KENT — East Canton High School head coach Craig Linerode and girls coach Matt Lint had high expectations for the Hornets as they prepared for postseason play.
But claiming what is believed to be the first sectional title in team history?
“No,” Lint said, “but we had high expectations of making the cut. But winning it and leading it … they just bowled well as a team.”
The Hornets shot two of the three 800 team games and recorded the high Baker System six-game series by 114 pins to roll to the title in the OHSAA Girls Division II Tri-County Sectional on Monday at Spins Bowl Kent.
East Canton finished with 3,545 total pinfall, 285 pins ahead of second-place Rootstown (3,260), with Ravenna finishing third with 3,098. The top three teams and top three individuals who were not members of those teams advanced to the Division II Northeast District, set for 10 a.m. Feb. 25 at Stonehedge Family Fun Center in Akron.
Advancing individuals included Akron Garfield senior Peytton Sledz, Canton Central Catholic freshman Jessica Jenkins and United Local junior Makayla Frederick.
HORNETS LEAD FIELD
Three East Canton girls — senior Isabel Weber, junior Victoria Alspaugh and freshman Madison Lint — finished among the top four individually, with Weber finishing first with a 566 series, 28 pins ahead of second-place Ravenna senior Ashlyn Williams (538). Alspaugh added 511 and Lint had 506.
“It would have been a disappointment if we didn’t move on just because of the depth we have on this team,” Linerode said. “We’ve been building for this since Madison was in seventh grade, putting the pieces together, finding athletic girls and pairing them with a senior (Weber) who is the heart of this team.
“She’s a tremendous leader and really showed up today.”
Weber, who didn’t shoot a game under 175, said she “felt more calm than normal … I wasn’t all uptight.”
“We all worked together as a team and that’s really what brought us here today. We just started bonding more,” Weber said. “It’s really all about our teamwork and how close we are to each other.
“We just got adjusted to each other’s natures and became better together and just grew from there.”
Linerode pointed to the Hornets’ performance during the Struthers Super Bowl Baker Bash last week as a turning point. Against a predominantly Division I field, East Canton reached the stepladder finals before finishing fifth.
“They realized they were competing with Division I schools and we played together and worked together,” Linerode said. “That Baker tournament demonstrated what we’ve been preaching — that this is a team sport. It finally resonated with them and they understood.”
The Hornets have 18 girls on their roster this season and Linerode admitted “we had to be creative in how we bowled them.”
“We had letterwinners from last year down to newcomers and we allowed them to bowl the entire season, and it’s showing up now because we have depth,” Linerode said. “We don’t only have two strong girls … we can go six or seven deep with girls we can count on when we need them.”
RAVENS CHASE HORNETS
Rootstown girls coach Andy Day felt his team would make the top three. But he also was eyeing East Canton as a guide for the Ravens.
“East Canton beat us in the Rover Tournament, so we wanted to stay close to them,” Day said. “We pretty much met our expectations coming here. During our practices, we were scoring 10 to 15 pins under our averages so we knew it was going to be a hard shot.”
Junior Payton Curall led the Rovers with a 500 series to finish fifth overall, and sophomore Cassie Egli added 466 and senior Tracey Lohman a 454.
“We just have to keep working on our own heads, our own games,” Day said. “Spare shooting will be the key.”
The Ravens captured the third spot by 119 pins over Central Catholic (2,979), with United finishing fifth (2,943). Behind Williams, freshman Alannah Raffa added 477 and senior Zoe Bevilacqua had 465 for Ravenna.
As for East Canton, Lint says practice is the key.
“We’ve been putting the time in. We have almost two weeks now so we will probably just keep grinding and doing what we’re doing because it’s working,” Lint said.
Weber agrees, but has a second goal for the team.
“I’m just so excited right now. We believed we could do it up here, but actually knowing that we did is surreal,” Weber said. “Winning this is something I’ve wanted since I was a freshman
“If we keep practicing, stick together as a team and supporting each other, hopefully we can win the next one, too.”
INDIVIDUALS ADVANCE
Sledz was the high individual qualifier with a 479 series, followed by Jenkins (469) and Frederick (463) Frederick earned the final individual spot by 15 pins.
Northeast District Division I sectional play begins Friday with the Summit sectional at Spins Bowl Akron. The Stark boys and girls sectionals are set for Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at Eastbury Bowling Center in Canton.
To see where area teams will be for the postseason, go to:
NOTEBOOK: The sectional had an 11-team field. … East Canton turned in the high team game of 886 in Game 1, which gave the Hornets a 92-pin lead. … The Hornets and Rootstown were 1-2 during the entire event, with Ravenna moving up to third in Game 2 and staying there. … Only five individuals shot series over 500, with Williams turning in the high game of 218. Williams and Weber (200) had the lone 200 games.
OTHER NORTHEAST DISTRICT DIVISION II SECTIONALS
BOYS
AMRON: LaBrae captured the sectional title in the 12-team field at Amron Lanes in Canfield. LaBrae finished with 3,974, followed by Struthers (3,715), McDonald (3,648) and Brookfield (2,980), edging Crestview by 27 pins. LaBrae junior Brogan Collins had the high series with 696, followed by Struthers’ Dylan Woolensack (638). The top four teams advanced to district. Girard’s Chaise Henderson led individual qualifiers with a 595 series.
FREEWAY: Wickliffe captured the sectional title at Freeway Lanes Warren with 3,863, followed by Champion (3,642) and Cuyahoga Heights (3,494), 25 pins ahead of Benedictine. The top three teams advance to district in the 12-team field. Holy Name senior James Bleakley topped the individual qualifiers with a tourney-high 642 series, with teammate Quinten Johnson taking third with 580. Wickliffe freshman Paul Lumadue was second overall with 607.
LORAIN: Triway captured the sectional title in the 15-team field at AMF Medina with 4,203, followed by Clearview (4,179), Lutheran West (4,029) and Coventry (3,793), which finished 279 pins ahead of Lake Center Christian with four teams advancing to district. Triway’s Aeron Meshew had 289 his final game for a 781 series to top individuals, with Lutheran West senior J.T. Maslanich second with 731. The Titans’ Owen Fiesler added 670, finishing fourth. Lake Center Christian senior Jacob Wyder finished sixth overall and earned an individual qualifying berth with a 614 series.
GIRLS
AMRON: LaBrae also captured this title at Amron Lanes in Canfield with 3,262, followed by Struthers (3,126) and Crestview (2,821), which finished 48 pins ahead of Campbell Memorial (2,773). The top four teams advanced to district. LaBrae’s Sarah Reakes was high individually with 533, followed by McDonald’s Grace Srock (500). Srock was the high individual qualifier.
FREEWAY: Champion claimed this sectional title with 3,540, finishing 328 pins ahead of Airport Harbor Harding (3,212), with Wickliffe taking the third district qualifying spot with 3,163, 111 pins ahead of Cuyahoga Heights in the 10-team field at Freeway Lanes Warren. Champion’s Krysa Dickson shot 703, with a 279 in Game 2, to top individuals while teammate Brianna Williams had 570 as runner-up.
LORAIN: Triway also captured the girls sectional at AMF Medina with 3,830 total pinfall, followed by Firelands (3,342), Brookside (3,134) and Wellington (2,918), which finished 56 pins ahead of Elyria Open Door (2,862) for the final district spot. Addy Meshew led the Titans with 620 individually and Emma Yoder added 606 as the pair went 1-2 in the individual standings. Triway’s Danielle Densmore was fifth with 576. Lake Center Christian junior Janel Zink finished 10th overall but earned on the four individual qualifying spots with a 508 series.
For complete sectional results, go to:
https://www.ohsaa.org/Northeast-Sports-Tournaments/Bowling
