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PREP BOWLING Locals chasing D-II state crowns
Girard’s Trautman
among individual
Valley qualifiers
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
The Hubbard and Struthers girls and Girard boys teams will be among a highly competitive field vying for Division II state bowling championships this weekend at Wayne Webb’s Lanes in Columbus.
Girls action begins Friday with Girard’s Heidi Trautman and Lowellville’s Haylie Rotz among 16 individual qualifiers.
On Saturday, boys action commences with individual qualifiers Austin Stere of Hubbard, Maplewood’s Cody Farmer and East Liverpool’s Billy Todd rounding out the field.
The Hubbard Eagles will be making their fifth straight state appearance under head coach Kenny Miller, who is in his sixth season at the helm. It’s their 10th trip in the past 13 years, a feat of which Miller and the team is most proud.
“It never gets old, that’s for sure,” Miller said. “The goal every year is to win it all and that has always been our mindset. To do so, every girl must roll a little bit better because it’s a great field. The goal is to make the final cut, then anything can happen in Baker games. It’s an exciting time for everyone, we just don’t want to be too excited.”
The Eagles won the first ever Northeast 8 Conference tournament with team members Amber Davis and Maggie Lewis earning all-district honors.
Davis, who is making her second state appearance, rolled 608 at district, including 215 and 210 games.
“I have a year’s experience and I’m looking forward to getting back to state,” Davis stated. “It’s a 43-foot oil pattern on a 60-foot synthetic lane so we know exactly what to expect.”
In addition to Lewis’ 522 roll at district, rounding out the squad is Jennifer Reebel (500), Bethany Jones (395), Brooke Papini (392) and Bree Valley.
Reebel is making her third state appearance.
“I’m the only junior with the rest of the team comprised of sophomores, so we’re a young team,” Reebel added. “We’ll need to stay calm, patient and just bowl our hearts out.”
The Wildcats are making their sixth state appearance but first since 2008.
Head coach Bob Eisenbraun, Sr. has a veteran squad with four seniors, two juniors, a sophomore and freshman dotting his roster.
“We were a bit inconsistent over the course of the season, not steady like I had hoped yet someone always stepped up when we needed them to,” Eisenbraun noted.
Madison Stanton’s 599 included a 240, final game en-route to all-district laurels.
“I’ve worked hard and so has the team. This was our goal at the beginning of the season,” Stanton said. “We did well at both sectionals and district, now we have to transfer those performances to state.”
Elizabeth Dragus (477, district) is happy her senior year included a state finale.
“It’s the most amazing experience I could ever have asked for my senior year,” she said. “We have the capability and skill to win, we just need to qualify to get to the head to head rounds.”
Rounding out the squad are seniors Hayley Horkey, Sara Hill and Delaney Baber, juniors Hannah Hoffman and Kiara Bankhead, and freshman Hailey Degenaro.
Trautman’s 614 series included games of 211 and 223, tops in the Northeast District qualifying event.
“I’ve been bowling since I was 11 years old and have bowled at Wayne Webb several times, so I’m familiar with the lanes,” Trautman said. “Picking up my spares will be the key. I’m going to keep an open mind, take my time and appreciate every moment.”
Rotz rolled 516 at district but is looking to improve that number come Friday.
“I’ve been pretty consistent with my sets and series at sectionals and district,” she stated. “This is pretty crazy. I dreamed of making it to state once but three times is really amazing.”
After watching Trautman on Friday, Girard boys coach Pete Barta – he doubles and Indians’ girl’s coach – will lead his Indians’ squad to their third consecutive state appearance on Saturday, hoping to improve their third-place finish last season – they were 10th in 2017.
“To show you the dedication of this team, after finishing third last year they immediately started practicing for this season. That’s how had they wanted to get back here,” Barta said. “We’re fundamentally strong, but we’ve been preaching that all year. This is a dedicated group that works hard on their game but in the end, it always comes down to spare shooting.”
Girard is led by Donny Bishop, a four-time conference player of the year – he was this year’s initial NE8 Conference honoree, having won the three previous All-American Conference awards – who is averaging 228.
“The goal is to win it all. We must stay optimistic because that’s a vibe we need to take from one another,” Bishop stated. “Energy and momentum are big in sports, especially in bowling and we’ll need that this weekend.”
Teammate Logan Barta (211.75 average), Pete’s nephew and son of two-time Guinness World Records holder, Adam, did not compete in sectional or district but is set for state.
“Seeing the pressure and excitement the past two state appearances will only help us for this year’s appearance,” Barta said. “Staying focused and remaining positive is our top priority.”
Rounding out the Girard squad are twins Jonathan (208.6) and Nathan Moore (187.4), Dylan Puz (199.37) and Brett Zeigler (192.1).
Stere (196.1) is the Eagles’ third individual state qualifier.
“I’ve bowled rally well all year, starting slow but picking up at the end,” he said. “It’s a great field that I’ll be going up against, so I’ll need to bowl 240 or above and be near perfect.”
Farmer is the first Maplewood Rockets’ junior to qualify for state. His 168 average is 32 points higher than last season.
“I’ve put in a lot of time and hard work, but need to thank my coach, Tom Rink for all of the help that he has given me,” Farmer said. “He’s a coach who will drop whatever he is doing, just to help you with your game.”