LIVONIA — Sophia Best said it was something she had never been a part of before. Madison Martin called it “mind-blowing.”

During a doubles bowling tournament hosted by Livonia Clarenceville on Jan. 24 at Westland Bowl, Best and Madison, who are both seniors for Livonia Churchill, were certainly in the “zone.” 

In a Baker format, Best and Madison just kept striking, striking and striking as excitement built up for anyone witnessing their display. 

“It was really high energy,” Best said. “Just feeding off of each other. Once we started and going from strike to strike, it was feeding off of each other and it was really fun, obviously. It was something I’ve never done before. It was really exciting.”

Ultimately, the two ended up with a score of 299 in the first of two games. Best and Martin then produced a 255 in the second game to repeat as doubles champions at the tournament.

But the big show was obviously the 299.

“I thought I would be more nervous than I was,” Martin said. “Last year when we did this tournament, I was very nervous. I just kind of really locked in. I wasn’t as nervous. I just had to breathe and know what I had to do.”

For Churchill assistant coach Jason Proudlock, the performance wasn’t anything too surprising because it was simply par for the course from a tandem that’s done a lot for the program. 

Both are four-year varsity bowlers who last year helped guide Churchill to its first Regional title and Finals appearance in Division 1. 

This year, Churchill has two tournament wins and two second-place finishes as a team and is eyeing big things later this month; Regionals are scheduled across the state for Feb. 18-21, and Finals are Feb. 27-28.

“To me, that comes down to the leadership from Sophia and Madison helping the younger girls evaluate their games and make the right choices on the lane,” Proudlock said.

Best has qualified individually for the MHSAA Singles Finals each of her first three years in high school, and this year is leading the team with a 201 average. 

“To me, the growth is crazy how much we’ve grown,” Best said. “Even from the beginning of the season, it’s great to see all the growth we’ve had.” 

Martin has steadily improved since her freshman year and this year has really taken a leap, increasing her average by nearly 10 pins to 178, according to Proudlock. 

“This year, I’ve been focusing on keeping a good attitude no matter what happens and setting a routine for myself before I go bowl so I can keep everything the same,” Martin said. 

Even though they had good seasons their first three years of high school, Proudlock said the improvement this winter has been evident each time they have bowled. 

“Sophia, it’s her knowledge of the game and understanding her transitions,” Proudlock said. “She can read the lanes really well. Madison is more the mental side of it. She’s got more into the game learning from Sophia and taking my recommendations and applying them to her game.”

Of course, a big source of that improvement was the inspiration making the Finals last year provided heading into the summer. 

“In the summer, we each practiced a lot individually knowing we were going into this year with really good bowlers,” Martin said. “We wanted to take a lot of tournaments, get to states and go bigger than last year.”

Best has signed to bowl in college for William Penn University in Iowa, while Martin plans on bowling for the club team at Michigan State. 

Later this month, both hope to qualify for the Finals individually as a tandem, since Martin hasn’t quite been able to achieve that yet. Last year, she fell 40 pins short of qualifying. 

Even if that doesn’t happen, Churchill has a great shot to get back to the Finals as a team with senior tandem not many in the state can boast. 

“These two, you can’t replace them,” Proudlock said.  

Keith Dunlap has served in Detroit-area sports media for more than two decades, including as a sportswriter at the Oakland Press from 2001-16 primarily covering high school sports but also college and professional teams. His bylines also have appeared in USA Today, the Washington Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Houston Chronicle and the Boston Globe. He served as the administrator for the Oakland Activities Association’s website from 2017-2020. Contact him at [email protected] with story ideas for Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.

(Photo courtesy of the Livonia Churchill girls bowling program.)