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Five Downriver high schools claimed league bowling championships as the 2012-2013 regular season came to a close.
The Roosevelt boys’ and Kennedy girls’ teams are the champions of the Downriver League after earning victories during Wednesday’s position day matches at Taylor Lanes.
The Huron boys wrapped up their second straight Huron League title.
And the Cabrini girls and Gabriel Richard boys went undefeated during regular-season competition to win division championships in the Catholic League.
(A full report on Michigan High School Athletic Association regional bowling tournament matches scheduled for this weekend will appear in next Sunday’s News-Herald.)
Downriver League
Tony Zaddach woke up Wednesday morning suffering from the flu. He considered not going to school, which meant he would not be eligible to bowl in Roosevelt’s Downriver League championship match against Kennedy at Taylor Lanes.
“My mom told me, ‘You can’t let the team down,’” the Bears’ senior captain said. “I remembered last year how I let the team down and I didn’t want to do it again this year.”
In Zaddach’s junior season, he was carrying some bowling balls down the stairs at school, hit something slippery and went tumbling down. He suffered three severely broken bones in his right ankle. His junior bowling season was done. The Bears were not the same team without him.
So on Wednesday, Zaddach bowled a two-game series of 444, freshman Cory Coffey bowled a 442 and Roosevelt defeated Kennedy, 18-12, to become the outright boys bowling champions of the Downriver League for the very first time.
“Those two really carried us,” said Coach George Purdu.
The Bears finished league play at 5-1 and were 9-3 in the combined Downriver League/Western Wayne County Athletic Conference. Kennedy, which started the day a half game behind Roosevelt, fell to third with the loss. Truman defeated Trenton and edged past the Eagles into second place.
Roosevelt opened the Downriver League season with a loss to Anderson and had to keep winning in order to stay in the hunt. Key for the Bears was a win the week before over Truman.
“This was great,” Purdu said. “I tell you what: these guys really battled. I had a long talk with them after that first loss and said you know we still control our own destiny… The kids never gave up. It was really a full team effort.”
Roosevelt was as balanced and deep as any boys’ team in the league, averaging an impressive 966 in its 12 matches.
Coffey (199), Zaddach (198), Justin Hamilton (196), Marcus Lesko (194) and Brett Livingston (194) all averaged in the 190s and Nick Janeski (180), Dalton Fields (183), Jack Harris (180) and Jason Ratliff (172) were close behind.
Hamilton also had the league’s high game, 288.
Meanwhile, the Kennedy girls team remained undefeated (6-0 in the league, 12-0 overall) to win the Downriver League championship for a second straight season and the third time in four years.
The Eagles had to get past a tough Anderson team that had defeated them in the Bowl for Burns Tournament to win the league title outright – and they did, 17-13.
The year before, Kennedy had to defeat the Titans to share the championship. Eagles Coach Dan Dutcher said the girls did not want to share the title this year.
“They always bring out the best in us,” Dutcher said. “They have been fierce competition every year and are very well coached.”
Anderson actually led, 10-0, after the Baker games. The Eagles cut the gap after the first head-to-head game and then outscored the Titans 9-2 the rest of the way to pull out the win.
Dutcher said “everybody across the board” contributed to the victory. June Bedo shot a 209, which erased her previous high game by 20 pins.
“Both teams had the opportunity to throw strikes,” Anderson Coach Sean Sevrence said. “It came down to the spare game. Whoever minimized the splits and the open frames was going to win. It was neck and neck that final game.
“Between these two schools, it truly is a coin toss. They are two wonderful programs. It’s a blast to be a part of it.”
Anderson finished 4-2 in the Downriver League and 9-3 overall. Titans Paige Podlaszuk (197) and Angela Rodriguez (190) had the top two averages in the league and Podlaszuk had the league’s high scratch game, 258.
The Kennedy girls had the league’s high team average (858), two-game scratch series (1,846), scratch Baker game (234) and scratch Baker series (419).
Morgan Alexis had the league’s third-highest average (187) and second-best scratch series (448).
Her teammates on the Downriver League championship squad included Rebecca West (175 average), Andrea Claypool (167), Alyssa Segura (165), Bedo (164), Melissa Woloszyk (157) and Anna Hudak (143).
Each of the Eagles won at least 10 head-to-head matches, led by Bedo, who was an impressive 18-for-18.
Huron League
Winning the Huron League championship wasn’t the main goal of the Huron High School boys’ team, but beating the league’s tough competition was a big step in preparing for the state tournament.
The Chiefs wrapped up the league title and a 13-1 regular season with a dominating 28½ to 1½ win over the Riverview Gold team.
The Chiefs’ only loss came during a split of their two matches with Carleton Airport, which finished second overall at 12-2.
Add Huron’s league title to championships in the Wayne County and Bowl for Burns tournaments and the season was nearly flawless.
“It’s great,” Coach Larry Collins said. “You’ve got to set your sights there before you go anywhere else. There is a lot of competition in our league and some pretty good bowlers. With the exception of a few teams, it’s anybody’s match every week.”
The Chiefs’ 910 team average was 43 better than Riverview, which had the second best average in the league and finished third overall. Huron had the league’s best team game (1,062), series (1,970) and team Baker game (254).
Individually, Tony Leo had the highest average in the league (215) and led the Chiefs in the season finale with a 448 two-game series.
Teammate Paul White was third in the league with a 200 average. Anthony Munoz (194) and Josh Coffee (182) were also regulars in the Chiefs’ starting lineup.
In the Huron League girls division, Airport (13-1), Flat Rock (12-2) and Huron (10-3-1) finished one-two-three.
Catholic League
The Gabriel Richard boys (12-0) and the Cabrini girls (11-1) were champions in the Catholic League West Division.
The Pioneers – with no seniors on the team – were led by freshman Austin Kraemer, whose 196 average was second highest in the league. He also had the high scratch game (247) and two-game series (463).
Kraemer and junior Zack Stempien (173) each won 17 of their 18 head-to-head matches.
Zach Barr (189), Christian O’Callaghan (171) and Austin Stempien (165) combined for 37 more match wins.
Gabriel Richard was unable to repeat as Catholic League boys bowling champions, however, as the Pioneers were knocked out by Cabrini during the league tournament quarterfinals at Oak Lanes.
Cabrini (9-3), which finished second to Gabriel Richard in the regular season and lost both of its matches with the Pioneers, won their league tournament Baker match, 212-192 and 194-170.
The fifth-seeded Monarchs lost their semifinal match to top-seeded Warren DeLaSalle, 257-193 and 196-177. The Pilots went on to defeat University of Detroit-Jesuit to win the league title.
Nick Pilkington (189, 233, 203) and Mike Kuschel (177, 233, 213) led Cabrini in the qualifying round and earned All-Catholic honors. Zander Pollack was named to the All-League team. Tommy Richards was All-Academic.
Kraemer (183, 204, 233) earned All-League recognition for Gabriel Richard. Barr took All-Academic.
The Cabrini girls team (11-1) defeated runner-up Royal Oak Shrine by 2½ games to win the West Division.
Sophomore Mary Goodrich led the league with a 151 average and had the high game, 203. Senior Megan Gilbert (148) and sophomore Alex Dickinson (144) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Dickinson won 17 of 21 head-to-head matches to lead the team. Gilbert won 14 matches and Carolyn Ferraiuolo won 11.
In the Catholic League tournament, the Monarchs qualified as the third seed behind Farmington Hills Mercy and Macomb Regina. Gabriel Richard qualified seventh.
In the semifinals, Cabrini was upset by Birmingham Marian, 148-187, 129-115, 152-124. Richard was eliminated by Regina in three games as well.
Regina went on to win the championship, defeating Mercy in the finals. Cabrini received the Tier 2 trophy as the top-seeded smaller school in the tournament.
Gilbert earned All-League recognition, while teammate Sarah Koshorek was named to the All-Academic team.
Gabriel Richard’s Emily Elsesser (185, 204, 205) had an outstanding qualifying round and was named to the All-Catholic team. Gabrielle Trela earned All-League recognition and sister Mary Trela received an All-Academic nod.
Cabrini Coach Paul Ferraiuolo called his teams’ performance in the league tournament “phenomenal.”
“Today really showed all the hard work that both teams have been putting in all year,” he said.
Gabriel Richard Coach Bob Stempien was pleased that bowlers on both of his teams showed improvement throughout the year.
“It’s really hard to repeat” as Catholic League champions, he said. “One of the messages I gave the boys was ‘Last year, you came here as unknowns and nobody gave you much credit. This year, you had a target on your back. Nobody will take you lightly again.’”
Stempien said he was excited that his entire boys’ team would be back.
“We’ll have a lot of sophomores pushing the seniors,” he said. “I’m excited.”
BOWLING: Five local league bowling champs (PHOTOS)
The Kennedy High School girls bowling team wrapped up another Down-river League champion-ship by defeating run-ner-up Anderson in a close match on Wednesday at Taylor Lanes. The Ea-gles include Coach Dan Dutcher (left), Morgan Alexis, Melissa Woloszyk, Alyssa Segura, Rebecca West, Anna Hu-dak, June Bedo, Andrea Claypool and Coach Ernie Segura.
Members of the Downriver League boys bowling champions from Roosevelt High School include Justin Hamilton (left), Dalton Fields, Brett Livingston, Tony Zad-dach, Cory Coffey, Nick Janeski, Marcus Lesko, Jack Harris and Coach George Purdu.
The Roosevelt boys’ and Kennedy girls’ teams are the champions of the Downriver League after earning victories during Wednesday’s position day matches at Taylor Lanes.
The Huron boys wrapped up their second straight Huron League title.
And the Cabrini girls and Gabriel Richard boys went undefeated during regular-season competition to win division championships in the Catholic League.
(A full report on Michigan High School Athletic Association regional bowling tournament matches scheduled for this weekend will appear in next Sunday’s News-Herald.)
Downriver League
Tony Zaddach woke up Wednesday morning suffering from the flu. He considered not going to school, which meant he would not be eligible to bowl in Roosevelt’s Downriver League championship match against Kennedy at Taylor Lanes.
“My mom told me, ‘You can’t let the team down,’” the Bears’ senior captain said. “I remembered last year how I let the team down and I didn’t want to do it again this year.”
In Zaddach’s junior season, he was carrying some bowling balls down the stairs at school, hit something slippery and went tumbling down. He suffered three severely broken bones in his right ankle. His junior bowling season was done. The Bears were not the same team without him.
So on Wednesday, Zaddach bowled a two-game series of 444, freshman Cory Coffey bowled a 442 and Roosevelt defeated Kennedy, 18-12, to become the outright boys bowling champions of the Downriver League for the very first time.
“Those two really carried us,” said Coach George Purdu.
The Bears finished league play at 5-1 and were 9-3 in the combined Downriver League/Western Wayne County Athletic Conference. Kennedy, which started the day a half game behind Roosevelt, fell to third with the loss. Truman defeated Trenton and edged past the Eagles into second place.
Roosevelt opened the Downriver League season with a loss to Anderson and had to keep winning in order to stay in the hunt. Key for the Bears was a win the week before over Truman.
“This was great,” Purdu said. “I tell you what: these guys really battled. I had a long talk with them after that first loss and said you know we still control our own destiny… The kids never gave up. It was really a full team effort.”
Roosevelt was as balanced and deep as any boys’ team in the league, averaging an impressive 966 in its 12 matches.
Coffey (199), Zaddach (198), Justin Hamilton (196), Marcus Lesko (194) and Brett Livingston (194) all averaged in the 190s and Nick Janeski (180), Dalton Fields (183), Jack Harris (180) and Jason Ratliff (172) were close behind.
Hamilton also had the league’s high game, 288.
Meanwhile, the Kennedy girls team remained undefeated (6-0 in the league, 12-0 overall) to win the Downriver League championship for a second straight season and the third time in four years.
The Eagles had to get past a tough Anderson team that had defeated them in the Bowl for Burns Tournament to win the league title outright – and they did, 17-13.
The year before, Kennedy had to defeat the Titans to share the championship. Eagles Coach Dan Dutcher said the girls did not want to share the title this year.
“They always bring out the best in us,” Dutcher said. “They have been fierce competition every year and are very well coached.”
Anderson actually led, 10-0, after the Baker games. The Eagles cut the gap after the first head-to-head game and then outscored the Titans 9-2 the rest of the way to pull out the win.
Dutcher said “everybody across the board” contributed to the victory. June Bedo shot a 209, which erased her previous high game by 20 pins.
“Both teams had the opportunity to throw strikes,” Anderson Coach Sean Sevrence said. “It came down to the spare game. Whoever minimized the splits and the open frames was going to win. It was neck and neck that final game.
“Between these two schools, it truly is a coin toss. They are two wonderful programs. It’s a blast to be a part of it.”
Anderson finished 4-2 in the Downriver League and 9-3 overall. Titans Paige Podlaszuk (197) and Angela Rodriguez (190) had the top two averages in the league and Podlaszuk had the league’s high scratch game, 258.
The Kennedy girls had the league’s high team average (858), two-game scratch series (1,846), scratch Baker game (234) and scratch Baker series (419).
Morgan Alexis had the league’s third-highest average (187) and second-best scratch series (448).
Her teammates on the Downriver League championship squad included Rebecca West (175 average), Andrea Claypool (167), Alyssa Segura (165), Bedo (164), Melissa Woloszyk (157) and Anna Hudak (143).
Each of the Eagles won at least 10 head-to-head matches, led by Bedo, who was an impressive 18-for-18.
Huron League
Winning the Huron League championship wasn’t the main goal of the Huron High School boys’ team, but beating the league’s tough competition was a big step in preparing for the state tournament.
The Chiefs wrapped up the league title and a 13-1 regular season with a dominating 28½ to 1½ win over the Riverview Gold team.
The Chiefs’ only loss came during a split of their two matches with Carleton Airport, which finished second overall at 12-2.
Add Huron’s league title to championships in the Wayne County and Bowl for Burns tournaments and the season was nearly flawless.
“It’s great,” Coach Larry Collins said. “You’ve got to set your sights there before you go anywhere else. There is a lot of competition in our league and some pretty good bowlers. With the exception of a few teams, it’s anybody’s match every week.”
The Chiefs’ 910 team average was 43 better than Riverview, which had the second best average in the league and finished third overall. Huron had the league’s best team game (1,062), series (1,970) and team Baker game (254).
Individually, Tony Leo had the highest average in the league (215) and led the Chiefs in the season finale with a 448 two-game series.
Teammate Paul White was third in the league with a 200 average. Anthony Munoz (194) and Josh Coffee (182) were also regulars in the Chiefs’ starting lineup.
In the Huron League girls division, Airport (13-1), Flat Rock (12-2) and Huron (10-3-1) finished one-two-three.
Catholic League
The Gabriel Richard boys (12-0) and the Cabrini girls (11-1) were champions in the Catholic League West Division.
The Pioneers – with no seniors on the team – were led by freshman Austin Kraemer, whose 196 average was second highest in the league. He also had the high scratch game (247) and two-game series (463).
Kraemer and junior Zack Stempien (173) each won 17 of their 18 head-to-head matches.
Zach Barr (189), Christian O’Callaghan (171) and Austin Stempien (165) combined for 37 more match wins.
Gabriel Richard was unable to repeat as Catholic League boys bowling champions, however, as the Pioneers were knocked out by Cabrini during the league tournament quarterfinals at Oak Lanes.
Cabrini (9-3), which finished second to Gabriel Richard in the regular season and lost both of its matches with the Pioneers, won their league tournament Baker match, 212-192 and 194-170.
The fifth-seeded Monarchs lost their semifinal match to top-seeded Warren DeLaSalle, 257-193 and 196-177. The Pilots went on to defeat University of Detroit-Jesuit to win the league title.
Nick Pilkington (189, 233, 203) and Mike Kuschel (177, 233, 213) led Cabrini in the qualifying round and earned All-Catholic honors. Zander Pollack was named to the All-League team. Tommy Richards was All-Academic.
Kraemer (183, 204, 233) earned All-League recognition for Gabriel Richard. Barr took All-Academic.
The Cabrini girls team (11-1) defeated runner-up Royal Oak Shrine by 2½ games to win the West Division.
Sophomore Mary Goodrich led the league with a 151 average and had the high game, 203. Senior Megan Gilbert (148) and sophomore Alex Dickinson (144) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Dickinson won 17 of 21 head-to-head matches to lead the team. Gilbert won 14 matches and Carolyn Ferraiuolo won 11.
In the Catholic League tournament, the Monarchs qualified as the third seed behind Farmington Hills Mercy and Macomb Regina. Gabriel Richard qualified seventh.
In the semifinals, Cabrini was upset by Birmingham Marian, 148-187, 129-115, 152-124. Richard was eliminated by Regina in three games as well.
Regina went on to win the championship, defeating Mercy in the finals. Cabrini received the Tier 2 trophy as the top-seeded smaller school in the tournament.
Gilbert earned All-League recognition, while teammate Sarah Koshorek was named to the All-Academic team.
Gabriel Richard’s Emily Elsesser (185, 204, 205) had an outstanding qualifying round and was named to the All-Catholic team. Gabrielle Trela earned All-League recognition and sister Mary Trela received an All-Academic nod.
Cabrini Coach Paul Ferraiuolo called his teams’ performance in the league tournament “phenomenal.”
“Today really showed all the hard work that both teams have been putting in all year,” he said.
Gabriel Richard Coach Bob Stempien was pleased that bowlers on both of his teams showed improvement throughout the year.
“It’s really hard to repeat” as Catholic League champions, he said. “One of the messages I gave the boys was ‘Last year, you came here as unknowns and nobody gave you much credit. This year, you had a target on your back. Nobody will take you lightly again.’”
Stempien said he was excited that his entire boys’ team would be back.
“We’ll have a lot of sophomores pushing the seniors,” he said. “I’m excited.”
Last Updated: 2/22/2013 4:19:15 PM EST