Sports Editor
Area bowling teams took to Northwest Lanes this past weekend for the annual Eastern Cincinnati Conference – Southwest Ohio Conference Showdown, a bracket-style tournament contested between the two local leagues on Saturday, Jan. 9.
Local kegglers from Glen Este, Milford and Amelia competed with the Trojans continuing their run of success as the Lady Trojans took home the top spot and the boys team finished second to Northwest.
The head-to-head match ups gave the event an NCAA basketball tournament vibe, but the Lady Trojans’ sustained success was unmatched.
Receiving a first-round bye, the Lady Trojans dispatched of Loveland in the quarterfinals, Anderson in the semifinals and Milford in the championship match.
The Lady Trojans were led by a pair of All-Tournament Team performers, Courtney Chaffin and Danielle Cooper, who finished the day first and fourth, individually.
Chaffin rolled games of 175, 202 and 223 knock down a total of 600 pins while Cooper went 188, 204, 183 for a 575 total.
Drew Coulter was the only other Lady Trojan to bowl in all three rounds. She went 167, 151, 163 for a 481 total.
The runner-up Lady Eagles were led by Jessica Haines’ 169, 153, 269 games, totaling 591. Alyna Hook added games of 175, 167 and 166 for a 508 total. Sarah Schmidtgesling rolled games of 142, 171 and 172 for a 485 total.
The finals, which were decided by Baker games, was won by Glen Este, 1,064-1,017.
Glen Este remains undefeated on the season, 10-0 and atop the conference table at 6-0. Milford is in third place, 2 matches behind the Lady Trojans at 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the league.
On the boys side, the Trojans also received a first-round bye before defeating Edgewood and Ross to earn their championship round berth.
Philip Wenz led the way for GE with games of 222, 211 and 201 for a 634 total. Evan Dennis was right behind him with a 624 total (228, 212, 184). Tanner Davis rolled a 574 (183, 210, 181). Evan Stroup had a 548 (223, 154, 171). And Brady Dunigan had a 512 (150, 152, 210).
Milford was knocked to the consolation bracket in the second round. They were paced by Noah Dolezal’s 671 total (243, 216, 212).
The Amelia boys team fell in consecutive matches to Talawanda and Edgewood.
In the championship match, the Trojans were edged by Northwest in Bakers.
For the season, the Trojans stand at 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the ECC, one match back of league-leading Anderson. Milford is three matches back of Anderson in a tie for third place at 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the league.
Area bowlers have roughly a third of their regular-season schedules remaining before the sectional tournament begins the week of Feb. 15.