“It was a great performance by the kids who are like a band of brothers,” coach Richard Oakes said. “They bowl all the time — any time they are free, these guys are bowling.”
That dedication paid off as three Urbana boys finished in the top 10. Senior Kyle Beavers won the individual title with a 248-211-204–663. Junior Andru Troyer was fifth with 614, while senior Taylor Armstrong was ninth with 608.
It was the dedicated kids who prompted Oakes to take over the program a few months ago as the offensive line coach in football was persuaded to add bowling to his resume.
“If these kids didn’t get to bowl, they might be sitting around doing nothing,” he said. “I wanted them to be able to bowl.”
The Urbana boys have made four consecutive trips to state. They won the D-II state team title in 2016.
“These guys are continuously trying to learn and get better, and it shows,” Oakes said.
Season of success: The Alter boys continued to build on their strong season with a second-place sectional finish, best in school history. The Knights already won the Greater Catholic League title for the first time after amassing a 14-2 league record.
“We’ve got a lot of good kids and that’s what it takes,” coach Bob Galpin said.
Senior Parker Doersam led the Knights with 611 and a sixth-place finish, but it was a total team effort for the sectional runners-up.
Not to be left behind, the Alter girls — also league champions — advanced to the district tournament with an eighth-place finish Friday.
Back-to-back: The Versailles girls posted their second consecutive sectional championship Friday at Marian Lanes. Juniors Morgan Heitkamp and Haddi Treon finished first and third, respectively.
“Overall, we have a good team, everyone knows their role and accepts their role,” coach Tyler Phlipot said.
The Tigers have plenty of motivation as, after placing fourth at state in 2015, they fell short in the district tournament last year.
“We won the sectional and then didn’t make it out of the district. It was a really big letdown,” Phlipot said. “But our spare game was off and if you can’t pick up your spares, you’re not going very far.”
With an experienced group, including a senior and five juniors, all of whom have state experience, the Tigers are hoping to return to state.
“The girls were confident and trusted their shot today. They need to continue to do that,” Phlipot said.
Girls rule: Versailles junior Morgan Heitkamp did more than beat out all of the girls at the sectional tournament, her 716 series was also more than any of the boys who competed a day earlier. Urbana senior Kyle Beavers was the boys champ with 663.
“She was on fire,” Phlipot said of Heitkamp. “She also broke the school record for high series.”
The previous girls record was 709.
District tournament: Next up for the D-II bowlers is the Southwest District Tournament at Beaver-Vu Bowl. Both the boys and girls compete Thursday.
Division II Sectional Bowling
District Qualifiers
(at Poelking Marian Lanes)
Boys teams
1. Urbana 4,078
2. Alter 3,894
3. Mechanicsburg 3,860
4. Shawnee 3,829
5. Graham 3,811
6. Clinton-Massie 3,767
7. Northeastern 3,717
8. Northwestern 3,707
9. Fort Loramie 3,687
Individuals
Zac Longfellow, Urbana, 622; Logan Carter, Miami Valley School, 615; Trevor Boger, Benjamin Logan, 609; Sam Patton, Emmanuel Christian Academy, 576; Matthew Barton, Greenon, 576; Tyler Blankeship, Southeastern; 570; Brent Wyburn, Kenton Ridge, 559; Joe Springer, Greenon, 556; J.J. Blanton, Greenon, 554.
Girls teams
1. Versailles 3,786
2. Graham 3,741
3. Northwestern 3,526
4. Benjamin Logan 3,320
5. Greenon 3,307
6. Mechanicsburg 3,250
7. Urbana 3,220
8. Alter 3,156
9. Russia 3,128
Individuals
Ashlyn Herzog, Tippecanoe, 519; Jennifer Callewaert, Clinton-Massie, 516; Lauren Heminger, Bellefontaine, 516; Jordan Rucker, Kenton Ridge, 502; Elena Bulcher, Fort Loramie, 502; Erika Haffner, Kenton Ridge, 499; Hailee Clifford, West Liberty-Salem, 496; Camryn Joseph, Carroll, 482; Emily Rager, Clinton-Massie, 479
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