OXFORD – Both the girls and boys varsity bowling teams competed in the 2024 Oakland County Championships Jan. 13, with girls team finishing in second place.
The boys team competed against 26 teams and the girls faced off against 25. Several teams were unable to attend due to the weather.
Girls bowling
The girls were solid in qualifying and ended up the fifth seed. Qualifying consisted of three full team games and four baker games. During qualifying, senior co-captain Kiley Penzien led the way with a 573 series and a 239-game, earning her two medals.
When bracket play started the Wildcats faced off against number 12 seed Hazel Park. Bracket play was total score of two baker games. The Wildcat girls beat the Vikings by a mere three pins. They then beat Walled Lake Northern, the number 4 seed, 318-294.
This pitted the Cats against their OAA rival and eighth-seeded Clarkston. Oxford won 333-301 to advance into the finals against the number two seed, Bishop Foley.
In the finals the Wildcats got off to a big lead winning game 1 by 23 pins. Then the talented Bishop Foley team shot a 223 game to Oxford’s 144 to capture the title.
“This was a very good day for our ladies. Everyone contributed and we bowled well as a team. Several times we got behind and rallied back. We still have room for improvement but these girls work hard and we will continue to grow. We defeated some real good teams and should feel very good about our performance,” said coach Jr Lafnear.
Boys bowling
The boys came out of the gate rolling well in their qualifying portion. They held the number one seed for most of the day and ended the day as the second seed behind Waterford Mott.
Two Wildcats were awarded medals as Jacob Kemenah medaled twice with a 255 game and a 644 series. Jacob Chouinard also medaled with a fine 672 series.
The Cats faced off against a young talented Lakeland team in round 1. Lakeland came out with a 222 to Oxford’s 202 and held a 20-pin lead. The teams went back and forth in the next game and the Wildcats won 195-193. The Wildcats didn’t make up the 20-pin deficit their tournament run ended.
The Wildcats had won the title the past two years and battled like champions, said Lafnear.
Lakeland went on to take third in the event.
“This surely wasn’t the way we wanted the day to end. Lakeland did a great job and deserved the win. I was very impressed by our performance today. We bowled very well all day and a couple of shots one way or another and we could have moved on. It wasn’t our day but I know that we will learn from this loss. This team showed great tenacity and grit today. We will use this to fuel us the remainder of the year,” Lafnear said. – J.N.