Clinton Township

Bowling for titles

By Mark Vest
C & G Sports Writer

» click to enlarge « Photo provided by Mary Ann Young From left, girls bowling coach Sandra Schultz, junior Kristen Young and boys coach Charles Schultz pose for a photo at the MHSAA state finals in Battle Creek. Young took second place in the singles competition for girls. Photo provided by Mary Ann Young From left, girls bowling coach Sandra Schultz, junior Kristen Young and boys coach Charles Schultz pose for a photo at the MHSAA state finals in Battle Creek. Young took second place in the singles competition for girls.

It was another successful season of bowling at Chippewa Valley, as the boys and girls teams each captured a Macomb Area Conference White Division title.

It was the third season in a row that the boys team has been able to lay claim to the top spot in the division, while the girls have won two of the last three MAC White championships.

Last season, Anchor Bay edged the girls team to take the title, and this season the Big Reds relied on some dramatic flare to re-capture the division crown.

At the end of the regular season, Chippewa Valley and Anchor Bay had identical records of 7-1, with each loss coming against each other, and it took a storybook ending to ultimately decide the MAC White championship.

“It just so happens at the very last match of the season we were bowling each other,” said girls coach Sandra Schultz, who also assists boys coach Charles Schultz. “It got down to the last match, the last game, (and) the last frame or two. I really think they wanted to win the MAC White this year. Last year, we lost it at our final meet, and I think when they came in this year, that’s what they wanted to do.”

Team members Jeff Pietryka, John Short, Ashley Yank and Sunshrae Heller also joined forces to win the Heart Breaker Baker Tournament for Chippewa Valley during the 2011-2012 season. Pietryka was voted boys MAC White MVP.

While the Big Reds didn’t make the state cut as a team this season, junior Kristen Young was able to make sure that Chippewa Valley was well-represented at the finals competition in Battle Creek.

Young took second place at the Division 1 MHSAA state finals singles tourney March 3, finishing only pins behind Allison Morris of Ann Arbor Huron.

“I’m really happy with the outcome,” Young said. “I didn’t know how good it would turn out. I improved so much from last year. I started out as a JV player last year, moved up a few times on varsity, and I’m just so excited to become a runner-up for state finals.

“When I made the cut for states, I was just shocked; I didn’t know what to do. I was shaking.”

The season may be over, but the accolades have not stopped for Young, who also recently learned that she was chosen as MVP for the MAC White conference.

Prior to joining Chippewa Valley’s team, Young said she had not bowled since she was approximately 8 years old. It didn’t take her long for Schultz to realize that Young had the makings of someone who could make her mark.

“I could tell that she was going to have a huge amount of potential, as long as she had her heart in the game, which it turns out she does,” Schultz said. “In the beginning, she set small goals, and as her high school bowling career has progressed, the goals have gotten higher and higher, which they should be.

“She had never bowled at states before, so now that she’s got that experience and that knowledge. Next year, she definitely has a chance to make state finals, and possibly (win a) championship.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mark Vest at mvest@candgnews.com or at (586)279-1112. Follow Mark on Twitter.