McBride, Buck Come Back to Shine
March 3, 2018
By Keith Dunlap
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – The 2018 Division 1 Singles Finals turned out to be all about a pair of lefties who ended up crying tears of joy after crying tears of grief previously at the MHSAA tournament.
Macomb Dakota junior Danielle McBride and Rockford sophomore Matt Buck were crowned the new individual champions to cap off varying degrees of rebound stories.
For McBride, it was a rebound of less than 24 hours.
During Friday’s team competition, McBride in the final frame of the championship match against Oxford bowled an unfortunate split, which ultimately opened the door for Oxford to win in the final frame.
Obviously crushed and shedding tears with her teammates after that defeat, McBride this time shared hugs and tears of joy with teammates who supported her through her championship run.
McBride qualified as the No. 3 seed and then earned a 473-403 win over Rachel Doran of Farmington-Harrison in the Round of 16, a 432-416 win over Anna Maxwell of Westland John Glenn in the quarterfinals and a 418-382 win over Lauren Slagter in the semifinals to set up a finals match with Caledonia senior Macailin Rodriguez.
Armed with a 211 average, McBride bowled well beyond that to easily defeat Rodriguez.
McBride bowled a 245 and 243 for a final score of 488 that outpaced the 385 bowled by Rodriguez.
“I was just focusing on hitting my spares and hitting my marks,” McBride said. “I tried to stay smooth in everything. I kind’ve lost confidence and thought I could have done better (Friday). I knew I could do better today.”
The Dakota girls won the team title in 2015, but this was the first individual title for a Dakota girl bowler.
McBride finished 10th at last year’s Final.
To further put McBride’s performance in perspective, she didn’t have a match total of less than 400 pins in her four after qualifying, in essence beating the top boys as well with her performance.
Buck also had his rebound story, as he recalled leaving the alley after last year’s MHSAA tournament crying after struggling in the qualifying portion and finishing 46th.
“I came out here to have fun,” Buck said. “Last year, I was a little low and I did cry. But I learned from that experience.”
Buck finished as the No. 12 seed out of the qualifying block this time before earning a win over David Decruydt of St. Clair Shores Lake Shore in the Round of 16, a 403-328 win over Oxford senior Christian Cartner in the quarterfinals and a close 413-405 win over No. 1 seed Trevor Morgan of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix in the semifinals to earn a match against Detroit U-D Jesuit senior Ryan Reid in for the title.
The difference turned out to be the first game, which saw Reid struggle and Buck take a 196-152 lead going into the final game.
Reid came out hot to start the finale, bowling five consecutive strikes to signal he wasn’t going away.
“I just had to keep up with him,” Buck said.
Buck did that, starting the game with three strikes himself before ultimately seeing Reid cool off in the later frames.
Reid ended up winning the second game 218-201, but it wasn’t enough to erase the deficit as Buck earned a 397-370 victory and an MHSAA Finals championship.
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Wayne's Derrick Powers Past Reigning Champ to Clinch Division 1 Title
By
Perry A. Farrell
Special for MHSAA.com
March 1, 2025
ALLEN PARK – All Dylan Harnden could do was shake his head.
In attempt to repeat as Division 1 singles champion Saturday at Thunderbowl Lanes, he ran into a buzzsaw named Lyman Derrick III.
The Wayne Memorial sophomore, standing just 5-foot-3, couldn’t miss. His two-handed style produced games of 257-233 and he emerged as champion over Harnden, who shot 444.
“He had the front seven and the front six; there was nothing I could do,’’ admitted Harnden.
Said Derrick: “I would describe my style as unusual.’’
Derrick broke 200 pins in 11 of his 14 games Saturday. His dad, Lynam Derrick Jr., saw this coming.
“He has been bowling since he was 4,’’ said Derrick Jr. “At 6 he almost threw a 300. My friends won’t even bowl with him anymore.
“He has put in a ton of work. So proud of him.’’
Said former PBA pro John Mazza: “He is amazing.’’
Derek Kern of Muskegon Mona Shores shot a 300 in the second game of qualifying. He eventually finished as the ninth qualifier at 1,320.
The top spot went to Haden Hebel of Hartland at 1,372, followed by Davison’s Joe Merz at 1,366, Jenison’s Benjamin Slagter at 1,355 and Matt Sprau of Portage Central with a score of 1,351. Harnden was seventh at 1,331.
Hebel advanced against Cole Rogus of Macomb Dakota, 459-453 to face Andrew Fsadni of Salem, who had knocked out Kern, 401-385.
Merz eliminated Johnathan Hatcher of Belleville, 466-453, then took on Harnden, who had defeated Jacob Kondratyev of Troy, 450-383.
Slagter also moved on by defeating Noah VanderVelde of Zeeland West, 435-424, but Sprau was defeated by Andy Folks of Belleville 439-344 to move on against Derrick. Derrick had downed Devin Harris of Kalamazoo Loy Norrix, 385-339
Feeling right at home, Harnden moved past Merz to reach the semifinals with a 477-402 victory. Derrick advanced to the semifinals, besting Folks 428-361 with top seed Hebel then in the way. Hebel advanced with a 459-452 thriller over Fsadni.
Slagter joined him in the semis with a 482-420 victory over Roberts, which included a 277 game, and squared off against Harnden, who won 435-383. Derrick ended the top seed’s run, eliminating Hebel, 390-369.