43
Halas leads Fitch to girls sectional title
Halas’ score of 684
leads Falcons to
another team title
HUBBARD
Austintown Fitch’s girls bowling team rolled 4114 to repeated as Mahoning-Trumbull sectional champ at Bell-Wick Bowl.
“We were making good shots and making our spares and, basically, that’s what it’s about,” said coach Don Morrison, whose team won the 2011-12 sectional at Holiday Bowl.
Following the Falcons, runnerup Hubbard had 3959 and No. 3 Boardman registered 3504. LaBrae was fourth with 3458, Girard fifth with 3318 and first-time district qualifier Howland sixth with 3240.
Fitch’s boys team also won a championship on Friday, while the Boardman boys and Girard boys teams advanced to the NEO district at Crest Lanes next weekend.
On Friday at Bell-Wick, the Lady Falcons opened with a 1011 first-game score, then had 974 and 970.
“That set the pace,” Morrison said of his team’s three-game 2955 to kick off Friday morning.
Fitch’s top individual was Jessica Halas, who also had the best girls’ score of the day with 684.
“I surprised myself,” Halas said of conquering her past struggles at Bell-Wick. “I’m happy I pulled it off here today.”
Liberty senior Marissa Simon and Warren Harding’s Stacy Tucker, however, were the top girls on non-qualifying teams.
“Actually, I was nervous that I wouldn’t make it,” Simon said of her 574 that was five spots lower than Halas’ 684.
“I struggled and didn’t do my best, but I was shooting for a score high enough to be comfortable,” Simon said of her games of 175, 218 and 181.
Simon reached state as an individual as a sophomore and junior.
With 571, Tucker will be the only girl representing the Raiders at district. On Friday, she had games of 179 and 224 before slipping to 168.
“I had to not psyche myself out of it,” Tucker said of the first five frames of her third game. “I told myself to make it a five-frame game,” she said of concentrating on her closing frames.
The Harding senior missed qualifying for state in 2011-12 by three pins.
Anthony Bernard’s Howland team has only been in existence three years.
“We were 14th going into Bakers, but those last six games pulled us through,” Bernard said of overcoming a 681 game to start the morning.
Bernard pointed out that AAC teams finished high.
“Five of the top six [girls qualifiers] are AAC,” Bernard said of all five, but Boardman.
Bernard’s Tigers were 17-5 in the regular season.
Girard coach Todd Reinhart said that his girls qualified third out of the sectional last year, it was a joint effort to take fifth on Friday.
“We started [the season] off well, but struggled through the year, but every girls came through one time or another.”
At Bell-Wick, junior Alexis Cloud led the team with 539 to get the Indians rolling. Cloud, senior Casie Cupan and sophomore Mackenzie Olesky are Reinhart’s top three girls.
LaBrae is making a back-to-back appearance at district, although Adrienne Bland is now the head coach.
“We slipped in Bakers with games of 117 and 130, but the girls decided to play the fourth, fifth and sixth,” Bland said. “It means a lot to [to be moving on] in a sport that doesn’t get recognized.”