The Oxford lady bowlers had a successful two-week run, highlighted by their second place finish in the Jan. 24 Oakland County tourney.
Oxford lost to Walled Lake Central 411-318 in the championship match that day, but the matches leading up to the final proved why Oxford is one of the county’s best.
The Wildcats had to come back twice during the opening three rounds, rallying from a 30 pin deficit to beat Walled Lake Western and from 25 pins to beat Holly.
Oxford Assistant Coach Fred Heichel was pleased with the way the team responded when they faced adversity. ‘It gives me confidence to know that we can keep coming back’we’d get down 20 or 30 pins and we’d just keep coming back,? he said. ‘We can use that because we have the conference event and then regionals back here against the same teams.?
Returning to conference play, the Varsity Girls followed their second place effort with a strong showing against Lapeer West in front of a packed Collier Lanes on Saturday, winning 24-6.
After losing the first baker match by four pins, they responded by destroying West in the second match 221-121, rolling six consecutive strikes to take control of the match. In the head-to-head matches, the girls won 8 out of the 10 matches behind strong performances from Junior Sarah Decker (174, 201), Freshman Heather Lafnear (171, 159) and Senior Ashlee High (174, 214). Decker, Lafnear and High each won two points, while Junior Kelly Cartner and Senior Anna Moses each won one point. ‘This team is strong and (they) are very confident. They know they are good and feel like this is their year? said Oxford Coach JR Lafnear. ‘The girls’were also complemented by the Lapeer West coaches for their sportsmanship.?
Two weeks ago, the girls competed against Lapeer East and won 23 ? to 6 ? behind strong games from Cartner (238), Moses (225), Senior Liz Lafamboise (223) and High (232). The girls are now 6-0 in league play, 7-0 overall.
The Boys bowled equally strong against Lapeer West on Saturday, winning 20-10. Senior Steven Lafnear lead the boys with games of 220 and 245, followed by Senior John Taylor’s 209 and 225 and Junior Mike Magyar’s 210 and 215. Junior Brandon Wynkoop bowled a 219 in the first individual game and Brandon Burgess went four-for-four in the baker matches.
‘This was one of the finest performances we’ve had all year,? Lafnear said. ‘The team was focused and pumped by a great crowd. They could really feel support for the’energy in the building. The boys had a very good team in West to deal with. Lapeer is very well coached and have some real strong bowlers. We knew we had our hands full and responded very well.?
The victory over Lapeer West was on the heels of a convincing 22-8 victory over Lapeer East two weeks ago. Magyar had eight strikes as the anchor of the two baker matches, helping the Wildcats post scores of 212 and 225.