Tecumseh girls win regional championship, Indians qualify six for individual state finals

Another in a long string of first place finishes at team regionals was picked up by Tecumseh’s varsity girls bowling team on Friday, Feb. 21 at Taylor Lanes. The Indians boys team closed its season with a fourth place regional finish.The Indians’ girls team advance five bowlers, including the regional champion, Jordan Richard, while the boys will send regional champion Cody Wilkins.As a team, Tecumseh girls stormed to the top with a whopping score of 3711 while the runners-up, John F. Kennedy, tallied a score of 3491. Carleton Airport placed third with a score of 3297.Tecumseh won four out of six baker games and won all three game totals for its final totals. John F. Kennedy won two of the baker games and placed second in all three games.Adrian’s girls placed sixth with a score of 2976 while the Maples’ boys placed 10th with a score of 3596 to end their season.“We’re looking good,” said varsity girls coach Ken Richard. “The team is peaking right now so everything is heading in the right direction.”The Indians head into the games ranked No. 2 behind Flint Kearsley, the team that beat Tecumseh last year in the state final.“We’re going to make a solid run at it,” Richard added. “We’re going to let them know we’re there, both team and individual.”The defending Division II state champion Jordan Richard, a junior, earned the regional championship on the same lanes, Saturday, Feb. 23, with a score of 1149. The Indians filled five of 10 spots when qualifying for state individuals.“We were three pins away from having all six girls in it. Atlanta just missed it,” said coach Richard.Jordan and her sister, Haley Richard, also a junior, went toe-to-toe for the first five matches. Haley was holding a score of 975 to Jordan’s 943 after five games but scored just 149 to 206 in game six to finish runner-up with a total score of 1124.Haley advanced to state as an individual last year but was eliminated in the round of 16.Tecumseh’s Savanna Murry placed fourth with a total score of 1117 while teammate Lauren McKowen totaled 1058. Also placing in the top 10 for the Indians was Courtney Herron with a ninth place score of 1029.Tecumseh’s Atlanta Roberts placed 11th to end her season with a score of 1024. Wilkins totaled 1227 for the boy’s regional title. His closest competitor, Leon Hutchcraft of Annapolis, scored 1191 to finish runner-up.“His performance was dominating,” said Tecumseh varsity boys head coach Terry Bouchard. “He wiped the field out, basically.”Andrew Sokal was expected to again advance to the state finals but finished his season with the Indians after scoring 1114 for 13th place.Tecumseh’s Jarrett Oldeck placed 36th (1045), Zac Cook, 37th (1041), Tyler Pate, 41st (1010) and Spencer Hite, 42nd (1006).The team state finals are at Century Bowl in Waterford on Friday, March 1, and the Individual finals are on Saturday, March 2 at the same lanes.Coach Richard and the Indians have already amassed five state titles. Tecumseh won team titles at state in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and Individual state tiles in 2009 (Tawni Vollmer) and 2010 (Kara Richard).“We’re excited about singles and team,” said coach Richard. “Hopefully we can finish it off this year.”Results from the state finals will be reported in next week’s Tecumseh Herald.The Indians’ girls (17-0) placed first in their previous competition at the Southeastern Conference tournament. Leading Tecumseh were Jordan Richard (238-224/462 series), McKowen (229) and Savanna Murry (215).