D1 Standouts Finish Careers on Top
March 7, 2015
By Jon Malavolti
Special for Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – Redemption was the theme at Saturday’s MHSAA Division 1 Bowling Singles Final competition at Sunnybrook Lanes.
Ann Arbor Huron senior Allison Morris capped off her career the same way she started it – as the MHSAA champion. For boys title winner Derrick Norman, it was all about putting the past behind him, as the Saginaw Heritage senior previously had come up just shy of winning; he was a quarterfinalist in last year’s individual tournament, and twice finished as a runner-up as a member of his team – this year and in 2013.
Morris edged Canton sophomore Meghan Macunovich 512-470 in their championship match. The Huron senior jumped out to an early lead thanks to bowling 10 straight strikes in the first game, finishing with a 286-213 advantage.
“Once I started stringing strikes together, it was just kind of ‘Keep doing it,’” Morris said.
She nearly needed every pin, as Macunovich came storming back in the second game, which she won 257-226.
“It was huge because you saw how she game out of the gates the second game, so it gave me a good advantage,” Morris said of her early lead.
While the pair exchanged strikes, they also shared the occasional congratulatory gesture, as they are friends off the lanes.
“Meghan is one of my really good friends, so we were just trying to have fun,” Morris said. But she added that it can be “tough to play someone you know,” a sentiment shared by Macunovich.
“Our coaches teach us, even if you’re friends with a person, act like you don’t know them,” the Canton sophomore said. “That’s what got her through. And then when I started bowling like I should, the second game, that’s what I was doing.”
Macunovich realized her rally should have come sooner to keep up with her friend, but was pleased overall with her result, and for Morris.
“I started striking too late. I just didn’t do it soon enough,” she said. “I am happy about it. I’m happy for her too.”
And she knows it’s an experience she can build on.
“I’m really confident coming off of this,” Macunovich said. “I wasn’t necessary expecting even to make the cut. I was just glad to make it. The fact that I ran it through and made it, I’m feeling pretty good.”
Morris felt pretty good too, accomplishing the goal she’s set out to match for the past three seasons.
“My freshman year, I was kinda just going in for fun,” she said. “I tried to bowl my best, and ended up winning. Sophomore year, I felt a lot of pressure going into it, I was kind of in my sophomore slump, I guess, I didn’t really have a good season.
“Junior year I made states, was trying to win, made top 16. So ever since my freshman year, everyone’s been telling me you have to go in and go out the same way, so that’s just what I was trying to do this year, was finish the way I started.”
The boys competition was a little tenser at the end, with Norman eventually edging Macomb L’Anse Creuse North junior Kyle Hayes 488-469.
“It’s unbelievable. I’m blessed. It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Norman said, just 24 hours after the Hawks’ senior-laden squad fell just short of the title in the Team Final.
“You win some, you lose some,” he added. “Today was just a new day. I just put yesterday behind me.”
Heritage coach Todd Hare said he was “a little concerned” how his bowlers would handle the quick turnaround amidst the tough competition.
“We had four guys bowling today. I thought maybe they’d run out of gas,” he said.
But it wasn’t the physical toll that made a difference on the day, although it wasn’t easy. Yet, his coach said, it was Norman’s focus that allowed him to rise to the top this time.
“He’s worked really hard at staying focused; nothing rattles him,” Hare said. “He bowled well last year, but I think that’s the difference this year – it’s all mental at this point. It’s just, you know, a testament to all the work he puts in. He works so hard at his game.”
Norman said before today’s competition he focused on making this a “business trip” to bring the title home.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “Just to win it all, that’s what I came here to do.”
But before he was crowned champion, he had to fend off a fierce competitor in Hayes, who won the first game 244-224.
Norman said his plan was to match whatever Hayes did: “If he left something, to strike.”
And strike he did. Norman started, and then later finished, the second game with five consecutive strikes to win 264-225 and clinch the title.
“Just an amazing ride,” Norman reflected.
Hayes said there was “really no room for errors” and that the Final would be decided by “who missed first.”
“And I ended up having that one opening in the second (game) that ended up costing the whole match,” he said. “It just proves how consistent you have to be to be a champion.”
As for Hayes, he also hopes he can build from the experience, especially after missing the cut for the knockout rounds of the Finals last year by nine pins.
“I’m pretty happy about it,” he said of his finish. “It’s a big improvement over last year. This year I just came in wanting to make the cut at states. I didn’t even care where I finished, so coming in second, that’s nothing to sneeze at.
“It leaves room for improvement, something else to accomplish,” Hayes continued. “I’ll savor it now and work harder in the summer, so that I’m first next year.”
Click for full girls results and boys results.
Churchill Pair Approaches Perfection, Aspires Toward Championship Contention
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
February 6, 2026
LIVONIA — Sophia Best said it was something she had never been a part of before. Madison Martin called it “mind-blowing.”
During a doubles bowling tournament hosted by Livonia Clarenceville on Jan. 24 at Westland Bowl, Best and Madison, who are both seniors for Livonia Churchill, were certainly in the “zone.”
In a Baker format, Best and Madison just kept striking, striking and striking as excitement built up for anyone witnessing their display.
“It was really high energy,” Best said. “Just feeding off of each other. Once we started and going from strike to strike, it was feeding off of each other and it was really fun, obviously. It was something I’ve never done before. It was really exciting.”
Ultimately, the two ended up with a score of 299 in the first of two games. Best and Martin then produced a 255 in the second game to repeat as doubles champions at the tournament.
But the big show was obviously the 299.
“I thought I would be more nervous than I was,” Martin said. “Last year when we did this tournament, I was very nervous. I just kind of really locked in. I wasn’t as nervous. I just had to breathe and know what I had to do.”
For Churchill assistant coach Jason Proudlock, the performance wasn’t anything too surprising because it was simply par for the course from a tandem that’s done a lot for the program.
Both are four-year varsity bowlers who last year helped guide Churchill to its first Regional title and Finals appearance in Division 1.
This year, Churchill has two tournament wins and two second-place finishes as a team and is eyeing big things later this month; Regionals are scheduled across the state for Feb. 18-21, and Finals are Feb. 27-28.
“To me, that comes down to the leadership from Sophia and Madison helping the younger girls evaluate their games and make the right choices on the lane,” Proudlock said.
Best has qualified individually for the MHSAA Singles Finals each of her first three years in high school, and this year is leading the team with a 201 average.
“To me, the growth is crazy how much we’ve grown,” Best said. “Even from the beginning of the season, it’s great to see all the growth we’ve had.”
Martin has steadily improved since her freshman year and this year has really taken a leap, increasing her average by nearly 10 pins to 178, according to Proudlock.
“This year, I’ve been focusing on keeping a good attitude no matter what happens and setting a routine for myself before I go bowl so I can keep everything the same,” Martin said.
Even though they had good seasons their first three years of high school, Proudlock said the improvement this winter has been evident each time they have bowled.
“Sophia, it’s her knowledge of the game and understanding her transitions,” Proudlock said. “She can read the lanes really well. Madison is more the mental side of it. She’s got more into the game learning from Sophia and taking my recommendations and applying them to her game.”
Of course, a big source of that improvement was the inspiration making the Finals last year provided heading into the summer.
“In the summer, we each practiced a lot individually knowing we were going into this year with really good bowlers,” Martin said. “We wanted to take a lot of tournaments, get to states and go bigger than last year.”
Best has signed to bowl in college for William Penn University in Iowa, while Martin plans on bowling for the club team at Michigan State.
Later this month, both hope to qualify for the Finals individually as a tandem, since Martin hasn’t quite been able to achieve that yet. Last year, she fell 40 pins short of qualifying.
Even if that doesn’t happen, Churchill has a great shot to get back to the Finals as a team with senior tandem not many in the state can boast.
“These two, you can’t replace them,” Proudlock said.
Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
(Photo courtesy of the Livonia Churchill girls bowling program.)