The West Michigan Conference was very well represented this season in girls bowling.
The conference boasted an individual state champion, a regional-title team and a county tournament champ.
With the dust having settled on the season, Ravenna’s Emily Linck, Oakridge’s Kira Twining and Whitehall’s Karli VanDuinen emerged as the three finalists for the 2022 VanDyk Mortgage West Michigan Conference girls Bowler of the Year award.
The trio was selected as finalists by a CatchMark SportsNet panel consisting of Scott DeCamp, Brent Raeth and Zach Zweigle.
Next week, a poll will open and readers will vote to determine which of those three bowlers wins the award. Fan polls of all 2021-22 winter sports will be released in one story at CatchMarkSports.com. Readers will be allowed to vote once per hour in each poll for as long as the polls remain open.
This week, a story was published each day revealing three Player of the Year finalists in a winter sport. Here’s the scheduled lineup:
- Monday: Boys basketball
- Tuesday: Girls basketball
- Wednesday: Boys wrestling
- Thursday: Girls wrestling
- Friday: Boys bowling
- Saturday: Girls bowling
All finalists for VanDyk Mortgage Player of the Year will be invited to an upcoming awards presentation and honorary dinner, where trophies and certificates will be presented. A trophy that stays in our CatchMark office will have the names of the Players of the Year engraved on it.
Here are the three finalists for Bowler of the Year on the girls side, along with their season stats and achievements. They are listed alphabetically:
EMILY LINCK
Ravenna senior
Linck had never rolled a bowling ball under her freshman year, but she proved a quick study. She went on to compete in the state finals her sophomore through senior seasons.
Linck earned second-team all-state honors two straight years. She took fourth place at the regional and competed at the Division 4 state finals. She helped lead Ravenna to a regional championship as a team.
The All-West Michigan Conference first-team performer averaged 151 on the season with a high game of 224.
KIRA TWINING
Oakridge sophomore
Twining is an up-and-comer in the West Michigan Conference. A strong sophomore season set the stage.
This season, she earned first-team all-conference honors with a 166 average in league competitions. Her tournament average was 164.
Twining posted a high game this season of 221 with four games over 200 in conference competition.
Twining posted top-10 finishes in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association tournament and West Michigan Conference meet. She placed 18th at the regional.
KARLI VANDUINEN
Whitehall senior
VanDuinen is the Division 2 state champion, who has signed to continue her academic and bowling pursuits at Division I Arkansas State University.
After falling in the quarterfinal round of the state finals last year, VanDuinen edged her quarters opponent by one pin and then cruised to the title. She defeated Wayland’s Bella Harnish in the finals, 460-381. VanDuinen rolled games of 235 and 225 in the championship match.
VanDuinen captured the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association title, also leading the Vikings to team championships in the GMAA and West Michigan Conference. She ranked No. 1 in the conference with a 190 average of 21 games.
VanDuinen also is a golf standout with three GMAA titles and earning all-state three times, including a Division 3 state runner-up finish in the fall. She also was the 2021 VanDyk Mortgage West Michigan Conference Golfer of the Year.
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