Tuttle Wins 3rd, Fish Strikes 1st in D4
March 5, 2016
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
LANSING – Kyle Tuttle is the undisputed, three-time heavyweight champion of Division 4 bowling in the state of Michigan.
The junior’s victory Saturday in the Singles Final at Royal Scot, 418-381 over Luke Cantrell of Genesee, contained very little of the drama that surrounded last year’s one-pin survival against Ethan Sobczak of Bad Axe.
Tuttle started the first game against Cantrell with strikes in four of the first five frames en route to a commanding 225-192 lead.
“I try not to put myself in situations where I have to dig out of a hole,” said Tuttle, the only three-time singles champion in MHSAA history. “I try to make as many quality shots as possible, and make ‘em all count.”
St. Charles coach Mark Faupel watches Tuttle not so much in amazement but as in admiration.
“He really battled today,” Faupel said. “It might not have showed on the scoresheet, but his hand was sore from a lot of bowling this weekend. Our team made it to the Finals (on Friday), and today he comes back and bowls another full day.
“But, he’s used to it, and he really enjoys it.”
Tuttle, the second seed behind freshman Korey Reichard of Vandercook Lake after the morning qualifier, rattled off match play victories over Logan Hughes of Sandusky (479-353), Tucker Hemmila of L’Anse (419-388) and Austin Kraemer of Riverview Gabriel Richard (392-346) to reach the Final.
Cantrell, a sophomore and the ninth seed after qualifying, reached the Final by defeating Blake Gulick of Ithaca (393-318), Reichard (426-371) and Isaac Solis of Adrian Madison (346-332).
“A bit less hectic this year,” said Tuttle, who practices at least five times a week while also working at Crooked Creek Lanes in Saginaw. “I had things going pretty well this weekend and was able to stay out of trouble.”
Senior Brianna Fish of Vandercook Lake made the big shots when they counted most by striking out in the 10th frame to defeat Alana Wirgau of Rogers City 350-344 in the Division 4 girls championship match. Fish lost the first game of the Final, 181-158, but didn’t reach for the panic button.
Fish’s coach, Todd Reichard, helped her relax and “bowl her game” despite trailing at the midway point.
“Coming into the tournament, I certainly didn’t expect to make it this far,” said Fish, who was seeded third after qualifying and then defeated Rachel Forest of Galesburg Augusta (412-373) in the round of 16, Erica Jones of Sandusky (342-339) in the Quarterfinals and Hayley Sigafoose of Ithaca (363-314) in the Semifinals. “As I went along I gained confidence and felt pretty good going into the Finals. I didn’t get started quite the way I wanted to but it worked out well at the end.”
Wirgau, a senior, worked her way through the bracket as the fourth seed by defeating Shai’erica Gould of Flint Beecher (442-420, including a 49-27 tiebreaker), Lillian Warner of Vandercook Lake (384-380) and Jasmine Lowe of St. Louis (378-357).
Reichard complimented his senior champion for her persistence and practice.
“We worked hard on our 10-pin and spare drills,” Reichard said, “and Brianna showed that, although she struggled at times early in the season, she was willing to put in the work on her game and became a much better bowler by the end of the season.”
Click for full boys results and girls results.
PHOTO: Vandercook Lake's Brianna Fish claimed her first MHSAA title at Royal Scot on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Vandercook Lake athletic department.)
Davison Girls, Salem Boys Reign in D1
March 3, 2017
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – In a sport filled with so much unpredictably, the Davison girls bowling team continues to be a model of incredible consistency.
For a sixth straight year, Davison advanced to the championship round of the Division 1 tournament Friday. Once there, the Cardinals improved to 5-1 in those championship matches, earning a 1,368-1,189 win over Oxford at Sterling Lanes to repeat as champions and win their fifth title in six years.
The only blemish was a loss to Macomb Dakota in the 2015 championship match.
“The girls are all dedicated and they know when come into our program, they need to give it their all,” Davison coach Bryan Davis said. “We have a great youth program. You get a couple or three good bowlers every year; it feeds into itself.”
In the boys event, Salem won its second MHSAA title with a 1,285-1,232 win in the championship match over a Hudsonville team that also was seeking the program’s second title.
Salem won it all in 2013, while Hudsonville was the champion in 2004.
“They were strong all season,” Salem coach Kathie Hahn said of her team. “I have four seniors so I was hoping for a good ending to their year. I was a little nervous and then as the (Final) came on, I was more nervous because if they started stringing (strikes), it could’ve been hard. We weren’t really stringing strikes today. But they held in there, they never gave up and were tough all the way. I can’t be more proud of them.”
The Davison girls dominated the entire day, finishing first out of the qualifying block with 3,572 pins and then starting its run to the Final with a 1,237-1,104 victory over Utica in the Quarterfinals.
The Cardinals then knocked off Rockford in the Semifinals by a score of 1,272-1,039.
Oxford finished third out of the qualifying block with 3,079 pins, and started a run to its first-ever Final with a 1,177-1,053 victory over St. Clair Shores Lakeview in the Quarterfinals.
Facing a Macomb Dakota team that knocked off No. 2-seeded Lake Orion in the Quarterfinals, Oxford earned a crack at Davison with a 1,230-1,169 win over Dakota.
Oxford head coach JR Lafnear knew the force his team was up against in Davison, and could only admire the brilliance of the Cardinals in the Final.
“That’s a juggernaut,” Lafnear said. “They are tough to beat, and we would’ve had to have been at the top of our game. We are happy with our performance. Of 100 teams in Division 1, 98 would rather be where we are. We are pretty pumped up about it. I’ve got two sophomores and a junior coming back out of this group, so we are excited about the future.”
Like the Oxford girls, the Salem boys finished third out of the qualifying block and began the elimination round with a 1,293-1,132 win over St. Clair Shores Lakeview in the Quarterfinals.
Salem then beat Grand Haven in the Semifinals, 1,312-1,149.
Hudsonville had all sorts of momentum going into the Final after knocking off the reigning Division 1 champion and No. 1 seed out of the qualifying block Wyandotte Roosevelt in the Semifinals by a score of 1,366-1,227.
But Salem was too much for Hudsonville to overcome.
“The boys showed up today,” Hudsonville coach Paul Bentley said. “They bowled good all day. We just ran into a good team in Salem. They bowled well that match.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTOS: (Top) The Davison girls raise their Division 1 trophy after repeating as champs. (Middle) Salem's boys celebrate the second MHSAA title in program history.