![Sarah Jaeger Dorow](/sites/default/files/2022-02/220215_Sarah%20Jaeger_2H.png)
Title IX at 50: Jaeger's 2004 Winter Run Created Lasting Connection
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 15, 2022
“Just like sports, life will not always result in triumph. We must learn from these losses. Thus sports have provided the fundamentals and experiences for how to deal with life. In the end it's not how much you have won or lost but the journey you took and the people you met along the way.”
Every February, the announcement of the MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award winners include brief bios of the honorees and excerpts from essays they’ve written on sportsmanship.
The above passage was pulled from the essay written by 2004 Livonia Ladywood senior Sarah Jaeger, as she became the first from her sport to receive one of these prestigious awards. Less than a month later, she’d also become one of her sport's first MHSAA champions.
The Class B Bowling Finals championship she won March 5, 2004 – capping the singles portion of the first bowling season in MHSAA history – remains something that resonates with the now-mother of two small children and 13-year veteran of TV news along the I-75 corridor.
“It was just kind of a culmination of those four years,” Jaeger, now Sarah Dorow, recalled Tuesday. “From going to Ladywood and Dad starting the team from literally nothing my freshman year to seeing the sport officially a sport my senior year.
“Honestly,” she added, “I don’t think there could have been a better ending to the season and my high school bowling career.”
That 2003-04 season was the first for bowling as an MHSAA-sponsored sport, and Jaeger became one of its first state champions representing the program her father Dennis had started and her mother Judy took over after his death in 2001.
After qualifying 12th of 16 for Class B singles match play at Sterling Heights’ Sunnybrook Lanes, Sarah torched the bracket with four match wins, taking the decider against Montrose’s Anna Haggerty 231-183, 192-208, 264-244.
But her MHSAA Finals experience that winter wasn’t done just yet. Jaeger would be recognized with 26 other Scholar-Athlete Award winners on the Breslin Center floor during the Boys Basketball Finals later that March.
She went on to earn bachelor’s degrees in communications and criminal justice at University of Detroit Mercy, and then earned a master’s at Michigan State University in journalism and another master’s from Mercy in intelligence analysis. She also bowled on the Spartans’ club team during her time in East Lansing – and made time to stay in high school bowling as well.
Judy Jaeger continued to coach the Ladywood bowling program for a number of years, and Sarah assisted the Blazers from 2005-16. Judy also continues to serve as a tournament manager annually for one of the four MHSAA Finals sites, and Sarah has provided major assists at those events as well.
Near the end of her masters’ studies, Dorow began 13 years in TV news as an anchor, reporter and producer, most recently at multiple stations in the Saginaw/Flint/Bay City/Midland market before stepping aside from the camera to be home with her two children ages 6 and 3. But her stories continue – she blogs at “The TV Mommy” and “Mid-Michigan Moms” – and she can still bowl with the best of them.
She’s set to compete in the Michigan Women’s State Championship this weekend in Muskegon, and recently she shot a personal-record 777 series. She took a brief break while her kids were younger, but is back up to bowling in one league a week and one tournament a month. Her 6-year-old son has started bowling as well, and she likes to say he’s already rolled a 300 – because she did so when she was pregnant with him.
Judy Jaeger will be managing this season’s Division 2 Finals, and Sarah will try to make it over to Super Bowl in Canton. She brought her son to the 2019 Finals and they crowned that year’s champions together. That part is among the experiences she always enjoys, something of a handing down from a past champion to the next.
“It’s something I’ll definitely never forget,” Dorow said of her 2004 title run. “It’s stayed with me.”
Second Half's weekly Title IX Celebration posts are sponsored by Michigan Army National Guard.
Previous Title IX at 50 Spotlights
Feb. 8: Marian's Cicerone to Finish Among All-Time Elite - Read
Feb. 1: WISL Award Honors Builders of State's Girls Sports Tradition - Read
Jan. 25: Decades Later, Edwards' Legend Continues to Grow - Read
Jan. 18: Iron Mountain Completes Championship Climb - Read
Jan. 11: Harrold's Achievement Heralds Growth of Girls Wrestling - Read
Dec. 20: Competitive Cheer Gives Michigan Plenty to Cheer About - Read
Dec. 14: Evelyn's Game Had Plenty of Magic - Read
Dec. 7: Council Term Ends, But Leinaar Leaves Lasting Impact - Read
Nov. 30: Basketball Season Ready to Add to Rich Tradition - Read
Nov. 23: Marysville Builds Winning Streak Yet to be Challenged - Read
Nov. 16: Wroubel Has Championed Girls School Sports from Their Start - Read
Nov. 9: Pioneer's Joyce Legendary in Michigan, National Swim History - Read
Nov. 2: Royal Oak's Finch Leading Way on Football Field - Read
Oct. 26: Coach Clegg Sets Championship Standard at Grand Blanc - Read
Oct. 19: Rockford Girls Set Pace, Hundreds After Have Continued to Chase - Read
Oct. 12: Bedford Volleyball Pioneer Continues Blazing Record-Setting Trail - Read
Oct. 5: Warner Paved Way to Legend Status with Record Rounds - Read
Sept. 28: Taylor Kennedy Gymnasts Earn Fame as 1st Champions - Read
Sept. 21: Portage Northern Star Byington Becomes Play-by-Play Pioneer - Read
Sept. 14: Guerra/Groat Legacy Continues to Serve St. Philip Well - Read
Sept. 7: Best-Ever Conversation Must Include Leland's Glass - Read
Aug. 31: We Will Celebrate Many Who Paved the Way - Read
PHOTOS (Top left) Sarah Jaeger and her mother and coach Judy Jaeger celebrate Sarah's 2004 Class B bowling championship. (Top right) Jaeger today is a mother of two, veteran TV reporter, writer, and recently bowled her personal-high series. (2004 photo courtesy of Sarah Dorow; current photo by Amanda Shaffer Photography.)
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Davison Extends Run, Roosevelt Starts 1
March 4, 2016
By Scott Keyes
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – Davison's Kailee Tubbs wanted to end her senior season on top.
That's exactly what she did Friday afternoon at Art Sterling Lanes in Sterling Heights, helping the Cardinals win their fourth MHSAA Division 1 girls bowling championship in seven seasons.
Tubbs was a member of three of the championship teams, but also part of Davison’s loss in the Final a year ago to Macomb Dakota.
That loss gave Tubbs and the Cardinals drive to get back to the Finals this season.
"I think you always think about that loss in the back of your mind, but I really think it was a building block to this season," Tubbs said after the Cardinals defeated Farmington Hills 1,206-1,139 in the championship match this time.
"To be a part of three of these championships, especially winning one during your senior season, is pretty special. What a great way to end your high school career."
Kailee's dad Robert Tubbs with the help of many coaches, assistants and educators has helped build the Davison boys program into a state power since taking over the Cardinals 12 years ago.
He was choked up after watching his daughter throw her final shot as a high school bowler. However watching Kailee end her season with an MHSAA title was just icing on the cake.
“Her freshman year at the state finals, after two frames the coach said, ‘Get in there,’ and she hasn’t left the lineup,” said Tubbs, who watched his daughter shoot 184 in the regular game portion of the final.
The Wisconsin Whitewater-bound bowler finished her career with four Regional titles, three MHSAA titles and a runner-up finish. Kalee Johnson shot 192 in the Final, Bailey Gipson shot 188, Taylor Davis 175 and Olivia Stephenson 116 rounded out Davison's scoring in the Final.
With Kailee Tubbs the lone senior on the Cardinals squad, don't be surprised if Davison isn't back a year from now seeking to add to the run.
"It really comes down to our feeder programs," said Robert Tubbs. "We do such a great job developing our younger bowlers, and when they get to the high school level they know what to expect."
Davis’ 275 during qualifying helped her team secure the top seed in match play with a total of 3,406, nearly 150 pins better than second-seeded Farmington (3,258).
Davison advanced to the semifinal by beating Zeeland, 1,254-1,134, while St. Clair Shores Lakeview eliminated Howell, 1,235-1,213. Harrison moved on to the semifinals with a 1,308-1,114 win over Sterling Heights Stevenson and then defeated Brownstown-Woodhaven 1,178-1,172 to advance to the championship match.
While Davison’s girls have been dominant, Wyandotte Roosevelt’s boys captured their first MHSAA title under first-year coach Charlie Cassise with a 1,342-1,211 victory over Macomb L’Anse Creuse North. The winners built a 411-305 lead in the Baker portion and were led by Cory Coffey’s 214 in the regular game.
"The kids came into today knowing what to expect. They had a game plan and executed it," Cassise said. "I've been around this sport 50 years, and I can honestly say nothing feels better than watching these kids win a state championship."
Brent Calhoun added a 191 in the Final for the champions, while Jacob Schultz had 183, Gabe Cassise 179 and Devin Challfour 164.
Jacob Mackowiak led L’Anse Creuse North with 204 and was followed by Kevin Rhoney with 199.
Grand Haven’s Logan Batka had one of the highlights for the day on the boys side, rolling a 289 during qualifying to lead his team to a score of 1,131 pins – which bumped the Buccaneers up to sixth heading into match play. They ended up reaching the quarterfinals.
Click for full boys results and full girls results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Davison’s girls bowling team. (Middle) Wyandotte Roosevelt’s boys bowling team. (Photos by Scott Keyes.)