Kearsley Girls Erase Last Year's Early Exit with 9th Title in 11 Seasons
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2024
WATERFORD — It might seem impossible that a team with eight MHSAA Finals titles over a span of 10 years would ever enter anything hungry for redemption.
But that was the case for Flint Kearsley’s girls bowling team going into the Division 2 Final on Friday at Century Bowl.
Last year, the Hornets suffered a disappointment they weren’t used to feeling, getting knocked out in the Quarterfinal round after earning the No. 1 seed during the qualifying block.
That defeat was way more on the minds of Kearsley all offseason, rather than the previous eight state titles.
“That was a debacle,” first-year Kearsley head coach Jeff Vanier said.
But that failure last year was long forgotten when this year’s competition was over, as Kearsley reclaimed its throne by beating Bay City John Glenn in the championship match, 3-1.
This was the first year of a new format in the knockout stage where the team that won three out of five Baker games was declared the winner. The previous format awarded the team with the most pins following two Baker games and a regular game.
John Glenn won the first game of the Final, 177-152, but Kearsley stormed back winning the second game 173-143, the third game 235-134 and the fourth game 165-122 to clinch its ninth title in 11 years.
The most pivotal moment for Kearsley might have come in a Quarterfinal match against Sturgis. Kearsley lost the first game (171-159) and won the second (179-145) before both teams struggled in the third game.
The Hornets ended up prevailing, 128-124, rallying after anchor bowler Ava Boggs struck out in the final frame.
“That gave us a 2-1 lead, and we went on from there,” Vanier said.
Kearsley finished off Sturgis in the fourth game, 210-165, and then recorded a three-game sweep of New Boston Huron to advance to the Final.
John Glenn was No. 1 out of the qualifying block before earning a five-game win over Marshall in the Quarterfinals and a four-game triumph over Tecumseh in the Semifinals.
“We made a lot of spares today, but when we got to the final match, we weren’t making spares,” John Glenn head coach Andy Gwizdala said. “During the Baker matches earlier in the day, we averaged 184, which means we made spares. We were consistent and made spares. That’s what we came here to do. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish it in the Final.”
Still, there was a lot for John Glenn to feel good about.
The Bobcats avenged losses from the Quarterfinal round of the tournament each of the last two years and don’t graduate any bowlers as they look ahead to 2024-25.
“We hope to be back next year,” Gwizdala said.
Powers Freshman, Clarenceville Junior Find Winning Shots
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 27, 2021
JACKSON – Elizabeth Teuber’s first MHSAA Singles Finals seemed similar to a lot of tournaments she’s bowled over the years.
But the next generation of one of Flint’s best-known bowling families set herself up Saturday for some intriguing opportunities at the high school level over the next three seasons.
The Powers Catholic freshman – whose grandfather was a state Hall of Famer in the sport and whose family co-owns a bowling center – finished her first Chargers season with a dominating run to the Division 3 championship at JAX 60.
After qualifying for match play as the second seed, Teuber won her first three matches by 75, 65 and 139 pins before defeating Corunna senior Bridget Ryon 418-366 in the final. After rolling two games of 200 or more across the six-game qualifying block, Teuber topped 200 in six of eight match play games with a high of 233.
“I didn’t think I was really going to do this good. The first game I struggled, but after that I found my shot and it was easier,” Teuber said. “I bowl a lot. I bowl three or four days a week, and when I do, I practice – I don’t try to bowl for score. I try to get better, and so I think that’s what helped.”
Livonia Clarenceville junior Jacob Johnson still has a season to go, but added a crowning achievement as well to his first three already full of highlights.
Johnson has been on a tear over the last eight days – on March 20, he won his second Regional singles title (to go with his first as a freshman) with the highest score of any bowler at any Division 3 tournament that day. On Saturday, he averaged 221 in qualifying to finish first in the block at Jax 60, then 206 in match play capped with a 396-373 win over Belding junior Trenton Altman in the final.
Johnson’s first two trips to the Finals had ended with an upset loss in the first round of match play as a freshman when he was seeded second, and then in qualifying last season.
“I’ve been trying to find a look. Our home house is really tough and I couldn’t really find a look, so I just kept drilling bowling balls and drilling bowling balls over and over again to find what works,” Johnson said. “I finally found three or four balls that worked. After yesterday we bowled our team event, finished seventh, I brought a ball in from the car, changed one out before today, and it really paid off.
“I thank my dad. He left to bowl a state tournament, and I had one job today – to win, and I finally did it. It took a couple of years, and I finally did it.”
Teuber had finished second in qualifying to Flat Rock senior Alyssa Kmiotek, who was two pins better at 1,150, while Hillsdale senior Karissa Maniford was third at 1,145 and Ryon fourth at 1,130 after she closed with a 213 game.
Ryon won her first two matches by 26 and 24 pins before rolling a 206 and 214 in a 112-pin semifinal win.
Johnson won his first two matches by 61 and 83 pins, but had to fend off Boyne City senior Michael Deming in the semifinal, 407-403. Altman, meanwhile, had qualified sixth and won his first matches by 79, 134 and 45 pins before running into Johnson. Altman won their second game 194-190, but Johnson’s 206-179 margin in the first made the difference. Altman rolled games of 255 and 265 during his run.