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Prep Bowling: Jacko wins UP girls title

LEXI JACKO

ESCANABA — Forty-five girls descended upon Bowl a Rama on Saturday to determine the UP singles champion.

The format was the same as the boys finals the previous week. Seven Lady Mountaineers began their qualifying games at 10 a.m., with six starting in the top 16 and staying there through game five. The only things that changed throughout the morning were their places.

After game one, sophomore Jane McCallister was in second place while senior Maddy Doucette was in third, only two pins behind. Sophomore Lexi Jacko occupied the 5th position, junior Hanna Bastian was 7th and tying for 9th were seniors Marissa Rasmussen and Natalie Dykhuis.

Consistent bowling by all the girls during game two kept the girls above the cut, with Doucette remaining third and Dykhuis improving to sixth.

Dropping slightly were McCallister (fifth), Jacko (ninth), Bastian (10th) and Rasmussen (15th). Game three saw Doucette and Dykhuis remain in their spots while Bastian (9th), Jacko (7th) and Rasmussen (14th) all improved their places. McCallister dropped slightly to eighth.

A 245 game launched Doucette to top seed following game 4. Also improving their spots were Rasmussen to 13th, Bastian to 8th and Jacko to 5th. McCallister moved to 12th and Dykhuis to 9th.

Seeding did not change drastically following game five, though Doucette dipped into second.

The sixth qualifying game found Doucette back as top qualifier with an 1142 set. Lexi Jacko settled into the sixth seed while McCallister, Dykhuis and Bastian placed 8th, 9th and 10th, respectively.

Rasmussen fell out of the cut to 23rd.

Moving to the bracket round, two Lady Mountaineers found themselves bowling against each other, with Natalie Dykhuis besting Jane McCallister 346-269.

Maddy Doucette downed No. 16 Taylor Marsh of Menominee 339-269. Lexi Jacko moved to the next round by beating Escanaba’s Macy Leisenring 372-329. Hanna Bastian met L’Anse’s Jenna Messer and fell by 10 pins, 306-316.

The round of eight found two Mountaineers bowling against each other again. Doucette defeated fellow senior Dykhuis 383-293.

Lexi Jacko took on a second Escanaba opponent, beating Dakota Cloutier by 105 pins (446-341).

The final four found Doucette falling against Ishpeming’s Megan Wilkins 384-327 and Jacko ousting Messer with a two-game score of 373-250.

“The final match was held on lanes seven and eight which had not been used since the round of sixteen,” said IM Coach Cathy Tomassoni. “After a slight adjustment on the approach, Jacko began with a strike and kept on rolling.”

Jacko captured the UP title with a 438-319 win Wilkins.

“I am extremely proud of all my girls,” said Tomassoni. “All seven raised their averages which is extremely difficult to do at this point in the season.”

Team finals take place Saturday at River Rock Lanes in Ishpeming, with the boys starting at 10 a.m. and the girls at 2 p.m. This marks the end of the UPBC bowling season.

The Mountaineers will travel to Monitor Lanes in Bay City for the regional tournament next week. Team event will be held Friday, Feb. 22, with the singles event occurring Saturday, Feb. 23.

IM’s Spera in semifinals

MARQUETTE — On Saturday, Feb. 2, the Mountaineer boys bowling team traveled to Superior Lanes in Marquette to compete in the UP Singles Finals.

Sixty-eight boys from the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference (UPBC) began the day by bowling six qualifying games. Iron Mountain had 15 bowlers.

After the six-game qualifying block, the field was cut to the top 16, and those bowlers bowled two games against their opponent, with the higher score moving on to the next round.

“It was a very tough day for all the boys with the extremely demanding lane condition,” said Coach Pete Tomassoni.

All the bowlers jockeyed for position, with the names (and their corresponding seeding) in the top 16 changing with every game.

Seniors Brandon Malburg and Trey Nichols found themselves in the top 16 after the first game, with junior Nathan Arndt only eight pins from the cut line.

After the second game, Malburg was still above the cut, moving from ninth to eighth seed, while Nichols slipped to 20th, only nine pins out. Replacing Nichols in the top sixteen was junior Zach Hanson, who jumped 23 places to 10th. Hanson (sixth) and Malburg (12th) remained above the cut after game three.

Junior Zach “Spanky” Spera moved 14 places to take over the 13th seed, while Nichols dropped to 18th, only two pins below the cut.

The three Mountaineers remained in the top 16 after game five. Following the sixth and final qualifying game, two Mountaineers were left to bowl in head-to-head bracket competition.

Zach Hanson was the fifth seed with a 1046 six-game set and Zach Spera was ninth with 1023. Brandon Malburg ended with a 975 total, finishing 19th, only 15 pins out of the cut.

After a short break, the bracket matches began with Spera facing No. 8 Mason Garceau of Marquette and Hanson meeting No. 12 Evan Rae of Ishpeming. Both moved to the round of eight, with Spera defeating Garceau by 13 pins (314-301) and Hanson dispatching Rae by 14 pins (340-326).

In the next match, Hanson fell to Marquette’s Kennan Johnson (315-372), the eventual UP singles runner-up. Spera spilled Calumet’s Drake Schmitz 391-347.

The next round saw Spera bowing to Johnson 372-273. Johnson and Westwood’s Alex Miller moved to the finals, with Miller being crowned the 2019 UP singles champion.

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