Boardman boys, Harding girls set for D-I state bowling

March 9, 2017 at 12:06a.m.

Division I tourney

begins Friday at

Columbus Bowl

WARREN

The Boardman High School boys and Warren Harding girls bowling teams will carry the area banner at this weekend’s state tournament, which begins Friday when the girls take over center lane at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl.

The boys are scheduled to roll on Saturday with action both days beginning at 10:30 a.m.

The Spartans will be making their seventh state appearance, but first under first-year head coach Kevin Randolph, who spent the previous eight seasons as an assistant to longtime head mentor Al Dohar.

The Raiders qualified for their second state tournament and first under head coach John Nolen, who is completing his fourth year at the helm.

Both teams are seeking their first state crown.

“This is an exciting time for everyone and we plan on giving it our best shot,” Randolph said. “It’s ironic that while we struggled with Baker games early in the season, it was Baker games at both sectional and district that helped us advance.”

Nolen agrees that Baker games will go a long way in deciding whether or not a team makes the cut and gets to play for a championship.

“We started slow but finished strong at district, however, I would like for us to start fast this weekend and just keep building momentum,” Nolen said. “I would like for us to be one of the eight remaining teams and feel like we can, as long as we cover our spares and stay confident.”

Warren Harding features four seniors, a junior, two sophomores and a freshman, punching their state ticket by winning sectionals and finishing third overall at last week’s district event at Canton’s AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.

Last weekend, Brianna Nolen (553 set) was seventh overall while Katelyn Daugherty (541) tied for ninth.

Both are seniors with classmates, Emily Oswald (514) and Elizabeth Jones (474) finishing 16th and 41st respectively.

“It’s very exciting for our entire team and especially the four seniors because we want to end our careers on top. Winning it all would be a great way to finish, but it will take confidence, concentration and believing in each other,” Nolen said. “It’s our first time to state so we want have fun and enjoy the moment.”

Daugherty said a few early setbacks helped the team grow.

“A couple losses earlier in the season helped us come together and we grew as a team. We learned from those losses,” she said. “It taught is that while we might not be the best that day, if we come together as a team then we can do big things. It’s exciting to be going to state as a team and not individually. That, to me, is really special.”

Junior Taylor Arquette, sophomores Payton Schiller and Isabella Frazzini and freshman Zoey Schoolcraft round out the Raiders state roster.

“We need Brianna, Katelyn and Emily to continue to score well,” Nolen said. “Everyone must be ready to go when called upon and I have confidence that everyone will do their best.”

The Spartans boys head to state after tying for fourth at district (3,693) with the Akron Springfield Spartans.

“We threw 208 in the first district Baker game and our 244 in the third game turned out to be best overall, which really helped us,” Randolph said. “I was ecstatic and the team was fired up with how they played. The goal was to be one of the top six teams in order to get to state and we realized that goal. If we perform like that at state then we should be alright. I must credit assistant coach John Lucansky because of his technical knowledge and a unique ability to read both the bowlers and bowling patterns.”

Randolph’s two seniors are Sean Sullivan (201 average) and Bobby Morrell (197) with three juniors including Chase Felger (196), Ben Burkey (193) and Nathan Needham (188) also set to go.

Freshman Zach Johnson (192) had a 520 series at district, good enough for 46th place while sophomore Seth Lucansky rounds out the state roster.

Felger’s 549 series was highest by a Boardman bowler at district and good enough for 23rd place.

“I’m very proud of our team and performance as it has gotten us back to state,” Felger said.

Sullivan leads the team in average.

“For our team to make the cut this weekend we will need to stay mentally strong,” Sullivan said. “The shot will be tough, so we’ll need to make our spares and take extra time before each shot. There’s no better way to end my career than making it to state and having a chance to come home with a championship.”

Morrell’s 197 average remains second best on the team.

“Our district tournament was a small struggle, but we were able to figure out exactly what we needed to do in order to advance to the finals,” Morrell said. “Remaining focused will be the key.”