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SOUTHFIELD — It was a historic season for Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology’s young bowling squad.
A bowling team that was previously recognized as a club just a few years ago, Southfield A&T’s bowling program has already claimed an impressive collection to their trophy room in just their fourth season as a varsity sport.
For the first time in program history, the Southfield A&T girls team went undefeated in league play, winning the Oakland Activities Association-White division, but the success wasn’t one-sided this year.
Led by an impressive group of bowlers on both the girls’ and the boys’ sides, Southfield A&T is officially on the map for high school bowling.
Girls
The 2023 Southfield A&T senior class will always be remembered for officially laying the foundation for Southfield A&T girls bowling.
On Feb. 24 at Skore Lanes in the Michigan High School Athletic Association Region 6 Championships, Southfield A&T earned second place with a 2,945-pin total to qualify for the state tournament for the first time in school history.
“I think because most of my girls are graduating, it was one of those, ‘This is my last chance,’” Southfield A&T coach Rose Mason said. “I think that was their motivation, and they really just dug in this year. They dug their heels in and just really focused on everything they’ve learned.”
Led by junior Samantha Mason, an all-Conference first team selection who finished fourth in singles at regionals to qualify for states, Southfield A&T possessed a healthy amount of leadership with Mason at the forefront, but also featured seniors Takera Edwards, an all-Conference third team honoree, Kayla Turner, an all-Conference third team honoree, and Kennedy Ellis.
Edwards fell just shy of the top-10 placement needed to qualify for states, finishing 11th, while Turner finished 16th in a field of 66 bowlers.
Samantha Mason said she wanted to make the seniors’ final year one to remember.
“Coming into the year, I was focused on it being my team’s last year overall,” Mason said. “My teammates have been on the team since they were freshmen, and I joined when I was a sophomore. Everybody was basically leaving, and I just wanted us to go out with a bang and make this season really special.”
Along with their league title, Southfield A&T also won the OAA-Postseason tournament and the University of Detroit-Mercy tournament in back-to-back weeks this season.
Samantha Mason said the OAA-Postseason tournament was a huge confidence booster for the squad.
“Going into the postseason and beating all the teams that we once struggled against, that was an amazing feeling,” Mason said.
On March 3 at Thunderbowl Lanes in Allen Park, Southfield A&T was unable to make it into the top eight qualifying block, finishing 13th. Mason, the lone singles qualifier, finished 21st in a field of 60 bowlers.
With a significant number of seniors graduating, it will be up to Mason and freshman Jaysa Taylor, an all-Conference first team honoree, to continue the success Southfield A&T has established.
Taylor, who finished 14th at regionals, played a key role in her first season on the varsity squad and will look to help Southfield A&T retain their league title once more.
Mason said the team takes a lot of pride in what they accomplished this year.
“I feel like we do, but at the same time we’re very humble about it,” Mason said. “We don’t walk around like, ‘Oh, we did this and we did that and everything.’ I would say you could call us silent assassins.’”
Boys
While maybe not achieving the history-making season the girls had this season, the Southfield A&T boys squad took a huge step forward this season.
“Before, we were nowhere near there (at the top),” Rose Mason said. “If nothing else, we could say that we were in the running versus going right home. They saw the difference with changing their attitude and keeping their heads in the game all day.”
Finishing second in the league behind senior Alex Veal, the lone state qualifier, Southfield A&T finished eighth at regionals, failing to qualify as a team.
Veal shined in the singles tournament, finishing in 10th for his second straight state finals berth in singles.
While a 31st placement at the state finals would end his bowling career, Veal said he was really impressed with how the team performed this season.
“The chemistry was a lot of independence brought in within the team,” Veal said. “We’ve always been pretty much a varsity squad since ninth grade, so having that companionship really helped us know what each other’s strengths were.”
While the boys may not have won a tournament this season, they were hanging in there until the very last minute each weekend.
It’s a testament to the senior leadership, which was headlined by Veal; Gregory Vaughn, an all-Conference first team honoree; Timothy Forrest; Jaylen Dunn; and Collin Bryant.
As a group that grew up with each other since their freshman year on the squad, Forrest said the team’s bond is something he’s going to miss.
“I’m kind of sad that we never really won anything, but I think it was a great experience and we had fun,” Forrest said. “I’m gonna miss bowling with them, but I made a lot of memories.”
