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Champion wins D-II boys bowling title
By doug chapin
COLUMBUS
A budding — but friendly — rivalry on the lanes picked up steam Friday when Champion captured the Division II boys bowling state championship with a 3-games-to-2 victory over Struthers in the final round at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
“It was nice to see them in the finals, it was great for northeast Ohio and I just want to congratulate them for how well they bowled,” Champion coach Dale Johnson said of the Wildcats.
“It’s been good, they’ve got a real good team. They are solid,” Struthers coach Bob Eisenbraun said about Champion.
Did we say the rivalry is a friendly one?
Struthers did have the satisfaction of boasting the Division II individual state champion in senior Dan DiLoreto, who also had good things to say about the rivalry with the Golden Flashes.
“It’s a friendly rivalry, they are a great team, very talented,” he said.
Both teams are state-tournament tested. This was Champion’s third straight trip to state and Struthers was making its seventh appearance.
The Flashes — and DiLoreto — started out strong in morning qualifying.
Champion (seniors Danny Simmons, Zach Zigmont, Justin Cox; juniors David Yenchoci, Jared Gould) had the best qualifying score, topping second-seeded Coldwater 3657-3535. Struthers (seniors DiLoreto, Dan Demyan; juniors Jay King, JD Heffron; freshmen Andrew Brabant, Johnny Medvec, Adam Cifra, Jarrod Sawyers) was third with a 3523.
“I would say the qualifying was the best we’ve bowled in regular games,” Johnson said. “The 1098 game we rolled was the third-highest ever shot at state and the Baker game 289 was the second-highest at state.”
DiLoreto also was hot, with games of 243, 201 and 234 for a 678 series. Second-place Casey Cohagan of Fairport Harbor rolled 661.
His 243 first game put DiLoreto in contention for the individual title, adding pressure, which he relishes.
“Absolutely, pressure is my friend,” he said. “Going into the 10th frame (of his third game) I figured I needed to strike out, but I didn’t and I had no clue I was going to be able to win.
“I can’t explain it in words, I made history, I did everything I wanted to do. I went out with a bang.”
Eisenbraun obviously was pleased with his senior bowler.
“He bowled great all day, he had good ball action. The lanes were tough today and he did a good job with his shot,” Eisenbraun said. “He executed and that’s what it takes when the shots are a little tougher.”
Both Champion and Struthers easily won their quarterfinal matches and both faced scares in the semifinals. Champion trailed Versailles 2-games-to-1 and pulled out 213-175 and 173-167 victories. Struthers was down 2-0 to Coldwater and won three straight, 181-179, 155-131 and 187-171.
In the final, Champion won the opener, 153-147, and game three, 234-173. Struthers won games two and four, 183-173 and 179-175. The Golden Flashes captured the fifth and final game, 173-167.
“It helps tremendously,” Johnson said of his bowlers’ state tournament experience. “When it gets down to clutch balls, those are the guys you want throwing. They helped us get to the point where we were. The difference in the final game was getting the spares, staying clean and getting spares.”
“We were focused on making good shots,” Eisenbraun said. “You have to make good shots to give yourself a chance to strike. But it always comes down to a good spare here and there.
“We missed two easy spares in that last game. It’s tough to get that close and walk away second. But we had a great season and Dan finished first as an individual.”
The girls Division II state meet is today, also at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.