AKRON — Tallmadge coasted to the Northeast District Division I Summit Sectional girls high school bowling title by 333 pins Monday.
But, as Blue Devils head coach Scott Krainess admitted later, it was far from a solid performance.
“We feel good about finishing first, but it didn’t feel like we gave our best performance by any stretch,” Krainess said after Tallmadge finished with 3,321 total pinfall at Spins Bowl Akron.
“We have a lot of work to do. We know it, and they know it. They have to do better next weekend to reach their goal.”
The top four teams and top four individuals who were not members of qualifying teams advanced to the Feb. 27 Division I Northeast District at Stonehedge Family Fun Center. The sectional format was three regular games followed by six Baker System games.
Akron Hoban, which dropped out of the top four only once following the completion of the three regular games, finished second with 2,988, followed by Norton (2,968) and Akron Ellet (2,965).
Ellet finished 31 pins ahead of Cuyahoga Falls for the final spot and 34 ahead of Walsh Jesuit, which did not drop out of the top four until the final two games of its Baker set.
The Panthers made the biggest push late, falling 70 pins out of the final qualifying spot with a 99 during its fourth Baker game.
“It was a long day with a lot of distractions and having our worst Baker game of the season. We had a few things happen,” Norton head coach Mike Sayre said. “Our second-best bowler stepped in some liquid on the floor and we had to go through shoes and try to get them refocused.”
After going 140 in Game 3 followed by 99 in Game 4, Sayre said it was time to have his girls refocus on the task at hand.
“The biggest thing was to have them believe in themselves. If they did that, we felt they could get the game we expected out of them,” Sayre said. “We had to get on them a little after that 99, but keeping them 100-percent focused was the key.”
The Panthers put up a tourney-high 234 during their fifth Baker game and finished with 134 to move into the cut. Walsh Jesuit, which was fourth heading into those final two games, shot 147 and 114 to fall back, Cuyahoga Falls had 163 and 144 to fall short.
Ellet, which was second after the opening three regular games, shot just 113 and 143 in its final two Baker games but was able to keep the fourth spot as Norton moved up to third.
“This is a great group of girls,” Sayre said. “I told them that if they bowl like I know they can, they will be at state.”
BLUE DEVILS ROLL
Krainess felt the Blue Devils lacked consistency despite their first-place finish. Junior Maria Mara led Tallmadge with an individual-high 562 series, including the high game of 213. Sophomore Alex Pavlik added 492 and junior Deandrea Elijah had 457.
There were only two 500 series shot during the event, the other coming from Ellet senior Alexis Bennett (549).
“The shot was a little challenging, but we didn’t help it,” Krainess said. “Our overall consistency was a problem. Not being able to repeat shots … we struggled with that.
“But we did what we needed to do. We finished first overall so it’s not all bad.”
Hoban was led by senior Carly Jones’ 475 and 437 from senior Kaitlyn Struckel.
“We moved on and that’s what matters. We started to figure it out in Bakers and the girls found their places,” Hoban head coach James Bowling said. “The shot was extremely slick with very little ball movement the entire day. It really didn’t loosen up at all until the end.”
Hoban was just three pins out of the cut heading into the Baker round, but had a 182 in Game 4 to help the Knights move up to second.
“At that point, we just focused on the best we could do and let the rest of the field do what they could do,” Bowling said. “In the end, the more pins we got, the better we would be.
“It was just get pins, get marks and strike when you can.”
Sophomore Maleah Overheat backed up Bennett for the Orangemen with 475.
FOUR SCHOOLS LAND INDIVIDUALS
Walsh Jesuit senior Lily Fratantonio was the top qualifying individual, finishing third overall with 499. She will be joined by Cuyahoga Falls junior Katie Fox (495), Woodridge senior Addy Porter (463) and Copley senior Skye Curtis (461), who finished just one pin ahead of Woodridge senior Leah Schoolcraft. Five individuals were just 11 pins apart in the race for the final two qualifying spots.
It’s easy to see what the focus of practice sessions will be this week in preparation for district play.
“Our spare shooting has to be more consistent,” Krainess said. “We have to be more consistent making shots and getting to the pocket.”
“We just want to put ourselves in the best state of mind to bowl our best games,” Bowling said. “Today was not our best games.”
With much more work ahead.
NOTEBOOK: The tourney had 16 teams in the field, with Akron East having just three individuals participate. … Tallmadge rolled the only 800 game of the event in Game 3 (832) to open a 214-pin lead heading into Bakers. The Blue Devils also posted the high Baker set of 927. … Only two girls — Mara and Bennett — rolled 200 games as the field’s highest average for a game was 637.31 in Game 3 … The high Baker game average came in Game 5 with 127.19. That was the game when Norton shot its 234 — the lone 200 of the Baker round.