Finals Preview: Regulars' Roll Call
February 27, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The boys and girls sides of this weekend’s MHSAA Bowling Finals could follow distinctly different storylines with team competition set to begin Friday.
Regulars like Davison, Tecumseh, Vandercook Lake and Sandusky are among favorites again in the girls competition. The boys tournaments appear much more wide open with a number of unranked teams looking good to make runs at titles.
All Team Finals are Friday, and Singles Finals are Saturday. Click for the full list of girls qualifiers and boys qualifiers, and come back to Second Half all weekend for coverage from all four Finals sites.
Girls Division 1
Team: Davison, the champion the last two seasons and top-ranked this winter, rolled last weekend’s highest Division 1 Regional score of 4,004 – 243 pins better than the next highest contender. Back from last season’s championship team are Singles Finals qualifiers Kailee Tubbs and Brooklyn Greene, but Davison also is bolstered by Regional champ and freshman Taylor Davis, another freshman qualifier in Kalee Johnson and one more qualifier in junior Taylor Brown. Flint Carman-Ainsworth and Sterling Heights Stevenson are ranked Nos. 4 and 3, respectively, in the latest coaches poll, and both cleared 3,700 pins at their Regionals, while No. 2 Macomb Dakota also qualified.
Singles: Dakota senior Nicole Mikaelian ascended from the 16th spot in qualifying at last season’s Final to finish individual runner-up, and she’ll be back among the contenders. Freshman Davis and Canton’s Meghan Macunovich both won Regionals and the latter’s 1,282 the highest individual score in Division 1. Walled Lake Central senior Ashley Bickel and Macomb L’Anse Creuse North sophomore Samantha Gainor joined those two among others in breaking 1,200 to win Regional titles.
Boys Division 1
Team: Top-ranked and reigning champion Salem did not qualify for the Finals, opening up this field considerably. No. 2 Macomb Dakota, the champion in both 2011 and 2012, posted last weekend’s top Regional score regardless of division, 4,341. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley with 4,273 and Sterling Heights Stevenson with 4,272 had the next highest Regional scores in the state – finishing second and third, respectively, behind Dakota at that tournament.
Singles: Last season Quarterfinalists Jack Herndel of Howell and Jacob Kersten of Clarkston are the only ones of that top eight who qualified again this season, Herndel as a Regional champ. Sterling Heights Stevenson junior Anthony Taormina put up the division’s highest score of 1,404, with Flint Carman-Ainsworth senior Jordon Nunn next at 1,375. Nunn made the Finals match play last season.
Girls Division 2
Team: Top-ranked Tecumseh is looking to regain the title after winning three straight from 2008-10. Its score of 4,017 was the best at any Regional, regardless of division, and four seniors qualified for the Singles Final as well with Lauren McKowen’s 1,320 the highest Regional individual score in the state. Flint Kearsley, the 2012 champion, posted last week’s second-highest Regional score of 3,664 and qualified five individuals – all seniors or juniors – for the Singles tournament.
Singles: Reigning champion Jordan Richard, another of the Tecumseh seniors, finished runner-up to her teammate McKowen at the Regional. Both made the individual Semifinals in 2013, as did Kearsley junior Kayla Emmendorfer, who also will return. Only three of the top 14 match play qualifiers last season were seniors, and 10 of those 11 who were not are qualified to bowl this weekend.
Boys Division 2
Team: Reigning champion Sturgis and top-ranked Marysville both won their Regionals last weekend, with Taylor Kennedy – which just missed the Finals Quarterfinals last season – putting up the division’s top Regional score of 4,037. No. 4 Flint Kearsley should be back in the mix after also winning its Regional, but unranked Bay City John Glenn is the most intriguing after winning its Regional with a 3,803 and then qualifying three seniors for the individual tournament.
Singles: John Glenn senior Alex Ouellette helped key that team effort and won the singles Regional title, and he might be the favorite after finishing Finals runner-up in 2013. Only two others in Division 2 posted higher Regional scores – Warren Fitzgerald senior Alec Nunn threw a 1,445 and looks tough after making match play last season, while Dearborn Heights Annapolis senior Leon Hutchcraft rolled a 1,348 to win his Regional.
Girls Division 3
Team: No. 4-ranked Richmond posted the division’s highest Regional score of 3,667 to win a tournament that also included top-ranked Croswell-Lexington, which did qualify as a third-place finisher. Reigning champion Battle Creek Pennfield also qualified as a Regional champion, and unranked Standish-Sterling is an intriguing contender after joining Richmond as the only Division 3 teams to break 3,600 last weekend.
Singles: Alma senior Hannah Chase made the Quarterfinals last season and looks poised to finish an outstanding career with one last run after posting the division’s’ highest Regional score of 1,242. Caro junior Adreanna Jackson and Ishpeming senior Katlynne Carlson, both also Quarterfinalists last weekend, are back. Richmond senior Noelle Scheuer, the best non-senior in last season’s qualifying block, qualified again, a couple spots back of senior teammate Payton Dickson, who put up an impressive 1,225 to win that tournament.
Division 3 boys
Team: Unranked Ishpeming is looking to finish a title run after rolling the best qualifying block at last season’s Final by 100 pins but falling in the championship match by 30. The Hematites won their Regional with the second-highest score in Division 3, 4,085. The top score in Division 3 belonged to another unranked team, Corunna, which rolled a 4,174 to win its Regional by 473 pins over top-ranked Armada.
Singles: All but four of last season’s 16 match play participants were seniors, but Fremont junior Sam Brandt is back after making the Semifinals last season, while senior teammate Jeremy Pikaart won last weekend’s Regional after making the Quarterfinals in 2013 and Ishpeming senior Matt Kilberg qualified again after also making last year’s quarters. Five Division 3 qualifiers broke 1,300 at Regionals, led by Pinconning senior Calvin Kerr at 1,374.
Division 4 girls
Team: Reigning champion Vandercook Lake and reigning runner-up Sandusky have finished some combination of first and second each of the last three seasons. So of course they are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, again. Sandusky posted the division’s best Regional score of 3,716, with Vandercook Lake one pin off at 3,715 – so another classic could be inevitable. Unranked Ravenna, another Regional champion rolling 3,399, is an intriguing possibility to join the favorites.
Singles: Vandercook Lake senior Malloree Ambs defeated Oscoda junior Paige Huebel by only 14 pins in last season’s Final, and both are back – Ambs as a Regional champion with a score of 1,244, 98 pins better than the next best in Division 4. Rogers City junior Rebecca Bannasch also was a Semifinalist last season, and she won her Regional by 21 pins.
Division 4 boys
Team: Reigning champion Riverview Gabriel Richard was one of eight Davison 4 teams that broke 3,700 pins at Regionals – but Gabriel Richard finished only second to Jonesville, which rolled 3,788. No. 6 Ithaca and unranked Kent City were the only teams to break 3,800 pins as both won their Regionals. Neither of those two nor Jonesville qualified for the Finals in 2013.
Singles: A pair of freshmen rolled off in last season’s championship match, with Rogers City’s Bailey Budnik the eventual victor. He’s back this season, with another sophomore – Lakeview's Ryan Finup – bowling the division’s best Regional score of 1,231. Three freshmen – St. Charles' Kyle Tuttle, Sandusky’s Cody Johnston and Hanover-Horton’s Zach White – also won Regional titles.
PHOTO: Vandercook Lake’s Malloree Ambs watches one of her shots during last season's Division 4 Singles Final. She’s back in an attempt to repeat as champion. (Click to see more at HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Ploof Legacy Grows, Robison's Begins
March 5, 2016
By Bill Khan
Special for Second Half
CANTON — Flint Kearsley's first family of bowling has its second MHSAA individual champion.
Senior Hannah Ploof closed out a championship-laden high school career by winning the Division 2 individual title Saturday at Super Bowl, beating Wayland sophomore Sydney Urben, 385-336.
One day earlier, Ploof was part of her third team championship. As dominant as Kearsley's girls have been in recent years, they've never had a team championship and individual winner in the same year.
Until now.
"This weekend is perfect," Ploof said.
Ploof is coached by her parents, Robert and Pam, who have guided the Hornets to four team titles in the last five years. One year before that streak began, Lindsay Ploof was the individual champion in 2011.
"Lindsay's a big influence on her," said Robert Ploof, the team's head coach. "She's here rooting her on today. It's been awesome. Hannah is just a good kid. She's been a team captain every year. She's president of the National Honor Society. I can't believe she's mine. I give all the credit to her mom; mom definitely did it."
Hannah advanced through the qualifying round at the MHSAA Finals all four years, but didn't reach the championship match until Saturday. She lost 393-342 to Madchen Breen of Warren Regina in the round of 16 last year after coming in as the No. 5 seed. She made the Semifinals in 2014, only to lose 378-322 to Samantha Knight of Richland Gull Lake. As a freshman, she lost 411-371 to Mikki Mathews of Jackson Northwest in the round of 16.
"It was definitely not an easy thing to do," Ploof said. "I've been working for four years for this, so it paid off. We try to bowl a lot of tournaments. As you saw, our team is pretty successful. Being in these types of situations, I'm used to it now."
Ploof dominated during her six qualifying games, averaging 218 to take the top seed by 146 pins over Breen. Urben was the third seed, 153 pins behind Ploof, reaching the Final with a 389-302 victory over Breen.
The degree of difficulty increased for Ploof after qualifying, however. She trailed Makayla Lancioni of South Lyon East, 198-159, after one game in the Round of 16. Ploof responded with a 224 in the second game to win, 383-353.
After a 420-323 victory over Jamie Bleiler of Jackson in the Quarterfinals, Ploof escaped with a 401-384 victory over Kayla Wild of Tecumseh in the Semifinals.
"In the Semifinals, she had a strike to win and she put it there," Ploof said. "There's nothing you can do about that. It's up to whatever. She left a 10 pin. It should not have stood. She should have won that one. I think everybody has those."
Ploof went up against a bowler with MHSAA championship experience, but in another sport. Urben was a .418 hitter as a freshman on Wayland's Division 2 championship softball team last spring. In bowling, she was 22nd in qualifying at the MHSAA Tournament last year, 35 pins out of the 16th and final qualifying berth.
"I'm just really surprised I made it this far, because there are so many good bowlers here," Urben said. "It's a really good experience to have going into the future. I learned adjustments. I learned how to stay consistent. I'll just practice harder next year and hopefully get back to the same spot where I was, and hopefully win it."
In the boys tournament, Sturgis junior Austin Robison won the championship with a 427-399 victory over Melvindale sophomore Marcus McClain in the Final.
Both bowlers made it to the Final despite no experience in the MHSAA individual tournament. Robison didn't advance through Regionals last year, while Melvindale didn't even have a team last season.
"I cut myself short in Regionals, which actually fueled my fire and made me want to come back and bowl my own game," Robison said. "I was in the cut most of the day, then I just threw myself out of it, throwing bad games. Every year I improve. After last year, it hurt me. I had to better myself and come back stronger than ever."
Robison was fourth after six qualifying games with a score of 1,292, a 215 average. Plainwell senior Trevor Millard led a field of 60 bowlers through qualifying with a score of 1,386, a 231 average.
Robison eliminated Millard in the Semifinals, 412-373. Robison's closest matches were his first two, as he beat Byron Center junior David Northouse, 383-364, before winning 394-373 over New Boston Huron senior Cody Farr in the Quarterfinals.
"Usually pressure like that doesn't get to me," Robison said. "It somewhat did, because it's the state championships. I bowl better under pressure than just regular bowling."
Sturgis coach Terry Smith concurs with Robison's self-assessment.
"The only thing the pressure does is makes him focus on what he's doing," Smith said. "Instead of just going out there and winging it, he knows every shot is going to count. He's a lot more coachable in a situation with pressure than he is when we're just shooting team games, because he thinks he can get away with his carry. When it comes down to every shot's going to matter, it helps him focus."
McClain came out of qualifying in sixth place with a score of 1,255, a 209 average. He knocked off defending champion Chad Stephen of Kearsley in the Semifinals, 397-325. In his other matches, McClain won 448-387 over Sparta senior Derek Austin in the Round of 16 and 433-331 over Coldwater senior Shawn Johnson in the Quarterfinals.
Robison had a 226-208 lead over McClain after the first game of the final match. Robison closed it out with a 201-191 advantage in the final game.
"This is the first year our school had a high school team," McClain said. "We just talked to the A.D. Last year I bowled in tournaments, anything I could bowl, and practiced."
Click for full boys results and full girls results.
PHOTOS: (Top) Davison’s Hannah Ploof receives a hug from her mother, Pam, after winning the Division 2 individual title. (Middle) The Ploof family: Pam, 2011 individual champion Lindsay, Robert, Hannah. (Below) Sturgis champion Austin Robison stands with his coach, Terry Smith.