Plymouth Christian Academy, Bronson Believe & Achieve at D4 Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 4, 2022
The Plymouth Christian Academy boys couldn’t believe they did it. The Bronson girls just had to believe they could do it again.
Friday’s Division 4 team bowling champions had different back stories, but arrived at the same celebration at M-66 Bowl in Battle Creek. PCA’s boys program – in just its third season – won its first Finals title, and Bronson’s girls team battled through a few tough spots to secure their third championship in four seasons.
The Eagles claimed their title with a 1,194-1,162 win over Grass Lake, which was seeking its third-straight team title after winning Division 3 last season and Division 4 in 2020.
Grass Lake won the Baker games by 53 pins, but PCA followed juniors Adam Moore (237) and Kyle Quick (215) in the regular games.
“It doesn’t feel real. It’s incredible,” Quick said. “It was a long road to get here. We had a lot of ups and downs, but in the end we all put in the hard work and we got it done.
“It shows how rapidly everyone’s been improving. It shows we have great leadership, great teaching, and that we have a great team.”
Grass Lake’s boys were seeded first out of qualifying after dropping 237 pins more than the field, while PCA entered match play seeded sixth. A 37-pin semifinal win over Vandercook Lake thrust the Eagles into the championship match, but they still had to balance out the Bakers with some big rolls down the stretch.
Senior Brenton Cochrane rolled a 197 to lead Grass Lake in the final.
“We thought we were down and out throughout this match. But as soon as we got past that fifth frame, the kids all of a sudden started taking it to the next level and started having fun with the game again – and I think that was the big difference,” PCA coach Robert Moore said.
“At some time throughout this season, each one of them has carried the team with a big game. This was the time for all of them to do it together at the same time.”
Bronson coach Linda Hyska has preached “pins, pins, pins get you the wins” through the hours of practice her team has put in as it’s worked to return to the top after ending in the semifinals a year ago.
The Vikings finished second in qualifying, also to Grass Lake, then moved through the bracket with a 52-pin win over Burton Bendle and 29-pin win over Ishpeming Westwood in the semifinal.
Bronson won the Bakers 357-297 over Grass Lake in the final, and followed up with a 763-714 advantage in the regular games for a 1,120-1,011 win.
“From our lows to our highs, they just finished it to the very end,” Hyska said. “They had moments today that (were) a downer. But you know what? Somebody else on the team picked them up, and that’s what this is – a team event today, and we all finished strong at the very end.”
Sophomore Hadassah Bloom paced Bronson in the regular game with a 179, while senior Cierra Chapo led Grass Lake with a 186. Grass Lake had defeated Bronson in their Regional last weekend at Jax 60, 3,427-3,328, and a combined five bowlers from those teams are slated to compete in Saturday’s Singles Finals.
“Starting off this year, I had faith in us – but we definitely had to work to get here,” Bronson senior Idalia Hernandez said. “Our big saying today was ‘positive mindset equals positive outcome.’ That’s something we live by … (and) we realize that definitely gets us going.
“I have faith they can come back every year.”
PHOTOS (Top) Plymouth Christian Academy warms up before Friday’s Team Finals at M-66 Bowl. (Middle) A Bronson bowler winds up during competition. (Click for more from Champions Photography.)
Gobles' Brunner Repeats as D4 Champ, Lumen's Kremer Begins Reign
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 5, 2022
BATTLE CREEK – Gobles junior Morgan Brunner admitted she had some nerves entering Saturday’s Division 4 Singles Finals at M-66 Bowl, and really all season. The expectation after winning last year’s championship had followed her.
But Brunner justified all the anticipation, entering match play as the fourth seed and repeating as the Division 4 girls champion with a 408-380 win over Bronson senior Idalia Hernandez in the final.
Jackson Lumen Christi junior Jackson Kremer also earned the opportunity to know life as a reigning champion. He entered match play as the third seed, started strong and then sweated through a cool streak before finding his stroke again in defeating Grass Lake senior Clayton Weir 441-398 in their title match.
“I got into match play, and I usually get a little more competitive in match play,” said Brunner, who became just the third repeat girls champion in 19 seasons of MHSAA Bowling Finals. “I definitely missed some spares that could’ve helped me, but I just tried to stay in a good mood and a good attitude and keep doing what I was doing.
“I went through a lot of ball changes in match play, and found one after they re-oiled that was good. (But) just having a good attitude really helped me with shot making.”
Brunner had rolled games of 223 and 212 during qualifying to earn that fourth seed, one behind Hernandez, who broke 200 three times during qualifying with a high of 230. Allen Park Cabrini junior Jordan Downham was first in qualifying, and Maple City Glen Lake junior Chloe Crick was second.
Brunner opened match play with a 216 and added a 213 and 224 in her next two wins. Hernandez won the first regular game of the final 220-198, but Brunner’s 210-160 advantage in the rematch sealed the repeat.
She joined Tecumseh’s Jordan Richard (2012-13) and Vandercook Lake’s MacKenzie Johnson (2018-19) as back-to-back Finals winners.
Kremer opened qualifying with a 278 and added a 224 in his fifth game to move on to match play as the third seed, while Weir rolled games of 227 and 223 on the way to advancing as the No. 4. Kremer opened match play with games of 228 and 208 to earn his way to the quarterfinals, then skated through a 341-317 victory and a 379-334 win in the semifinal as Weir rolled 432, 432 and 488 on the other side of the bracket.
But Kremer found his shot just in time, rolling 212 and 229 to edge Weir’s twin 199s in the title decider.
Kremer had reached the match play at the 2021 Final, but said he didn’t hit the lanes over the summer and had just picked up practicing again during the school year. He caught back up quickly – even if he didn’t give his skills enough credit in the moments after Saturday’s memorable win.
“Mainly just getting lucky strikes and lucky spares too – that really helped me keep going,” Kremer said. “I don’t really know.
“I thought I was going to be tired (Saturday) because of how early and how far we had to drive to get here. After that first game when I shot a 278, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s going to be good.” And then my next two games were 170s, and then I woke up and found it again.”
PHOTOS (Top) Gobles' Morgan Brunner unloads a shot during Saturday's Division 4 Singles Finals at M-66 Bowl. (Middle) Lumen Christi's Jackson Kremer attempts to pick up a spare. (Click for more from Champions Photography.)