By Chris Chaney
Sun staff
The Amelia bowling teams are living a tale of two seasons; while the boys struggle to find their identity, their female counterparts are knocking opponents out like pins on a first frame roll.
“The boys are struggling,” head coach Creed Cornett said. “They haven’t gotten a win yet, but they’ve been a close a couple of times.
“The girls are having a really good season. They’re 6-2.”
The girls’ team is led by a pair of juniors: Brittany Koehnke and Krislyn Burkhardt.
The Lady Barons are pretty young and a bit undermanned, but the lineup of Burkhardt, Brittany Koehnke, Madison Koehnke, Kristina Hodges and Paige McCluskey have proven to be a formidable foe over the first month and a half of the season.
Brittany Koehnke leads the team in average with a 163. Her consistency has been a stabling force and her ability to go high, notching a season-best series of 352, gives Cornett’s squad a solid leader.
Burkhardt is right behind her classmate, averaging 147.1 pins per game. A 196 high game is a testament to her talent and her 347 high series has helped to capture key wins as well.
Hodges, a freshman, has also contributed greatly by earning the second highest game average on the team at a 153.7. Her season-high 191 game is also the second best on the team and her 345 high series is solid as well.
Madison Koehnke has a 138.9 average, a 180 high game and a 324 high series. Paigle McCluskey averages 114.8 per game, has a high game of 133 and a high series of 239.
“These girls are dedicated,” Cornett said. “They even put some time in on weekends and it’s a reason why they are performing better (than the boys).”
The coach believes that this season might not be the best opportunity for team advancement in the sectional tournament, but a strong day from some of his top bowlers could result in individuals qualifying for the district tournament.
On the boys’ side of things, freshman Nic Huber has been the story of the team so far. The younger brother of Glen Este standout Blake Huber, Nic has one-upped his big brother this season bowling a perfect game on Dec. 18 against Goshen.
“He got up there and started rolling the ball. After the fourth or fifth strike, people started to look,” Cornett explained. “People were saying, ‘he’s going to have a perfect game if he keeps this up,’ and he kept rolling them and sure enough, he bowled it.”
A clear leader of the team, Huber boasts a 205 average with a 499 high series to his name, but aside from him and senior Ryan Morris, Cornett said the team is down a bit.
Morris averages 176.9, which is top-150 in the city and has a high game of 227.
Cornett said that he fully expects Huber to advance as an individual and hopes that Morris can do the same.
Both Amelia teams will compete in the Division I sectional tournament in the open draw at Crossgate Lanes or Colerain Bowl. The boys will bowl on Feb. 19 and the girls will go the next day.
For more information on postseason bowling times, lane assignments and regulations, log on to swdab.org.