Kearsley Sweeps D2 Bowling Titles
February 28, 2014
By Sarah Jaeger
Special to Second Half
WATERFORD –Flint Kearsley swept the MHSAA Division Bowling Finals as the boys took home their first championship trophy and the girls claimed their second title in three years Friday.
"It's awesome. It'll never get old," Kearsley girls coach Robert Ploof said.
"Just to have the whole program be successful is just a dream come true. We had our AD here. We had a principal. We had a superintendent here. I mean, just to have everyone here to see it is amazing. It couldn't be any better."
But who knew the secret to winning an MHSAA championship was a good book?
It turns out a paperback was the calming factor to help the girls team through the brackets and eventually clinch the title over Bay City Western in the final match at Century Lanes.
Ploof would have his girls read chapters from "With Winning In Mind" by Olympic gold medalist Lanny Basshamm to keep them focused throughout the competition.
"What a fantastic book,” Ploof said. “It keeps their mind on something else, and it's a mental thing that gets their head in the game as well."
While the book may have keep their heads in the game, a motto kept their hearts in it.
"One Team, One Heart, On Goal," said junior Kayla Emmendorfer, who also was part of the 2012 championship team and threw a 233 during Friday’s final match against Western.
"From the beginning, we fill out a sheet of paper what are our main goals, and we all said state championship, regionals, and conference, and we did it. So it worked."
It worked so well, in fact, the Flint Kearsley boys adopted their own motto.
"’Never give up, never let up’ and they've done that all year long," coach Bart Rutledge said. "Never once have they thought they were out of it."
While the Kearsley boys led the morning qualifying block with a score of 3,548, they had to fight back in the Semifinals and Final after falling behind in the Baker set.
"We started that last match and everyone was tight and a little nervous. Now they know what to expect, and I think it will be better for them," Rutledge said.
He will have seven bowlers returning next year as seniors. However, the championship brought this year's lone senior, Peter Sorsen, to tears when accepting the team trophy.
"I've seen it since I was a freshman and wanted to do this, and now I'm here," Sorsen said. "I couldn't ask for a better team or a better coach."
On their way to the championship, the Kearsley boys beat eighth-seeded Ortonville-Brandon and fifth-seeded Mount Pleasant before facing Marysville, a team with a Regional championship and undefeated record, in the Final.
"I don't think I've ever sat on the edge of my seat so much in my life. It was just a great day," Marysville coach Debbie Lietzow said.
"I'm very proud of them. All the way to the end. They came into it wanting to win. That's all I can ask."
"I think we did really good," Marysville junior Brandon Armstead added. "It was really hard toward the end, but I still think we did a good job."
For their road to the championship, the Flint Kearsley girls faced off against eighth-seeded Ionia and fifth-seeded Escanaba before meeting third-seeded Bay City Western in the Final.
"They did awesome today," Bay City Western coach Rick Dodick said of his team. "We worked hard all year, and this was one of their goals – that we get back to the state tournament for the fourth year in a row. Last year we finished third. This year we finished second. So we've been improving every year, so I'm very proud of them and very proud of the effort they put forth today."
However, getting to the championship match takes more than just getting lucky one day of the year.
"They worked very hard and took practice very serious, and worked hard as a team this year," said Dodick.
Despite making it to the MHSAA Finals in previous years, Western senior Haley Delestowicz admitted she still had some jitters during her last tournament.
"I don't usually get nervous, but today I can say I was a little nervous and I was super excited to take a run at the title,” she said. “We bowled against some great teams, and they were great competition. But you had to keep your cool to make your spares and strike out."
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTO: The Flint Kearsley bowling teams pose with their MHSAA championship trophies Friday. (Photo by Sarah Jaeger.)
Team, League Mates Face Off in D1
March 1, 2014
By Jon Malavolti
Special to Second Half
STERLING HEIGHTS – Familiarity reigned supreme at the MHSAA Division 1 Bowling Singles Finals on Saturday at Sunnybrook Lanes.
In the girls competition, teammates and classmates Emily Dietz and Julia Huren, sophomores at Westland John Glenn, faced off in the championship match. And in the boys final, it was a “west side” affair between O-K Red Conference rivals junior Josh Kukla of Grandville and senior Alex Stillwell of Hudsonville.
Dietz edged Huren 396-366 in the showdown between Rockets teammates who also are close friends.
“It’s amazing, it was so exciting,” Dietz said. “I never thought I would be here, then I got to bowl with my teammate at the end. It was just fun at that point.”
“We’re both great bowlers,” Huren added. “Whoever won it, it didn’t bug me at all. I just went up and I bowled, and whoever bowled better won.”
John Glenn coach Ralph Cabildo said Dietz simply “caught fire” during Finals weekend. She nearly bowled a perfect game just 24 hours earlier as the Rockets fell in the Team Final to Davison. John Glenn juniors Olivia Cabildo and Jessica Pate also reached the knockout round Saturday, falling in the Quarterfinals.
“What else could I ask for, as a coach? It was just a fantastic weekend,” Ralph Cabildo said. “Yesterday we shot fantastic; Davison just beat us. Then today, we had four girls that made the tournament, then four qualified in the top eight. At that point … we’re having a great time. Then all of a sudden two of them end up going against each other in the finals. And at that point, I knew that Westland John Glenn was going to have a state champ … and a runner-up. So it was better than I could ever think of.”
As soon as the final match between Dietz and Huren ended, the finalists hugged each other, and were then quickly swarmed by their remaining teammates for another round of hugs.
“They’ve all been like a family, and you saw that when they all ran down,” the coach said. “So it was great, great weekend.”
Huren said the whole weekend was a “really good experience.”
“It just shows you what you can do if you just work hard, practice hard; you’re always getting better,” she said. “Last year I didn’t even make it (to the Finals), and to come in second both days is just a real accomplishment and I can’t wait until next year.”
In the boys competition, Kukla needed perfection and a little luck before finally claiming the title. In the Quarterfinal against Clarkston sophomore Jacob Kersten, Kukla bowled a 300 for the second time of his life. But Kersten nearly matched it with a 290, and the duo eventually faced off in a roll off to decide who would go on to the Semifinals.
“That was exciting – we were just going back and forth, back and forth,” Kukla said. “The second game, I thought I was out of it. Once I realized that I was back in this, I just thought there was no way I was going to lose that roll off.”
Kukla emerged, and then escaped Macomb Dakota junior Justin Taylor in the Semifinal by two pins, 411-409. The momentum carried over into the Final, where he defeated Stillwell 470-384.
“It feels amazing, after all the hard work and bowling all year,” Kukla said. “The level of talent was really good. It’s really nice to go out and bowl like this against this type of competition.”
Kukla said it was “pretty cool” to see some familiar faces in the final four. In the other Semifinal, Stillwell defeated Grand Haven freshman Jimmy Mitchell 434-384.
“It was kind of a west side representation,” Kukla said.
Stillwell was proud of his final effort bowling for Hudsonville.
“Honestly, today I was just looking to go out with a bang,” he said. “I’m a senior. It was the first time I qualified for states. This is all so exciting, and then to make it this far, it just makes the day even better.
“Realistically I was just kind of hoping to make the cut. That was my first goal. Once I made the cut, all after that was just gravy. All extra bowling. I couldn’t carry out the corner pins, there was just tons of pressure. I was anchor for our school, but this, the pressure level is just completely different. And Josh just pulled away with it.”
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
PHOTOS: Westland John Glenn's Emily Dietz and Grandville's Josh Kukla.