GAYLORD — The Iron Mountain Mountaineer boys bowling participated in the Division 2 Regional bowling tournament Feb. 28 and 29 at Gaylord Bowling Center. The men took the lanes after the ladies had finished bowling and State Finals qualifiers were announced.

The Mountaineer boys team was in fifth place after the six-game Baker set with a 1033 total, only four pins out of the cut. In the first team game, Iron Mountain shot a 965 team score which propelled them to second place. Only 17 pins behind, the third spot was occupied by the Escanaba Eskymos.

The Mountaineers stayed on task in game two, throwing an 865 team game, which placed them in third behind the Eskymo by 24 pins. Marcus Doucette had the entire center watching as he strung the front nine strikes together for a tournament high game of 266.

An 845 score in game three kept the Mountaineers in third place in the Regional tournament, qualifying them for a trip downstate to Waterford for the D2 State Final tournament.

Doucette topped Mountaineer scoring with a 637 series on games of 209, 266 and 162. Zach Spera was next with 597, which was made up 199, 188 and 201 games.

The Lady Mountaineer bowling team took the lanes with thirteen other schools, competing with the goal of being one of the top three teams that would advance to the State Finals. Unlike the weekly meets, placement is determined by total pin fall.

After the six-game Baker set, Iron Mountain was sitting in fifth place with an 858, 33 pins from the cut. Powered by Hanna Bastian’s 191 game, the Mountaineers threw an 840 team game, which moved them up to third place. A second game of 786 did not hurt the Lady Mountaineers, keeping them in third place, only 8 pins over fourth place Bay City John Glenn, perennial Division 2 State qualifiers.

Game three’s total of 791 helped Iron Mountain take 2nd place from Bay City Central with a total score of 3275, with John Glenn finishing one pin behind in third place. The top three teams advance to the State Final Tournament.

Leading the scoring was Stephanie List with a 545 series on games of 168, 178 and 199. Bastian was next with a 534 series. “It was a true team effort,” said Cathy Tomassoni, coach of the girls team.

Lexi Jacko shot a 470 series (175 game), while Jane McCallister added a 442 series (172 game). Adrienne Taylor tossed a personal best game of 177 enroute to a 426 series.

“We are ecstatic to have both the boys and the girls qualify for state,” said head coach Pete Tomassoni.

On Feb. 29, Gaylord Bowling Center hosted the singles event for the Division 2, Region 10 Regional bowling tournament. Hanna Bastian, Stephanie List, Tamera Jaeger, Alexis Jacko, Jane McCallister and Adrienne Taylor joined 75 other bowlers to bowl six qualifying games. The top ten bowlers of both boys and girls, advance to the State Finals.

After two games, Jacko and Bastian were in the top ten. Bastian was leading qualifying with 416 while Jacko was in with 349. List shot a 181 in game three to join her teammates in the top ten, with Jacko moving to 7th place and Bastian dropping to third.

The fourth qualifying game found Bastian and Jacko occupying fifth and sixth place respectively, while List dropped to 16th place, only 11 pins from the cut line. After five games, Jacko and Bastian remained in the top ten. Bastian was in 7th place after qualifying game number six with a total score of 1033. Jacko was in the 13th spot with 998, only 7 pins from the cut.

In the afternoon session, Zach Spera, Zach Hanson, Marcus Doucette, Nathan Arndt, Hunter Lautzenheiser and Logan Galbraith took the lanes with 77 other boys with the goal of obtaining one of the top ten qualifying spots.

After game one, Spera was in a three-way tie for 12th place, a mere six pins away from the cut line. Doucette was 22 pins out in 23rd place. In game two, Mountaineers bowlers Doucette took over 10th place and Spera was in a tie for 11th place, only four pins back. Spera tossed a 215 to move up to 6th place after game three while Doucette dropped to 16th.

A 203 in game four kept Spera in the top ten at 8th place. Spera maintained his 8th seed place with a 202 in game five. Spera had a 206 to finish with a 1200 total score, which placed him at 4th place.

Both Spera and Bastian will travel to Waterford Thursday with their teammates, the team will leave this morning for the Division 2 State Final Team event which will take place on Friday at Century Lanes in Waterford.

The Mountaineers will join 17 other teams to vie for the Division 2 State Bowling title. The individual State competition will take place on Saturday.