By BILL SNIER
AKRON — There was no question as to the top four teams during Monday’s Northeast District Division I girls high school bowling Tri-County sectional tournament.
All that had to be determined was their final placement following three regular team and six Baker System games.
Tallmadge, by virtue of its 178 and 171 final Baker games, emerged with the sectional title at Spins Bowl-Akron as the Blue Devils rolled the high Baker series of 1,006 and finished with 3,397 total pinfall.
Also advancing to district play are Akron Springfield (3,366), Norton and Akron Hoban (3,209), which finished 169 pins ahead of fifth-place Walsh Jesuit.
The top four teams and top four individuals who were not members of those teams move on to the Northeast District tournament, set for 10 a.m. Feb. 26 at Rebman Recreation in Lorain.
Walsh Jesuit junior Gabrielle Price turned in the top game and series with 235 and 639, respectively, to lead individuals to Lorain. She will be joined by Highland freshman Gracie Dunne (607), who bowled as a member of the boys team all season, but split off to bowl as an individual in the girls event and was second overall; Cuyahoga Falls senior Lorianna McCune, who finished fifth overall with 534; and Copley sophomore Autumn Garber., who finished 13th with 487.
BATTLE AT TOP
Springfield had taken the lead from Tallmadge following Game 3 of the team games after an 837 and held it until the final two Baker System games.
The Spartans had one of their regular bowlers leave due to illness and shot just 120 and 101 their final two Baker games to fall to second.
“We were just subbing in people the last two Bakers,” Springfield coach Jeremy Weakland said. “We knew we were in the top four and that’s all that mattered.
“We absolutely expected to get to district and be in the top four. Take away those last two games and we bowled pretty well.”
Senior Emily Bartley led the Spartans with a 571 series, and she was followed by junior Melaena Martin (531) and sophomore Madison Knox (525).
“The shot played a little different than what we had seen in practice,” said Weakland, whose team made its last district trip in 2020. “It hooked more on the outside.
“But spares are the big thing now. It was a problem today with 10-pins and missing single-pin spares. But we know we have a good team and they bowled what we expected.”
Despite the win, Tallmadge coach Cindy Elliott pointed to a few bad breaks for the Devils, including leaving seven 7-10 splits.
“It was a team effort for us today. Our Bakers were pretty steady … around 170 all the way through,” said Elliott after her team averaged 167.6 in Bakers with a low of 149 in Game 1.
“We just have to make spares and keep getting them because they’re not always going to strike.”
The Devils had seen the oil pattern during two Spins Bowl tournaments plus practice.
“We knew what was out of bounds and what’s not,” Elliott said.
The Blue Devils were led by senior Maria Mara with 539, junior Alex Pavlik with 515, including a 230 in Game 1, and senior Dee Dee Elijah with 506.
MOVING ON
Norton had games of 184 and a tourney-high 219 in Games 4 and 5 of Bakers to secure their position after shooting just 112 and 122 their first two Bakers.
“Overall, they played together as a team and kept each other in it,” Norton coach MIke Sayre said. “If one girl was down, they kept her up and she came back the next game. I couldn’t have asked for more from them.”
Sayre admitted the Panthers had a “rough start” in Bakers, but he made a lineup change that paved the way for the surge in Games 3 and 4. They shot just 124 and 119 their final two Bakers, but Sayre also was subbing in different players.
“The lanes played about where I expected, based on what I saw at the MLK tournament and our conference championships here,” Sayre said. “But the shot at our house (Charger Lanes) had more back end than what we had here.
“But I lined them up the way I’d seen them play earlier. Even if they hooked to the 7-pin, that’s where I wanted them to start.”
Junior Alaina Mullett led the Panthers with a 528 series, freshman Cassidy Myers added 522, sophomore Samantha Class had 474, and junior Madalyn Mullett had 465.
Hoban came into the tournament with just one senior, one freshman and three sophomores in its lineup. But the Knights, despite a 677 in Game 3 and 135 and 139 their final two Baker games, are going to district.
“I loved the fact that we have a really young team that did really well,” Hoban coach James Bowling said. “They stayed focused and stayed with it.
“But we need to improve when the lanes transition. We had a tough time finding a new line to go to and part of that is having a young team, and we could be better coaching to help them figure it out.”
A trio of sophomores led the Knights, including Abigail Kohrs (494), Kate Folk (471) and Danielle Ferree (457).
“We’ve seen this shot probably four times now, but in different centers with different numbers of players on the lanes. If you put 10 on a pair it’s going to transition differently than having five,” Bowling said. “But it’s different for eveyone. We have to find the new line and adjust to it.”
Bowling said the Knights’ preparation is simple.
“We have to keep our focus and get more experience for a very young team,” Bowling said.
NOTEBOOK: The tourney included 16 teams and one individual (Dunne), with two of the teams having just four bowlers so they did not compete during the Baker portion. … Again, each team bowled on its own pair of lanes, moving after each team game and every two Baker games. Dunne bowled with Walsh Jesuit as an individual. … Price and Dunne had the lone 600 series, with only eight 200 games rolled. No girl had three 200s. … There were eight sub-100 Baker games rolled. … Between the Akron and Stark County sectional tournaments, attendance was nearly 600 fans at Eastbury Bowling Center and Spins Bowl-Akron combined. … There was just one 900 team game rolled by Tallmadge in Game 1 and six 800 games. … There were three 200 Baker games. … District tournament tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and may be purchased on online at https://www.ohsaa.org/tickets No cash will be accepted at the door for any district tournament.