UPBC crowns top bowlers: Marquette, Westwood sweep all 3 divisions with 9-0 records
Marquette's Sean Buckmaster was part of the championship boys division team in the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference this winter. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Westwood High School won the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference girls division title with a perfect 9-0 record and 339 match points. From left are Hailey Smail, Olivia Letson, Averie Vial, Fara Bjork and Julianne Yohe. Vial had the second-highest average of 166 and second-highest game of 244. The Patriots had the highest Baker-style game of 233 and highest six-game Baker series of 1,064. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Marquette Senior High School won the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference boys division title with a perfect 9-0 record and 316 match points. Sitting in front are Braden Rose, left, and Easton Lefebvre. Standing from left are Nicholas Lyons, Desmond Gleason, Daniel Gramprie and Sean Buckmaster. Gramprie had the third-highest game during the regular season, 239, while the team had the third-highest Baker-style game of 221 and highest six-game Baker series of 1,172. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Marquette Senior High School won the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference X division title with a perfect 9-0 record and 314.5 match points. Sitting in front are Jordan Kolbus, left, and Trevor Struck. Standing from left are Aiden Gentz, Devin Fortin, TJ Davis and Aaden Blandford. In the X division, Davis had the top average of 158, while Kolbus and Fortin tied for third with 138 each. Davis also had the high game of 210, while the Sentinels had the high Baker-style game of 213 and high six-game Baker series of 865. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Marquette's Sean Buckmaster was part of the championship boys division team in the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference this winter. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Westwood High School won the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference girls division title with a perfect 9-0 record and 339 match points. From left are Hailey Smail, Olivia Letson, Averie Vial, Fara Bjork and Julianne Yohe. Vial had the second-highest average of 166 and second-highest game of 244. The Patriots had the highest Baker-style game of 233 and highest six-game Baker series of 1,064. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Marquette Senior High School won the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference boys division title with a perfect 9-0 record and 316 match points. Sitting in front are Braden Rose, left, and Easton Lefebvre. Standing from left are Nicholas Lyons, Desmond Gleason, Daniel Gramprie and Sean Buckmaster. Gramprie had the third-highest game during the regular season, 239, while the team had the third-highest Baker-style game of 221 and highest six-game Baker series of 1,172. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
Marquette Senior High School won the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference X division title with a perfect 9-0 record and 314.5 match points. Sitting in front are Jordan Kolbus, left, and Trevor Struck. Standing from left are Aiden Gentz, Devin Fortin, TJ Davis and Aaden Blandford. In the X division, Davis had the top average of 158, while Kolbus and Fortin tied for third with 138 each. Davis also had the high game of 210, while the Sentinels had the high Baker-style game of 213 and high six-game Baker series of 865. (Photo courtesy Maria Virch)
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MARQUETTE -- Three Marquette County teams that posted undefeated 9-0 records won each of the three divisions of the Upper Peninsula Bowling Conference that completed its regular season on Saturday at River Rock Lanes in Ishpeming.
Those teams were Marquette in the boys and X team divisions and Westwood in the girls division.
But bowling is nowhere near over for high school bowlers who started competition in early December.
That's because the UPBC has three weeks of tournaments beginning this weekend, which will be followed by two weekends of MHSAA regional and state finals events that wrap up on the final day of February.
UPBC tourneys kick off with the girls singles finals in Marinette, Wisconsin, on Saturday -- the host is nearby Menominee -- then boys singles finals on Feb. 7 in Iron Mountain, and wrapping up with team finals at River Rock on Feb. 14 for both boys and girls competitors.
MHSAA regional competition will be held Friday and Saturday, Feb. 20-21, at a total of 32 sites in four divisions around the state.
Marquette and Ishpeming-Negaunee will be joined by fellow UPBC members Iron Mountain, Calumet and Escanaba at a Division 2 regional in Gaylord; Westwood will be joined by Gladstone and Menominee in a Division 3 regional in Cheboygan; and L'Anse will be the lone U.P. representative at a Division 4 regional in Alpena.
Here are some of the highlights of the season, listed by division. X teams are teams of bowlers beyond the top boys and girls teams at each school, dependent on how many total bowlers there are in each program. Baker-style games use a special format where team members alternate frames to come up with a single-game score:
Boys
Top teams -- 1st place, Marquette, 9-0 record, 316 points; 2nd, Westwood, 7-2, 274.5; 3rd, Iron Mountain, 7-2, 261
High average -- 1st place, Killian Ryan, junior, Ishpeming-Negaunee, 198 average; 2nd, Jeremiah Tobias, sophomore, Westwood, 191; 3rd, Roman Yuhas, senior, Westwood, 182
High game -- 1st place, Tobias, Westwood, 256; 2nd, Ryan, I-N, 247; 3rd, Daniel Gramprie, senior, Marquette, 239
High Baker game -- 1st place, Westwood, 233; 2nd, Ishpeming-Negaunee, 222; 3rd, Marquette, 221
High Baker 6-game series -- 1st place, Marquette, 1,172; 2nd, Westwood, 1,151; 3rd, I-N, 987
Girls
Top teams -- 1st place, Westwood, 9-0 record, 339 points; 2nd, Iron Mountain, 8-1, 280; 3rd, Ishpeming-Negaunee, 7-2, 259.5
High average -- 1st place, Sara Harvey, senior, Ishpeming-Negaunee, 170 average; 2nd, Averie Vial, senior, Westwood, 166; 3rd, Hayden Schetter, senior, Marquette, 165
High game -- 1st place, Harvey, I-N, 273; 2nd, Vial, Westwood, 244; 3rd, Joleigh Osieczonek, senior, Iron Mountain, 215
High Baker game -- 1st place, Westwood, 233; 2nd, Iron Mountain, 181; 3rd, Marquette, 167
High Baker 6-games series -- 1st place, Westwood, 1,064; 2nd, Iron Mountain, 860; 3rd, Ishpeming-Negaunee, 846
X teams
Top teams -- 1st place, Marquette, 9-0 record, 314.5 points; 2nd, Westwood "A", 7-2, 268; 3rd, Iron Mountain, 5-4, 231
High average -- 1st place, TJ Davis, senior, Marquette, 158 average; 2nd, Louis Trudell, sophomore, Westwood, 146; 3rd (tie), Jordan Kolbus, senior, Marquette, and Devin Fortin, senior, Marquette, 138 each
High game -- 1st place, Davis, Marquette, 210; 2nd, Trudell, Westwood, 197; 3rd, Connor Thomas, senior, Westwood, 192
High Baker game -- 1st place, Marquette, 213; 2nd, Westwood "A", 181; 3rd, Westwood "B", 163
High Baker 6-game series -- 1st place, Marquette, 865; 2nd, Westwood "A", 855; 3rd, Iron Mountain, 769
Story contents based on email received from Marquette assistant coach Maria Virch. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.