The Oxford High School girls varsity bowling team finished second out of 20 teams at the Early Bird team tournament in Waterford. Photo provided.

The Oxford High School boys and girls bowling teams are off to a great start with the boys winning their first two matches and the girls winning one and taking second place in a 20-team tournament.
The boys varsity bowling team hosted the new Harper Woods boys bowling team on Friday, winning 30-0 for Oxford’s second win of the season.
“Senior Captain Jacob Chouinard put on a strike show,” said head coach J.R. Lafnear.
In game one Chouinard started with the first seven strikes in route to a 244 game. In game two he started with the first eight strikes and finished with 279, tossing 11 out of 12 possible strikes.
Also with strong performances were Jacob Kemenah bowling a 245, Nate Alexander with a 215 and Matt von Knorring with a 200. The team had a 1,118 game and a 2,092 two-game set.
The following day they traveled to Century Lanes in Waterford to compete in the Early Bird team tournament.
“Strikes were hard to come by and the boy’s spare conversion rate was well below par so the team struggled to score well. The team still finished 9th out of 30 teams but had higher expectations,” Lafnear said. “This is the makeup of this boys team. We have huge strike potential but need to get better on spare conversions. The team will work hard and get better as the season continues.”
The girls team also traveled to Century Lanes to battle 20 other teams.
“The girls bowled very steady all and secured a second-place finish. They were in first or second place all day battling with the champions from Bishop Foley,” Lafnear said. “Congratulations to senior co-captain Kiley Penzien. She finished on the All-Tournament Team with the second highest score of the day. Also, congratulations to freshman Alanna Waltz who also made the All-Tournament Team finishing in the top six. Alanna was the only JV bowler to medal in the entire tournament.”
Madison Heights match
The Wildcat bowling program got rolling on Nov. 28 night at Astro Lanes in Madison Heights. The Royal Oak Ravens hosted the Wildcats in the 2023-2024 season opener.
The Wildcat girls won 30-0. They won both baker games averaging over 140 per game.
Leading the way for the Lady Cats was Sophomore Kaitlyn Mcfadden, who scored two victories with games of 169 and 153.
Also scoring two wins was senior co-captain Kaya Coffman with scores of 164 and 139, and freshman Phebe Coffman with 151 and 126. Freshman JV bowler Alanna Waltz had strong games of 183 and 167.
“This team has seven girls that can bowl well. We are very deep from top to bottom. They are starting the season strong, and I believe we’ll get stronger as the season goes on,” Lafnear said.
The boys also scored a win 25-5 versus the Ravens. The boys won both baker games and 5-of-10 heads-up matches to score the victory.
Leading the way for the boys was junior Jacob Kemenah with games of 214 and 186. Freshman Eli Wright scored two wins with games of 145 and 194 in his first varsity match.
“This team has plenty of strike power and will win and lose by its ability to fill frames. Today was a great start and the team will improve as we go on. I feel like we bowled better than we scored but the score is what counts,” Lafnear said.
– J.N.