Kudlac Adds Singles Win to Blissfield's Finals Weekend Championship Haul
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2026
TAYLOR – A couple of shots Saturday at Skore Lanes – and how Blissfield sophomore Alex Kudlac capitalized – decided the Division 4 Finals boys singles championship.
In the first game of the total-score two-game set, Detroit Loyola’s Cody Champion left a five count to start the 10th frame up by a pin, and Kudlac prevailed 195-178.
In the second game, Champion opened in the ninth – and then needed to strike out to catch Kudlac. He threw the first strike but had a split on the second shot to give Kudlac a 378-369 victory and the title.
“I was very nervous these two games,’’ said Kudlac. “Going back, I thought the lanes would play the same. It was the exact opposite. It played so much different on the fresh oil.’’
Kudlac’s victory made it a double for Blissfield, which captured the team title Friday.
“I’m so proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish,’’ said Kudlac. “I made my spares. I’m happy with myself. My first two shots in the Finals came in high, so I had to move two boards. Four of the five of us made the cut for states.’’
Jackson Lumen Christi’s Anthony Wetzle qualified first for Saturday’s match play with a pinfall of 1,325, followed by Champion of Detroit Loyola at 1,296, Brayden Smith of Byron at 1,292 and Collin Retter of Blissfield at 1,275.
Blissfield had three reach the final 16 singles – junior Retter, sophomore Kudlac and senior Matthew Anderson. Plymouth Christian Academy had two qualify in senior Ashton White and senior Graham Gortney.
Wetzle beat Gortney (392-387) in the first round to face New Lothrop’s Dominick Dilts, who won in a nail-biter (436-426) against Brennen Eaton of Burton Atherton to advance to the Quarterfinals.
Kudlac won over Plymouth Christian Academy’s White (484-410) and faced Bruer Gieski of Vandercook Lake, who had eliminated Retter (371-318).
Smith, a freshman at Byron, downed Thailan Raby of St. Louis (516-285). He went up against Le’Veon Greenwade of Taylor Trillium Academy, who had eliminated Matthew Anderson of Blissfield.
Champion took down Hunter Crow of Genessee in the Quarterfinals and faced Josh Millward, who had disposed of Carter Fournier of Hudson.
Wetzle made it to the Semifinals with a 474-434 victory over Dilts, while Smith eliminated Greenwade (460-403). Champion advanced with a three-pin win over Millward (389-386).
Kudlac reached the Final by beating Wetzle, the top seed, 471-459. Champion eliminated Smith (366-334) to advance.
History Made, History Ended in D1
March 6, 2015
By Jon Malavolti
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – Macomb Dakota’s girls ended Davison’s MHSAA title streak, while Wayne Memorial’s boys topped Saginaw Heritage in their Division 1 Bowling Final on Friday at Sunnybrook Lanes.
Davison was looking to become the first school to win four straight MHSAA team bowling titles. But Dakota had other plans when the squads met in the Final.
The Cardinals took a two-pin lead following the pair of Baker games to open the match, but the Cougars took over from there, filling up the frames with strikes and spares.
“We were completely determined,” said Dakota’s Sierra Stade, one of five seniors who bowled in the Final. “We came in here saying we want to win this, it’s our last year, and we did. To finally win was amazing.”
Led by sophomore Hannah Forton’s 228 and Stade’s 222, the Cougars won 1,321-1,228, avenging last year’s loss in the MHSAA Semifinals to Davison.
“You can see at the end, they fired back, Hannah and Sierra shot those awesome games to keep us on fire,” Dakota coach Kevin Wemyss said. “How do you put it into words? It’s awesome. All in all, they bowled great all day.”
The title is the program’s first.
“It’s really exciting, I’m really happy,” Forton said. “We did really good in the last game.”
While it was a bittersweet end of the run for Davison, Cardinals coach Tracey Greene was proud of how far the squad got this season.
“Actually, I didn’t know if we’d get to the Finals,” he said, noting the team’s overall youth. “They’ve been working hard all year to get to where they got, but it wasn’t quite enough in that last game. Dakota … they had a good start and we just could never catch them. Hopefully we’ll get back here again next year.”
The team’s lone senior, Brooklyn Greene, a member of the previous three championship teams, also was impressed with the team’s effort.
“I think getting second was awesome. I didn’t really expect to get this far,” she said. “I’m so proud of them.”
In the Boys Final, Wayne Memorial coach Bob Jawor said his bowlers “never quit.”
“We were down a couple of times, and they bounced back. They never stopped trying,” he said. “They fought hard all year. I’m really happy for them because they deserve it. I’m really proud of them.”
Junior Conner Weber led the way for the Zebras with a 231 in the final game, helping them top Heritage 1,281-1,229.
“It’s honestly mind blowing, it’s crazy,” he said about winning the title. This is one thing I’ve always been wanting, especially the team … it’s big. It really brings it home. This team started from the bottom, and we got there, we got on top.”
Heritage coach Todd Hare believed his bowlers gave it their all during the long day of intense competition.
“We bowled really well most of the day,” he said.
The coach noted that the Hawks “turned it up a notch” late in qualifying before making their run. “And then we just couldn’t quite get it rolling,” he added.
The Finals appearance was the second in three years for the Hawks, as Hare noted it was the end of an impressive era for his five seniors.
The title is Wayne Memorial’s first, after the Zebras lost in the 2009 Final.
Click for full girls results and boys results. Photos will be added Saturday.