By BILL SNIER
COLUMBUS — Sophomore Kaylee Russell is a three-sport athlete and band member at Carrollton High School.
But when you ask Russell her sport preferences, golf comes out No. 1.
“She told me freshman year that she wanted to be a tri-athlete,” her mother and Carrollton bowling coach Wendy Russell said. “But her goal is to golf in college. I told her thanks for picking the sport I coach as your third choice.
“Maybe it will be different now that this happened.”
Russell, a right-hander who never got seriously into bowling until her freshman year, became the second state bowling individual champion in Carrollton history Saturday, shooting 665 to top the field during the OHSAA Division II State Girls Championships at HP Lanes.
Kaylee’s score ties her for 10th all-time in Division II, joining Coldwater’s Alison Fox (2021). Kaylee had games of 231, 241 and 193 using a Hammer Envy.
“When we practiced Thursday, I knew what line I was going to throw. I was just relaxed and feeling good,” Kaylee said. “I started playing the same line. I was just taking a deep breath before throwing every ball. I was just taking one ball at a time and not getting upset about anything.”
Wendy Russell also coached Carrollton’s first individual champion, Cailyn Bright, who captured the Division II title with 695 in 2021. That stands fifth on the all-time Division II list.
“This feels a little different when it’s your own kid,” Wendy Russell said. “Last year, we made school history by finishing third as a team. She threw the ball great all day today.
“I think she had two or three opens all day and you can’t ask for more than that. Every one of these girls has that potential.”
Kaylee gave credit to her teammates, her mother and her grandfather, assistant coach Joe Phillis, “for coaching me the whole way.”
“It was just amazing … I still can’t believe this,” said Kaylee, who joins United Local senior Ethan Hively, the boys Division II individual champion, giving the Stark County High School Bowling Conference both individual champions out of the same National Division.
“My goal coming in was I wanted to shoot a 200. Then, after I had the first one, I wanted to shoot one in all three games. But as long as I was happy and my mindset was good, that was my biggest goal.”
Kaylee shoots “in the low 40s” for nine on the golf course and also does weights (shot put, discus) on the track team.
“Golf still is my favorite. My mindset is rocky sometimes, but I have good shots,” Kaylee said. “I work hard in practice for bowling. I’m just hard on myself because I think I can do better.”
Wendy Russell says her daughter works hard on her game after just picking it up just over a year ago.
“Cailyn was a great bowler who started out in the junior leagues and threw it so smooth. She was just a lot of fun to coach,” Wendy Russell said. “The key always is consistency.”
Kaylee was shocked to be at No. 1. But as she heard tournament director Greg Coulles read off the members of the All-Ohio first team, her anticipation grew.
“I knew I had snuck up on some of the top bowlers, but as soon as I heard fifth place, and Addison (Rudibaugh) and the other girl (Caledonia’ River Valley’s Alexis Manning) weren’t mentioned, I knew I beat both of them,” Kaylee said. “It was just unbelievable.”
“We kind of figured she would be on first team, but we didn’t see a lot of high scores out there,” Wendy Russell said. “We really didn’t see that one coming.”
QUACKIN’ ON
Although Kaylee Russell’s title was a highlight, the Warriors also continued their string of top-eight finishes in the team standings, finishing eighth overall.
Carrollton, participating in its seventh straight state tournament (two in Division I), took No. 2 seed and eventual state champion Springfield Kenton Ridge to five games before falling 3-2 in the quarterfinal round.
It was the fourth straight year the Warriors had made the cut to match play, with a high finish of third a year ago.
“We had our chances, but we got some bad breaks along the way,” Wendy Russell said. “We missed some spares that we probably shouldn’t have.
“But, all in all, I’m super proud of this team, I definitely think we were the underdog coming out of our district and they were able to get through that. Anything above and beyond that was a blessing. And we’re going home with some hardware.”
The Warriors entered match play as the No. 7 seed after sitting fifth following the opening three individual games. A 142 in their first Baker game dropped them down.
“Our first and third regular games I would take all day, any day,” Russell said after her team shot 2,569 over the opening three games. “Our first Baker was a little low, but we came back with 186 and 182 which was pretty decent. After the 142, I said, ‘OK, let’s make some more spares.’
“They stayed pretty calm and we took the No. 2 seed to five games. You just never know in match play.”
Kenton Ridge won Game 5 178-165 as the Warriors won Games 2 (187-135) and 3 (167-153). The former won Game 4 187-153 to set up the finale.
Carrollton fans wore t-shirts with the words “Release the Quackin’” on them. It stems from a game the team played up at some bowling centers: duck crane machines.
“It got to be a habit … them trying to win those ducks. There was one at Wabash and Park Centre,” Wendy Russell said.
Senior Zoey Elliott also shot 529 for Carrollton and junior Hailee Ulman added 481.
With four underclassmen on the roster, the Warriors hope to continue “quackin” in 2025.
“It’s just a matter of staying in it, with the right tempo and the right ball speed,” Wendy Russell said. “They don’t understand sometimes how key that is on a difficult shot like this.”