Nick Burke bowls while teammate Brandon Baker (left) looks on during the OHSAA Boys Division I District Bowling Tournament on March 2 at Beaver-Vu Lanes in Beavercreek. Photo courtesy of Batavia High School.
West Clermont’s Armando Abreu (second from left) is congratulated by teammates after recording a strike during the OHSAA Boys Division I District Bowling Tournament on March 2 at Beaver-Vu Lanes in Beavercreek. Photo courtesy of West Clermont High School.
While Batavia High School’s bowling season ended at the district tournament, the Bulldogs’ first year in Division I was nothing short of a success.
“It was a good day for our first year as a D-I team,” Batavia coach Chris Clark said following the OHSAA Boys Division I District Bowling Tournament on March 2 at a jam-packed Beaver-Vu Lanes in Beavercreek. “We’re definitely proud of everybody.”
Batavia finished 13th in the 24-team event, won by Hillsboro, with the top four teams qualifying for the state tournament.
As they have this season, the Bulldogs showed improvement in each of the first three games, opening with a 901, following with a 918 and adding a 940, but couldn’t rally in the Baker matches.
Brandon Baker, a junior, led the team, tying for 29th with a 611 three-game series (208-210-193), followed by senior Andrew Pride (53rd, 184-194-202—580), junior Nick Burke (60th, 177-181-213—571), and junior Charlie Huhn (tie for 89th, 171-177-180—528).
West Clermont finished just behind Batavia in 14th place. The Wolves were in first place after the first game with an impressive 1046 total, but fell off with an 874 in the second game and an 863 in the third, then couldn’t make up ground in the Baker matches.
“The lane conditions were quite tough – it demanded bowlers to be right on top of their targets with very little miss room,” West Clermont coach Brady Dunigan said. “This is definitely a tougher pattern than Cincinnati bowlers have had to bowl on, but they took the challenge head on.”
Gavyn Thinnes led the Wolves with a 31st-place finish (215-182-212—609), Joey Johnston tied for 35th (246-207-146—599) and Armando Abreu tied for 63rd (220-200-149—569). All are seniors.
Milford finished 23rd in the team competition.
Logan Moore, a senior, led the Eagles with a 534 total (176-184-174) to finish 86th, followed by senior Nolan Littrell (92nd, 187-191-141—519), junior Ryan Lemley (101st, 169-157-165—491), and junior Eli Foertsch (104th, 159-162-165—486).
“The lanes weren’t very kind to us today,” Milford coach Mike Nolting said. “They did OK in the Baker games but had too big of a deficit to overcome, so unfortunately, the season came to an end.”
OHSAA Girls Division I District Bowling Tournament
Paced by junior Isabelle Peck’s 10th-place finish, Batavia finished 11th in the 24-team girls district tournament – won by Butler – March 3, also at Beaver-Vu Lanes in Beavercreek. The top five teams qualified for the state tournament.
Peck opened with a 223, adding a 198 in the second game before dropping off to 170 in the third and final game for a 591 total —about 20 pins short of qualifying for state as an individual.
Abby Jayne, a senior, added a 25th-place finish (170-200-192—562), followed by junior Ari Machuca (tie for 65th, 121-177-186—484), and sophomore Heaven Clark (92nd, 187-116-148—451).
“Those ladies gave their best effort and they made every adjustment, but in the end, the pins just didn’t fall,” Clark said. “We are extremely proud of them and we know we can make it back to the state tournament next year.”
New Richmond finished 16th. The Lions were led by Emma Baechle, who tied for 63rd at 487 (146-157-184), followed by Lindsey Fischer (78th, 155-160-155—479), Andrea Fishcer (79th, 207-151-110—468), Karlye Gilpin (97th, 176-139-129—444), and Hannah Rogers (tie for 98th, 138-167-133—438). All are seniors.