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.)

High 5s - 2/21/12

February 21, 2012

Every Tuesday, Second Half honors 2-4 athletes and a team for its accomplishments during the current season.

Have a suggestion for a future High 5? Please offer suggestions by e-mail to [email protected]. Candidates often will have accomplished great things on the field of play -- but also will be recognized for other less obvious contributions to their teams, schools or the mission of high school athletics as a whole.

Dillon Mayer
Sault Ste. Marie senior
Swimming and Diving

Mayer won his second straight Upper Peninsula Finals diving championship Saturday in his home pool with a score of 226.55. He finished no worse than fourth at the Finals during his high school career, and set a school record this season with a six-dive score of 236.00. He also runs track and has a black belt in Kuk sool wan, a form of Korean martial arts.

"I have strived for the past four years to break the team diving record. This year I was finally able to break the team record, and then continued to break it through the season for a total of five times before the end of the season. Being the U.P. diving champion for the second year in a row was pretty awesome too!"

Up next: Mayer will attend either Michigan State University or Lake Superior State University, and hopes to dive if he attends MSU. He plans to major in fire science and paramedic studies. "I would like to work as a flight paramedic for a level one trauma center."

I learned the most about diving from: MSU diving coach Eric Best and Sault Ste. Marie coaches Ray Groeke and Kelli Vander Baan.

I look up to: "... the university divers I learned from at the MSU diving camp each year. They are amazing divers with a lot of knowledge to share."

I like most about diving: "From a competitive standpoint, I like the feeling of nailing a dive. From a recreational standpoint, I enjoy the thrill of trying new things."

I'm motivated by: "The new records on the record board, my family and my teammates."

Leah Hartman

Ovid-Elsie senior

Bowling

Hartman bowled the first and one of only three 300 games in the state this season, on Jan. 4, according to listings maintained by the Michigan High School Interscholastic Bowling Coaches Association. Her high series of 524 is third-best in the state this winter, and she's carrying a 201 game average this season. She qualified for last season's MHSAA Division 3 Final and made the all-state third team. She also played volleyball and softball at the start of high school, but has focused on bowling the last two years.

"My first 300 game was the most memorable because other coaches announced my game at other tournaments, and my name was on a neon sign at 300 Bowl in Alma. It gave me a feeling of accomplishment"

Up next: Hartman is considering Alma College because of its strong art program and bowling team. She plans to spend her first year of college deciding between a major in fine arts and accounting. She could also compete on the Michigan Junior Masters or Junior Gold circuits. Among her goals: bowl an 800 series and sell her art.

I learned the most about bowling from: “Mike Braun. He is the instructor at Lansing Community College. He teaches bowling and he has been helping me achieve better bowling techniques. But before him, it was my mom Sherri Hartman and dad Don Hartman."

I look up to: "My mom, because she is the one person who is strong enough to take on life. And my dad, who has helped me with my bowling since the beginning. Then I look up to Pete Weber and Norm Duke, who are, in my opinion, the best PBA bowlers to ever set a foot on the lanes."

I love bowling because: "I have a lot of stress built into my life, and it is hard for me to stay focused. But when I bowl, it is the one time I feel like a genius. I want to continue bowling becuase I feel like there is nothing better than the feeling of your first 300 game, and all the fans who are cheering for you to win.

I'm driven by: "... when I walk into a bowling alley and I run into my fans who are cheering me on every step of the way, and the applause whenever I hear my name announced. It makes me feel proud of myself when others cheer when they hear my name."

Adam Coon

Fowlerville junior

Wrestling

Coon is seeking his third MHSAA individual championship. He won both his District and Regional and enters next weekend's Finals with a 46-0 record this season and 153-3 record over his three-year high school career. He won his first two MHSAA championships at 215 pounds and moved to 285 this winter. He also is a three-year starter on the Gladiators' football team, playing linebacker and on the offensive line, and placed sixth in shot put in Division 2 at last spring's track and field Finals.

Up next: Coon is just a junior, but would like to wrestle or play football at the next level and study aerospace engineering, with his sights set on the space program. "I'd love to go to space. It's always been a dream."\

I learned the most about wrestling from: "My dad, Dan Coon. He is the (Fowlerville) coach, and he continues to push me and teaches me the most."

I look up to: "Dan Coon. He teaches me a lot about life and wrestling, and he's just a great guy to look up to."

I love most about wrestling: "The aggressiveness, the contact and necessary skill. The strategy behind it. The technical skill. It tests you mental wit and brute strength."

I get ready for my match by: "I warm up five matches previous. With one match left, I slap myself, then take off my sweats and go to town."

Most shining moment: "My most memorable win was in summer wrestling, in Hungary (at the Cadet World Championships) . I won the Finals match there. after being down 4-0, and came back and ended up body locking him and winning the match."

Detroit Martin Luther King boys basketball

The Crusaders avenged earlier losses to both Detroit Crockett and then Detroit Pershing to win the Detroit Public School League championship, downing the Doughboys in the final 76-69.

The PSL championship was King's first since 1999. The Crusaders are 15-4 heading into next week's Operation Friendship game against the Detroit Catholic High School League A-B champion, which will be decided Saturday. Click to see all of Detroit King's scores this season.