Preview: Expect the Unexpected
March 3, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Few MHSAA tournaments are tougher to analyze and predict than the Girls and Boys Bowling Finals.
The top scorers from last weekend’s Regionals included a number of unranked teams, and two of the No. 1-ranked lineups at the start of the postseason didn’t qualify for Friday’s Team Finals to be contested at four bowling centers – Division 1 at Sterling Heights’ Sterling Lanes, Division 2 at Canton’s Super Bowl, Division 3 at Jackson’s Airport Lanes and Division 4 at Lansing’s Royal Scot.
Saturday’s singles competition will feature a few more familiar faces. St. Louis’ Kyle Tuttle is going for his third championship, and past champion Bailey Budnik of Rogers City is in the Division 4 field. Three of the other seven reigning champions also will return with repeats in mind.
Click for the full list of qualifiers, and come back to Second Half all weekend for coverage from all four Finals sites.
Girls Division 1
Team: Macomb Dakota broke Davison’s three-season hold on Division 1 last year (Davison finished runner-up), and Dakota has remained ranked No. 1 this winter – although the Cougars finished only second at their Regional at Sterling Lanes. Fourth-ranked Davison did win its division with a score of 3,736, which ranked fifth of 18 qualifying teams total. Unranked Bay City Western led the way with a Division 1-best 3,876 – the Warriors are in Division 1 this season after finishing runner-up in Division 2 in 2014 and 2015. Second-ranked Westland John Glenn, No. 5 St. Clair Shores Lakeview and unranked Farmington also were among top Regional scorers.
Singles: Of last season’s four semifinalists, only champion Allison Morris of Ann Arbor Huron graduated. The other three all are back; Davison junior Taylor Davis won her Regional with the second-highest score in Division 1, 1,283 pins, while Canton junior Meghan Macunovich and Caledonia sophomore Macailin Rodriguez also qualified again. Farmington junior Candyce Bradley paced the division with a 1,290, and Brighton sophomore Natalie Klein was right behind winning her Regional with a 1,278. Total, nine bowlers rolled between 1,240-1,290 last weekend, which could be an indicator of a tight race Saturday.
Boys Division 1
Team: Reigning champion Wayne Memorial is unranked but back in the mix after finishing second at its Regional at Super Bowl in Canton. But 11 of 18 qualifiers rolled 4,000 or higher last weekend, led by also-unranked Roseville, which with 4,248 pins held off No. 4 Macomb Dakota (4,198) in a Regional that produced the day’s two highest Division 1 scores. Both finished ahead of top-ranked Macomb L’Anse Creuse North, which also impressed with a 4,158. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, also unranked, had the day’s best score outside of Sterling Heights, winning its Regional at Royal Scot in Lansing with a 4,193.
Singles: L’Anse Creuse North senior Kyle Hayes was the only non-senior in the semifinals last season – he ended up runner-up – and he won his Regional last weekend with a Division 1-best 1,416 to clear the Sterling Heights field by 160 pins. Swartz Creek senior Chase Kaufman was one of only two other non-seniors to make the quarterfinals last season, and he posted the second-highest Regional score this time with a 1,393 at Royal Scot.
Girls Division 2
Team: Flint Kearsley has won the last two Division 2 championships and three of the last four, but entered the postseason ranked only No. 3 and finished second at its Regional to Mason by 136 pins. Top-ranked Jackson justified its spot with the top Division 2 Regional score in the state, 3,866, and No. 2 Tecumseh also showed its ranking to be true with the second-highest Division 2 score of 3,831. Only Mason, Charlotte and Sturgis (the latter two following Jackson at Kalamazoo’s Continental Lanes) also approached 3,800.
Singles: Last season’s Division 2 champion, Kayleigh Gonzalez of Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, also was a senior. But 2015 runner-up Kayla Wild is a senior now at Tecumseh and rolled a Regional-winning 1,299 last weekend. Flint Kearsley senior Hannah Ploof, a semifinalist in 2014, won her Regional in a Division 2-best 1,318, and Taylor Kennedy freshman Abigail Bird also made an impression finishing second to Wild with a 1,297 at Score Lanes in Taylor. Jackson junior Jamie Bleiler emerged as champion from a tight race in Kalamazoo that saw five qualifiers roll 1,206 or higher.
Boys Division 2
Team: Fourth-ranked Flint Kearsley also has owned the boys competition with two straight Finals championships and won its Regional with a 4,266 that was the second-highest score in all of Division 2. Unranked Taylor Kennedy earned the top statewide honor with a division-best 4,392 to win its Regional at Score Lanes. Total, seven teams cleared 4,000 pins at Regionals, including No. 2 Tecumseh, No. 3 Coldwater, No. 5 Sturgis and No. 9 Owosso – and also unranked Lansing Eastern, which finished second to Kearsley and with the third-highest score in the entire division of 4,156. Top-ranked St. Clair Shores Lake Shore also was a Regional champ rolling a 3,898 at Oak Lanes in Westland.
Singles: Reigning champion Chad Stephen, a senior at Kearsley, finished third at his Regional with a 1,269 behind junior teammate Bryce McKerchie (1,273) and Lansing Waverly junior champion Nick Behrens (1,275). The top two Regional scores from the division came out of Taylor, where New Boston Huron senior Cody Farr rolled a 1,361 and Melvindale sophomore Marcus McClain followed him with a 1,311. Sturgis senior Michael Fitzsimmons was a quarterfinalist last season and just made the cut this time with a ninth-place finish, but junior teammate Austin Robison won the Regional at Kalamazoo with a 1,295 that was the third-highest score in the division for the day.
Girls Division 3
Team: Top-ranked Croswell-Lexington, the champion in 2014, was a Regional champion this time by more than 350 pins with a score of 3,478. But unranked Flat Rock made the biggest impression, rolling a 3,847 to win its Regional at Flat Rock Lanes by more than 600 pins. Reigning champion Corunna also was a Regional winner, as was No. 3 Yale, No. 6 Hudsonville Unity Christian and unranked Cheboygan.
Singles: Reigning runner-up Breanna Johnson, a junior at Dundee, is the lone semifinalist back as the other three last season were seniors. She finished runner-up at last weekend’s Regional to Flat Rock senior Kayla Jackson, who rolled the highest score in Division 3 of 1,189. Saginaw Swan Valley junior Becca Curtis just missed that honor, winning her Regional with a count of 1,186, and Grand Rapids West Catholic junior Katelyn LaBelle was right there too winning her Regional with a 1,173.
Boys Division 3
Team: Second-ranked Jonesville (4,056) and unranked Croswell-Lexington (4,027) were the only teams in Division 3 to break 4,000 pins last weekend, both winning Regionals in the process. Top-ranked Corunna just missed qualifying for the Finals, while reigning champion Armada is in Division 2 this season and reigning runner-up (and No. 4-ranked) Richmond also didn’t qualify. Third-ranked Essexville Garber should also be in the mix after winning its Regional with a 3,747, and three more teams cleared 3,800 pins.
Singles: Reigning champion Tyler Kolassa of Warren Lincoln is back, placing third at the Regional after winning Division 3 as a sophomore. Jonesville’s Jonah Boot was a semifinalist last season and won his Regional with a 1,168. Total, seven competitors last weekend including Kolassa cleared 1,200 pins; Marine City’s Jonathan Dean scored highest with 1,238 also at Kolassa’s Regional at Cherry Hill Lanes in Dearborn Heights. Battle Creek Pennfield junior Bailey Neal had the second-highest Division 3 score, winning his Regional at Eastland Bowl in Kalalamazoo with a 1,242.
Girls Division 4
Team: After making only the Quarterfinals last season and seeing its two-year title streak come to an end, Vandercook Lake is a favorite again to win its fourth Division 4 title in six seasons. The Jayhawks cleared the rest of the Division 4 field with a Regional score last week of 3,708 – nearly 300 pins better than the next best, reigning Finals champion St. Louis (3,433). However, six more teams cleared 3,300 pins and will be hoping Vandercook Lake stays close to the pack Friday.
Singles: They Jayhawks also had the two highest-scoring singles in Division 4, freshman Mackenzie Johnson at 1,192 and senior Lillian Warner and 1,162. Hanover-Horton senior Emma Davis was the Division 4 singles champion last season, and she should be among those chased again; her 1,136 Regional score was fourth-best for all of Division 4 and third at her Regional behind only the Vandercook Lake pair.
Boys Division 4
Team: None of the last three Division 4 champions qualified for team competition Friday, and neither did top-ranked Ithaca. Second-ranked Vandercook Lake did, as Regional runner-up to Hudson, which had the second-highest score in Division 4 (3,817) to unranked Rogers City (3,840). St. Charles and St. Louis, ranked Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, took the top two spots at the Regional where Ithaca finished outside the top three, and Nos. 5 and 6 Bad Axe and Sandusky both broke 3,700 pins to take the top two places at Bay Lanes in Bay City.
Singles: The two bowlers who combined to win the last three championships are both back – two-time reigning winner Kyle Tuttle, a St. Charles junior, won his Regional with a score of 1,270, while 2013 champ Bailey Budnick of Rogers City just made the Finals one more time with a 10th-place finish at his Regional. Only 12 bowlers in Division 4 broke 1,200 pins last Saturday, but only Adrian Madison senior Isaac Solis broke 1,300 – he won his Regional with a 1,307. The two bowlers Tuttle beat in the final rounds last season both also will be back – Oscoda sophomore Grant Huebel was a semifinalist in 2015 and qualified fifth from his Regional, and Bad Axe senior Ethan Sobczak is the reigning Finals runner-up and finished one spot ahead of Huebel last weekend at Bay Lanes.
PHOTO: The Flint Kearsley girls and boys bowling teams pose with their trophies after both repeated as Division 2 champions last season.
Feeding 'Drive to Win,' Loy Norrix Grad Morgan Impresses with Strong USBC Showing
By
Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com
July 10, 2025
KALAMAZOO — Trevor Morgan received an unexpected bonus when he joined Scott Brunner’s Old School Scratch League at Continental Lanes several years ago.
The youngest on the team at the time, the 2018 Loy Norrix High School graduate said the fun part about bowling with those guys is that they have all bowled with or against his mom Nikki Randall McGruder, his stepdad Ed McGruder and his dad Randy Morgan.
“Now I get to hear all these fun stories involving my parents and my stepdad,” Trevor laughed.
Morgan added that teammates Brian Cooper, Mark LaBarge and Joe Gates were the guys he looked up to when he was a teen working as a food runner at the bowling alley. Another young bowler, Adam Rowlson, has since joined the team.
“These (original guys) are all guys that 10 years ago I was like, ‘Hey, these guys strike,’” Morgan said. “‘I want to be like them one day.’ And now I’m bowling against them and striking with them. Pretty cool.”
Pretty cool is also a good way to describe Morgan today.
The personable 25-year-old was one of more than 100 Kalamazoo area bowlers who have been traveling to Baton Rouge, La., for the USBC Open Championships, competing in team, doubles and singles divisions.
The tournament, from March 1 to July 28, features more than 11,600 five-person teams from around the country.
While Morgan said his team did not do well, he and Trevor Millard are currently 97th in doubles. As an individual, Morgan sits in eighth place with a 778 score.
“When I left there (May 19), I said I was hoping to stay in the top 20,” he said. “Since it’s been a month and a half, now I’m really hoping I can hold on to top 10.
“I bowled in a higher division with a lot of PBA pros bowling. It’s pretty cool to look at the list and go, ‘Hey, I beat some of these guys who were on TV this past year.’ I didn’t get to see them, I didn’t get to bowl against them, but I’m ahead of them.”
Growing up bowling
Continental Lanes has been Morgan’s second home since he was 2 or 3 years old, when his dad took him bowling but would not let him use the bumpers.
“He’d run down there and put his finger on the second arrow (of the lane) and say hit my finger,” Morgan said. “I tried every time to hit that finger. Sooner or later, I got better at it and was able to do it.”
Not only did he get better, but he bowled his first sanctioned 300 at age 12, becoming the youngest to bowl the perfecto in the Kalamazoo area, a record that still stands.
Things have changed quite a bit since then.
Although he had no sanctioned 300s in high school, his current total is more than 20, including eight two seasons ago and seven last season.
“This past year, I shot 299 then 300 in back-to-back games, which was pretty cool,” he said. “But I don’t have one yet that tops that first one. That is a memory that will never be forgotten.”
Morgan still has the special ring signifying his very first 300 game, although now it fits just his little finger.
He also has a ring for his first 800 series, an 801 bowled Sept. 13, 2018.
He has added more since then and recorded five of them last season when he threw an 846, his highest to date.
Besides his scratch league, one of the few in the state, Morgan also competes on the DDS team of former high school friends Collin Rickey, Jared Edgerton, Antar Howard and Alex Hale at Continental.
Friends since elementary school, Morgan became ordained so he could officiate Rickey’s wedding last month.
“I met Jared through Collin,” Morgan said. “They bowled together at Gull Lake High School and were a part of my team Saturday mornings as a youth team.
“Antar we knew from bowling tournaments like Michigan Junior Masters. Alex went to Gull Lake, and I got to bowl against him for two years. A group of 25 (to) 30-year-olds bowling every week is a fun one.”
As for DDS, “We are the Dumb Dumb Squad,” Morgan said. “My stepdad Ed named us that 10 or 15 years ago, so we’ve just lived up to the name and keep doing it.”
Dream Team
At Loy Norrix, Morgan competed in the MHSAA Division 1 Boys Bowling Singles Finals three of his four years, but his team did not qualify.
“My senior year, I lost in semis,” he said. “I led qualifying, won my first match, won my second match, lost to Matt Buck from Rockford by five pins. At least I lost to the eventual winner.”
In spite of that defeat, Morgan was named to the 2018 Detroit Free Press Dream Team with Genesee’s Luke Cantrell, Wyandotte Roosevelt’s Gabe Cassise, Adrian Madison’s Isaac Solis, Davison’s Brandon Kreiner and Lowell’s Carson Clark.
Morgan said the banquet was nice, “but the fun part was that everybody who was part of the Dream Team was there.
“Those were all people that I actually bowled Michigan Junior Masters events with, so we all knew each other. I still run into most of those people today when I bowl tournaments.”
When bowling became too stressful during high school, Morgan took out his frustrations on the golf course, something he still does.
“I was never very good (at golf), never made states (in high school). I never did anything great,” he said. “I used golf as ‘I know I’m not good, so let me get better' as opposed to bowling where ‘I know I’m good; how can I get better?’
“Golf was always my fallback. A lot of times I took the entire summer off from bowling.”
Although Morgan had several bowling scholarship offers from colleges, he said he attended Kalamazoo Valley Community College but soon decided college was not for him.
Instead he started working for his uncle, Mark Randall, who owns BoxDrop, which sells mattresses and furniture with stores in Battle Creek – where Morgan works – and Kalamazoo.
He and Caitlyn Ankli live in Kalamazoo with their two corgis, but Morgan still has a fleeting thought.
“I still have that kid desire to go give it a whirl on the PBA Tour,” he said. “I understand just as much as everybody else that life happens and I’ve built a life, I have bills to pay.
“I can’t just take 10 weeks off from work and say, ‘I’m going to bowl.’ Do I want to? Sure. If I had the time, I would certainly give it a whirl.
“At this moment, I’m pretty content with where I’m at: bowling two nights a week, a lot of little local pop-up tournaments to keep in the swing of things. I still have the drive to win.”
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PHOTOS (Top) At left, Trevor Morgan poses for a photo with his third-place medal at the 2018 MHSAA Finals, and at right Morgan bowls this summer. (2) Morgan wears his 300 ring earned when he was 12, and his 800 series ring from 2018. (3) The DDS team, from left: Alex Hale, Antar Howard, Morgan, Collin Rickey and Jared Edgerton. (Bowling and ring photos by Pam Shebest; all others courtesy of Trevor Morgan.)