John Raffel
Sports Scene
High school bowlers are bidding to make their claim for a spot at the state finals March 2-3.
Division 1 bowlers go to the M-66 Bowl in Battle Creek, while Division 2 is at Century Bowl in Waterford, Division 3 is at Airport Lanes in Jackson, and Division 4 is at Sunnybrook Golf Bowl Motel in Sterling Heights.
The St. Louis boys were runners-up in Division 4, and St. Charles won the Division in 2010. Zach Fylling from John Glenn was the boys’ individual champ in Division 2. Travis Valentine of Mason won it in 2010.
Fylling recently announced he’ll be attending the University of Pikeville in Kentucky for college bowling.
For the girls, Charlotte won the team title a year ago, with John Glenn taking second. Sandusky was runner-up in Division 4, while Ithaca had those honors in 2010. Farrand Schneider of Ithaca took third place for the girls.
The Ithaca boys bowling team has been showing a lot of promise. During the season, the Yellow Jackets beat Ovid-Elsie 22-8 and also topped Breckenridge 26 1/2-3½. Dylan Barnes compiled games of 237 and 205 in the first and Joe Whitaker bowled a 202. Barnes had a 442 series compared to 397 for Whitaker. Tucker had a 340 series against Breckenridge compared to 335 for Barnes and 330 for Powell. Barnes had a 201 game, Tucker a 199, and Whitaker a 196.
It’s been a rebuilding year at Breckenridge for the boys’ team, but coach Doug Airlock likes the progress his squad has been making. “I have six freshmen and one senior,” Aldrich said. “They’ve improved a lot.”
Alex Kipp, a senior, has been Breckenridge’s top bowler with a 168 average.
Alma won the TVC in bowling this season.
One Division 4 team that bowlers may want to keep an eye on is Crossroads Academy, which was 9-0 during the dual season and played a nonleague schedule that included bigger schools like Big Rapids, Lakeview, and Morley Stanwood.
John VanWagner coaches the Crossroads team, and his son, Jesse, has been among the team’s top bowlers, along with Kyle Giban and Josh Ziegler.
Jesse VanWagner has been averaging 190 per round while Giban is at 177. VanWagner barely missed qualifying for state a year ago.
John VanWagner is confident that if his team has a good Baker round at the regionals, it can compete for a spot in the state finals.
“We work hard on that,” he said. “We practice on that a lot.”