Finals Dreams Come True for D4 Winners

March 6, 2015

By Mark Meyer
Special for Second Half

LANSING – St. Louis senior Riley Smith ended her first and only season of varsity bowling with an MHSAA Division 4 Finals championship and a smile as wide as Lane 52 at Royal Scot Bowl.

Smith’s high game of 190 – more than 30 pins above her season average – helped the Sharks defeat Clinton 1,197 to 1,072 on Friday afternoon for the school’s first-ever team title.

“We were very nervous,” Smith said, “but in the end we were able to relax and have fun. As a team, I think that made a big difference for us.”

St. Louis advanced out of the qualifying rounds in seventh place, 92 pins ahead of Clinton. The Sharks defeated Sandusky (1,179-1,168) in the Quarterfinals and Tri-Valley Conference West rival Ithaca (1,143-1,122) in the Semifinals en route to the title match.

Clinton, meanwhile, dispatched top-seeded Rogers City (1,087-1,057) and Burton Bendle (1,111-1,072) after having qualified for the final eight by a mere 13 pins over Flint Beecher.

“Our goal was to come in and take it one step at a time,” said St. Louis coach Kyle Woodcock, “but we almost didn’t make it through the qualifying. We struggled in the Baker games early on.

“But I told the girls, once you get into the brackets it’s anyone’s game. We covered our spares and made the shots we needed.”

St. Louis rolled Baker games of 185 and 188 before closing with a regular game of 824. Clinton had Baker games of 177 and 178, and a team game of 717.

Smith had plenty of help from her Sharks teammates: Kodi O’Boyle (177), Kaitlyn Howd (176), Jasmine Lowe (148) and Kaycee Paksi (133).

Woodcock has led St. Louis to the MHSAA Finals four times in 12 years, but this was the first time the Sharks advanced beyond the round of eight.

“It’s a pretty special group of girls,” said Woodcock, whose team finished the regular season 14-2 overall and second in the TVC West behind Ithaca. “We had a really strong team last year and everyone graduated. So, with the exception of Jasmine Lowe, this was a completely new group.”

Junior Miranda Porath, who won the singles title at the Jackson Regional, tied Smith for high-game honors at 190. Alissa Ayling (147), Amanda Briggs (147), Elizabeth Heimerdinger (132) and Ashley Richardson (101) completed the scoring for Clinton.

Sophomore Zach White, meanwhile, helped Hanover-Horton complete its ‘dream’ season by defeating Bad Axe 1,319-1,273 in the Division 4 boys championship match.

White’s strike in the final frame closed out the victory for Hanover-Horton, which got off to a slow start in the qualifying rounds but finished seventh to secure a spot in the Quarterfinals.

Hanover-Horton edged St. Louis 1,277-1,266 to reach the Semifinals, and then took down Whittemore Prescott 1,125-1,114 to gain the Final.

“Back-to-back win by 11 pins each was a little too close for comfort,” said Smith of the first two rounds in bracket play.

His match-winning strike, though, was never in doubt.

“I’ve dreamed about holding the ball at that particular moment, on these lanes, for the entire year,” said White, who rolled a game-high 247 in the Final. “I wasn’t going to let it get away.”

Hanover-Horton coach Joe Childs said afterward he thought the Regional championship the week before was going to be the highlight of the season. Trailing Bad Axe by 54 pins in the Final after the two Baker games, he decided to flip his lineup from bottom to top.

“I was going to be either a hero or zero,” Childs said.

Scott Vacek’s 212 gave Hanover-Horton a strong pair of scores at the top, but Childs was also quick to praise the games of Sam Wyckoff (188), Alex Wyckoff (171) and James McVay (168) in the 986-886 title winner.

“Last year we were more talented and had depth on the bench,” said Childs, who has recovered fully after having suffered a stroke in December 2013. “This team really meshed well. They were happy to be here and performed well.”

Bad Axe qualified fifth and then defeated Dryden (1,402-1,302) and Niles Brandywine (1,260-1,123) in bracket play. The Hatchets, who rolled Baker games of 202 and 185 in the Final, combined for a balanced scoresheet led by Nick Kociba (185), David Errer (184), Jeryl Reed (181), Ethan Sobczak (176) and Jason Osantowski (160).

Click for full girls results and boys results.

Confidence High, Opportunities Growing as Ranquist Begins Repeat Pursuit

By Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com

November 29, 2024

To say Jasmyn Ranquist grew up at a bowling alley is, of course, hyperbolic. 

Bay & ThumbBut only a little bit.

“My parents were in a small league at our local bowling alley, and I was up there since the week after I was born,” Ranquist said. “I was there all the time. The rule at our bowling center is, if you can sit through two games, you can join a league. Usually kids start at about 4, but my mom felt I was ready and I started at 3.”

All that time at Longshot Lanes in Bad Axe has paid off, as Ranquist is entering her junior season for the Hatchets as the reigning Division 4 Finals champion, and with all of her lifelong bowling goals well within reach.

“It’s always been a goal of mine to bowl in college and win as many tournaments as I can,” Ranquist said. “Starting my freshman year when I won Regionals, that really opened my eyes to the possibilities that could come.”

Several opportunities are coming more into focus for Ranquist, who said she already has been in contact with multiple schools about bowling at the next level.

A lot of that contact began at the United States Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championships, which were held this past summer in Detroit. 

As part of the event, which features bowlers from across the country and Puerto Rico, Ranquist said college programs, both varsity and club, are available to answer questions and give information about their programs. Some of that communication has continued into the school year.

Something else Ranquist is carrying over from the summer is the confidence that comes from bowling against that level of competition. 

Bad Axe’s Jasmyn Ranquist begins her approach and follows through during a frame last season“I go to these different tournaments in the summer and fall, and at nationals, everyone there is the best of the best, and they’re all trying to do the same thing I’m doing, so you get used to competing at that level,” she said. “I definitely think it’s better for me to have the experience of these other tournaments. Some girls that go to states, they bowl in high school season and that’s it, they’re done. If I have the experience of going year-round, I know what to expect and what level I have to compete at.”

It has certainly served her well so far. After winning her Regional two years ago, Ranquist advanced to the quarterfinals of match play as a freshman at her first Finals. 

This past season as a sophomore, she was fifth following qualifying at Northway Lanes in Muskegon and ran through the match play bracket, out-bowling her opponents by an average of 429-334. Her closest match was a 366-344 victory in the final against her friend, Lauren Castillo of Memphis.

Immediately after, the prospect of matching Morgan Brunner of Gobles – who in 2023 became the first female bowler to win three straight Finals titles – crossed Ranquist’s mind. 

She admits that she’s taking a more day-to-day – or frame-by-frame – approach, though.

“I don’t necessarily think that’s going through my mind as much as I get through this year,” Ranquist said. “If it happens again, that would be amazing, but if it doesn’t, I’ll just work harder next year and hopefully do it again next year. It’s always a goal (to win another Finals title), but realistically, you never know what could happen. There could be someone there that’s committed to Nebraska, you just never know. All you can do is play it by ear and see what happens.”

Ranquist’s focus on what’s directly in front of her is evident in the goals she’s set for herself this season. And luckily, she bowls in the Thumb and Bay area, where there’s plenty of competition to keep her on her toes throughout the winter.

“The main goal is just to make it to states, first of all, because if you don’t make it there, you don’t have the opportunity to do anything there,” she said. “Also, within our conference, I want to win academic awards, high average, high game, stuff like that. That’s always the goal – it’s bragging rights, because it’s people around you. Also, for my team to make it to states this year. I truly believe that we could this year.”

As she chases down these goals, Ranquist can draw not only from the experience she gained this past summer, but from more than a decade spent bowling for bragging rights at Longshot Lanes. 

“My dad and my mom would always go up there, and my cousins, we would all bowl together,” Ranquist said. “Between my family, it’s always a competition, like, ‘I can beat you.’ My mom is not necessarily as into it as my dad would be. I’d say it depends on the day if I beat my dad. I’m pretty sure my mom’s given up on the fact that she can beat me. (If I beat my dad) I brag for about two months after. It’s back and forth, just for bragging rights.”

Paul CostanzoPaul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.

PHOTOS Bad Axe’s Jasmyn Ranquist begins her approach and follows through during a frame last season. (Photos by Matthew Varner/Matt V Photography).