Zeke Heerema represented Grand Rapids Christian at the Individual Sate Bowling Finals this past Saturday.  As the returning State Champion, many eyes were on him and the expectations were high.  Zeke did not disappoint.  Zeke shot 1309 in the six game qualifier to be seeded third for match play.  Our sport offers very little margin for error and an unfortunate split and a rare open, led to a mere 2 pin loss.  The number one and two seeded bowlers were also eliminated from the competition in the first round as well. We want to congratulate Zeke for a special 4 year career in Bowling at Grand Rapids Christian that will be difficult to match.  Great Job Zeke!

The Boys and Girls Varsity Bowlers took to the lanes at Spectrum Lanes last Thursday and Friday as they competed in the 2024 MHSAA Regionals event.   Our Eagles started off the event on Thursday with both teams competing in the Team portions of the tournament.  Despite several new bowlers on both of the teams and some nerves, the teams got off to a solid start by competing for the top spots early.  Both Boys and Girls continued to shoot well with both young teams ending with respectable finishes for the Boys in 4th place and Girls in 7th place. The Bowlers proceeded to complete in the Individual portion of the tournament on Friday where each of the bowlers had to shoot 6 regular games to determine a champion for both the boys and girls.  All of the Bowlers had a number of outstanding games throughout the day.  However, it was Senior Zeke Heerema that rose to the top shooting: 228,255,227,212,237,201 for a 1360 and champion of Region 11 and qualified for the State Tournament next Saturday in Waterford, Michigan.

The Boys and Girls Varisty Bowling Teams wrapped up their regular seasons by competing in the OK White Conference Post Season Tournament on Saturday at Park Center Lanes. Tough lane conditions produced lower than normal scores as our Boys finished the tournament in 3rd place shooting 3120 with the Girls finishing in 6th place with a 1731 despite being down a bowler.   These tournament results are used to calculate the OK White Championship where Northview HS won for the Boys and Byron Center HS won for the Girls.  Both our Boys and Girls Teams finished in 5th place. Zeke Heerema finished the tournament shooting 659 resulting in a 3rd place All Tournament Team. Special Congratulations to Zeke Heerema and Kendall Vander Ploeg on their O-K White All-Conference Team Honors.  Zeke finished in first place for the second year in a row shooting an average of 216.39 on the Boys Team.  Kendall finished in 9th place shooting an average of 135.73.  Great job!

The Boys Varsity Bowlers wrapped up the regular season away vs. Forest Hills Central on Wednesday.  Difficult lane conditions made it challenging for both teams to deliver the ball to the pocket and produce consistent shots which generated generally lower scoring.  Our Eagles were able to jump to an early lead with a solid first Baker game shooting 181 to lead 4-0.  Forest Hills caught a few breaks while we struggled to convert our spares in the second baker game to take a 6-4 lead.   Ryan Jonker lead the way with some nice shots and a few lucky breaks shooting 208 in the first regular game.  Forest Hill Central went on to win the match 12-18.  The Boys will wrap up the conference season on Saturday in the OK Whire Post Season Tournament at Park Center Lanes.

Monday we honored our graduating senior bowlers at our last Conference home match of the season for the Boys Bowing.  Congratulation Ian Day and Zeke Heerema.   The Boys Varsity Bowlers jumped to an early lead in their match against Forest Hill Central by winning both Baker Games.  The Rangers rallied in the first regular game taking all of but one point to close the gap to 10-8 with Zeke Heerema shooting 235.  The Rangers continued shooting well in the second game.  Despite Jonas Mulder kicking in another point shooting 165 and Zeke with a solid 217 in the second regular game the match slipped away 13-17.  The bowlers final Conference Match is Wednesday 2/14/24 at AMF Lanes.

After narrowly dropping the first Baker game by 16 pins the Boys got settled into their match vs. Byron Center and decisively won the second Baker game and total to take a 6-4 lead.  The got into a groove as they entered the regular game portion of the match.  Nice shooting by Ben Systma, Braeden Busscher (154), Ryan Jonker (204), and Zeke Heerema (209) push the Eagles lead to 13-6.  The Boys went on to sweep the remaining points with strong games by Ryan Lautenbach (195), Ej Datema (180), Ben Sytsma (171), and Zeke Heerema nearly completing a perfect game shooting 279,  They Boys won the match 24-6.  Great job Boys!  The next match is February 12, 2024 aat 3:30 where we will briefly celebrate our graduating seniors before the match begins.

The Boys Varsity Bowler took to the lanes against Greenville on Monday.  Our Eagles jumped to an early lead by snatching the first Baker game to lead the match 4-0.  The Greenville boys rallied to take the second Baker to take the lead 6-4 as they entered the regular games.  Greenville never looked back as our Boys struggled to find the line to the pocket.  Zeke Heerema fired off a fine 258 in the first game and Bryan Diemer shot a solid pair of 172 in the match.  Greenville took the match 6-24  The Boys next competition is Wednesday Feb. 7,  at Spectrum Lanes vs. Byron Center at 3 PM.

The Boys Varsity Bowlers jumped to an early lead over Forest Hills Northern HS in the match on Wednesday by winning both Baker Games to take a 10-0 lead.  The Huskies did not take the Baker losses lightly as they battled back in the first regular game.   Braeden Busscher and Zeke Heerema each took their individual points in the first regular game to bring the match score to 12-7.  Despite of a strong push by the Huskies, the Eagles were able to protect their lead in the second Regular game to win the match 19-11.  Great job boys.  

Our Eagles Boys Varsity Bowlers met up with the Red Arrows from Lowell on Monday.  Our Boys struggled to cover their spare early resulting in an early 6-4 deficit.  Despite trouble finding a line to strike the boys pulled back to the lead by taking 3 individual points and total pins in the first regular game to lead 11-8.  Our Eagles pressed through the second regular game taking 4 more individual points, second game total, and match total for a 21-9 win.  Way to stay with it Boys.  The next bowling match is Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 3:30 pm at Park Center Lanes vs. Forest Hills Northern.

The Eagles Boys Bowlers took to the lanes on Wednesday against the Pioneers from East Grand Rapids.  The Pioneers jumped to an early 4-0 lead by taking the first Baker game.  Our Eagles found a decently line and won that second Baker games and took the baker total pins to take a 6-4 lead over East Grand Rapids.  The Boys moved on to the regular games where Zeke Heerema fired off an strong 238 and Ryan Jonker shot a solid 183 to boost the Eagles lead to 12-7.  The Pioneers continued to battle back taking 4 points in the final regular game.  Zeke Heerema easily covered a 7 pin in the 10th frame of last regular game to secure the win 19-11.  Nice job Boys.  The next contest for the Varsity Bowlers is against Lowell HS on January 29 at 3:30 PM at Park Center Lanes.

The Boys Varsity Bowling Team returned to the lanes for competition after a long Holiday and Winterim Break to compete against Northview HS. Despite close games in the Bakers, the Wildcats jumped to an early lead by sweeping the Baker games taking a 10-0 lead.  Our Eagles pushed to rally back in the first regular game with Ryan Lautenbach and Zeke Heerema taking their points shooting 160 and 233 respectively .  The Boys from Northview were not to be topped this time around.  Northview won the match 2-28.  The next competition is Wednesday Jan, 24, 2024, at 3:30 PM vs East Grand Rapids at Cliques Lanes.

The Eagles took on the Bulldogs from Byron Center on Wednesday afternoon.  The Eagles jumped to a quick 10-0 lead by sweeping the Baker games 180-189.  The Boys sealed up the win in the first regular game with Ryan Lautenbach, Braeden Busscher, and Zeke Heerema taking their individual points and first game total pins.  Our Eagles Boys wrapped up the match by adding on 10 more points to win the match 28-2.  Great focus Boys.  The Eagles next contest is Jan 20, 2024 where the team will compete in the Zeeland All-Baker Tournament.

The Boys Bowling Varsity Bowing team competed against The Yellow Jackets from Greenville on Monday.  Our Eagles fell to the Yellow Jackets in a match with several close games.  Our Eagles jumped to an early lead 6-4 by taking the first Baker game and Baker total.   Bryan Diemer added a half point in the first regular game along with Ryan Lautenbach (174) and Zeke Heerema (235) each adding in a point by winning their individual games.  Keep at Boys!  The Boys Bowling Team next competes December 20 against Byron Center at Park Center Lanes.

The Boys Varsity Team played well on Wednesday afternoon.  The boys jumped to a commanding 10-0 lead by sweeping the Baker games  shooting 160,177.  The boys sealed up the win in the first regular game by adding on 7 more points with some nice bowling by Ej Datema (211), Bryan Diemer (200), and Zeke Heerema (245) with all bowling in the 200's.  Our Eagles Boys Varsity Bowlers went on to win the match 19-11.  Great job boys.

The Boys Varsity Bowlers took to the lanes at home vs East Grand Rapids HS on Monday afternoon.  Our Eagles Boys jumped to an early lead by sweeping the Baker Games earning the boys a 10-0 lead going into the regular games.  Solid play by Bryan Diemer and Braeden Busscher shooting 160 and 156 in the first regular game and a combined team effort in the second game produced a 29-1 win.  Great job Boys! 

he Boys and Girls Varsity Bowlers wrapped up the week by competing in the Grand Rapids Christian Invitational on Saturday.  Both the Boys and Girls teams faced some tough competition with last year boys (Northview) and girls (Sparta) State Champions competing in the tournament.  The bowlers all fought through tough tournament conditions with the Eagles Girls finishing 4th and Boys finishing 5th. A special congratulations to Zeke Heerema and Kendall Vander Ploeg on their performances in the tournament! Zeke took home the All-Tournament Team first place medal by shooting an impressive. 191-223-300.  YES! 300 Perfect Game.  Amazing job, Zeke!   Kendall Vander Ploeg took home the All-Tournament Team 7th place medal by shooting a solid 407 series.  Great job, Kendall!  

The Eagles Boys Varsity Bowlers took the lanes in the regular season opener again the Northview Wildcats with a tough loss 5-25.  Despite close matches Northview jumped to quick 10-0 lead by taking both Baker games.  The Boys continued to battle in the regular games with nice shooting by Ryan Lautenbach (203) and Zeke Heerema (232) in the first game followed up by Braeden Busscher (188) and Zeke Heerema (233) in second game.  

The Boys Bowling Team started off the regular season on Monday against Forest Hills Northern.  Our Eagles Boys found themselves down 8-1 early with the Forest Hills boys shooting solid in the first regular game.  Ben Systma chipped in the first point for the Eagles by shooting a nice 180 in the first game.  The boys rallied in the second game by adding 7 more points and 4 more by winning the first baker game to tie up the match.  Unfortunately, our Eagles Boys bowlers came up  15 pins short in the final baker game to lose the match 14-16.  Great job boys.

Wow, what an interesting couple of weeks!  The bowlers have all been improving so much already and we are excited to see where this team can go this year.  We have a lot of new faces this year with a wide array of experience and skills.  The Boys and Girls Varsity Bowling Squads rolled out the Bowling season by competing in the OK White Pre-Conference Tournament.  The boys finished the tournament in 6th place, which was only 166 pins out of 3rd. The girls finished in 4th place, which was only 244 pins out of 1st.  This may seem like a lot of pins to most people, but those totals divided by 19 games come down to a mere 8.73 and 12.84 pins per game respectively. Roughly, a spare per bowler or baker game could have greatly propelled the teams positions in the tournament standings.  Basically, this was a very close tournament. Spares make the difference!  Great job by all the Bowlers! Special congratulations to Zeke Heerema (2nd) and Kendall Vander Ploeg (8th) for both medaling as All Conference Tournament Team!