Spartans prepare for state; Canfield’s Letscher making 4th trip

March 3, 2016 at 12:06a.m.

bowling

The Boardman High School boys bowling team and Canfield’s Andrew Letscher are set to compete in the Division I state bowling tournament Friday at Wayne Webb Lanes in Columbus.

Saturday, Fitch’s Alysha Harris will be the lone area representative in girls competition.

For the Spartans at district, Bobby Morrell’s 606 set was eighth best overall while his 224 individual roll and Nathan Needham’s 214 game were good enough to rank in the top 20. Morrell’s average is 184 and Needham 178.

Brian Stanchin leads the team with a 201 average and Sean Sullivan is second at 196 with the remainder of the squad comprised of Michael Parise (190), Chase Felger (177), Ben Burkey (161) and Seth Lucansky (135), the squad’s only freshman.

Letscher will become one of just a handful to compete in four consecutive state tournaments, punching his final ticket by finishing second (652) at district.

The Spartans (3,761) grabbed the Northeast District’s fifth spot, finishing 15 pins ahead of Springfield but 330 pins off the pace of champion Nordonia.

“We know who we are, but still have to find out what we can be,” Spartans head coach Al Dohar said.

Boardman started uncharacteristically slow at district, posting a 789 initial roll for 13th place in the 15-team field.

They followed that up with 926 and 930 efforts, then used Baker games to solidify their qualifying round.

It’s that slow start the team needs to avoid, according to assistant coach Kevin Randolph.

“We struggled that first game at district, made our move the next two games and had strong Baker games,” Randolph said. “We’re peaking at the right time and hope to keep up the pace; however, we cannot afford to dig a hole this weekend because the competition is extremely tough.

““We want slashes, not dashes on our scorecard this weekend.”

Letscher was a member of the Cardinals’ state championship squad as a freshman, returning to state with the team as a sophomore when they finished ninth.

That year, he earned honorable mention all-state by finishing 13th.

Last year, he was the regional champion and earned all-Ohio honors for a third-place finish.

“This really is an exciting time for me,” Letscher said.

His mother, Sarah, is his coach.

“Andrew doesn’t give up nor does he get upset with a bad mark or game,” she said. Harris will make her first state appearance after qualifying third (204, 174, 159—537) at district.

“This is definitely a surprise because I never thought I’d be going to state,” Harris said.

Falcons coach Todd Lindberg said Harris, who is averaging 162 on the season, has been at her best during sectional and district play.

“Alysha comes from a bowling family as her father and grandmother are both excellent bowlers,” Lindberg said. “She has improved steadily over the course of the season and is at the top of her game.

“Getting a new ball at Christmas was like turning on a light switch,” Lindbrg said. “I can count on one hand the number of bad shots she has had during sectionals and district.”