Mott Bowling Week 5 Recap

By: Coach Jerry Tarabek
December 28, 2002

Marauders Continue Their Hold On First Place

The Warren Mott Marauders Bowling Teams continued to maintain the division lead in both the Varsity and Junior Varsity divisions of the Southeast division of the High School Bowling Conference. With next season being the first as a recognized varsity sport in Michigan, the teams from Warren Mott are making their case to have the sport recognized here in Warren Consolidated Schools. With state best performances in both the Boys Varsity and Junior Varsity divisions and top ten shooting from the ladies side, the Marauders are trying to show that this is a competitive sport and that we have one of the better teams in the state of Michigan.

The Boys Varsity team continued its march towards the division title as they downed Chippewa Valley 20-10 for their fifth win in five tries this season. After falling behind early in the baker game format, the boys took 16 of the next 20 points in match play to win the meet. Chippewa Valley shot a fine 243 game in Bakers to win the totals bonus points (6-4) but they were not able to keep pace in the match play format. Warren Mott was lead by league average leader Justin (Danger) Neiman who shot 216 and 235. Justin now has a 228 average and is 17 pins ahead of the next closest person. Brian Lake returned from a two-week absence to shoot 232 and 200 but lost both match points as his counterpart from Chippewa Valley, Jason Kavanagh, shot scores of 241 and 203. Senior Chris (Shaggy) Lepkowski continued his good bowling by shooting 202 and 195, while Paul Narlock, Richard Kruk and Jon Kennedy all chipped in with solid scores to help in winning this meet. Next up for the boys is a rematch with Warren Woods Tower whom they defeated the first week of the season.

The Lady Marauder Varsity team also posted their fifth win of the season and remained undefeated and on top of the division as they defeated the second place team from Chippewa Valley 21-9. The ladies had to come from behind as the boys did due to falling behind in the baker matches. After shooting a less than stellar 111 game, the ladies redeemed themselves and shot a 173, but it was not enough to win the totals bonus and they found themselves down 4-6 going into match play. In the match play, the Lady Marauders won 17 out of 20 points to put the match away and secure the victory. Lead by Nicole Griebe (195) and Jessica Tyler (193) the ladies posted a team high game score for the season at 887. They followed that up with a solid performance in the second game to stay atop the division and they now have a two game lead over second place Chippewa Valley. Lindsay Felix continued to prove herself at the anchor position winning two more individual points while Nikki Wilczek and Kim Felix continued to bowl well in a solid team effort.

The Boys Junior Varsity flexed their muscles a bit this past week as they posted the second best baker game and top baker series scores in the state this season in defeating Chippewa Valley 28-2. The 234 game in the first baker is second only to a 244 shot by Sterling Heights Stevenson and the 448 series puts us ahead of the previous best score of 445 shot by Eisenhower. Captain Jeff Peltier gained some individual honors as well by posting the 4th best score in the state with a 259 game. The Boys Junior Varsity sits atop the standings with four wins and one tie this season and they have a game and a half lead over second place Dakota. Kevin Beasley continued his solid bowling (169-181) while Kris Smith came off the bench in the second match play game to shoot a 205. The boys' next face a showdown with Dakota in a position round match up that has serious division standing implications at stake.

The Ladies Junior Varsity team continues to improve each and every week. Bowling against the boys every week hands out some unique challenges but the girls are performing well and stand at 2-3 this season. This past week they lost to the boys from Warren Woods Tower 2.5-27.5. Jessica Biernacki was the story of the day by winning 1-1/2 points in the match play side of things. Erkia Wagner also won a match play point as she too defeated her boy counterpart. Veronica Wineski had a marvelous day by shooting season highs in game and series. Her 182 game puts her third in the state this season while her 361 series puts her in second behind Sarah Galloway from Stevenson who shot a 362. The ladies also put themselves on the team leader board in the state by posting a team high game score of 643 (3rd in state) and team high series score of 1282 (2nd in state). Lauren Boscilica and Chrissy DeSlippe, who started bowling at the beginning of the season, continue to improve each week and they are consistanly-shooting scores over their league averages.

Congratulations to all the teams for a fine start to the season. We are now half way through the meet season and are beginning to build some momentum toward the divisional, regional and state competitions later this year, Although there is always something to improve on, (Baker scores, consistency, team attitudes) this group has shown a positive, motivated effort to putting Warren Mott High School on the statewide map as a bowling powerhouse and a team to be reckoned with for years to come. Keep up the good work and have a safe and happy holiday season.

Jerry Tarabek / Head Bowling Coach