Taylor Trillium Girls Hoist 1st Title Trophy, Grass Lake Boys Add to Collection
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2023
BATTLE CREEK — Joe Slaven had a good idea his girls bowling team could do something special in Friday’s Division 4 team championship at M-66 Bowl.
“I talked to our athletic director, and I told her I noticed we don’t have a trophy case,” he said. “She said, ‘If you win a state title, we’ll build you one.’”
As of Friday afternoon, Trillium AD Deanna Doede has another item on her to-do list after Trillium bested Beaverton 1,074-1,051 to win the school’s first state championship.
It wasn’t easy. After finishing first in qualifying, Trillium eked past Allen Park Cabrini by two pins, 1,016-1,014, to get to the final, and trailed Beaverton by 13 pins after Baker play.
The final was closely contested for six frames before it all came together.
“Their adrenaline kicked in for the first five frames of the final,” Slaven said. “But around the seventh frame, they settled in.”
Slaven had scheduled his team so it would be ready for tournament pressure.
“I got them in tournaments with Division 1 schools, and we won some of those tournaments, came in second. came in fourth. I wanted them to see the big picture, the big dance. and they showed up today.”
His daughter, Abbey, didn’t celebrate until the last pin fell.
“You never know in bowling,” she said. “We’ve been down a lot in other matches, or it seemed like it, and then we come back and perform our best. So you never really know in bowling.”
Joe Slaven, meanwhile, extols both his team’s talent, but also their demeanor.
“What I’m most proud of is, yes, we won a state championship, but I’m most proud of is the way they represent their school, and the way they represent themselves.” he said. “These girls are so coachable, so athletic, so smart.”
And likely to contend again, too: Most of Trillium’s bowlers should be back next year.
Alivia Schmer led Trillium with a 179, while Emily Yagley rolled a 172.
Ellie Minkin paced Beaverton with a 176.
If winning a title was a first for Trillium’s girls, it was more of the same for the Grass Lake boys, who won for the third time in four years Friday, defeating New Lothrop 1,253-1,123.
Grass Lake was the Division 4 runner-up last season, won the Division 3 title in 2021 and took the Division 4 crown in 2020.
And it’s not inconceivable to think they’ll be back next year, with just one senior on this season’s roster.
In fact, Warriors coach Jeff Wyers was so confident in his team’s overall talent that he gave sophomore Tyler Paul his first varsity start Friday.
“These kids work their butts off,” the fifth-year mentor said. “These kids, the camaraderie they have, they work together and they never give up. If one guy is off, the others pick him up. These guys are amazing.”
The Warriors had their challenges during the day, but won all three matches by comfortable margins, including the final, taking a 73-pin lead after Baker play and never looking back.
“It feels great knowing we have a buffer,” co-captain Cayden Dewitt said. “So if we miss, we miss. And (if) we win, it feels amazing.”
Grass Lake also has a strong team chemistry.
"Our coach does a really good job of projecting a good positive environment onto everything,” co-captain Brice Sandoval said. "Even in practice or just open bowling with no coaches, there’s good vibes, good energy, and we seem to turn it on when we need it most, and it works out for us.”
Sandoval led Grass Lake with a 198, while Dewitt rolled a 193. Cole Bradshaw led New Lothrop with a 204.
Campbell, Betts Believed Then Achieved
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2019
MUSKEGON – Trusting the process led to a stunning ending to Dawson Campbell's season.
In fact, if you had asked the Cheboygan junior a few months ago if winning a Division 3 individual bowling championship was a possibility, Campbell's answer would have been a resounding no.
"Not a chance, no way," he said after accomplishing just that with a 427-363 win over Hopkins' Brenden Gossman in Saturday's championship match at Northway Lanes.
It's not that Campbell hasn't had success in the past. He was a two-time Finals qualifier heading into the season, but failed to advance past the qualifying stage his freshman and sophomore years. So what's the difference between those two tournaments and Saturday's? Campbell, seeded No. 6 among the 16 finalists, said it was a matter of trusting a grueling process that includes bowling 30 games a day, seven days a week for the last three years.
Campbell said the work left him more of a finished product. Proof of that, he said, came after he converted tough back-to-back 2-8 and 2-4-8-10 shots in the quarterfinal. It was that sort of success under pressure that led Campbell to believe he could win a Finals championship.
"After that I felt I had a chance," said Campbell, who averaged 188 across four match wins. "It just kinda happened. It shows if you put in enough practice, you can win and that one day you could become a state champion.
"I feel real happy, amazed. But I've put in the work. At the end of the day, it's part of my life."
Jenna Betts of Clare won the girls title with a 418-305 win over Lainey Meader of Coloma.
Like Campbell, Betts had minimal success in previous Finals tournaments, also never making it past the qualifying round. And also like Campbell, Betts believed winning the Division 3 championship was likely beyond her grasp.
"I had no reason whatsoever," she said of possessing title hopes. "But you have to believe in yourself and do the things you need to do to win."
Betts said much of her confidence came from Clare coach Kelli Dingo, whose chief work with her junior bowler was teaching fundamentals such as how to hold a ball and how to incorporate movement with her shot. The rest, Dingo said, was up to Betts.
"I taught her to bowl, not tell her," Dingo said. "She was very open (to coaching). Everyone knows she's an excellent bowler, and they expect a lot from her. She used to overthink the process; now she just bowls."
Betts, who also plays volleyball and runs track at Clare, said two things which struck home for her this season were gaining confidence and the ability to bowl consistently. Both were on display in winning Saturday, she said.
"I was very consistent. They weren't really high scores, but I was consistent," she said of averaging a 194 in her four wins. "You're going to have some high and low games, but confidence is a key."
Betts said her work with Dingo left her with the confidence she belonged among the top bowlers in Division 3.
"I think the past couple weeks that's grown by leaps and bounds, believing in myself," she said. "I feel incredibly happy now. Coach has given us all confidence, not just me. She's given us what we need to do well."
Click for full girls results and full boys results.