NORTH CANTON — Expectations bolstered by solid returning rosters.
Defending Stark County High School Bowling Conference Federal Division champions North Canton Hoover (boys) and Green (girls) find themselves in similar situations as they begin the 2023-24 season with collective “targets” on their backs.
The Bulldogs lost Summit County and Federal League player of the year Marissa Perrine and Alyssa Holt to graduation
“A lot of the girls knew we lost Marissa from last year and they were worried about it,” said Green girls head coach Alex Snowberger, who along with assistants Eydie Snowberger and Nick Arlequeeuw led the Bulldogs to their third straight OHSAA Division I State Championships appearance a year ago in their first year as coaches.
“I told them we would be fine and we can hold our own.”
The Vikings boys, who also made their first state appearance a year ago but fell two pins short of making the cut to match play, lost only Austin Crowe to graduation. They have a new coaching staff this season, led by head coach Nicole Wells and boys assistants Chris Simko and Chad Wensel.
“We’re coming in with an outsiders viewpoint. How can I make an impact for them?” Simko said. “We might be a little overconfident, but we’re trying to reiterate to them that they are going to have a target on their backs every time out there. This is a new year and they have to stay focused.”
Both teams showed Saturday they are ready for the challenges that lie ahead.
Hoover’s boys and Green’s girls came away with titles during the SCHSBC Early Bird Tournament at Park Centre Lanes, the official conference kickoff to the season.
“We definitely stayed composed as a team, we lifted each other up and made the moves we needed to make to move on,” Wensel said after the Vikings stopped No. 1 seed Lake 3-2 in the best-of-five Baker System championship match.
Snowberger admitted the Bulldogs started slow.
“But I told them we had to stay focused and stay in there,” Snowberger said after Green swept past No. 8 seed GlenOak 3-0 in the title match. “Last season was great and we really did well. But we didn’t finish the job.
“I think they all had the same mentality to let’s go win this thing.”
VIKINGS CLAIM TITLE
The boys title match came down to the No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed as Lake finished as the qualifying leader with 3,970 total pinfall, 107 pins ahead of the Vikings.
The Blue Streaks shot a regular-game tourney high of 1,030 and also averaged 199.7 in Baker System games as the qualifying round included two regular games and 10 Bakers. The Vikings averaged 192.7 in Bakers during qualifying.
“When we had bad games, we didn’t get too down on it. They knew they had to get it together and come back the next game,” Wensel said. “That was a testament to them and the coaches being able to ready the lanes.”
After stopping McKinley (2-1) by rallying with a 236-192 win in Game 3 and sweeping by Jackson in the quarterfinals, the Vikings fell in Game 1 to Lake 206-168.
“We were kind of stressed out coming down there and really didn’t have much practice time,’ Wensel said. “But we had a couple of kids make ball changes because that pair was a little more snappy. We went to some cleaner, reading balls and that worked out well for them.”
“We reminded them to make one shot. What’s in the past is in the past,” Simko said.
The Vikings rebounded with wins in Games 2 and 3 before falling 216-163 in Game 4, forcing a deciding Game 5. Lake, with starting lane choice based on pinfall during the match, decided to put Hoover back on the same lane.
“We reminded them that they had shot 216 on the lane earlier, and they can do it again,” Simko said. “For whatever reason, you have to see what you did in the second game and go there.”
“We just told them that this was Game 5 for the championship,” Wensel said. “We need to do this. Just see our shots and execute.”
The Vikings struck on five of their first six shots en route to the deciding 235-192 win, their second highest Baker game of the day.
Lake coach Patrick King never expected to be in the title match or emerge as the qualifying leader.
“Honestly, at 8:55 I wasn’t even sure what my roster was going to be. I never expected to be where we were,” King said. “Our new guys had a heckuva day and impressed me as well.
“I knew coming in I had a one and two and was cautiously optimistic on No. 3. Now they know we can show up at a match and we’ve got a No. 4 and 5 and a solid No. 6 in reserve.”
While junior Zak Abbott (413) and sophomore Brady Tompot (412) led the Blue Streaks during qualifying, it was the play of sophomores Jordan Collins and Braden McKinney that keyed Lake.
“We really did answer some questions. We got some breaks along the way, but the tables turned a little bit on us,” King said. “For Jordan and Braden, this is their first varsity experience. Braden had 16 marks in 20 frames in Bakers. We also put our No. 6 in the last couple of Bakers and he had some marks.
“They kept their heads in it even though we weren’t getting the breaks against a fine Hoover team that was doing well. We’ve got a great outlook.”
Hoover was led by senior Chase Wensel (429) and junior Cole Hapstak (392) during qualifying, but it was Wensel, as the anchor, and senior Jack Wells (No. 4 spot) that keyed the Vikings during the match-play rounds. Senior Connor Lab (357) is the other state team starter returning with newcomer Ryan Dague (396).
“Chase and Jack were really, really good in Bakers. They closed out about every game with strikes that helped us,” Wensel said. “This is a start. We did it and kept rolling with it. It was a good bonding time for the boys. I think going forward we’ll be good.”
Simko agreed.
“I still know there’s work on our end to refocus. Sometimes you strike, and sometimes you don’t. You just have to cover the spares and move on,” Simko said. “In Bakers, we covered only about 67 percent of our spares.
“(Simko and Wensel) are trying to be the calm, cool and collective guys. It’s cool, just take a deep breath. We have to work on basics and visuals to remind them to stay cool and collective, and they are buying into that.”
GREEN WINS FROM NO. 2
Snowberger admitted Green’s girls didn’t start off well, sitting fourth after Game 1 with 863. But things improved from there.
“They started slowly, but we told the girls they had to stay focused and stay in there,” Snowberger said. “As long as they trusted what they could do, they were throwing it well.”
Senior Elena Hughes led the Bulldogs with a 400 series and also was the anchor all day in Baker games.
“Elena just lit it up for us all day,” Snowberger said. “I think they all were a little nervous at the end and I could feel that. We just have to get them more comfortable and we’ll be all right.”
The Bulldogs averaged 181 during Baker qualifying games despite starting the round with 115. They trailed East Canton by 24 pins heading into the Bakers as the Hornets completed qualifying overall with 3,580 to Green’s 3,556 — again, 24 pins behind.
But the Hornets were upset by surprising No. 8 seed GlenOak 2-1 in the opening round of match play as the Golden Eagles won Game 3 148-145 with a missed spare in the 10th costing the qualifying leaders.
For GlenOak, which missed the cut in this tournament by 400 pins a year ago, it was a promising start after what girls coach Robert Hawkins called a “hard-nosed approach” during his and boys head coach Jossett Petrick’s first year last season.
“During tryouts last season, most of them couldn’t keep the ball on the lane. We presented them with expectations,” Hawkins said. “Learn an approach, being consistent with their releases and then move them for spares.
“We told them you will learn to do this sport or don’t come back. They took it to heart and gave us everything they had last season. They practiced all summer long. When tryouts began I couldn’t believe how well they were throwing the ball.”
Senior Kathryn Chech led the Golden Eagles with 356, with the other four GlenOak scores ranging from 246 to 282.
“We had a shot to make the cut, and that was the goal coming in here,” said Hawkins, as GlenOak earned the final cut spot by 194 pins. “Last year, I wasn’t allowed to be frustrated. I wasn’t allowed to ask, ‘Why did you miss that pin?’ because they were so new.
“This year, we can ask what they did wrong and do what we have to do to correct it. That’s the most proud moment for me … that they know what they’re doing and then how how to execute it. Throughout match play, that’s what they did.”
Green swept past Jackson (2-0) and had to go to three games to stop defending state qualifier Triway (2-1) in the semifinals, winning Game 3 207-143.
GlenOak, after topping East Canton, stopped Lake 2-1, winning Game 3 167-150.
But in the title match, the Bulldogs swept the Golden Eagles in three games, taking Game 3 161-151.
“That was the most games in one day many of these girls have ever bowled,” Hawkins said. “They were nervous and tired. But for them to come this far, pick up our spares and stay in contention was big. I thought we had a chance in Game 3, but their anchor (Elena Hughes) had the chance to bury them, and she did.”
“Green is a powerhouse. It was like “Rocky IV” I told them. We’re Rocky and they’re the Russians. Let’s try to draw some blood and have some fun. We have two different styles — we have to be consistent and they have some great power players. They are well-rounded and we are still learning.”
That doesn’t mean the Bulldogs are a finished product.
“Spare shooting was a problem today, and we have to adjust that in practice,” Snowberger said. “Just getting more comfortable will help. But, as I told them, the job is not finished.”
BOYS SCORING PROBLEM
A scoring discrepancy led to a delay in the start of the boys match-play rounds.
Scores were not inputed correctly for Perry’s junior varsity during their final two Baker System qualifying games. Instead of 188-188, it was recorded as 180-180, putting the Panthers seven pins short of the cut behind Triway.
“I went looking for the scores after we had eaten, but there was no one back by the computer, so I had them check them,” Perry junior varsity boys coach Mark Boron said. “I thought with 188 and 188 we would have passed someone.”
SCHSBC Commissioner and tournament director J.C. Heighway corrected the error, but Panther players had already left the center. Emergency calls were made to get them back for the start of match play.
“We first heard about it after warmups for match play began. We held up about 48 minutes for them to get here, but we had to start the round,” Heighway said.
All but one of the Perry players were back to begin the round; the fifth arrived in time to throw the 10th frame of Game 1 of the best-of-three battle with top-seeded Lake. The Panthers had to take a zero for one frame in the first five, according to OHSAA rules, but were then able to substitute, losing Game 1 230-141.
Lake eventually won the match 2-1, as the Panthers took Game 2 170-166 and lost Game 3 169-164.
“It was just unbelievable for them … they bowled against some of the best teams in Ohio and stayed right with them. Obviously, Perry is in a good spot for the future,” Boron said. “This was not an easy shot, but they stayed accurate and threw some terrific shots.
“That 7-pin wobbled on that final shot in Game 3. If it goes down, we could move on. I’m just so proud of these guys.”
NOTEBOOK: The field included 16 boys and girls teams. The lone conference schools not represented were Canton South, Carrollton, United Local and Minerva, with East Canton, a former conference member now in the Inter-Valley Conference, taking one of the spots and junior varsity teams from Perry and Lake Center Christian filling the rest. … The oil pattern was the PBA50 45-foot Dick Weber used during the 2019 PBA50-60 Doubles event at Park Centre. … McKinley’s Jonathan Waggoner had the high series of the event with 524, including 279 in Game 1. Louisville’s Michael Emerick Jr. shot 279 in Game 2 en route to 488. … In the girls division, Triway’s Addy Meshew had the high series with 449, followed by Lake’s Abby Meffert with 438, including a girls high 265 in Game 1. … The top five individuals in both the girls and boys divisions were named to the all-tournament team, with top finishers receiving most valuable player honors. … A special trophy also was presented to the top overall combined score for both boys and girls. That award went to Lake with 7,244, as the Blue Streaks boys were first after qualifying and the girls were fourth. Hoover was second with 7,078.
STARK COUNTY HIGH BOWLING CONFERENCE EARLY BIRD
(Saturday, at Park Centre Lanes, North Canton)
BOYS
Final qualifying standings: 1, Lake 3,970 total pinfall; 2, North Canton Hoover 3,863; 3, Jackson 3,709; 4, Massillon 3,662; 5, Green 3,602; 6, Louisville 3,566; 7, Canton McKinley 3,537; 8, Perry junior varsity 3,528; 9, Triway 3,519; 10, Lake Center Christian 3,448; 11, GlenOak 3,414; 12, Canton Central Catholic 3,349; 13, East Canton 3,166; 14, Marlington 2,796; 15, Alliance 2,652; 16, Lake Center Christian junior varsity 2,457.
Round of eight
(Best-of-three Baker System matches)
Lake (230-166-169) d. Perry JV (141-170-164) 2-1; Green (162-160) d. Massillon (126-157) 2-0; Jackson (255-195) d. Louisville (170-173) 2-0; Hoover (161-222-236) d. McKinley (167-198-192) 2-1.
Round of four
(Best-of-three Baker System matches)
Lake (245-234) d. Green (177-198) 2-0; Hoover (202-180) d. Jackson (147-177) 2-0.
Championship
(Best-of-five Baker System match)
Hoover (168-216-165-163-235) d. Lake (206-169-155-216-192) 3-2.
All-tournament team: Johnathan Waggoner (McKinley) 524; Michael Emerick Jr. (Louisville) 488; Kayden Kohn (Massillon) 477; Aeron Meshew (Triway) 445; Xzavier Gardener (GlenOak) 445.
GIRLS
Final qualifying standings: 1, East Canton 3,580; 2, Green 2,556; 3, Triway 3,295; 4, Lake 3,274; 5, North Canton Hoover 3,215; 6, Canton McKinley 3,200; 7, Jackson 2,840; 8, GlenOak 2,800; 9, Louisville 2,606; 10, Canton Central Catholic 2,560; 11, Lake Center Christian junior varsity 2,546; 12, Massillon 2,534; 13, Alliance 2,303; 14, Marlington 2,252; 15, Lake Center Christian 1,940; 16, Perry junior varsity 1,764.
Round of eight
(Best of three Baker System matches)
GlenOak (147-125-148) d. East Canton (141-170-145) 2-1; Lake (138-151-168) d. Hoover (147-143-166) 2-1; Triway (143-172-169) d. McKinley (152-160-168) 2-1; Green (167-159) d. Jackson (136-145) 2-0.
Round of four
(Best-of-three Baker System matches)
GlenOak (182-162-167) d. Lake (170-192-150) 2-1; Green (204-169-257) d. Triway (130-183-143) 2-1.
Championship
(Best-of-five Baker System match)
Green (170-193-161) d. GlenOak (136-140-151) 3-0.
All-tournament team: Addy Meshew (Triway) 449; Abby Meffert (Lake) 438; Logan McDonald (East Canton) 415; Emma Yoder (Triway) 411; Haleigh Leggett (McKinley) 403.