WGH boys lead state qualifiers

Staff report

CANTON — Warren Harding, Struthers and Austintown Fitch were the boys teams advancing to state, while Chaney’s Richard Mauro was the area’s lone individual qualifier at the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s Northeast district bowling tournament at Hall of Fame Lanes on Saturday.

The top six teams, led by district champion Kent Roosevelt with 4330 pinfall, along with runner-up Harding (4314), third-place Struthers (4313) and sixth-place Fitch (4195), were fourth-place Green (4286) and fifth-place North Ridgeville (4285).

Fitch edged out the highest-scoring non-qualifying team, Walsh Jesuit, by 50 pins.

Area teams whose seasons stopped at the district level were: Howland (3913), Ursuline (3803), Canfield (3783), Hubbard (3765) and Liberty (3655).

Brunswick’s Kevin Slepecky had the top three-game series of 735, followed by Walsh Jesuit’s Chris Piermarini with 727 and Akron Ellet’s Joe Wittman with 712. Two other 700 sets were by Rodney Bassett of Lutheran West with a fourth-best 709 series and Kent Roosevelt’s Tyler Jastromb with a fifth-best 705.

Although Mauro was the ninth-best qualifier of the 10 individuals who advanced, the Chaney bowler’s three-game series of 671 was 12th-best overall.

His top game in the regular season was 244 and the Chaney senior rolled 785 at the sectional at Holiday Bowl on Feb. 20.

Besides Slepecky, Piermarini, Wittman, Bassett and Mauro, the other five individuals without a team to advance were: Tyler Meredith (Stow) 697, Kevin Svitak (Twinsburg) 682, Martin Zeszotek (Midpark) 674, Cory Edwards (Canton GlenOak) 671, Zach Stolicny (N. Canton Hoover) 669.

The girls district is also at Hall of Fame Lanes today at noon.

The state tournament is at Shawnee Lanes in Chillicothe next weekend.