Strong Finish, Bright Beginning in D4
March 1, 2014
By Andrew Frushour
Second Half
BATTLE CREEK – Sandusky senior Melissa Sleda has faced Vandercook Lake’s Malloree Ambs with championships on the line a number of times over the last four seasons.
Most recently, Ambs came out on top – including beating Sleda in a Singles Quarterfinal a year ago on the way to winning the individual title.
Sleda earned one more chance against her standout opponent during Saturday’s MHSAA Final – and took the lead role in their final chapter.
She finished a tough run through Saturday’s match play at M-66 Bowl by defeating Ambs in the two-game championship match 384-317. St. Charles freshman Kyle Tuttle claimed the boys title.
“Going from last year, I tried to put the past behind me. I thought about the present, just focused on every single ball, made sure I had my timing, hit my mark and everything felt good,” Sleda said. “Strikes just come if I hit my mark.”
After qualifying sixth Saturday morning, Sleda rolled a 245 during her Round of 16 win. She then eliminated 2013 singles runner-up Paige Huebel of Oscoda, 396-288, in the Quarterfinal before edging Ambs’ teammate Jessica Bunch 378-356 in the Semifinal.
The opportunity to face Bunch and Ambs was a tad bittersweet for Sleda – Sandusky had faced Vandercook Lake in the Team Finals championship match the last three seasons, but didn’t advance to the title match Friday as Vandercook Lake went on to repeat as champion.
The Singles Final was her chance to finish on a positive note.
“The first match I bowled the 245, and everything felt right,” Sleda said. “The fifth frame of the second game, I was just like ‘Wow. This might be the year, finally.’ I just kept thinking this is my year, you’re a senior, go out with a bang.”
Tuttle, meanwhile, hopes to have three more Finals in his future after giving Division 4 its second straight freshman singles champion. He followed Rogers City’s Bailey Budnik, last season’s winner, who Tuttle beat 420-326 in Saturday's Quarterfinal.
Tuttle qualified first during the morning, but just edged Lakeview’s Joey Cole 337-311 in the Round of 16 match play. After the Budnik match, Tuttle survived Budnik’s teammate Alex Darga 359-350 – after not being able to watch Darga’s 10th frame. Tuttle's future wasn't decided until Darga's final shot
“It must’ve been meant to be after that. I just got up and bowled,” Tuttle said.
He came back to beat Tri-Valley Conference West foe Zach Fenby of St. Louis 406-325 in the championship match thanks to four strikes over the final three frames of the first game and a string of five straight strikes during the second.
“The first two matches I was so nervous,” Tuttle said. “The third one, the last one, I was as calm as I’d been all day.”
Click for complete girls results and complete boys results.
PHOTOS: The MHSAA Division 4 Finals girls and boys medalists.
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.