyenne Brown’s 180 to claim the regular games 857-787.
“It is just so fulfilling. I’m so proud of the girls,” Birch Run coach Jane Severs said. “They worked so hard and put everything into it. I’m just overwhelmed for them. Their teamwork, and they motivate each other beyond words. They had fun, and they just went out there and screamed and yelled and had a good time.”
Birch Run, the second seed, downed Hudsonville Unity Christian and Jonesville on the way to the championship match. Armada entered match play the eighth seed but eliminated Caro and then Hillsdale to advance.
Senior Samantha Dulz led Armada with a 202 regular game in the final. The runner-up finish was the highest in program history.