Zeeland Brings Back Full Lineup for Another Title Pursuit
By
Dean Holzwarth
Special for MHSAA.com
December 17, 2021
ZEELAND – The Zeeland girls bowling team fell short in its bid for back-to-back Division 1 championships last season.
However, Zeeland isn’t short on talent this winter as it returns everyone from March’s run to the quarterfinals.
"I think having everyone back is great, and also having a full season,” said Zeeland coach Tony DiLaura, whose team lost to eventual runner-up Belleville at the Finals after qualifying fourth to match play.
“Last year we started after the new year, and having the first six weeks leading into the new year has been great. Having everyone back, and even a couple of reserves who can still roll high 100s and low 200s, is super exciting for us.”
The team, which is comprised of students from both Zeeland West and Zeeland East, won a Regional title as well last season.
Zeeland’s top seven performers are back: seniors Morgan Smith, Ellie Drenten and Megan Gemmill, juniors Alyssa Fortney and Shanna McDonnel and sophomores Rylee Smith and Brianna Fortney.
Brianna Fortney missed last season's Finals after having emergency appendix surgery.
“I was very upset to say the least that I could not bowl,” Fortney said. “I was kind of bummed and disappointed that I could not be there to help my team, but I’m happy to be back and this is a fun team to be with."
Zeeland won the program’s first Finals crown in 2020, and watched as neighborhood rival Hudsonville collected its first title with a win over Belville in the championship match.
“We were obviously very happy with coming in fifth in the state, and there were some great teams out there,” DiLaura said. “We bowl out of the same house as Hudsonville, and they are good friends of ours. We’ve had several friendly competitions against them, and bowling is like that. Sometimes the pins fall your way, and sometimes you don’t get the carry.”
All of Zeeland’s returnees have experience bowling on the big stage, and it’s created heightened expectations for this season.
“It’s very beneficial because they’ve been there before, and they know the pressure of that arena,” DiLaura said. “Having been there twice already, they’ve been put in those situations and have risen to the challenge.
“Hopefully we will be back this year, but we have to earn our way there. I think the goal for us is to just bowl our game and not put any pressure on ourselves. We will let the season unfold in front of us and see what happens, but having been there in the past does bode well for us.”
There are two sets of sisters among the top seven, and the entire team has become a tight-knit group.
“It’s so nice to have everyone back because we have that bond together and we know we can work off of each other,” said Morgan Smith, who qualified for singles at the Finals and reached bracket play before being knocked out in the quarterfinals. “We have seven strong girls and a couple freshmen who are pretty strong and learning.
“We know if someone is struggling or having a bad day, we always have backups that can put up good scores. It’s a lot more comforting and takes away some of the pressure.”
Zeeland’s depth has played a major factor in its recent success.
“We go pretty deep down to our seventh bowler,” DiLaura said. “We know we can put in any bowler and feel confident that they can finish the game off or step in for the next game and perform at a high level.”
Rylee Smith joined her sister as a Finals singles qualifier last season. Both girls grew up around the game before taking it seriously once Morgan Smith started high school.
“It’s fun bowling with my sister,” Morgan Smith said. “Most people think we have a lot of competition between us, and we do sometimes, but it's definitely fun because we know each other’s games so we are the first person to go to each other when we have questions. It’s nice to have someone right there who knows your game almost as well as you do.”
The Fortney sisters also have a friendly rivalry between them.
“We used to be very competitive with each other, but we realize that it doesn’t matter who is the better sister,” Brianna Fortney said. “We have to show up for our team and be there for them.”
Morgan Smith’s showing at last year’s Finals was the culmination of the work she put in to improve.
“I went in with low expectations last year because there were so many good bowlers that made it, so making it as far as I did was really exciting for me,” Smith said. “It showed me what I can do after putting in the hard work. That the results will come. I’m excited to try and do that again this year, and last year was definitely a cool experience.”
Dean Holzwarth has covered primarily high school sports for Grand Rapids-based WOOD-TV for four years after serving at the Grand Rapids Press and MLive for 16 years along with shorter stints at the Ionia Sentinel and WZZM. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Allegan, Kent and Ottawa counties.
PHOTOS (Top) The Zeeland girls bowling team returns its top seven contributors after making the Division 1 quarterfinals in March. (Middle) Morgan Smith fires a shot last winter. (Photos courtesy of the Zeeland girls bowling program.)
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).