Lessons from Last Time Serve D2 Champs
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2019
WATERFORD – On the right forearm of Adrian bowler Jacob Harvey is a tattoo of a samurai, which he said is a tribute to his Japanese heritage.
“I’m a quarter Japanese, and it represents bravery and courage,” Harvey said.
Harvey certainly showed some of both during the Division 2 Singles Bowling Finals with that same right forearm, using it to best a typically competitive field and clinch the title.
A muscularly-built senior who was a two-way lineman for Adrian’s football team last fall, Harvey ended his day with a terrific performance in the championship match, knocking off New Boston Huron senior Zach Wyszynski 428-321.
Harvey bowled a 204 in the first game to take a 63-pin lead over Wyszynski heading into the second, then quickly served notice that there wouldn’t be a letdown.
Harvey finished off Wyszynski, who struggled with splits throughout the championship match, by bowling strikes in his first five frames of the second game.
“When we started the tournament, I kind of struggled to find a starting line that worked for me comfortably,” Harvey said. “During match play, I tried something different and it worked out really well for me and carried me through.”
Harvey previously qualified for the Finals as a sophomore and said there were a few lessons learned from that experience that served him well in his second opportunity.
“Spares are everything,” Harvey said. “Consistency is everything. Other than that, just keep a level head. Having the experience under my belt really helped me.”
Also benefitting from a previous experience at the Finals was Cedar Springs junior Omani Morales.
In the championship match, she defeated Escanaba senior Lindsey Juhl by a score of 416-328, taking charge in the later frames of the first game and then putting away Juhl with a strong start to the second.
Morales failed to advance out of the qualifying block at last year’s tournament, but like Harvey applied the lessons she learned to win it all this time around.
“I told myself that I’m here for a reason,” Morales said. “I just kept my head up and kept bowling. Maturity-wise, I just grew from the experience. There are a lot of people here, so last year, I was more nervous.”
Seeded 10th out of the qualifying block, Morales beat Adrian senior Shayleen Helf in the round of 16 (432-393), Carly Snyder of Middleville Thornapple-Kellogg in a quarterfinal (418-401) and then Muskegon Reeths-Puffer freshman Karli VanDuinen in a semifinal (388-318).
“I hit my mark every time and I just figured myself out,” said Morales, who will get a week off from athletics before starting practice for her other high school sport, softball.
Harvey also caught fire in match play after qualifying as the No. 14 seed, beating Owosso senior Thomas Trecha in the round of 16 (388-359), New Boston Huron senior Zach Taylor in a quarterfinal (346-322) and then Cadillac senior Brandon Foster in a semifinal (385-328).
Runner-up Wyszynski and Taylor were two of four bowlers from the New Boston Huron boys, who won the team title Friday, to advance out of the qualifying block.
Sophomore Sam Hughes and junior Joey Devita also advanced and fell in the round of 16 during what proved to be a memorable weekend for their program.
Click for full girls results and full boys results.
Clarenceville Girls Follow Captain in Claiming 1st Finals Title
By
Jeff Bleiler
Special for MHSAA.com
February 28, 2025
JACKSON — When it was all over and the realization set upon them, Raegan Priebe could only summon three words while celebrating with her teammates.
“We did it! We did it!” she exclaimed while hugging each one.
The “it” was winning the Division 3 team title at JAX 60 on Friday, the first Finals championship in girls bowling in her school’s history. Livonia Clarenceville defeated Adrian Madison 3-1 in the best-of-five championship, losing the first game 166-131 before rattling off the next three, 204-134, 123-106 and 187-166.
“The key thing was to make our spares and at least match what our opponents were doing,” said John Makar, Clarenceville’s head coach. “Our coaches told the kids that, our team captain repeated it. She’s one of the greatest team captains I have ever seen in any sport.”
That captain is senior Caitlyn Johnson, who willed a lineup laden with youth to the championship.
“These girls have worked so hard, they’ve put all the time, all the effort, all the love, all the tears, all the blood into it,” she said. “Every possible thing they could do, they gave it to me, and I couldn’t be any more proud as captain.”
The last time Clarenceville made the Finals was three years ago during Johnson’s freshman season, and they failed to advance out of the qualifying session. This year, they’re taking home the big trophy.
“It’s a big thrill. I couldn’t have done it without our assistant coaches, especially Art Priebe and Anthony Williams,” Makar said. “I’ve kind of been orchestrating the whole thing, doing the behind-the-scenes work and working with all the freshmen we have.”
Clarenceville qualified first out of 16 teams with a total of 2,944 for the eight Baker games and two team games. The top seed defeated eighth-seed Armada in three games in the quarterfinal, then advanced to the final with a 3-1 victory over Ishpeming Westwood.
Leading 2-1 in the final, Clarenceville had just one open frame in the decisive game with Raegan Priebe throwing strikes in the fourth and ninth and Johnson adding one in the fifth and a spare to clinch it in the 10th.
Johnson, Priebe and freshman Olivia Young qualified for the individual Finals.
Madison earned the second seed out of qualifying, just 36 pins shy of Clarenceville’s total, but had a more dramatic road to the final. Madison needed five games to defeat Gladwin, then went the distance again in the semifinals against Flint Powers Catholic, which included a 156-145 win in the last game.
“These girls, they put their heart and soul in everything,” said coach Randy Ramirez, who credited his assistants with helping the team be successful. “We had an amazing season, we won a couple tournaments. They just caught us at the wrong time.”
Sophomore Vanessa Underwood, freshman Paige Underwood and junior Angelina Alvarez all qualified for the individual Finals for Madison.