Tecumseh bowling teams looking to return to state meet

TECUMSEH — Last year the Tecumseh boys and girls bowling teams both made a trip to the Division 2 state finals.

Both squads got through and a pair of bowlers each went to the individual competition after a regular season where both went undefeated in the Southeastern Conference White Division.

It was a pair of then-freshmen, Owen Williams and Kaden Salts, who made it on the boys side, with Williams finishing as an all-stater, while then-junior Abby Werden and senior Tia Hunt were the girls qualifiers as Werden also brought home an all-state honor.

On the team side, the boys entered as the second seed and won their first bracket play match only to be upended by the eventual state champions, Dearborn Divine Child, in the semifinal, while the girls were the No. 3 seed, but fell to sixth-seeded Whitehall in their opening bracket play match.

While it is early in the 2021-22 season and some things need to be ironed out with both teams, the two teams are shaping up to be tough outs.

“Our expectations are exactly the same," said boys head coach Eric Wigner. "We want to win the SEC, definitely want to come out regionals, hopefully with a win. The difference this year is that some of our kids now have been to the state tournament, so they now have a understanding of what they’re up against, so I’m hoping that experience pays dividends when we get there.”

Girls head coach Ken Richard is looking for his newcomers to adjust off the lanes.

“We’ve got a couple new girls up on varsity this year," He said. "They have got get used to traveling and keeping up with their homework, so we’ve got work to do.”

On the boys side, which has a total roster between its varsity and junior varsity teams of 20, the four main returners off last year’s team are headed up by Williams and Salts, while senior Tyson Tennyson and junior Andrew Rowe also have emerged into starting roles.

The fifth bowler for Wigner’s boys is a bit more in flux, as sophomore Garris Waynick, Andrew Rissinger and Jackson Pollet are all in competition for the spot, with Rissinger and Waynick rotating as the No. 5 for Tecumseh in its 23-7 win over against Adrian on Thursday at Lenawee Recreation.

Williams led the way with a day-high 231 in the opening round of individual play, starting off strong with six consecutive strikes and followed it up with a 192 in the second round while it was Rowe who had a 205 in the second round after carding a 180 in the opening round.

Rowe, Tennyson and Williams all swept their individual play rounds to lead Tecumseh on the day.

“I feel very strong about our team and another benefit we have is our depth,” Wigner said. “I’ve got kids that are bowling as our sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth or 10th guys that are very capable of bowling 200s.”

Even with Hunt’s graduation, the Tecumseh girls squad does bring Werden back for her final season along with sophomores Brooke Kosco and Wendy Ketola, Werden’s classmate Autumn Cuthbert and has newcomers Meadow Rapaich (freshman) and Jessica Wilkinson (sophomore) helping complete the starting five.

On Thursday, Kosco led the way for the girls, bowling a day-high 187 in the opening game of individual play and hit three of her four marks during the Baker round. Wilkinson and Ketola both struggled scorewise, the pair combined to pick up three-and-a-half out of four points for their team, aiding in a 27.5-2.5 victory.

“We’re going to have a tough task getting back to states this year," Richard said. "We’ve got three young bowlers that are going to have to pick up the pace pretty quick. We’ll fight and scratch, but the main thing is getting through regionals first and then we’ll have to see if they’re going to take three teams or two teams through to states. If its three we should go through regionals pretty quick, but if it’s at two we’re going to have to get a lot better and fast.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Tecumseh bowling teams have goals for MHSAA state competition