AKRON — Abbie Leiendecker doesn’t want a repeat of her 2022 state performance.
“I started with a miss out of the gate and it changed my entire attitude,” the Wooster senior said after claiming the individual title Monday during the OHSAA Northeast District Division I girls high school bowling tournament at Stonehedge Family Fun Center.
“I go to states and out of the gate, I let it affect me.”
After finishing fourth overall a year ago with a 665 series, Leinendecker raced past the field this season with games of 202, 240 and 247 for a 689 series, finishing 54 pins ahead of runner-up Akron Hoban senior Carly Jones (635) to gain her second straight state berth.
“I actually started with a miss today,” Leiendecker said, “but I wouldn’t let it affect me. I wanted to win.”
Joining Leiendecker and Jones as individual qualifiers were Woodridge senior Addy Porter (596), Dover senior Kaylie Gibson (564), Magnificat senior Mia Sayles (560) and Hoban senior Kaitlyn Struckel (555), who earned the last spot by 15 pins.
Gibson will be making her second appearance after finishing 63rd as a sophomore with a 471 series as an individual qualifier.
After opening game, Leiendecker felt changes in her equipment and angle were necessary.
“I just changed my ball and projection angle where I was throwing it,” Leiendecker said. “I wasn’t carrying the 10-pin or 7-pin at all.”
So Leiendecker moved from a Radical Results to an Ebonite GB4.
“The first ball went straighter with very little hook until the back end,” she added. “The GB4 had way more hook and it gave me room to throw it to the right.”
She will be joined by Wooster senior Dawson Gaynor, who earned a Division I boys individual spot with a 680 series.
The girls Division I state tournament is at 10:30 a.m. March 10 at Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl in Columbus, with the boys going at 10:30 a.m. March 11.
NOTEBOOK: The Division I girls field included 18 teams, with a 1-in-3 chance of advancing. … Green recorded the high team game of 972 in Game 2 as four 900 games were thrown, two by the Bulldogs. … Nordonia had the high Baker System six-game series of 1,094, with Boardman recording the high game of 227 in Game 2 following a 112 opener. … The high regular game average in the field was 769 after Game 1, with the high Baker being 174 in Game 2, but falling to 137 by Game 6. … Tallmadge’s Dakota Taylor had the high game of 255 in Game 2. .. Six girls shot 600 or better, with the top eight overall qualifying for the all tournament team. Struckel finished 16th overall to gain the final individual state spot. … Among other area teams, Dover finished seventh (3,431), missing the cut to state by 38 pins; Norton was 14th (2,913); and Akron Ellet was 16th (2,785). … Among other area individuals, Cloverleaf’s Delayna Harvey (20th) and Rae Ann Hlavaty (21st) shot 533 and 541, respectively; Lake senior Ashlee Cunningham was 33rd with 498; and GlenOak junior Kathryn Check was 55th with 440.