CANTON — It was evident early that Green and Perry were the class of the 17-team field during Sunday’s Northeast District Division I Stark Sectional girls high school bowling tournament.
By Game 2 of the three regular games, the Bulldogs and Panthers were 180 and 104 pins, respectively, ahead of the field at Eastbury Bowling Center.
The race was for the third and fourth district qualifying slots, with four teams in the running entering the six-game Baker System round.
And, for the umpteenth time in coach speak, it proved again that every pin counts.
Green topped the field, finishing with 3,811 total pinfall after averaging 201 during the Baker round, with Perry as runner-up with 3,513.
Going into the final two Baker System games, Lake had a seven-pin lead on Wooster for the third spot with Dover trailing the Generals by 63 pins.
It all changed that final game.
The Generals finished with 147 in Game 6, to finish third with 3,155.
But after a 145 in Game 5, the Blue Streaks posted a 91 in their final Baker game while the Tornadoes had 169 in Game 5 and 137 in Game 6 to force a ninth and 10-frame rolloff for the final district spot with a tie at 3,131 each.
A pair of seniors, Dover’s Kaylie Gibson and Lake’s Ashlee Cunningham, were picked to participate, with the former winning 35-26 to give the Tornadoes the final spot. While Gibson converted a 10-pin spare in her opening frame and added a spare in the 10th, Cunningham failed to convert a 7-pin and would have needed a double in the 10th to pull out the win.
The top four teams and top four individuals who are not members of advancing teams qualified for the Northeast District, set for 10 a.m. Feb. 27 at Stonehedge Family Fun Center in Akron.
“Without a doubt, that’s not the way we wanted to get there,” Dover head coach Steve Scherer said. “After struggling early, we did finally put some things together a little bit and string some strikes. It paid off for us.”
The Tornadoes finished with 968 during the Baker set, third-high overall, while the Blue Streaks had just 820.
“You can’t shoot a 91 in Bakers and expect to advance,” said Lake girls coach Jeff Mowls, whose team had a high Baker game of 159.
Scherer said the Tornadoes’ spare shooting was a problem — as it has been most of the season.
“We had a lack of consistency, and our spare shooting was something we fought all year long,” said Scherer, who returned to the Stark sectional along with New Philadelphia since no Division I events were held in the East District due to having just three overall teams.
“We’ve gotten better as the year progressed, but we still have a ways to go.”
Senior Natalie Nealey led Dover with a 447 series and sophomore Kylie Pittman had 446. Gibson, the Tornadoes’ No. 1 player, struggled with a 422.
“She got better during the day by softening up her speed a little bit and giving the ball a chance to hit the pocket a little harder,” Scherer said.
WOOSTER PULLS THROUGH
Like Dover and Lake, Wooster also had some anxious moments late, sitting in the fourth spot heading into the final two Baker games.
“There was a little excitement there … it was kind of a roller-coaster ride and it’s my job as coach to keep it from going to much uphill or downhill,” Wooster head coach Tracie Leiendecker said. “It got kind of hairy there and it’s not a situation that this team has really been in before.
“Maybe it was a steppingstone moment and we learned something there.”
Leiendecker’s daughter, Abbie, was the the key for the Generals, opening with a tourney-high 243 and finishing with an individual tourney high 646 series. Junior Abby Coleman added 451.
“We set some pretty high goals coming in. Our goal was to average 150 as a team and we were at 152 after the regular games,” Tracie Leiendecker said. “After the 120 in Game 5, I set a goal of 170 for the final game and that may have gotten in their heads a little.”
ABBIE TOPS FIELD
Abbie Leiendecker was able to find something early to get off to a solid start.
“The slower you threw it right, the more it hooked, which means if I got far enough left and used that hook, it was there for me and it worked well,” said Abbie Leiendecker, who used a stronger ball to create a “channel” on the outside of the Generals’ starting pair of lanes.
But, she admitted, things changed after that as the team moved pairs for Games 2 and 3.
“Other girls had already been on those pairs and were also throwing it outside, so I had to go around that channel,” she added. “But the key, for sure, was to get the team out. It’s only our second time for district and being on this team, after my sister (Allie) was on the first team, is special.”
Tracie Leiendecker said her daughter’s influence helped guide the team through the rough stretches.
“She’s just an incredible leader,” Leiendecker said of her daughter, who has signed a national letter of intent to attend Louisiana Tech. “She pulled the team aside, including herself, and told them to reconsider their attack mode and settle down It worked a couple of times.”
Despite the disappointment of losing the rolloff, Cunningham advanced as one of the four individual qualifiers, finishing as individual runner-up with a 595 series. Other individual qualifiers included GlenOak junior Kathryn Chech (532) and a pair of Cloverleaf seniors, Delayna Harvey (498) and Rae Ann Hlavaty (491) who finished 14 pin ahead of GlenOak freshman Ella Clapper (477).
GREEN, PERRY TOP FIELD
After shooting the only 900 game (928) of the tourney in Game 1, Green struggled with consistency during the opening three games, but still held a 91-pin lead over Perry.
“What we practiced on didn’t hook near as much. For some reason, the ball was checking early on us and we weren’t sure why,” Green assistant coach Alex Snowberger said. “But when Bakers rolled around, we figured it out and that was the key. We had all seven people lined up and they were throwing great shots.”
Green had just one game under 190 during the Baker round.
“We just decided to move all the way right and play it straight up the gutter,” Snowberger said. “It’s a move we should have made all day, but as coaches, we were just a little late making the adjustment. But we figured it out and got it done.”
Junior Elena Hughes led the Bulldogs with 569, third overall, while senior Marissa Perrine had 551, sophomore Madison Perrine 507 and senior Alyssa Holt 502. All four Bulldog players were in the top 10 individually.
Winning the event was not at the top of Perry head coach Joe Altimore III’s list.
“The goal is just to get out to district. We put together some games and Bakers. But we knew we were a lock in Bakers so we started throwing everyone into different places and having a little fun the last three or four,” Altimore said. “When you look at it, trailing by 100 pins or whatever it really means little.”
Sophomore Kiele Poling led Perry with a 557 series, senior Shayla Turner had 548 and junior Ami King 471.
Again, heading into district, spares will be the key.
“Spares cost us a lot of pins early and they are going to be key as we move along,” Snowberger said. “We practiced at Stonehedge twice on the shot, but we were shocked with what we saw this morning. But we have an idea of what to expect (at Stonehedge).”
Scherer said the Tornadoes also were surprised by the shot at Eastbury.
“It didn’t react like what we saw in practice,” Scherer said. “But you’d better believe we are going to be doing a lot of practicing, like three or four days, and working on spares.”
Tracie Leiendecker called the Generals’ spare shooting “better overall,” but …
“We still left a lot of pins on the deck. We weren’t used to playing the gutter because we don’t teach the kids to play that way,” she added. “We teach the fundamentals of going over the second arrow and hook into the pocket. But we couldn’t do that today and we kind of expected that.”
What Altimore saw from the Panthers gave him reason for optimism.
“We are versatile this year between soft-handed hook bowlers and girls who can get on it a little quicker,” Altimore said. “If you give us some hold on the outside, it helps when we can slow our ball speed with revolutions. But when they scream we have to put some girls in with a little less experience to pipe it off the corner.
“There were shots today when we just couldn’t strike, but they just tried to make their spares and didn’t get down on themselves. That’s a win for us and a good sign.”
NOTEBOOK: Joining the two Eastern District teams in the field for the first time was Akron Springfield, and Marlington moved up from Division II to Division I this season. … Leiendecker was the lone bowler with two 200 games and the only one to shoot a 600 series. In fact, there were only eight 500 series. … Green had the high Baker game of 223 and Perry had 222, both in Game 2. … The Baker game averages never exceeded 144, with a low of 126.76 in Game 6. … The Division I Summit girls sectional is at 9 a.m. Monday at Spins Bowl Akron. All tickets must be purchased through www.ohsaa.org and are $8 for adults and $6 for students. Tickets for next week’s district tournament also must be purchased online. … The district fields in Division I will have 18 teams for the girls and 20 for the boys with six teams and six individuals advancing to state in each.
OTHER DIVISION I SECTIONALS
LAKE COUNTY GIRLS: Mentor topped a seven-team field with 3,152 to capture the sectional title, with Solon finishing second (2,643) and Eastlake North third (2,596 at Wickliffe Lanes. Mentor’s Hailey Simmons was the high individual with 601. Individual qualifiers included Bedford junior Tia Grimes (440), Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin junior Hailey Kinney (425) and Lakeside freshman Asa Enos (423).
MAHONING-TRUMBULL-PORTAGE BOYS: Nordonia will lead four teams to district out of Freeway Lanes of Warren after topping the field with 4,000. Other qualifiers included Boardman (3,924), Twinsburg (3,920) and Stow-Munroe Falls (3,906), which finished 112 pins ahead of Hudson in the 15-team field. Warren Harding senior Braylen Schuller was the top individual with 648 to lead individual qualifiers. Other individuals included Streetsboro sophomore Connor Stevens (619) and two bowlers from Canfield, junior Nathan Kennedy (613) and sophomore Matt Logan (608).
MAHONING-TRUMBULL-PORTAGE GIRLS: Boardman led three teams into next week’s district by taking the sectional title with 3,428. The Spartans were followed by Howland (3,394) and Nordonia (3,392), which finished 286 pins ahead of Kent Roosevelt. Nordonia junior Kolbey Lewin was the top individual with a 573 series. Individual qualifiers included Kent Roosevelt junior Jillian Eden (571), Warren Harding senior Hailee Misel (541) and Kent Roosevelt junior Emma. Arthur (478) in the 11-team field.
WEST CUYAHOGA-LORAIN BOYS: Amherst Steele topped a 17-team field to lead four district qualifier at AMF Lanes in North Ridgeville. Steele finished with 4,281, followed by Avon Lake (4,149), Berea-Midpark (4,088) and North Ridgeville (3,927), which finished 58 opens ahead of Olmsted Falls. Parma Padua junior was the high individual with a 738 series and Avon senior Brenton Dill shot 728. They were the top two individual qualifiers, joined by Padua sophomore Ethan Hanna (649) and North Olmsted junior Jason Beets (615).
WEST CUYAHOGA-LORAIN GIRLS: Magnificat topped a 14-team tied at AMF Lanes in North Ridgeville with 3,542, followed by Amherst Steele (3,534), North Olmsted (3,160) and Westlake (2,968) as the district qualifiers. Steele junior Allison Taylor was the top individual with 684, the lone 600 series. Individual qualifiers included Avon senior Kilee Falish (582), North Ridgeville senior Josephine Cehelnik (563), Berea-Midpark senior Marissa Jones (490) and Avon Lake senior Abby Schuerger (486).