Kearsley Boys Take Turn as Champions, Sparta Girls Claim 1st Finals Win

By Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com

March 3, 2023

WATERFORD – Since the last time the Flint Kearsley boys bowling team won a state championship in 2015, the girls program had captured six. 

The boys are obviously honored to train alongside the girls and celebrate their championship success, but it’s easy to understand why the Kearsley boys wondered when it would be their time again. 

That day came Friday at the Division 2 Team Finals.

The Kearsley boys broke an eight-year championship drought, defeating New Boston Huron —another past winner in 2019 — in the championship match by a score of 1,455-1,338. 

This was also the first time the boys won a Finals championship without the girls winning one in the same year. 

“They earned every bit of it,” Kearsley head coach Bart Rutledge said. “They worked harder than any team, and went out and got it done.”

Kearsley didn’t take the easy route, first qualifying fifth to earn a matchup with 2022 champion Grand Rapids Northview in the quarterfinals.

Kearsley prevailed, 1,345-1,315, and then defeated Tecumseh in the semifinals, 1,401-1,357. Tecumseh was the top seed out of the qualifying block.

In the championship match against New Boston Huron, Kearsley took a healthy 55-pin lead after the first Baker game, added 31 pins to that after the second Baker game, and then also claimed the regular game to win comfortably overall. 

“This year, 1 through 7, we were solid,” Rutledge said. “In the past, it was maybe 1 through 4. This year, we had seven guys we could work in.”

Huron was led by Donnie Jacobs, who bowled games of 300 and 298 in match play.

“We set goals at the beginning of the year,” Chiefs head coach Larry Collins said. “We marked off our checklist today. The boys are disappointed, but they’ve got nothing to be disappointed about. They lost to a very good Kearsley team.”

Sparta's girls celebrate their Division 2 Finals championship.

While the boys side was a matchup of previous champions, the girls tournament ended with two teams trying to win titles for the first time. 

That honor went to Sparta, which outlasted South Lyon East in the championship match by a narrow margin of six pins, 1,123 to 1,117. 

“We didn’t have a lot of high games, but we were very consistent,” Sparta head coach Barb Orlikowski said. “We’ve been working on how to get your spares and stuff, and it worked today.” 

Sparta held a 310-264 lead after the two Baker games, and held off a charging South Lyon East team that collected an 853-813 advantage in the regular game.

But it wasn’t enough to overtake Sparta. 

South Lyon East advanced to the Final despite being in only its second year of existence as a program. 

“I’m real proud of them,” South Lyon East head coach Gerald Raymor said of his team, which consists of six seniors. “They came out last year and I knew I didn’t have much time with them, so I showed them how to throw outside the pattern. They bowled their butts off today.”

Sparta finished fourth out of the qualifying block, then earned a 1,157-1,067 win over Goodrich in the quarterfinal before taking a 1,164-1,098 win over Charlotte in a semifinal. 

Orlikowski said her team has qualified for the Team Finals five of the past seven years and advanced to a quarterfinal last year, and that experience seemed to pay off this time. 

“I think the girls really got a lot of confidence in themselves,” Orlikowski said. “They knew they could do it. They weren’t intimidated by the other bowlers like they were last year.”

The noteworthy news on the girls side before the championship match was that Flint Kearsley, which entered having won eight of the previous nine titles and was seeking its third straight, were eliminated in the quarterfinal round by Charlotte. 

Kearsley was the top seed out of the qualifying block, but was downed by Charlotte in the quarterfinals by six pins, 1,187-1,181.

Division 2 Final Results - Boys | Girls

Bad Axe's Ranquist Meets Her Goal, Sets Another as Newest D4 Champion

March 2, 2024

MUSKEGON – Jasmyn Ranquist had one goal Saturday, and really this whole season – just improve on last year.

Her freshmen run in 2023 was a good one – she reached the Division 4 Quarterfinals. But it was time to take the next step.

She took a few.

The Bad Axe sophomore qualified fifth for match play at the Singles Final at Northway Lanes, then rolled through her first three matches before prevailing 366-344 over Memphis junior Lauren Castillo to clinch the championship.

“One of my friends told me that because the girl last year (Gobles’ Morgan Brunner) won three years in row, that I’m next to win three years in a row,” Ranquist said. “And we’re on year one, so I’m super excited for next year.”

Ranquist bowled a high of 201 during the morning’s six-game qualifying block, while Costello qualified third rolling a pair of 212 games to finish her six.

Ranquist then opened match play with a 416-357 win over Hudson sophomore Ellie Loar before really opening things up with a 492-294 victory in her Quarterfinal and 443-339 victory in the Semifinal.

Castillo, meanwhile, showed some grit winning a roll-off with Ravenna freshman Taylor Nutt in their first match out of qualifying. Costello then stacked victories of 57 and 53 pins on the way to the Final.

Ranquist took a 209-175 lead with the first game. Castillo bested her in the second, 169-157, but not by enough to close the entire margin.

Castillo also was returning to the Finals, for the third time, and reached match play for the first.

“Lauren is one of my close friends,” Ranquist said. “I met her at Regionals last year, and she’s just amazing. And I’m so glad I got to bowl against her in the Finals.”

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