Clinton girls place second at D4 bowling regionals

Clinton’s varsity girls bowling team placed second at the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Division 4 regional bowling tournament on Friday, Feb. 27, at Airport Lanes in East Jackson.Vandercook Lake placed first with a score of 3,538 while Clinton was second with 3,388. Madison placed third with 3,238 points.Last year, Clinton’s girls placed seventh as a team at the state meet.Individually, Clinton junior Miranda Porath was the regional champion with 1,143 points while her teammate Elizabeth Heimerdinger placed second with 1,113. Porath had three games over 200 with high games of 232, 210 and 206. Heimerdinger, also a junior, had high games of 222 and 213.Clinton’s Alissa Ayling placed 11th with a score of 994; Amanda Briggs, 14th with 986; Ashley Richardson, 65th with 725; and Samantha Jones, 71st with 690.“The third game was pivotal to the team in whether we would advance on to states or be in fourth place and miss out on a trip to Lansing, as we did two years ago,” said Clinton coach Mike Porath. “At the halfway point in the game, the crowd and the girls got a spark and were loud… They may have to fix the plaster in the Airport Lanes after this weekend, possibly even the roof. Knowing that our goal was on the line the team reached deep, focused their attention inward on each other, and responded with some big marks.”