Vandercook Lake Rolls to D4 Sweep
March 3, 2017
By Dick Hoekstra
Special for Second Half
LANSING – One was for the first time and the other for a sixth.
But the Vandercook Lake boys and girls bowling teams swept the Division 4 team championships Friday at Royal Scot Lanes.
The Jayhawks boys earned the school’s first MHSAA Finals title by keeping Sandusky from repeating as champion, 1501-1367.
The Vandercook Lake girls team captured its sixth title by keeping St. Louis from claiming its second crown in three years, 1233-1167.
The Jayhawks girls also earned MHSAA titles in 2011, 2013 and 2014 in Division 4 as well as 2009 in Division 3 and 2005 in Class C-D.
“We got a couple breaks where they didn’t in the Baker games,” said Vandercook Lake girls bowling coach Todd Reichard, whose team pulled ahead by 69 pins with 177-159 and 188-137 Baker game wins. “Then we just stayed steady with them. We tried to fill frames. It was two good teams. We just got lucky in the Bakers.”
Senior captain Ariel Robinson rolled a 211 and sophomore Mackenzie Johnson a 202 in the Final for the Jayhawks, who were seeded No. 1 after qualifying and defeated No. 8 Dryden and then No. 5 Rogers City 1239-1166 to reach the championship match.
“These young ladies just refuse to lose,” Reichard said. “I lost four seniors last year. I knew I had a lot of work with a new group this year. This is number six for me, and I tried to do it with depth, because I didn’t have a superstar. Mackenzie (sophomore and individual Regional champion Mackenzie Johnson) might be my best bowler, but everybody chipped in today. I’m still amazed how we got here.”
St. Louis emerged as the No. 2 seed after morning qualifying before defeating No. 7 seed Traverse City Christian and then No. 3 seed Schoolcraft.
The Sharks actually edged Vandercook Lake 871-868 in pins over the Peterson games as senior Emily Thelen threw a 231.
“We just had a lot of bad breaks with some nasty splits in the Baker games, and that’s what came back and got us,” St. Louis girls bowling coach Brittney Mizer said. “The girls didn’t bowl bad. They should be super proud of how they did. I know I am.”
The No. 2-seeded Sandusky boys after morning qualifying were trying to become the first repeat champion in Division 4, and seemed poised after edging No. 3 seed St. Charles 1356-1343 in a Semifinal that was a rematch of last year’s championship match.
But Vandercook Lake topped No. 4 Rogers City 1324-1127 in the other Semifinal, and then became the eighth new champion in the eight years a Division 4 tournament has been held. (There were only three divisions from 2006-2009 and just two in 2004 and 2005.)
“We bowled really well in the St. Charles match, and it felt like a state final,” Sandusky boys bowling coach Del Shea said. “It was pretty exciting. I’ve been coaching 12 years, and I don’t remember anybody defending. That’s what we were trying to do. We almost got there.”
The Redskins fired a 254 to Vandercook Lake’s 192 in the first Baker game, but the Jayhawks answered with a 290 to Sandusky’s 160 in the second Baker game to take a 68-pin lead.
“We came back, and we were only 20 pins down in the middle of that (Peterson) game,” Shea said. “We almost got it back, but we ran out of steam. Everybody bowled really well, especially our seniors Brandon Hughes, Jared Jagotka, Cody Johnston.”
Vandercook Lake boys bowling coach Libie Ambs said the Jayhawks also had to come from behind in their Semifinal with Rogers City.
“But the match with Sandusky was the toughest,” she said. “Korey Reichard bowled well all day. He shot 257 the last game. All of them bowled well. Everybody at least had one game over deuce (200).”
Ambs’ first year coaching the Jayhawks boys was 2009, when they finished as runners-up in Division 3.
“Last year, we got knocked out in the Semifinals,” she said. “This year they kind of had a mission. Korey kept them pumped after every shot, and kept them going.”
Click for full girls results and boys results.
PHOTO: The Vandercook Lake girls and boys teams stand together after sweeping the Division 4 championships at Lansing’s Royal Scot.
Bishop Foley Goes Distance Every Match to Clinch 1st Championship
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2024
JACKSON – The Madison Heights Bishop Foley girls bowling team was in no hurry to leave Jax 60 on Friday.
The Ventures stayed as long as they could and put on quite a show for those gathered to watch the Division 3 Finals.
Bishop Foley went the distance in all three best-of-five Baker matches, culminating with a whisker-close victory in the Final over Milan to claim the program's first championship. The Ventures won the first game 147-133 before dropping the next two 183-164 and 145-139.
They needed their anchor bowler, Jacey Thibodeau, to step up in the 10th frame of the last two to win, and she did to propel them to 155-147 and 150-130 victories and the trophy.
“It’s pretty crazy walking in here and bowling against all these great teams, and then you make it to match play and win,” Thibodeau said. “Today was full of ups and downs. I didn’t really know what I needed in the 10th, and it was probably a good thing.”
The five games of the championship could not have been closer midgame. In the sixth frame of each game, neither team held a lead larger than five pins. Milan was up by a pin in the ninth frame of the fourth game before Thibodeau doubled to force a fifth game.
Milan again led by a pin in the sixth frame before opening four straight times. Thibodeau needed a mark in the 10th to win the title and threw two strikes and a 9-count.
“I want Jacey in that spot. She’s the anchor bowler for a reason,” said interim Bishop Foley coach Bradford Grems. “She’s clutch. That’s what she does. She’s amazing.”
Grems might have been stepping in as interim coach, but he’s plenty familiar with the Ventures. He coached at Holy Family Middle School prior to this season, mentoring many of the bowlers on his current team, including his daughter, freshman Charlotte Grems.
“The program is incredible,” Bradford Grems said. “We have a lot of younger girls that are just bringing their best and even helping the seniors on the team, and the seniors are passing their leadership onto them.
“Just the way they bond together as a team is so incredible and inspiring to me as a coach. It makes me want to coach more and work with them more.”
Bishop Foley qualified third after eight Baker games and two regular games with a total of 3,139 pins.
The Ventures ran out to a 2-0 lead over Armada in the Quarterfinals before needing a 152-131 victory in the fifth game to advance. They faced 2023 champion Flint Powers Catholic in the Semifinals and lost two of the first three before winning 165-147 and 206-150 to reach the Final.
“It was so incredible to go round to round like this today and just see the intensity in each round,” Grems said. “We had to go five games in each round. A little bit of down, but the girls figured out how to pick it back up. So incredible their energy, intensity and desire to win today.”
Thibodeau will compete for an individual title alongside teammates, senior Madelyn Kubacki and freshman Teresa Schudt, on Saturday.
Milan qualified fourth with 3,099 and beat Ishpeming Westwood in five games before dispatching top seed Three Rivers in four games in the Semifinals.