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Division II state bowling tournament today, Saturday in Columbus
By Greg Gulas
The Mahoning Valley will be well represented at this weekend’s Division II state bowling tournament. The girls tournament begins today and the boys roll Saturday at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.
Girls action commences at 10:30 a.m. with the Hubbard Eagles and Brookfield Warriors teams, and individual qualifiers Haylie Rotz of Lowellville and Susan Decker of Southington competing.
On Saturday, also at 10:30 a.m., district champion Struthers and sectional champion Girard and individual qualifiers Michael Katko of Brookfield, Zach Johnson of Champion and Larry Sudano Jr. of Maplewood will look to light up the lanes.
It will be a special time for Decker, a senior who will close out her scholastic career after earning her second consecutive state appearance as the only Wildcats’ kegler ever to get to the season’s final day.
She’ll bowl knowing that her father, Max, who passed away two years ago after battling pancreatic cancer, has more than prepared her for this special moment.
“My dad taught me a lot about the sport and I wear his ‘300’ ring around my neck when I am bowling. He’s my good luck charm,” Decker said. “I grew up wanting to have a bowling team at Southington and this will definitely be a very special time for me.”
Last year Decker finished 33rd overall at state with a 541 set with her 526 district set good enough for eighth-place.
Individually, she’ll be joined by Rotz, the first Lowellville bowler to qualify for state.
A sophomore, her 557 district roll was good enough for runner-up laurels and just six pins out of the top spot.
“I qualified for district last year as a freshman but fell 34 pins shy of getting to state. This year, all I wanted to do was bowl better,” Rotz said. “The competition will be extremely tough and I just want to bowl the best that I can.”
The Hubbard girls won sectionals by 113 pins over runner-up Brookfield and in district play last weekend, finished second (3,325) to Norton (3,468) with the Warriors the fifth and final qualifier at 3,112.
This is the third consecutive state appearance for head coach Ken Miller’s Eagles and first ever trip to Columbus for Jim Haywood’s Warriors.
“Every team is different but like the previous two squads, the goal was to get back to state,” Miller said. “We only have one senior, Emily Davis, and she has been a tremendous leader. We’ll need everyone to step up and hopefully catch a few breaks along the way.”
Davis’ 498 series at district was 12th overall.
“It’s an exciting time for all of us, but we’ll need to be at our very best in order to make the cut and be one of those final eight teams battling for the championship,” Davis said.
Sabrina Romano, Alexis Cobbin, Ashligh George, Kennedy Julious, Jenny Reebel and Megan Heckert round out the Eagles’ roster.
The Warriors’ Emily Bebech, a freshman, finished fifth at district with a 536 series and will be joined at state by Christine Lowers, Samantha Neral, Kayla Haywood, Hannah Williams and Jessica Roszak.
“We had some challenges at district, but this team showed resilience that I never thought they had,” Haywood stated. “A 158 on our last Baker game is what locked up a state berth.”
On Saturday, the Struthers boys will be making their fourth consecutive state appearance and ninth overall in 15 years with Bob Eisenbraun Jr. at the helm.
They’ve had two individual state champions, but are looking for that elusive team title after finishing runner-up in 2014-15.
They won district (3,865) with Girard securing the fifth (3,606) and final spot.
“We’re primed for state, but when you get to Columbus the teams are even better so you have to be at the top of your game,” Eisenbraun said. “We’ve been consistent all year and we are ready. The key at district was Baker games and this team’s strength is Bakers.”
Adam Cifra was the top district performer, finishing second overall with a 628 set.
“I am excited to be going to state for a fourth consecutive time and honored to be going with group of friends who are just as — if not more — talented as I,” Cifra said.
Joining Cifra this weekend will be Cameron Coppola, Jarrod Sawyers, Andrew Brabant, Johnny Medvec, Johnny Morris, Connor Lane and Chad Laczko.
Pete Barta’s Indians feature Dylan Puz, Donny Bishop, Brett Zeigler, Logan Kondzich, Jonathan Moore, Justin Barnett, Seth Kennedy and Jack Ryan Zeigler.
“This is our first ever trip to state and we are extremely excited,” Barta said. “We’re young, have worked hard all season long and I have a feeling that this won’t be their last state visit.”
Katko, who advanced to district’s three of his four varsity seasons, is the Warriors’ first boys state qualifier and will be joined by local hopefuls Johnson and Sudano.
“To be the first ever individual state qualifier from Brookfield means the world to me,” he saod. “This proves to me, and hopefully to other people that if you want to succeed at something just keep practicing and believing in yourself.”