The battle for Flint Metro League Bowling supremacy began on Wednesday, Jan 27 when the Wildcats traveled to Kearsley to battle the Hornets.
It wasn’t meant to be as Kearsley took command of the match from the very beginning against both the boys and girls. The Hornets took both baker games before the Wildcats took the first game in the head to head competition.
However, the comeback would end there as Kearsley completed the victory by taking the second head-to-head game from the teams.
Despite the loss, the girls were able to bowl a 1020 game, establishing a school record.
Sophomore Colleen Walters led the Wildcats with games of 234 and 200, while sophomore Heather Lafnear bowled games of 208 and 198.
Senior Corey Young was the top bowler for the boys with games of 212 and 202, while senior Brandon Wynkoop had a 214 and 195.
‘Give Kearsley credit, they beat us tonight,? said Bowling Head Coach JR Lafnear.
The hard luck for the boys continued when they bowled Holly on Saturday, Jan. 30. The Wildcats fell behind 10-0 after the two baker games, losing 246-243 in game one and 206-198 in game two.
Holly continued to bowl well in the head-to-head games, taking both games and easily defeating the Wildcats.
‘We lost this match in Baker bowling,? said Coach Lafnear. ‘We had both games and Holly took them away. As we did Wednesday, we bowled well but got beat by the better team. We have to eliminate mental mistakes in clutch situations,? he added.
Junior John Garza led the way for Oxford with games of 213 and 246, and at one point bowled 13 strikes in 16 attempts. Young added a fine 213 games, while senior Sean LeBlanc had a 204.
The girls had to stage another late comeback against Holly after falling behind 10-0 after the two baker games.
They rallied to cut the lead to 12-7 after the first head-to-head game and needed three victories and totals in game two to complete the comeback.
Senior Chantle Vanderoot started the comeback with her win in match two, and she was followed by victories by Walters and Heather Lafnear.
‘This was a very big win for us. We really got away with one today. Holly is an exceptional team and to come back down 10-0 against the Oakland County champs is unlikely, but we did it. I couldn’t be prouder of the team right now,? said Coach Lafnear.
He added that they still have a chance at the league title if Holly beats Kearsley in two weeks.
The Wildcats will be bowling at Collier Lanes on Saturday, Feb. 6 against Lapeer East at 1:30.
‘If you have never seen a high school match, I invite you to come out and watch the excitement,? said Coach Lafnear.