BOWLING SETH DUNN Lakeview Bulldogs

It was an up-and-down bowling season for Lakeview’s Seth Dunn.

Dunn started the season well, but had to attend physical therapy to deal with a knee injury he suffered during soccer season.

Dunn injured his knee in a collision with a goalie during a game against Niles.

The junior was experiencing knee pain throughout the year and was still feeling the effects at the end of the bowling season.

“My knee started to hurt a little bit and my average was starting to go down because it’s my left knee,” Dunn said. “My average started to go down and one of my teammates, Connor Pawlowsky, began to catch up to me. I went to physical therapy and my knee started to get better. When the big tournaments came around, my knee was in better condition.”

Dunn had to take Ibuprofen during the season to deal with the knee pain since he was standing for long periods of time.

Even so, he helped lead the Bulldogs to the state tournament for the first time in three years and won an individual state title.

Dunn rolled a three-game score of 703. He rolled a tournament-high 277 in the first game.

“The first game was pretty good in the front nine,” Dunn said. “The pressure got to me and I missed out on a 300 game. I knew I had to stay consistent because I was already well ahead of my other opponents. I just focused on making my shots and making my spares.”

The Bulldogs made the eight-team finals, tying for fourth place with a pinfall of 3,326.

Lakeview advanced to state after finishing fourth in the Division II district tournament, the final state qualifying spot.

Dunn bowled a three-game score of 601 at districts.

The Bulldogs and Struthers Wildcats split the All-American Conference White Tier regular-season title for the second straight season.

Lakeview only had one senior on the team, so Dunn is optimistic that the Bulldogs can be competitive next year since the key contributors will be seniors.

Dunn was pleased with the way his team performed in the state tournament, but is glad he has one more year left to win another title.

“Hopefully the team wins state next year and I can finish in the top five,” Dunn said. “That’d be nice, if not win it again.”

— Dan Hiner