TC Christian Girls Make History, St. Charles Boys Back on Top
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 26, 2021
CANTON – One and done.
But that one was awfully sweet for the St. Charles boys bowling team.
The Bulldogs, who were shut out of the Singles Finals this year, put their energy into the Division 4 Team Finals at Super Bowl in Canton on Friday.
After a tense back-and-forth battle with No. 2 seed Manchester, the top-seeded Bulldogs pulled out their Finals title by just eight pins, 1,167-1,159, in a match that went down to the 10th frame between the anchor bowlers.
“It came down to the last two. Our anchorman doubled and theirs didn’t," St. Charles coach Mark Faupel said. “If their anchorman doubles, they win it. It was crazy.”
St. Charles had won the Baker competition by 43 pins, only to see Manchester win the regular games by 35, creating the razor-thin finish.
It was the second boys bowling Finals title for St. Charles, which also won in 2010, and the third overall Finals championship for the school. The Bulldogs won the Division 7 football crown in 1999.
Traverse City Christian’s girls won their first Bowling Finals title – and in fact the school’s first Finals title in any girls sport. It came on the heels of a trip to the semifinals last year.
“We were 39 pins ahead after the Baker and we were able to stay real close in the regular game,” Sabres coach Brent Wheat said.
Close, indeed. Traverse City Christian trailed Hanover-Horton for the regular games portion by four pins, 756-752 to win the title 1,077-1,042.
“It was real back-and-forth,” Wheat said. “We had all marks in the ninth frame and we were about even, so we knew they had all the pressure on them to try and come back. All we had to do was keep making spares and we would come out on top, and that’s what we did.”
The Sabres boys gave St. Charles all it wanted in the quarterfinals before the Bulldogs pulled to a 21-pin victory.
“We again had the Baker lead but we struggled,” Faupel said. “We had a 715 (score) and their anchorman needed a strike on the first ball of the 10th frame, and he leaves a Greek Church split (4-7-6-9-10), and it’s just so much exhilaration.”
Faupel, who created the team back in 2006, saw the Bulldogs end in the semifinals in 2016 and 2018. For him, the pain of losing those seasons was matched by the thrill of getting that second championship.
But, first, Faupel and his team had to overcome the disappointment among its five seniors, all of whom fell short in Regional singles last weekend.
“I told them that’s gone,” he said. “I said we had a chance to win the team title, and we took full advantage.”
As a result, Faupel’s time with the trophy was brief, lasting only as long as the ride home.
Wheat, for his part, was staying in a hotel preparing for Saturday’s individual tournament.
“The girls are probably sleeping with their medals,” he said. “I’m going to sleep with the trophy at least one night.”
The difference, he said, came in his team’s performance in Baker competition.
“We were able to get a 20-to-30-pin cushion in every game,” Wheat said. “Just a few pins, but that cushion really helped with nerves.”
After St. Charles celebrated its victory, Faupel gathered his bowlers.
“I said, ‘At some point in time, you’re going to feel the emotion of the day,’” he told them. “‘It might not be right now. It might be tomorrow, but you’re going to feel it.’”
As it turned out, the relief and joy of winning had eyes misting over from bowlers, coaches, and parents.
“It was a special moment,” Faupel said.
For the Sabres, there were tears as well after winning a title following the disappointment in the 2020 semifinals, when they lost in the 10th frame.
“The girls did it themselves, making sure that didn’t happen again,” Wheat said.
Click for bracket results: GIRLS | BOYS
Division 3 Champions Ride Fast Starts to Historic Finishes
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 5, 2022
JACKSON — Slow and steady wins the race, the saying goes.
But in Saturday’s Division 3 Singles Bowling Finals, a fast start proved key.
Croswell-Lexington’s Brooklyn Butler started her championship match with seven consecutive strikes, had a spare, and threw three more strikes to finish with a 279 en route to a 481-408 victory over 2021 champion Elizabeth Teuber of Flint Powers Catholic at Jax 60.
“This was my first time at states,” Butler said, “so I wasn’t sure of how it would turn out.”
At the suggestion of Pioneers coach Fred Kautz, Butler switched to a lighter ball during the semifinals.
“It felt comfortable,” she said.
It was the second time in as many weeks Butler and Teuber had met in a tournament final. They squared off in a Regional at Richmond on Feb. 26, with Teuber edging Butler by 14 pins to finish first.
But on Saturday, it was Butler’s day.
“Bowling a 279 is going to be hard to beat,” Teuber said. “She had a 70-pin lead going into the second game, so I knew I had a chance, but it was going to be tough to beat.”
Teuber bowled well in defeat. Her 408 would have been enough to win in three of the previous five years.
A sophomore, Teuber said she would work on converting spares in preparation for next season.
For Butler, a senior, her first trip to the Finals was a bit of a whirlwind.
“I wasn’t sure how it was going to work out,” she said. “I was a little nervous going in, but that first game helped.”
“She’s a level-headed lady,” Kautz said. “Does her job, is easy-going, and the mental game is there.”
You could say the same about Cheboygan’s Cole Swanberg, a junior who was making his third trip to the Finals and became the Chiefs’ second individual champion, after Dawson Campbell in 2019.
“I don’t smile when I’m bowling, because I’m focused, zoned in,” he said after defeating Tyler Downs of Ogemaw Heights 471-337.
His 259 in the first game allowed him to cruise to the victory.
“I was just planning on bowling the best I can do,” Swanberg said. “Don’t leave any open frames and hit my mark. I went 259. It gave me a 60-pin lead after the first game, and I could relax in the second.”
He admits his concentration does rattle some of his fans, including his mother.
“Oh, yeah,” he said, chuckling. “They tell me to try to smile at least part of the time.”
But it’s that focus that led to victory.
“He has good mechanics and good form,” Chiefs coach Brian Taylor said. “Nothing rattles him. It doesn’t matter if he throws a bad split or 4-5 strikes in a row. He’s the same way going into every frame. He takes his time, one frame at a time, and does his job. He doesn’t pay attention to anything else but what he needs to do, and that works for him.”
And the process worked Saturday.
“It feels awesome,” he said. “I’ve been working since my freshman year to do it, so it means a lot.’
Both Swanberg and Downs are juniors, meaning they could meet again next year.
“That’s the goal every year,” Taylor said. “You’ve got to show up and do what you can, and sometimes things play out and sometimes they don’t.”
PHOTOS (Top) Croswell-Lexington’s Brooklyn Butler warms up for Saturday's Division 3 championship match. (Middle) Cheboygan's Cole Swanberg celebrates with his coaches. (Click for more from Champions Photography.)