Comeback Champs Claim D3 Titles
March 1, 2013
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
JACKSON – It was not necessarily a bad thing to be behind early in the final game of the MHSAA Division 3 boys and girls Bowling Finals on Friday at Airport Lanes in Jackson.
Livonia Clarenceville won the boys championship, and Battle Creek Pennfield captured the girls title after both trailed by roughly 40 pins in the last game.
“We’ve been doing that all year. They’ve been fighting and fighting and fighting all year, and they’ve come from behind several times,” Pennfield coach Mike Roach said. “That’s the way they do it.”
Pennfield qualified sixth of the eight girls teams coming out of the morning session and traveled a tough road to the finals. In the quarterfinals, the Panthers knocked off Richmond, last year’s MHSAA runner-up, and then Pennfield defeated defending champion Flat Rock in the semifinals.
In the final, Pennfield trailed by 18 after the two Baker games but won the individual team game 849-763 for a 68-point victory (1,203-1,135) over Grand Rapids South Christian. Senior Loretta Hinds led the way with a 202, while Kadee Bechman was next with 177. Kira Tyler added 161, Taylor England shot 158 and Ashlynn Horvath rolled 151.
“We were just trying to keep calm and just relax and believe we could do it no matter what,” Hinds said of the early deficit. “It feels amazing.
“(Friday) morning we had a little trouble, but it was all our energy. We were all excited and we kind of calmed down and let it go.”
Two years ago, Pennfield lost in the title match to Wyoming Kelloggsville.
“This was our second time in the finals, and this year we got all the way here and took it home,” Roach said. “Taylor England did fantastic. She’s been bowling with the JV girls all year, and she really came through, but my seniors Loretta Hinds and Ashlynn Horvath really carried the team.”
Horvath was overcome with joyful tears after the conclusion of the match and talked about keeping the faith when the team was behind.
“We talked and we cheered each other on,” she said. “When maybe one person is down, we bring that person up, and we just go at it with each other. We just bring each other up.
“We come in as a team and we go out as one.”
South Christian, seeded fifth after qualifying, defeated Wyoming Kelloggsville in the quarterfinals with the second-highest total of the eight teams left and then beat Ishpeming with the top total of the semifinalists.
On the boys side, Clarenceville was seeded second coming out of qualifying and had the third-best total of the eight teams in the quarterfinals when it defeated Bridgeport. In the semifinals, Clarenceville edged South Christian by 30 after building a 70-pin lead in the Baker games.
However, Ishpeming – the No. 1 seed – trailed by just six after the two Baker games and started strong in the final match to take a 40-pin lead by the third frame.
“I think in the third frame I looked, and we were down about 40 pins,” Clarenceville coach Phil Horowitz said, “and I said, ‘We’re only down 40 pins. We have seven frames to go guys. All we have to do is pick it up and start moving.’ “
Clarenceville did just that and went on to a 1,235-1,205 victory in the title match.
The Trojans had some extra motivation as well. Last year, they lost in the quarterfinals by one pin.
“When we started the season this year, I said, ‘Guys, we’re going to go all the way,’” Horowitz said.
Six Clarenceville seniors took to the lanes for the final match as Tyler Fox led the way with a 212. Fox was in an uncomfortable position for him: Horowitz had Fox bowling fifth as the anchor bowler.
“I kept switching the lineup,” Horowitz said. “I had everybody in the first spot. In fact, the anchor bowler the last game is somebody who does not like to bowl anchor. He’ll tell you right off the bat, ‘Don’t put me fifth.’ I did because he was bowling good, and he was the only one who was hitting the pocket consistently.”
Fox not only backed up his coach’s faith in him, he backed up his coach’s words as well.
“I’m not a very good fifth bowler,” Fox said. “I usually crack under nerves, but I just knew I had to come through.
“This is incredible. I never really imagined we would win.”
Kaylup Richards added a 181 for Clarenceville, while Kyle Kissandi shot 175 and Ricky Rutembar rolled 165. Shane Martin and Matthew Thayer split the final game for a 170.
“It’s definitely not believed right now,” Kissandi said. “Hopefully, it sets in by (Saturday) when I have to bowl for individuals, but it’s definitely unbelievable.”
Ishpeming defeated Hudsonville in the quarterfinals and then topped Pinconning in the semifinals before losing to Clarenceville.
It will be a new team next season at Clarenceville, which fielded all seniors Friday. It also will have a new coach as Horowtiz said he is resigning after five years.
“When my granddaughter started bowling on another team this year, I said this is it,” he said. “What a way to go out.
“It was a great script, an absolute great script.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
Ithaca, Sandusky Top Tough D4 Contenders
March 5, 2016
By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half
LANSING – The Division 4 runner-up banner hanging in the Ithaca gymnasium served as a reminder for coach Dan Macha and his bowlers.
A gentle reminder that there was still some work to be done in order to climb that final step toward an MHSAA girls bowling championship.
“We finished second in 2010 after having finished third in the Regional, just like we did this year,” said Macha, now in his eighth year with the program. “We didn’t want a repeat. We wanted to come here (Royal Scot) and finish the job.”
The Yellowjackets won their first MHSAA Finals bowling title in school history Friday afternoon by defeating rival New Lothrop by three pins in the championship match, 1,141-1,138.
“When we were up 50 pins after the two Baker games we felt pretty good,” said senior captain Channing Gulick, “but we knew we had to stay focused. We know them (New Lothrop) and how they bowl, and they weren’t going to make it easy for us in the final game.”
Gulick, who played the role of super-sub all season long, bowled what Macha called “an incredibly clutch game” in the final game of the qualifying round to vault the Yellowjackets into the second seed for the match play Quarterfinals. Gulick rolled a 229 – 80 pins above her average – to help Ithaca leapfrog five spots prior to the start of match play.
And when freshman Bethany Slater struggled in the first three frames of the Final against New Lothrop, Gulick came off the bench to complete a 160 game. Junior Hayley Sigafoose – who reached the Semifinals as an individual on Saturday – led Ithaca with a 176 in the championship match. Sigafoose had plenty of support from Shannon Whitaker (161), Heidi Seeley (154) and Arianna Woodrow (139).
New Lothrop worked its way to the championship match with victories over top-ranked Vandercook Lake in the Quarterfinals (1,178-1,081) and Sandusky in the Semifinals (1,142-1,125). Kelsey Moore led all bowlers in the championship match with a 236 while teammate Mattie Stewart rolled a 171.
“I think Coach (Macha) might have been a little concerned after we finished third at the Regional, but we knew we had the potential to turn it around here,” Slater said. “We had a lot of confidence and very little drama all season long.”
Macha said team unity played a big part in the MHSAA championship run.
“Trust Everyone and Myself (TEAM), that’s what we preached,” said Macha. “The coaches trusted each other and so did the girls. I could not be more happy or proud of what we accomplished.”
For Sandusky senior Brett Hancock, the path to his team’s first MHSAA title since 2005 was a smooth and laughter-filled ride, built around inside jokes shared by teammates and a mutual respect for their talent and ability on the lanes.
“You don’t think about it (state title) too much when you’re bowling,” Hancock said, “but then you wake up the next day and realize you’re the state champion. That’s a pretty good feeling, no question about it.”
Sandusky’s route to the title match victory over St. Charles (1,331-1,233) went directly through Bad Axe, a team with which the Redskins had split two previous matches this season.
“We lost to them at Regionals so it was definitely time to make up for it,” Hancock said. “We were feeling good all day, cracking a few jokes and staying loose.”
Hancock, who averaged 211.5 during the season, rolled a 266 in the final game of the Quarterfinal match against Niles Brandywine. Hancock’s only regret was not striking out in the 10th frame. However, junior teammate Cody Johnston completed his 10th frame triple to roll an identical 266 and give the Redskins the momentum they needed heading into the Semifinal match with Bad Axe.
“We had a very good week of practice and we were as ready as we were going to be,” said Johnston, whose older brother Tyler won the Division 4 singles title in 2012. “Our starting five all averaged 200 or better this season, so we knew we had the talent to win it if we concentrated on filling the frames.”
Senior Logan Hughes led Sandusky with a 245 in the championship victory over St. Charles, while Hancock and Johnston rolled 207 and 194, respectively.
Sandusky coach Jeremy Johnston, Cody’s father, singled out Hughes and freshman Dakota Pallas as key contributors to the victory over St. Charles.
“We put Dakota in the lineup because one of our regular starters was struggling,” Johnston said, “and he responded by doing exactly what we needed. Logan’s 245 gave us a strong game at the top of the lineup, and so it all worked out well.”
St. Charles junior Kyle Tuttle, who won his third straight singles title Saturday, led his team with a 214 in the championship match. St. Charles had advanced to the Final with a Quarterfinal victory over third-seeded St. Louis (1,213-1,184) and a Semifinal win over second seed Vandercook Lake (1,442-1,297).
Johnston, head coach since 2009, was an assistant coach for Sandusky’s runner-up finishes in 2004 and 2008.
“We thought coming out of Regionals that we had a pretty shot to win it all,” Johnston said, “but you still have to execute the shots when they count. This team had good chemistry, and they fed off each other. When we needed a strike or big shot to get us going, we got it.”
Click for full boys results and girls results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Ithaca girls bowling team. (Middle) Sandusky boys bowling team.