D4 Filled with Pin Falling, History Making

March 7, 2015

By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half

LANSING – Kyle Tuttle felt the target on his back all weekend at Royal Scot Bowl, but it was the Xs he marked in the late frames Saturday afternoon that really hit the sweet spot.

The St. Charles sophomore became only the second bowler in MHSAA competition to win back-to-back singles championships by edging Bad Axe junior Ethan Sobczak by one pin, 379-378, in the Division 4 title match.

Jordan Richard of Tecumseh won consecutive Division 2 singles titles in 2012 and 2013.

Tuttle trailed by 15 pins (175-160) after an uncharacteristically well-below-average first game, and then compounded matters by committing a line violation in the opening frame of game two.

“But that’s when he shows how mentally tough he is,” said St. Charles coach Mark Faupel. “Kyle is an extremely hard worker, he’s mature, meticulous and very precise. Anybody else might have packed it in at that point.”

Trailing by eight pins heading into the eighth frame, Tuttle reeled off four straight strikes (he left three pins standing on his last ball) to finish with a 219. He then had to sit and watch Sobczak take aim at the title.

“I thought he was going to double and win it,” Tuttle said.

Sobczak cleared he deck with his first throw in the 10th but left one standing on his second attempt. He cleaned up the spare, but it wasn’t enough to dethrone Tuttle.

“I had a terrible start, no doubt about it,” Tuttle said. “But thankfully I was able to pull it together when it counted.”

Tuttle, who carried a 210 average into the weekend, defeated Oscoda freshman Grant Huebel in the Semifinals, 433-402, and Dryden senior Patrick Kaliszewski in the Quarterfinals, 418-329.

Tuttle was seeded second to Bailey Budnick of Rogers City – the 2013 Finals champion – after the morning qualifiers.

“We talked before the second game, and I told him he needed to go get it,” Faupel said of Tuttle, whom he’s helped coach since the sixth grade. “(Sobczak) was not going to let it get away. Kyle had to go out and win it.”

Sobczak, who also received a second-place team medal Friday, reached the Singles Finals by defeating St. Louis senior Zach Fenby in the Quarterfinals, 370-329, and Riverview Gabriel Richard senior Christian O’Callaghan in the Semifinals, 411-395. Sobczak closed out that match with four straight strikes.

The other two Quarterfinal qualifiers in the boys competition were Niles Brandywine senior Jakob Azilagyi and Hanover-Horton sophomore Zach White.

Hanover-Horton junior Emma Davis made it look easy in the Division 4 Girls Singles Finals, as she cruised home with four victories in bracket play by a combined pinfall of 469.

Davis, who came out of the qualifying round seeded second behind Ithaca senior Chelsea MacLennan, strung together two-game totals of 532, 408, 444 and 384, the last of which defeated runner-up Rebecca Bannasch of Rogers City by 43 pins.

“I really felt good all day and was able to put together some solid games at the right time,” said Davis.

Solid is an understatement. Davis rolled 245-287 to defeat St. Ignace senior Sharman Colegrove in the round of 16; 221-187 against New Lothrop junior Jenna Johnson in the Quarterfinals; identical 222s versus Oscoda senior Paige Huebel in the Semifinals; and 213-171 over Bannasch in the title match.

“Her consistency, from start to finish, was right where it needed to be,” said Hanover-Horton coach Rob Davis. “She had a couple of great games in the round of 16 and from there it was all Emma. She was focused and throwing the ball really well.”

Davis qualified for the round of 16 last year but did not advance further.

“I slowed things down a bit more this time, and it seemed to work well for me,” Davis said.

Bannasch reached the Final by defeating Mason County Central senior Lindsay Koch, 361-298, in the round of 16; Ithaca junior Arianna Woodrow, 346-267, in the Quarterfinals; and Portland St. Patrick senior Madison Schrauben, 332-324, in the Semifinals.

Clinton junior Elizabeth Heimerdinger and Rogers City junior Sarah Meredith also earned medals for reaching the Quarterfinals.

Click for full girls results and boys results.

Fournier Adds Another Hudson Finals Win with School's 1st in Bowling

March 2, 2024

MUSKEGON – As Hudson boys bowling coach Mike Longmire explained it Saturday, his community is known athletically for football, wrestling and competitive cheer. In fact, the wrestling team repeated as Division 4 champion a week ago, and the cheer team won its fifth-straight Division 4 title Friday.

But sophomore Carter Fournier’s performance to cap the weekend at least puts bowling in the picture.

Fournier became his school’s first MHSAA Finals champion in this sport, qualifying as the 10th seed for match play and surviving a series of strong challenges before breaking away for a 444-392 win over Allen Park Cabrini junior Bryce Cadaret in the championship match at Northway Lanes.

Fournier had started the morning’s six-game qualifying block with a pair of 222 games, but dipped to 148 in the fourth. He rebounded in a big way with a 238 in his final game of qualifying to finish with a 1,194 total – and with the separation between 10th and missing the cut in 17th only 48 pins.

“I thought I wasn’t going to make the cut,” Fournier said. “I made it as the 10th seed, and I just kept grinding away in match play – and winning.”   

First up was Burton Atherton junior Michael Demey, and Fournier won by six pins, 385-379. Next was New Lothrop’s Ashtin Andres and another lean win, 390-388.

Fournier rolled a 201 and 258 in the Semifinal to get past Jonesville’s Andrew Sackett 459-431. He carried the momentum of that 258 into the championship match, rolling a 236 to Cadaret’s 190 in the first game and taking the second 208-202.

“He was throwing the ball really well early on, but he was down every match we started, except for the final one,” Longmire said. “(I) just tried to keep him positive and keep him going and not give up, and he did a great job. He didn’t get emotional or anything; he was just steady and made good shots.”

Cadaret finished runner-up for the second-straight season. He qualified for match play as the fourth seed and dominated on his way to the Final with wins of 414-341, 469-351 and 510-364 in the Semifinal.

Click for full results.