43
Canfield’s Letscher finishes second at state
Boardman’s team finished sixth
By BRIANNA JUKES
In his fourth trip to the state bowling tournament, Canfield’s Andrew Letscher did not walk away empty-handed.
Friday at the Wayne Webb Lanes in Columbus, Letscher received a silver medal after he finished runner-up to Division I state champion Evan Adkins from Xenia.
Adkins rolled 805, 32 pins better than Letscher’s 773.
Letscher added to his collection of medals: he received a gold medal his freshman year and a bronze medal his junior year.
Letscher’s mother, Sarah, doubles as his bowling coach.
“We’re very proud of him. The scoring pace was high today, but he finished strong,” she said.
Letscher started out with a 205 game, then switched to a ball that he felt reacted better to the game.
He finished with a 289 and 279 game, which boosted him to second place
“I faced a big deficit going into the last game,” Letscher said. “I don’t think I bowled badly, but the scoring pace was really high today.”
Boardman finished sixth in team competition.
For the Spartans, Sean Sullivan led with a 645 set (206, 207, 232); he finished 26th overall.
The Spartans started strong and stayed consistent throughout their games, putting up 1,020 points in their first game, 1,022 in their second, and 1,079 in the finale.
“The boys bowled well and consistently, Boardman assistant coach Kevin Randolph said. “All three sets were over 1000, which is good for high school bowling.”
The Spartans followed up their sets with solid baker games to boost their overall score.
Chase Felger finished 34th (191, 204, 237 — 632) and Brian Stanchin finished 40th (257, 174, 192 — 623).
Michael Parise (583), Bobby Morrell (465) and Nathan Needham (173) rounded out the Spartans team.
“This is the best I’ve seen the boys bowl,” Randolph said. “Out of 189 schools, to finish sixth is something to be proud of.
“They peaked at the right time, and we’re very proud of them.”