By BILL SNIER
COLUMBUS — There were at least two items that four individual qualifiers for the OHSAA Division I State Boys Bowling Championships agreed on:
- The lanes played nothing like they did during Thursday’s practice session; and
- The atmosphere for the four first-time state qualifiers was rather daunting.
Four of the Northeast District’s individual representatives had their struggles Friday at HP Lanes. But all agreed it was a learning experience.
GlenOak junior Anthony Vacanti felt his 157 in Game 1 “kind of put me out of it almost right away.”
“The second and third games were OK, but not up against the best bowlers in Ohio,” said the two-handed right-hander. “Nerves got to me a little bit, but I just didn’t make good shots.”
Vacanti finished with a 568 series, good for 42nd overall in the 106-player field. He added games of 198 and 213 to his opener.
“I practiced on the shot once at an AMF house and twice at a Brunswick house and they played completely different at both. Then (Thursday) I practiced here, and they played different,” Vacanti said. “I had to move far left today and play steeper angles. It was pretty much the same over all three pairs.”
In the new OHSAA format used this season for the first time, each qualifying team bowled on its own pair of lanes with one of the individual qualifiers — a total of six players on the pair. In the past, the 16 individual qualifiers bowled together on two pairs, alternating between them.
Teams and the individual moved pairs each game, with the team using the fourth pair to bowl all three of its Baker System games.
“He didn’t bowl badly. There were some shots where we had trouble with consistency,” GlenOak coach Jossett Petrick said. “Some shots just weren’t coming off his hand the way he wanted them to.”
Vacanti admitted he didn’t bowl much in the offseason, especially during the summer months.
“I’m going to change that this year and, hopefully, get quite a bit better,” Vacanti said, urging his teammates to do the same. “I want to get back here, but with the team. We’ve got four starters coming back.
“I knew I had the ability to make it here. When I get back, it won’t be as stressful because I know I’ve made it. Hopefully, the team also knows that.”
Petrick had hoped that the Golden Eagles would make a group trip this season.
“We definitely had the ability to do it. We just need to work a little more maybe on our mental game,” Petrick said after her team qualified for district. “We have to make more consistent shots, work on picking up spares, which I tell them all the time.
“Also cutting out a little bit of the joking around and be a little more serious during practice. That comes with maturity. I think we’re really looking forward to a promising season next year.”
LANES WERE INTERESTING
Hubbard junior Garrett Brajkovich called the lanes “interesting” for his first appearance.
“It was something new for me and not the way I’m used to playing them,” said Brajkovich, who finished with 553, with a high game of 212. “I’m used to moving more left and just send it out. It just didn’t give me a good look.”
Akron Ellet senior two-hander Cleveland Mancino, making his first appearance, agreed the lanes were “weird” for him. He finished with 494, including a 139 his final game.
“I had a good time and I can’t ask for more. But the lanes were kind of tight and spotty a little bit,” Mancino said. “It kind of reminded me of Clutch’s (Lanes) house shot … if I got the ball to far outside, it was gone, and if I went inside I would miss left.
“There was a fine line out there. I felt like I threw the ball well, but I just didn’t carry well. It sucks.”
Justin Wagner, a Cuyahoga Falls sophomore, finished with 499, also with a 139 his final game.
“I made a lot of bad shots, The day went fine, the lanes were fine, but the shot was different from what I was expecting,” Wagner said. “It was hooking more than I was expecting.
“It was fun, but there’s really nothing else I can say. It was a good experience to learn from.”
Brajkovich may have summed up the atmosphere part of the state tournament best.
“I’ve been to some tournaments, but never with a crowd this big. You look at bowling like it’s not that big of a sport,” Brajkovich said. “I beg to differ. This is what’s it’s going to be like, and you’ve got to battle.”
NOTEBOOK: Tickets sold for Friday’s session were 750, with 694 checking in through the doors. … The coaches were asked to vote on a possible format change. Currently, teams bowl three individual games and three Baker System games during qualifying. A proposal was made to raise the number of Baker games to five along with the three individual games. The best-of-five Baker match play would remain. If coaches agree, the proposal next would go to the OHSAA Board of Control for possible implementation. … Game 3 had the highest average per team of 967.63, with Game 2 being at 944.44. … State champion Beavercreek had the high individual game with 1,145 in Game 3, while Sunbury Big Walnut posted the high Baker game of 278 in Game 3. Ashland had the high Baker total of 654, with a 236 in Game 1. Big Walnut’s 278 came after a 149 in Game 1. … Three of the four opening match-play round matchups went to five games, with Big Walnut’s win over Hilliard Davidson being the exception. It went just four games. There were no three-game sweeps in any round. … The cut to make the top 15 for All-Ohio was at 632, with 24 players shooting 600 or higher. The top five were all 700 series — with all being first-team All-Ohio.