Sherman, Hichue Earn All-American Honors; Jayhawks Finish Fifth in Nation
MCC bowlers Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) and Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna) became 2012 All-Americans after finishing among the top eight scorers at the National Junior College Athletic Association National Championships on Saturday at the Thruway Lanes in Cheektowaga, NY.
Hichue closed with four consecutive strikes on his12th and deciding game to finish seventh with 2,363, two pins ahead eighth place teammate Sherman with 2,365. The scores are a two-day composite of 12 games that include, singles and doubles competition, plus six games from the team competition.
On Friday, Sherman became the 2012 NJCAA singles national championship in impressive fashion when he posted a 743 to outpace the field as the only bowler at nationals to crack the 700 mark.
“He was the best in show,” said MCC Coach Bill Bowen. “”He blew everybody away.”
Sherman opened with a 236 in the singles competition. In the second game, he rolled 10 consecutive strikes and came up just short in the 11th frame of a perfect 300 game. Nonetheless, his 286 score set an MCC school record. He closed with a 211 to establish the mark.
Sherman and Hichue placed fifth in the nation in the doubles competition.
“They picked the right time of the season to peak,” said Bowen of his All-American tandem. “They had been underachieving all year.”
In the men’s team competition which concluded on Saturday, the Jayhawks placed fifth in the nation.
MCC’s Aaron Sherman Wins NJCAA Bowling Singles National Championship
MCC Sophomore Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna) became the National Junior College Athletic Association singles bowling national champion in impressive fashion on Friday at Thruway Lanes in Cheektowaga, N.Y.
Sherman rolled a 723 – 55 pins ahead of second place co-finishers Bobby Moro of Cayuga CC and Brett Golabeck of Vincennes.
Jayhawks teammates Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) took 10th with 598, Cody Hunter (Muskegon, MI/Oakridge) 19th with 567, Jeff VanLaan (Muskegon, MI/(Reeths-Puffer) 21st with 561, Jacob Whitlow (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 47th with 510, Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 78th with 452, Sam Kuiper (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 79th with 451 and Matt Mars (Norton Shores, MI/Mona Shores) 93rd with 417.
The MCC men’s bowling doubles tandem of Aaron Sherman and Scott Hichue tied for fifth place in the nation.
Collin Harris and Chris Diaz of Schoolcraft took the double title with 1,185 pins – 29 pins ahead of the Jayhawks duo. Jeff VanLaan and Cody Hunter placed 25th for MCC with a score of 1,028. Lucas Johnson and Jacob Whitlow placed 36th with 933 pins. Sam Kuiper and Matt Mars with 787 placed 47th among the 48 doubles teams entered.
The MCC men are currently in seventh place in the team competition with 6,072 pins. Frontrunner Mohawk Valley CC (NY) leads with 7,204. The competition concludes on Saturday afternoon.
Men Bowlers Place Fourth on Home Lanes
The Jayhawks men’s bowling team placed fourth in their own Muskegon Community XCollege Invitational held Friday afternoon at Northway Lanes.
Delta CC won with 4,151 pins, followed by Schoolcraft 4,027, Siena Heights 3,939, MCC 3,861 and Delta “B” with 3,600.
“We will need to make some adjustments if we want to compete for the national title in two weeks,” said MCC Coach Bill Bowen.
Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) led the Jayhawks with 203-173-174=550. The other MCC top bowlers were: Jeff VanLaan (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 154-177-176=507,
Cody Hunter (Muskegon, MI/Oakridge) with 206-144-147=497, Jacob Whitlow (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 138-157-181=476, Matt Mars (Norton Shores, MI/Mona Shores) 114-136-201=451, Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna) 162-134-151=447, Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) with 139-169-134=442 and Sam Kuiper (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores).
Sherman Bowls High Game at Schoolcraft
Jayhawk sophomore Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna) bowled the high game among the six teams competing Friday at the Schoolcraft CC Invitational at Merri-Bowl Lanes in Livonia, MI.
Schoolcraft CC won the tournament with 4,470 pins, followed by Lansing CC 4,168, MCC 4,114, Siena heights 4,112, Delta CC “A” 4,078 and Delta “B” 4,016.
Sherman’s opening game score of 242 paced all bowlers. He followed with games of 165 and 216 for a 623. The other Jayhawks scores were: Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 128-212-204=544, Jeff VanLann (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 211-137-193=541, Jacob Whitlow (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 208-185-145=538, Cody Hunter (Muskegon, MI/Oakridge) 158-162-171=491, Sam Kuiper (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 159-145-146=450, and Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) 121-155-173=449,
“Aaron stepped up for us,” said MCC Coach Bill Bowen, adding that his squad needed to find more ways to score. “Our bright spot was our Baker games. We had four Baker games over 200.”
VanLann’s High Game Leads MCC Bowlers
Jeff VanLann (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) took high-game honors with his 266 to lead the MCC men’s bowlers to second place in the six-team Muskegon CC invitational on Friday afternoon at Northway Lanes.
Schoolcraft “A” won with 4,340, followed by MCC 4,255, Delta “A” 4,181, Lansing CC 4,165, Schoolcraft “B” 3,884 and Delta “B” 3,756.
“We led by 30 pins after three games but didn’t get it done in the Baker games,” said MCC Coach Bill Bowen. “We bowled much better than we have this season, we just need to clean up our Baker games.”
VanLann led all Jayhawk keglers with his marks of 266-174-184=624. The other MCC scorers were: Cody Hunter (Muskegon, MI/Oakridge) 169-256-170=595; Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 173-213-182=567; Jacob Whitlow (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) 143-220-191=554; Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna) 162-180-195=537; Sam Kuiper (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores) 211-173-138=522; Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) 170-164-157=491; and Matt Mars (Norton Shores, MI/Mona Shores) 147-133-190=470.
Men Bowlers Place Seventh at Delta Invite
Saginaw Valley entered five bowling teams and placed all in the top six spots, including first with 4,815, at the Delta CC Invitational at Northern Lanes outside Midland, MI on Friday afternoon, when the MCC men edged Schoolcraft for seventh place with 4,345.
Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon) provided the Jayhawks highlight with his opening game (224) and his team-high series (224-165-176=565).
The other Jayhawks scorers were: Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna) (165-183-190=538), Jeff VanLaan (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) (200-138-181=519), Cody Hunter (Muskegon, MI/Oakridge) (197-136-185=518) and Jacob Whitlow (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer) (142-163-192=497).
“It comes down to covering spares,” said MCC Coach Bill Bowen. “Our motto is to make the makeable spares. We didn’t.”
The Jayhawks make their home debut on Friday morning at 11 a.m., when they host Lansing CC, School craft CC and Delta CC at Northway Lanes
Men Bowlers Finish Third at Lansing CC Invite
The men’s bowling team opened the 2012 season with a disappointing third place finish at the six-team Lansing CC Invitational on Friday afternoon at the Royal Scot Golf & Bowl in Lansing.
“We underachieved today,” lamented MCC Coach Bill Bowen. “Not one of our bowlers scored his average.”
Delta CC “A” Team won the Invitational with 4,034 points, followed by Lansing CC 3,730, MCC Blue Team 3,729, Schoolcraft CC 3,699, MCC Gold Team 3,517 and Delta CC “B” 3,498.
“After 21 games, we finished third to Lansing by one pin,” added Bowen.
Sophomore Aaron Sherman (Ravenna, MI/Ravenna High) paced the Jayhawks with 587 (171-213-203), with sophomore Cody Hunter (Muskegon, MI/Oakridge High) close behind with 574 (236-151-187). Scott Hichue (Muskegon, MI/Muskegon High) bowled a 526 (187-152-187), followed by Lucas Johnson (Muskegon, MI/Mona Shores High) 473 (171-137-165) and Jeff VanLaan (Muskegon, MI/Reeths-Puffer High) 471 (173-150-148).
The Jayhawks are idle until Jan. 20 when they travel to Bay City for the Delta CC Invitational.