Dudley excels as bowler and team leader

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Samantha Dudley

Top Athletes: Samantha Dudley

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Hubbard junior Samantha Dudley finished in 11th-place in the girls state bowling championships this year, following her third-place standing at state as a sophomore.

Dudley, however, was on the state runner-up team that narrowly lost the championship match to St. Mary’s Memorial, 634-628, at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl on March 4.

In the regular season, Hubbard went 12-0 in AAC Red Tier matches and 15-0 counting out-of-conference wins over Boardman, Fitch and Ursuline. Then the Eagles won sectional and district crowns before traveling to Columbus.

Dudley was part of the Carol Kozbial-coached team that made its fourth straight trip to state.

The 17-year-old Dudley, who had a 198 average this season, showed an eagerness to help teammates align their shots during matches.

Dudley recalled the Fitch match when Hubbard trailed by just three pins after the first game.

“I got them together and told them they needed to keep their heads in it,” Dudley said, noting that the Eagles took the second game and went up by 17 pins. “Then we came back and beat them,” she added of the three-game match.

The Eagles won seven of their nine tournaments.

“She’s quite a bowling ambassador,” Kozbial said. “She wasn’t a co-captain and she’s not a silent leader, but she made sure the girls were headed in the right direction. If someone wasn’t bowling well, she’d motivate them — like a student-coach. She made her mark and college coaches are looking at her.”