Utica's Mazza Adds to Family Highlight Reel in Claiming 1st Finals Title
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2026
ALLEN PARK — Growing up the daughter of former professional bowler John Mazza, Utica junior Ava Mazza said she has regularly watched old videos of her father when he was in his prime on the PBA Tour.
“Obviously I wasn’t born yet,” Ava Mazza said. “But on YouTube I’ve watched the Dick Weber Classic and him picking up a 7-10 split. It’s something I won’t forget watching.”
John Mazza now will have the same opportunity to rewatch highlights of Ava achieving a major title.
Following back-to-back semifinal appearances the last two years, Ava Mazza advanced this time all the way to the championship round of the Division 1 Singles Finals and won an all-Macomb County matchup against Macomb Dakota senior Brianne Jakuszanek 350-333 at Thunderbowl Lanes.
John Mazza, who is also the coach of Utica’s team, said it was the biggest thrill he’s had in bowling – even better than his own.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Anytime your kid does something incredible, everything else you’ve personally accomplished pales in comparison to it.”
Through the first game and first eight frames of the second, the deciding match was tight as could be.
Ava Mazza and Jakuszanek were tied after the first game at 170 apiece, and in the second game Jakuszanek held a one-pin advantage with both having a mark going into the ninth frame.
From there, Mazza took control, delivering strikes on her next three balls to prevail.
“I just took a deep breath, and it was everything I was working for,” she said. “I doubled in the 10th, and it got me the win.”
Indeed, after Mazza threw the second strike in the 10th frame, John Mazza broke down in tears knowing she had clinched it, and even came out to give her a tearful embrace before she threw her third shot.
“It was a sense of relief from all the pain and hard work,” John Mazza said. “We’ve had a lot of painful situations. We’re getting in these positions a lot, and it’s nice to finish it off. She had the ball in her hand with a chance to win it, and she threw the shots she needed to throw.”
Ava Mazza was fourth out of the qualifying block and started her run in match play by beating White Lake Lakeland junior Savannah Reed in the round of 16, 411-330. She then beat Livonia Churchill senior Sophia Best in the quarterfinals (422-317) and Taylor senior Aria Ragland in the semifinals (405-346).
“It just means everything to me,” Mazza said. “I’ve put in so much work and so much time. I’ve been working out, I’ve been reading books on the mental game. I’ve been working super hard to try and understand and perfect the games I struggle with the most.”
Jakuszanek was the 15th seed out of qualifying as she advanced to the match play round for the first time in her high school career.
She began her run with a win over Rockford junior Sofia DeLuccia in the round of 16 (348-331), then beat Caledonia sophomore Katelyn Light (385-345) in the quarterfinals and Southfield Arts & Technology senior Jaysa Taylor (404-305) in the semifinals.
“Just confidence in myself and telling myself I got this no matter what,” Jakuszanek said of what was working for her on the day. “It was my senior year, so just go out there and have fun.
“It was pretty tough. There were a lot of ball changes and a lot of angles that were difficult.”
Gobles' Brunner Closes with 3rd Title, Nouvel's McCarthy Locks Up No. 1
By
Tim Robinson
Special for MHSAA.com
March 4, 2023
BATTLE CREEK — A few minutes after making history, Gobles senior Morgan Brunner was calm.
No loud celebration, just smiles all around Saturday after becoming the first competitor in the 20-year history of MHSAA girls bowling to win three Singles Finals titles in a row.
“She’s very even-keeled,” said her mother and coach, Karrie Brunner. “She knows she’s got a job to do, and she comes to do it. But she comes to have fun. That was a big part of today. She relaxed and had fun.”
Morgan Brunner rolled to the title, taking first in qualifying and defeating Traverse City Christian’s Brooke Smith 415-303 in the Division 4 final.
But that’s not to say she was expecting an easy time of it.
“I clinched it early, but I was definitely nervous,” she said. “I was nervous all day.”
Brunner dealt with the nerves by concentrating on the task at hand.
“I just tried to stay calm and make my best shots,” she said.
Brunner helped organize the Gobles program, and Saturday’s third-straight title was the latest achievement in a journey that began when she was 2 years old.
“As soon as she could walk,” Karrie Brunner said. "She was pushing the ball down there. I don’t know how many strikes she threw, but she was knocking pins down.”
Morgan hasn’t stopped since.
In the moments after the feat was accomplished, she said it felt like a weight off her shoulders.
“I don’t think it’s going to set in for a while,” she said of her accomplishment. “But it's nice to win.”
Saginaw Nouvel sophomore Alex McCarthy, meanwhile, jumped for joy as he threw the final ball of his boys match.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said afterward. “It’s hard to put it into words right now.”
McCarthy defeated Bryce Cadaret of Allen Park Cabrini, another sophomore, 433-393 in the final.
McCarthy finished 10th in qualifying, then won two matches before meeting Cadaret in the championship.
Cadaret came out hot, starting the match by rolling three strikes in a row.
“It got me back in the match mentally,” McCarthy said.
After a conversation with coach Brian Montini, McCarthy found his groove and never looked back, right through the final ball, which knocked down six pins as he celebrated.
“I had all these thoughts of my coach and all the other coaches and all the hard work I put in through the years,” he said.
Montini, for his part. wasn’t entirely surprised.
“The experience last year helped him,” Montini said, noting McCarthy’s quarterfinal run as a freshman. “We had it in our minds that he was going to do this. And he pulled through.”