It was mixed results for the varsity bowling teams after they participated in the Oakland Activities Association tournament on Sunday, Feb. 13.
After going 6-4 on the season, the girls cranked it up and found themselves in third place behind Clarkston and Lake Orion after the qualifying round.
Junior Heather Lafnear propelled the girls in the two team games in qualifying, shooting a 199 and 225 while senior Aylssa Hurtado rolled a 186. The team also averaged 175 over the six baker games in qualifying, up from their season average of 150.
The Lady Wildcats opened up against Royal Oak in the elimination rounds and won 162-144 and 189-173 in the two games.
In the next round, Oxford squared off against rival Lake Orion. They lost game one 234-199, but responded by winning game two 211-178, setting up a decisive game three. Lake Orion kept it close throughout the match, but Oxford pulled away late, winning 172-135 and setting themselves up for a tournament championship match against Clarkston.
Unfortunately, the girls ran out of steam, losing 206-155 and 188-120.
‘It was a great effort by our lady bowlers and really a peek into next year,? head coach JR Lafnear said. ‘We feel like this team is only going to get better and better. I couldn’t have been prouder of these ladies today.?
Heather Lafnear and junior Colleen Walters earned high honors for their bowling during the tournament. Lafnear was named to the first team all conference, while Walters was named to the second team.
Meanwhile, the boys couldn’t get anything going all day and finished with a last place score of 2653.
According to coach Lafnear, the highlights of the boys day was a 216 baker game and a 195 from freshman Brandon Hurlburt.
‘It’s tough watching the guys work so hard and not succeeding,? coach Lafnear said. ‘They are setting themselves up for the future, but it’s not real fun right now. We are trying to keep positive and we’ll keep working hard; there is no quit with these guys.?
The boys finished the season with a 3-7 record. In last week’s action, the boys lost 22-8 to Hazel Park, 21-9 to North Farmington and 29-1 to Farmington Harrison.
Meanwhile the girls went 2-1 last week, defeating Hazel Park 28-2 and North Farmington 23-7. They lost a close 16-14 match to Farmington Harrison.
Up next for the bowlers is regionals on Saturday, Feb. 26.

It was a mixed bag of results when the varsity bowling teams traveled down to Ferndale to take on the Eagles Dec. 17.
The girls defeated the Eagles 25 and a half to four and a half, while the boys lost by the same score.
After losing the first baker game 148 to 143, they dominated game two, winning 157-128. The first head’s up game was all Oxford with the exception of senior Alyssa Hurtado, who tied her opponent.
Sophomore Caityln Wroblewski, junior Alex Logan, junior Colleen Walters and junior Heather Lafnear all captured points for Oxford.
In game two, senior Ashley Darocha won her match, followed by Logan, Walters and Lafnear.
‘The girls have a chance to be a solid team,? said varsity head coach JR Lafnear. ‘They won easily today, but will have to improve as the year goes on. We have upside and have girls that enjoy working hard.?
The youth of the boys squad showed up against Ferndale in their loss.
‘This was a real eye opener for our kids and they will learn from today’s match,? Lafnear said.
Senior Kevin Rein led the boys with games of 206 and 178, while freshman Kyle Woody bowled games of 246 and 195.
A highlight from the boy’s match came from freshman Jason Petty, who won his first match on varsity with a 168-162 victory.
Up next for the bowlers is a match on Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 against Troy Athens.