Unique Style, Rare Path Mark D3 Champs
March 2, 2013
By Chip Mundy
Special to Second Half
JACKSON – Two hands were better than one Saturday afternoon in the championship match of the MHSAA Division 3 boys singles bowling tournament at Airport Lanes in Jackson.
Adam LaRoe of Napoleon, who uses the same unorthodox two-handed delivery as PBA touring professional Jason Belmonte, came from behind to defeat William Holmes of Ferndale University 373-368 in the two-game title match.
Meanwhile, first-year varsity bowler Laurynn Ball of Armada won the girls singles championship with a 338-322 victory over Karie VanSledright of Grand Rapids South Christian.
LaRoe, a senior who qualified ninth, is a right-hander who uses a five-step delivery as he unleashes the ball from his side with both hands.
“I’ve been throwing it that way ever since I was little,” LaRoe said. “I couldn’t pick up the ball one-handed, so I just started throwing two-handed.”
When asked if he felt that gave him any sort of advantage, LaRoe said, “Sort of. I get more pin action.”
Napoleon coach Randy Chesney said he was sort of taken aback when he first encountered LaRoe and his unorthodox style.
“I was trying to figure out how I was going to coach him,” Chesney said. “He’s been doing it since he was a little kid, and he hasn’t done anything else. So we just learned that we had to adapt to it and go from there.
“He’s been a lot more consistent this year, and we haven’t had the ups and downs.”
LaRoe stayed consistent in qualifying as none of his six games were lower than 180 or higher than 204. He remained that way throughout match play with only his 168 in the first game of the semifinals not falling between 180 and 204.
LaRoe nearly was sidelined in the quarterfinals when he edged Tyler Windahl of Ishpeming by one pin, and he entered the title match after averaging 189 for 12 games through the semifinals.
LaRoe’s opponent, Holmes, qualified 14th and got hot in match play, averaging 209 for the six games in the round of 16, quarterfinals and semifinals. Holmes defeated LaRoe 199-181 in the first game of the two-game title match before LaRoe came back with a 192-169 victory for a 373-368 triumph.
A turkey in the third, fourth and fifth frames of the second game got LaRoe back into the match, and open frames by Holmes in the fourth, sixth and eighth frames helped pave the way to the title for LaRoe.
When LaRoe stepped onto the approach for the 10th frame of the second game of the title match, he needed a strike or a spare to win the championship. He threw a solid strike.
“It was a relief,” LaRoe said.
While LaRoe’s two-handed delivery was much different than the rest of the bowlers in the boys division, Ball’s road to the girls finals was just as unique. A year ago, Ball was a cheerleader at Armada, and bowling wasn’t even on her radar.
“Cheerleading was fun, but I was a gymnast, so it was more of the gymnastics that I was interested in,” Ball said. “Everybody was talking about how bowling was so much fun, so I thought I’d give that a try. I had bowled in middle school; we had a Saturday night league, and it was fun.
“I didn’t know if I could do it in high school because I threw a straight ball, and I didn’t think that was good enough. So I asked (Armada coach) Dave Walkowski, ‘Can you teach me to bowl?’ And he taught me how to bowl.”
Walkowski praised Ball for being so coachable.
“She has the ability to listen and accept change,” he said. “I’d tell her to do something, and she’d do it without arguing. I’d tell her to move a little bit, and she’d do it, and then she’d say, ‘Oh my gosh, it worked.’
“It’s very incredible when they want to listen and not give you a hard time about it.”
Ball was the 15th qualifier out of 16, and in the round of 16 she faced Noelle Scheuer of Richmond. Scheuer had eliminated Ball in an earlier tournament, and Armada has a strong rivalry with Richmond.
Ball shot 204 and 199 to win her match against Scheuer, then she rolled 219 and 214 to win her quarterfinal match. In the semifinals, Ball had to rally after losing 180-153 in the first game. She defeated Samantha Kubiak of Frankenmuth 208-172 in the second match for a nine-pin victory.
Awaiting Ball in the final was VanSledright, who threw a 290 in the first game of her semifinal match and went on to sideline Loretta Hinds 469-436 in a high-scoring match. And Ball noticed.
“I was watching her bowl, and she was hitting strike after strike after strike,” Ball said of VanSledright. “I was like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ When she bowled me I couldn’t watch because I was so nervous.”
Ball defeated VanSledright 175-154 in the first game of the two-game match, but opened the door in the second game with open frames in the third, fourth and fifth frames. She finished by marking in her final five frames and, although she lost the second game 168-163, it was enough for an overall 16-pin victory.
VanSledright said she had trouble solving the championship pair.
“Coming into the last game, I was excited, but I was definitely struggling in the last game,” she said.
“Nothing was hitting. It was the toughest lanes I’ve bowled on here in this house.
“I couldn’t strike enough or pick up my spares.”
When Ball stepped on the approach for her 10th frame in the second game, all she needed was at least seven on her first ball to win. She threw a strike.
“My heart was pumping, and it felt amazing,” Ball said. “My heart just sank, and I knew right then and there.”
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.
But 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.
“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 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).