By BILL SNIER
COLUMBUS — The reign of one area state champion came to an end, while another team continues to look for its first opportunity to bowl for a title.
Both Nordonia and Green reached the match-play round of Saturday’s OHSAA Division I State Girls Bowling Championships at HP Lanes.
The Knights, the defending state champions, ended the Bulldogs hopes of getting out of the first round of match play with a 3-1 win in their opening match
But Nordonia’s hopes of defending its title fell short as eventual state champion Boardman topped the Knights 3-1 in the semifinals.
Both teams accounted for three All-Ohio berths — senior Elena Hughes and sophomore Brooklyn Krager for Green and junior Kaitlyn McNutt for Nordonia.
KNIGHTS’ DEFENSE ENDS
Boardman coach Justine Cullen called her semifinal match versus the Knights “the one that made me the most nervous.”
“We’ve won and we’ve lost against them and we knew what they were capable of,” Cullen said.
But the Knights, after a win over No. 5 seed Green, only had one game above 160 in their four-game loss to the Spartans.
“You know what? The run that these girls have had is unbelievable,” Nordonia coach Ty Lachowski said. “They have to hold their heads up high. Third in the state is not too shabby.
“If we carry a couple of those light hits, we would have been all right.”
That was the problem for the Knights against Boardman — a lack of carry.
“We were all feeling good. We had a good day last night and we were pumped and ready to go,” said McNutt, who finished 15th overall to gain the final honorable-mention All-Ohio spot with a 556 series.
“We bowled fantastic in practice and I’m just so proud of all of us. We all did incredible and put in a huge effort.”
It came after the Knights shot just 785 in the opening game to sit 13th overall in the 16-team field.
“We just relaxed and shook the nerves off,” Lachowski said. “They were a little nervous and pressing a little bit. But after that, they did all right.”
The Knights moved up to a tie for third after the opening three games and earned the No. 4 seed with 3,081 total pinfall, setting up the meeting with the Bulldogs.
Senior Abby Toronski was the key against Green, striking on all but one of her shots.
“She was on fire,” Lachowski said.
But the striking by the whole team slowed against Boardman.
“The left lane was a little tighter for us and the right lane hooked more” Lachowski said. “The girls adjusted, and we did make good shots, Wwe just didn’t carry. But that’s part of bowling.”
McNutt agreed nerves were a factor early.
“We did feel the pressure coming in, being the state champions and wanting to get to the top again,” McNutt said. “We tried our best to get through it.”
The Knights, who also had Toronski shoot 561 to miss All-Ohio by one pin and senior Kolbey Lewin with 535, will lose three seniors.
“But we have experience with three other girls plus some JV players and incoming freshmen,” Lachowski said. “I’m going to miss my three seniors, but I think we hopefully can be right there. Just teach them how to make spares and we’ll be all right.”
As for McNutt, who finished 49th a year ago with a 505 series, practice in the offseason will be key.
“I did a lot of that over the summer to get to where I’m at today,” McNutt said. “I just tried to keep myself in line, kind of breathe and go along with it, taking each shot one at a time.
“Every shot is a new frame, and I just kept pushing to keep going, hit my mark and picked up my spares.”
SEEKING ANSWERS
Meanwhile, Green coach Alex Snowberger is looking for answers to get his team out of the first round of match play.
The Bulldogs have made the cut the last four years straight, twice as the No. 1 seed. They have yet to reach the semifinals after finishing sixth this season.
“Nordonia made just about every single one-pin spare they had and we missed a lot of spares,” Snowberger said. “It just came down to execution and executing shots. We didn’t do that today.”
Hughes led the Bulldogs’ effort with a 587 series to finish 11th overall and Krager added 570 to finish 13th — both making honorable mention All-Ohio. Junior Madison Perrine also had 556 to miss a berth by seven pins.
“I think we started out pretty nervous, but the girls started feeling better after the second game,” Snowberger said, after the Bulldog shot 937 to jump from 11th into the top eight. “We also moved right and made all our spares in the third game. I think we missed maybe two or three makables in the game.
“There was quite a bit of friction right. But if you missed the friction and kept it inside, you had no idea what the ball was going to do. One time, it would go past the head pin and the next, it would just spin.”
Krager and Hughes said the shot played differently during Friday practice sessions.
“I found my shot toward the end, and I just had to keep my confidence throughout,” Krager said. “My coach has really been supportive during the whole thing. It all worked out I guess.”
“When we had the shot out the other day, it would drift off in the gutter to the right of six,” Hughes said. “I was able to play up five or six today and get that back to the pocket.”
It marked Hughes’ fourth and final state appearance and her best. She previously finished 19th in 2022 with a 559 series.
“I haven’t placed in my other three years so this meant a lot,” said Hughes, who will bowl at the University of Akron, where she will major in pre-med dermatology. “I felt more relaxed today because I’ve gotten used to the energy here.”
Snowberger knows something is missing, but what?
“We have come the last two years and been surprised when we show up even though we’ve practiced on the shot and did everything off of that,” Snowberger said. “I have to do a better job of preparing the team for state, That’s what my goal is.”
Krager sees a problem with Baker System games.
“We need to practice Bakers more. Just stay confident when we miss a spare,” Krager said. “You know the team is counting on you, but everyone loses confidence and shuts down when someone misses.
“We need to start being positive and focus on our shots more.”
The Bulldogs lose Hughes and Kyleigh Berisko to graduation, but have four players returning, led by Perrine and Krager.
“We still will have a pretty solid team next year,” Snowberger said. “We will be ready to run it back again.”