Holly Champion Now Bowling Master
April 16, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan’s high school bowling community cheered Holly graduate Andrew Anderson as an MHSAA champion in 2013.
Now, it can celebrate him as a “master.”
Anderson bested a 360-bowler field to win his first Professional Bowlers Association Tour championship Sunday, finishing first at the United States Bowling Congress Masters in Syracuse, N.Y. The Masters is considered a major tournament on the PBA Tour schedule.
After completing qualifying, Anderson was one of 64 competitors to make the match play. He downed Alex Hoskins of Brigham, Utah, 213-199 in the championship match. Click to read more from USBC.
Anderson returned to Holly’s bowling team for the final six weeks of his senior season after previously making the match play at the MHSAA Finals as a freshman and advancing the quarterfinals as a sophomore. He won his Division 2 championship match as a senior by 112 pins. (Click for coverage of that 2013 tournament from Second Half.)
Anderson attends Davenport University and is in his first year as a member of Team USA. He also bowled three years as part of Junior Team USA.
PHOTO: Holly’s Andrew Anderson, holding his USBC Masters trophy. (Photo courtesy of USBC.)
McCarthy Makes Good in Finals Return with 2nd Championship
By
Nick Cooper
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
MUSKEGON – On Saturday at Northway Lanes, Alex McCarthy’s performance seemed to indicate that March madness has already begun.
McCarthy emerged as the six seed to win the Division 4 Singles Finals championship, after previously winning the 2023 title as the 10th seed.
“I believed in myself and just had to execute, and I did,” said the Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central standout.
After winning it all in 2023, McCarthy did not reach the Finals as a junior – which he used as motivation entering this season.
“I wanted to redeem myself, and I did. It feels pretty good,” said McCarthy.
The senior collected 1,815 pins in the tournament including 499 in the final round against Houghton Lake’s Maison Christian, who tallied 351 pins.
“He's done fantastic, and this year it’s very special because obviously it’s the 100th MHSAA championship plus he was the conference champion, plus Regional champion, now state champion,” said Saginaw Nouvel head coach Brian Montini.
Exceptional bowling from Le’Veon Greewade of Taylor Trillium Academy and Jonesville’s Andrew Sackett led them to the semifinals as well.
McCarthy’s championship run was aided by an unconventional strategy that ended up paying off.
“I made a switch on the fly to the gem, and it worked out. I found a groove,” said McCarthy.
McCarthy’s growth since his first championship as a sophomore was evident when looking at the pin differential that he produced this year. The 1,815 pins he knocked down were 198 more than during his 2023 championship run.
As McCarthy’s career came to a close, the two-time champion reflected upon his career and offered words of advice to incoming freshmen.
“Never lose faith and just keep grinding,” he said. “Keep working, and you never know what could happen.”