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Montcalm Community College Centurions’ men and women’s bowling’s head coach may be new to the program but he is not new to the area. 

Jason Willmore takes over as the head coach of the bowling teams, filling the vacancy left by Dave Berry, who stepped down from the position after three years at the helm. Willmore comes into the position with plenty of coaching experience from within the region, having coached the sport at Belding High School and, for the past two years, at Central Montcalm High School. 

“My bowling background started out very young in youth league at Sheridan Lanes (in Sheridan, Mich.). As an adult, I bowled in Sheridan and Greenville for many years with friends and family,” Willmore said. 

The new coach takes over a program in which last year the men’s team finished 12th at the National Junior College Athletics Association’s national championships and the women’s team took eighth place at the NJCAA regionals. 

This year’s men’s team has three returners in sophomores Joey Gonzalez (Greenville, Mich.), Bradon Krohn (Fruitport, Mich.) and Jack McBride (Portland, Mich.), and two new bowlers, freshmen Chase Couchman (Grand Blanc, Mich.) and Austin Wichert (Vestaburg, Mich). 

On the women’s side, only sophomore Madyson Hartman (St. Louis, Mich.) returns to this year’s team. She is joined by freshmen Nicole Hollabaugh (Ithaca, Mich,), Madison Moran (Stanton, Mich.), Lindsay Duell (Greenville, Mich.) and Amaya Farr (Greenville, Mich.). 

Since he was hired in Oct. 2025, Willmore has been acclimating to his new players since he did not recruit any of them. 

“I’m glad to have (the sophomores) back this season,” Willmore said. “It’s always nice to have returners from the previous season as they hold leadership qualities for the athletes that are new to the program. They bring positive attitudes, which plays a huge role in what our program is all about.” 

Willmore knows the three sophomores on the men’s team will be the leaders but he believes the freshmen can make an impact this season, as well. He said bowlers like Wichert can make the sport more fun and keep his players loose as they try to work their way back to the national championship tournament. 

“Austin has great energy, a positive attitude and doesn’t care where he is in the lineup,” Willmore said. “He just wants to bowl and have a good day with friends.” 

Willmore said freshmen bowlers like Moran and Hollabaugh have potential to make an impact on the team quickly, considering their pedigree.  

“Madison Moran and Nicole Hollabaugh, they both come from good programs last year; Madison with Central Montcalm and Nicole at Ithaca.” Willmore said. “They also show good leadership and dedication to the program. Madison and Nicole are great additions to the MCC bowling program.” 

For Willmore, he is still evaluating his bowlers and will get a good look at what he has with MCC’s first tournament of the season, at Marian University Ancilla College Invitational at Marshall County, Ind., Friday, Jan. 9. Despite not knowing yet what full potential his teams have, Willmore has high hopes for his Centurions teams. 

“I would love for both teams to win our conference, but most of all, show positive energy and represent MCC as well as we can,” he said. “As a new coach, I’ll be looking for leadership and who can adjust quickly when the lanes start changing. We’ve been working hard on drills the last two months. I have a great group of young men and women to start the season with.”