Whitehall’s boys and girls bowling squads won their respective conference championships this season.
The Vikings had every intention of continuing their trophy runs in the Greater Muskegon Athletic Association bowling tournament on Wednesday.
They followed through with that intention as both the boys and girls rosters placed first overall in the city tournament at Northway Lanes in Muskegon.
“Both of our teams really supported each other,” said Whitehall coach Tyson Jasperse, whose program is in its fourth year of existence. “There was no single star of the match. We needed everyone to do their part and they did.”
Whitehall senior Karli VanDuinen was the medalist in the girls individual competition for the second consecutive year. The Arkansas State University signee posted scores of 188 and 201 for a combined two-game total of 389.
VanDuinen also captured three GMAA golf tourney titles in her high school career.
The Whitehall boys team downed Fruitport with a team score of 2075, 40 pins ahead of the second-place Trojans.
Phoenix Hoffmeyer led Whitehall with a two-game score of 338 and a 17th-place finish. Sebastian Workman (20th – 333), Charlie Glamzi (26th – 311), Avery Gabriel (29th – 308) and Gabe Ganos (34th – 283) all contributed to the boys title.
“We knew the guys would have their work cut out for them, but they stepped up and delivered,” Jasperse said. “We are very excited about the win.”
In the girls competition, Whitehall cruised to an overall victory with a team score of 1938 to finish ahead of runner-up Ravenna, which finished with a team score of 1681.
The Vikings had four bowlers in the top 10, including the top three finishers. VanDuinen (1st – 389), Ava Garcia (2nd – 386), Vanessa Hirigami (3rd – 359), Felicity Dingman (10th – 305) and Liz Bentz (46th – 187) contributed to Whitehall’s victory.
“The girls team was definitely a favorite going into the tournament and they did not disappoint,” Jasperse said. “We have a very solid girls team.”
Both Whitehall teams will compete in the Division 2 regional event at Westgate Bowling in Comstock Park Feb. 25-26.
“We are planning to advance through the regional competition on to the state competition the following weekend,” Jasperse said optimistically after the Vikings’ double championship Wednesday.
“We’re not letting up going into the postseason.”
