Salem Boys, Davison Girls Rule Division 1
March 1, 2013
By Greg Chrapek
Special to Second Half
MUSKEGON – Being the best bowling team in the city of Plymouth is saying something.
With two boys bowling teams from Plymouth reaching the elite eight of the MHSAA Division 1 Bowling Final, the city stamped itself as one of the best for bowling in the state. For the Plymouth Salem boys, adding the Division 1 title meant that not only were they the best in Plymouth this year, but the best Division 1 team in all of Michigan.
Salem claimed the Division 1 team title at Northway Lanes by defeating Saginaw Heritage 1,388-1,258 in the championship match. While Salem has reached the MHSAA Finals three of the last five seasons, this year it reached the pinnacle.
“This feels awesome,” Salem coach Kathie Hahn said. “I can’t explain it. I’m so proud of the boys. There are three schools on our ground, and two of them qualified for state, Canton High School and us. To win state was awesome to say the least.”
While Salem won by more than 100 pins in the final match against Heritage, the road was a difficult one. Salem won a dramatic quarterfinal by defeating Roseville 1,356-1,350 in a match that came down to the final frame.
Salem senior Kevin Williams picked up the deciding spare in the 10th frame to give Salem the win and send it on to the semifinals.
“This was very special,” Williams said. “I made it to state as a freshman, but things did not go so well. This year we had a great team and it was a blast. The key for us was keeping our heads up and not getting down on ourselves, and picking up spares.”
After surviving the quarterfinal match, the Wildcats then met Jackson High in the semifinals. Salem started strong and continued to bowl strong all the way through as it defeated the Vikings 1,386-1,172.
Heritage earned its way into the final match by defeating hometown Muskegon Mona Shores 1,292-1,209 in the other semifinal. Salem came out strong against Heritage and built on the lead as the match played out.
“We struggled to pick up spares all day, but in the last few matches we really started to pick them up,” said aptly named Salem senior Jimmy Bowling. “Every one of our bowlers but one shot over 200 in the final game against Heritage. We are a close team, and we are all good friends away from bowling. We are all like a family on this team.”
Steven Cadwell led Salem with a 213 game in the finale while Williams rolled a 207 and Tyler Snyder a 204.
No matter which team won it was going to be a first as neither Salem nor Heritage had won an MHSAA bowling championship before.
“It was kind of an unbelievable day,” Heritage coach Todd Hare said. “We started out bowling really well today. We had good rotations and we came out of qualifying as the number one seed. We just fell a little short in the last match.”
Derrick Norman led Heritage with a 193 in the finale while Tyler Sutt rolled a 192.
While Division 1 had a new boys champion, it saw a repeat champion on the girls side as the Davison bowling powerhouse produced a second consecutive title.
Despite losing five seniors from last year’s squad, the Cardinals re-tooled in hopes of making it back to the Finals.
“At the beginning of the season, not many people expected us to defend our state championship,” Davison coach Albert Torok said. “We lost five seniors from that team, but we had a lot of talent stepping up. We prepared ourselves all year for this. We entered tournament after tournament and progressed day after day, and all that hard work paid off.”
Davison defeated Walled Lake Central 1,347- 1,189 in the title match.
“This is 10 times better then last year,” said Heather Baur, one of three seniors on this year’s team who also were part of last year’s title win. “It’s exciting because the seniors did something that no one else had done. The biggest thing that helped us was just filling frames. Our coach tells us if you fill frames, you win games.”
Davison reached the final match by defeating Sterling Heights Stevenson 1,306- 1,224 in the semifinal and Westland John Glenn 1,256-1,178 in the quarterfinal.
“This feels awesome,” Davison senior Jennifer Phillips said. “It feels so great to win it again. I couldn’t be any more proud of my teammates. Last year after we won it, we knew we wanted to come back and try and win it again.”
Walled Lake Central defeated Macomb Dakota 1,215-1,139 in their semifinal, and Muskegon Mona Shores 1,187-1,144 in the quarter.
Brianna Palarchio rolled a 194 to lead Walled Lake Central in the Final. Sydney Brown rolled a 234 for Davison, and Brooklyn Greene added a 202.
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
Comebacks Succeed for D1 Title Winners
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
March 6, 2020
ALLEN PARK – Utica Eisenhower’s boys and Zeeland’s girls both went into the regular game portion of their Team Finals matches behind after the Baker round.
Both rallied and ended up claiming Division 1 championships Friday at Thunderbowl Lanes.
Eisenhower rallied from 34 pins down, taking advantage of splits by Salem in the 10th frame to win the crown by five pins, 1,454-1,449. Zeeland fell behind Jenison, the 2019 champion, but rallied in the regular games of the match to win 1,185-1,155 and claim its first Finals title.
“Just amazing,’’ said Zeeland coach Jeremey Baum. “We had shot an 1,119 early in the day, and the girls never gave up.”
“We fell behind, but we stayed positive,’’ senior Skylar Beverwyk added. “We knew we were going to get their best because they were the defending state champs.’’
Eagles senior Dylan Kelly struck out to finish with a 235 and secure his team’s title.
“Dylan has been there for us all year,’’ said Eisenhower coach John Snider. “He’s clutch for us. We got lucky. We had some things go our way in the 10th frame.
Said Kelly: “We kept our spirits up. It wasn’t over until it was over. It’s a special group. We bonded well. We pick each other up when we’re down.’’
Eisenhower fell behind after the first Baker game, losing 216-177, forcing the Eagles to play catchup.
They won the second Baker game, 198-193, but had 34 pins (409-375) to make up in the regular games.
Salem advanced to the championship match by eliminating Davison 1,419-1,243, while the Eagles dispatched of Farmington 1,314-1,160.
Salem had won titles in 2017 and 2013. Eisenhower had won a state championship in 2004 prior to the addition of the sport to the MHSAA lineup in 2006.
In the girls championship match, Jenison built a 63-pin lead after the first Baker game. Zeeland rallied in the second Baker game and headed into regular games trailing 355-325.
“It’s a grind, but the team kept its composure,’’ said Baum.
Perennial power Macomb Dakota was the boys’ top qualifier at 3,684, followed by Oxford (3,624) and fellow Macomb Area Conference Red opponent Eisenhower at 3,623.
Dakota’s run was short-lived as it fell to the eighth-seeded and always tough Davison 1,427-1,359. It was the first time in 16 years Davison had beaten Dakota, head-to-head or in tournament play. Second-seeded Oxford also fell in the quarterfinals, losing to Farmington 1,337-1,313.
Davison advanced to face Salem, which beat Livonia Franklin, 1,475-1,392, while Farmington faced Eisenhower in the other semifinal after Eisenhower had disposed of Swartz Creek, 1,553-1,149.
Zeeland advanced to the championship match by defeating Lake Orion, 1,280-1,194, while the reigning champion was dispatching New Baltimore Anchor Bay, 1,201-1,061.
In the girls’ qualifying round Monroe and Lapeer tied for eighth (3,013), resulting in a roll-off to determine which would face top qualifier Lake Orion (3,344). Lapeer won the tie-breaker, then fell to the Dragons 1,151-1,098.
Anchor Bay was the second seed at 3,184, and Jenison was third at 3,123. Jenison advanced over Westland John Glenn with a 1,415-1,381 victory to face Anchor Bay, which had beaten MAC rival St. Clair Shores Lakeshore 1,224-1,176.
In its quarterfinal, Zeeland opened some eyes with two bowlers shooting 253 and another 255 to set a school record with an 1,119 pin fall in the regular games portion of its match against Rockford. Zeeland advanced to the semifinals with a 1,484-1,232 romp.
Jenison defeated Anchor Bay by 140 pins, while Zeeland reached the final with an 86-pin victory.
Click for full girls results and boys results.