PERRY TWP. — Just give yourself a chance and you can do it.
That was the thought going through Amherst Steele High School junior J.P. Gregory’s mind on his final shot during the two-game portion of the Pin Point Youth Bowling Club All-Star Invitational on Sunday at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
It was a mindset instilled by his father during his bowling career. And it was the first thought that entered his mind as he lined up his final shot of Game 2 after having the first 11 strikes in a row.
“I shot 288 last season, and it was just devastating that I didn’t get to 300,” Gregory said. “I just knew that by the time I graduated I would get there. I probably practiced this season the most ever, and it finally paid off.”
Gregory’s first career 300 game highlighted the event, which drew 120 of the top bowlers from four Northeast Ohio conferences, more than 400 fans and several college coaches and recruiting and coaching services.
“We wanted to expose the kids to more and a higher level of competition,” said Pin Point director and Green head coach Dustin Hughes,, whose organization sent invitations to bowlers with the top averages in the Stark County, Metro Athletic, North Coast and Greater Summit bowling conferences.
“It allowed parents and bowlers to speak with college coaches and tell them what they needed to do. I think they made a lot of contacts and were able to get a lot of good information.”
As for play on the lanes, two Stark County teams topped the boys and girls divisions, respectively, while Avon junior Kilee Falish turned in the top girls two-game series of 532, including a personal-high of 277 in Game 2.
Each team, including two from Stark, had 10-to-12 player rosters, with each team’s players bowling two individual games. The teams were then split into two sub-teams for three more Baker System games, with total pinfall determining the overall team winners.
STARK 1 TAKES GIRLS TITLE
Falish shot her personal-high game in the same center where her father had done the same during his career.
“I had to make a ball change during the first game because it just wasn’t reacting the way I wanted it to,” said Falish, who opened with 255 before coming back with 277. “My coach just told me about it last week, that I had made this all-star tournament, and it was just so cool.
“I feel pretty proud of myself. I really enjoyed it.”
During the 277, Falish left a 6-pin on a high pocket hit early and a 4-7-10 on her final ball. The junior, who plans on going to college to be a neonatal nurse, said her grandmother told her about her dad’s accomplishment.
“I just plan on working during the summer at getting better, just bowling in summer league,” Falish said.
Conotton Valley coaches Brian Baxter and Robyn King led the Stark 1 team to the team title with 5,025 total pins, 178 pins ahead of second-place Stark 2. Carrollton’s Tara Oberlin led Stark 1 with a 439 series, including 266 in Game 2, and Central Catholic’s Alina Stebbins added 424 as four Stark 1 bowlers finished among the top seven individually.
“We had all the averages for the girls, and we just alternated for the individuals and Bakers in splitting the teams,” Baxter said, adding they had one team with 1-3-5-7-9 and the other with 2-4-6-8-10. “It was nice and even for both teams. It worked out really well and they bowled really well.
“But you could tell the difference with some of the girls who have been bowling and those who hadn’t.”
After opening with a pair of 160s in Game 1 of Bakers, the two Stark 1 teams had just one game below 200 during the final four (188).
“We really didn’t have to change the lineups once they got going,” Baxter said. “The only thing we did is make some adjustments on where they were playing the lanes when they dried out. These girls have been around the game long enough to know what to do.”
STEPPING IN FOR BOYS
Gregory admitted the nerves didn’t kick in until the second ball of the 10th frame of his 300.
“The first shot, I was pretty calm. The second shot, I was getting a little nervous,” said Gregory, who left only a pair of 9-pins en route to 268 in Game 1 for a 568 series.
“The third shot, I knew that if I gave the shot a chance, I could get it. I knew that if I got the ball out, it would come back to the pocket, so I did what I had to do and hoped it would come around the pocket. I was really nervous..”
Gregory admittedly struggled during the OHSAA Division I State Championships in Columbus, shooting just a 502 series and finishing 68th individually.
“I learned that the shot from sectional to district was similar, but it was a different situation at state. You have to have your A game,” said Gregory, who is unsure if he will attend college at this point. “It was definitely a learning curve.
“Right now, it’s about staying consistent and just making sure of my shot, It’s like dad told me, so I always do that.”
McKinley assistant coach Chris Albrecht stepped in as coach for the Stark 2 boys team after Hoover head coach Jeff Sabella bowed out due to illness.
“I thought I was going to help (Stark 2 coach) Kim (Heaton) out, but we ended up going against each other. So we had a little bet going, and I couldn’t lose that,” Albrecht said.
Stark 2 finished with 5,360 total pinfall, 61 pins ahead of second-place North Coast. The Stark team did its major damage during the opening two games with 4,211.
McKinley senior Alex Coffelt led Stark 2 with a 524 series, followed by Bulldogs’ teammate and junior Zach McCutchen with 485.
“After the first game, we shook off some of the rust. We missed 10 single-pin spares in that game,” Albrecht said. “The second game, we weren’t striking as much but we had much better spare shooting and you could tell the rust was coming off.”
Albrecht tried to even out his two teams for Bakers, despite not really knowing how each of his 11 bowlers fit into the lineup.
“We really didn’t know if we wanted to stack one team or the other, so we evened them out. Luckily, I had a few of my kids so I kind of knew where to put them,” Albrecht said. “You could tell these kids never bowled together before.
“But they had a good time and it all worked out for us. It was just about having fun with the kids.”
This was the first attempt at hosting such an event by the organization, which will begin its fourth year April 21 at Park Centre Lanes, which is a change in location following the closing of Turkeyfoot Lanes.
“We had about five schools involved last year,” said Hughes, adding the organization has about 150 members with bowlers ranging from age 8 through high school. “Hopefully, we can get more Stark schools involved this year with the new location. Our goal is to get to 10 schools.”
NOTEBOOK: Each bowler paid a $40 fee to participate in the event, which is a fund-raiser for Pin Point. Trophies and medals were awarded to the winners, with lunch being provided for participants and giveaways from sponsors. Hughes said proceeds will be used toward paying for lineage and equipment to help build the sport among younger players. … Colleges represented at the match included Recruit US, Huntington, St. Vincent, Notre Dame College, Tiffin, Aquinas and Mount Vernon Nazarene along with RKH Coaching and Tom Reid Coaching. … North Star Pro Shop was among the sponsors. … Hughes said the organization plans to hold the event again in 2023 at Rebman Recreation in Lorain … Fans were charged a $3 admission fee.
PIN POINT BOWLING CLUB ALL-STAR INVITATIONAL
FINAL TEAM STANDINGS
BOYS
1, Stark 2 5,360 (Alex Coffelt 524, Zach McCutchen 485, Dave Kerry 454, Brandon Ramsey 444, Bobby Brennan 440, Dylan Patrick 431, Matthew Darlison 399, Nathaniel DeSantis 361, Nate Davis 331, Simeon Snyder 189, Kobe Green 153)
2, North Shore 5,299 (J.P. Gregory 568, Josh Masianich 463, Brenton Dill 460, Alex Fedyszyn 412, Connor Corey 396, Aiden Reding 385, Mason Gardner 384, Jacek Gomez 363, Joseph Wrenn 213, Sam Ellis 178, Colin Ellis 174)
3, MAC 5,284 (Bradley Stevens 501, Parker Addison 492, Grayson Speck 477, Kevin Robbins 461, Connor Stevens 425, Jerry Koerber 409, Nick Rummer 398, Wyatt Keyes 398, Logan Harris 161, Nicholas Bry 155, Nick Vaudrin 148, Logan Slinker 139).
4, Stark 1 5,034 (Dylan Shankle 466, Kaleb Corrin 456, Ian Pallaye 452, Nolan Caldwell 426, Andrew Austin 404, Bryce Little 367, Kasey Garden 343, Jaxon Satterfield 342, Taylor Barton 338, Brandon Leggett 217, Austin Crowe 157)
5, Greater Summit 4,945 (Qiaiden Marks 495, Elijah Patton 415, Shane Adamczyk 410, CJ Marshall 386, Joe Bee 384, Raymond Conley 382, Austin Dennis 381, Josh Underwood 306, Antonio Jackson 204, Joe Banister 172, Devin Zoanowicz 167, Cameron Baretek 160)
GIRLS
1, Stark 1 5,025 (Tara Oberlin 439, Alina Stebbins 424, Rachel Young 413, Daphne Stuber 405, Kaylie Gibson 396, Zoey Elliott 389, Miah Delaney 382, Aubrey Taylor 375, Joline Greaves 335, Kellyn Harsh 314).
2, Stak 2 4,847 (Brooke Tucker 433, Veda Hughes 407, Alexis Carper 379, Averi Hawkins 377, Elena Hughes 363, Jessica Ball 357, Mackenzie Willoughby 352, Hannah Miller 345, Katie Scholar 317, Ami King 313)
3, North Shore 4,751 (Kilee Falish 532, Sabrina Stawicki 394, Allison Skala 378, Taylor Raydon 376, Andrewa Guzowski 376, Amber Gall 369, Allison Taylor 366, Marrissa Jones 352, Whitney Kirsechner 337, Hannah Aschenbach 159, Melissa Nunez 135)
4, MAC 4,480 (Melaena Martin 400, Natasha Messmore 391, Delayna Harvey 382, Rae Ann Hlavarty 374, Amanda Morton 356, Abby Fijakovich 339, Alexis Rose 302, Libby Remley 296, Skylar Haystack 290, Makenzie Robert 162, Zoe Bevilacqua 135).
5. Greater Summit 3,683 (Carly Jones 383, Sarah Golden 343, Kaitlyn Struck 302, Soraya Brinson 302, Jayla Roberson 280, Nicole Vogel 280, Charity Boley 259, Alexis Bennett 249, Gabrielle Price 217, Lauren Curtis 104, Emily Wilson 88)
Pin Point wlll begin its fourth season at 5:30 p.m. on April 21. Charges are $2 per game. To get more information, see Pin Point Youth Bowling Club’s Facebook page here: