Lakeview bowling reprising role as team to beat in MAC White

ST. CLAIR SHORES — For the first time in the last two years, it looked like the Macomb Area Conference White league title could be up for grabs in boys bowling.

Warren Woods Tower, Utica Ford II, and New Baltimore Anchor Bay all featured strong squads coming into the season with the notion that St. Clair Shores Lakeview would not be the same team they’ve been in years past.

The wounded Huskies graduated their core of four state-caliber bowlers in 2023, who helped mold the program into a well-oiled machine with a regional title win, numerous state qualifications, and three-straight league titles to their name.

The only question that remained was how the Huskies were going to respond to being hunted.

“We had a couple schools like Anchor Bay, Warren Woods Tower, and Utica Ford that felt they could prove that Lakeview wasn’t good anymore,” senior Cameron Fedenis said. “I knew, Josh (Ciegotura) knew, Keith (Quail III) knew, and everyone that’s on varsity knew that we had to step up to prove that we lost some seniors, but everyone lost seniors, too. We weren’t the only ones, but we also had the talent to move on and be good.”

Knowing is one thing, but coming out and winning five-straight league games with wins over Tower and Ford showed the league and Division 1 that Lakeview is still a threat with their new band of bowlers.

Led by junior Josh Ciegotura, Lakeview opened up MAC White play with back-to-back roll-off wins over Tower and Ford II, which is when two teams tie for points and the winner is decided by a six-frame Baker-format roll-off. From there, the Huskies have dominated the opposition, outscoring the competition 71-19.

Ciegotura carries the highest average on the team at 211 and was a focal point of Lakeview’s state-qualifying season last year, and he’s continued to be dominant.

Now the leader of the squad, Ciegotura said he took in the offseason to prepare for his new role.

“I was a little nervous knowing I was going to be that anchor and taking that role, but I made sure I practiced a lot during the summer and the offseason,” Ciegotura said. “I did a lot of tournaments to get myself ready.”

The tournament preparation paid off for Ciegotura as he captured the boys singles championship in the Macomb County Bowling Championships on Jan. 12 at 5 Star Lanes, and his play along with Fedenis and sophomore Keith Quail III has kept Lakeview firing on all cylinders.

Ciegotura, Fedenis and Quail III all understood what it took to keep the team morale and performance stable from last season, but it took some time for Fedenis to relax himself and bowl to his normal ability.

Fedenis will be the first to say he was nervous entering the season, but once he committed to Goshen College in Indiana to continue his bowling career, everything has fallen into place for the senior veteran.

“Being honest, I was worried about what was after high school,” Fedenis said. “Now that I got that out of the way, I’m just enjoying this year and doing as much as I can and putting in as much effort just so that this season will feel amazing.”

Fedenis has the fourth-highest average on the team with a 193 while Quail III has evolved into the bowler Lakeview coach Jeremiah Shaw hoped he would, posting a 198 average so far.

Outside of the veteran trio, varsity newcomers Connor Loiselle (senior), Camden Loiselle (junior), and Evan Martin (junior) have come into their own this season.

Martin currently carries the third-highest average on the team with a 195 while the Loiselle brothers, Connor and Camden, carry a 189 and 188 average, respectively. Connor Loiselle holds the top high game this season for Lakeview with a 259.

“They’re sponges right now, and they’re absorbing a ton,” Shaw said. “I’m very, very happy where they are at this point. We didn’t think they’d be here at this point yet. We knew we would get them here at some point, but they got there a little bit faster than we anticipated. We’re just hoping that it keeps going.”

While league play has been exactly what Lakeview hoped for, the tournament scene has been a struggle so far.

The Huskies have been middle-of-the-pack for the most part this year in tournaments, and Shaw said the team has shown flashes of improvements.

“A lot of it is minimizing our misses,” Shaw said. “I use a line from a movie of ‘aim small, miss small.’ They’re learning that missing big on the tournament pattern is not a good thing, but they’re getting better.”

In order to secure a top-3 spot at regionals, Lakeview will look to improve on their weekend play if a state qualification is in their future.

There’s always the pressure of continuing their reign in the MAC White, but Fedenis said the team mindset is focused on far bigger aspirations.

“Win regionals and make it to states,” Fedenis said. “That has always been the mindset. With what we can do, we know that it is so close to us and that we can do that.”