By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — There were a couple of firsts, some time for preparation and a solid way to say goodbye.
Several storylines highlighted the first Stark County USBC Mini-City Youth Tournament on Saturday at Park Centre Lanes.
The event started with singles and doubles competition, with the 66-player field (33 teams) rolling both doubles and singles — six total games. Sunday, many in the field will return for trios competition and the conclusion of all-events scoring. Scholarships are being awarded to top finishers in each of the division categories — 18U, 15U and 12U — in the handicapped event.
DOUBLES
A pair of 15-year-old North Canton Hoover High School freshmen who saw limited varsity time turned in the top doubles score overall and in the 15U division, with Hendrick Livengood and Aiden Chetto teaming up for 1,505 total pinfall, topping their division by just six pins over Grafton’s Ariana Fedyszyn and Ondreas Fedyszyn (1,499).
“We’ve been friends forever and just decided if we were going to do this, we were going to do it together,” said Livengood, who finished with 644 actual, including a high game of 245.
It actually was a rough start for Chetto, a two-handed righty who had a pair of 7-10 splits within his first four frames of Game 1, finishing with 142. But he came on to shoot 422 over his last two games to finish with 564.
“I changed to two hands just over a year-and-a-half ago,” Chetto said. “I just wasn’t getting enough on the ball with one-hand.”
Livengood, a conventional right-hander, said the pair “just did our own thing … we just ended up bowling real well.”
The two will continue to bowl during the summer looking toward to next season as the Vikings lose five seniors, including Chase Wensel, who turned in the high game of the tournament with 280 and the high actual series of 727.
Another graduating senior will be Jackson’s Donivin Gillono, who teamed with Polar Bears freshman Jasper Dingler to top the 18U division with 1,500, just five pins behind the overall winners.
It was a big day for Gillono, who recorded his first 700 series, finishing with 709 scratch with a consistent series of 235, 229 and 245.
“This was the first time honestly I’ve gone into something and just wanted to bowl. I wasn’t really worried about anything,” said Gillono, who used all three of his Storm Physix balls during the day.
“I really didn’t even know there was singles involved. I didn’t find out until I got here.”
Dingler, who averaged 181.25 in the Stark County High School Bowling :Conference this season, also finished with 621. Gillono averaged 196.69.
“Sadly, Donny is graduating this year and he wanted to get some games in with me if I could,” Dingler said. “So we came out here and got it done.”
Gillono plans on bowling with Dingler and Alex Lovas during summer league at Park Centre. What about the future?
“Good question,” Gillono added. “I’m still figuring that out. I’m going to be bowling with Alex and Jasper and trying to help Alex the best I can. I’m really undecided what I’m going to be doing after that.”
Dingler and Gillono finished just five pins ahead of Perry’s Arielle Clapper and Jackson’s Rylee Dunn (1,495). Clapper had the high girls game of the day with 279 en route to a 634 series while Dunn had 617.
The Canton team of Palmer Boyd and Mikayla Tucker topped the 12U doubles division with 1,396, with James Wills and Mason Harter taking second with 1,273.
SINGLES
Louisville sophomore Trent Beard ran away with the singles competition, shooting a 642 actual series, but finishing with 853, 59 pins ahead of second-place Abigail Meffert (794 , a Lake senior who also rolled her first career 600 series.
“I was just basically hitting my mark and putting my ball in the right spot on the lanes,” said Beard, a right-hander who averaged 164.63 this season as a varsity player for the Leopards.
“I was just making good shots, staying around the second arrow. I moved a couple of boards left and played the same mark when we got to singles.”
Beard and partner Trevor Glaser finished eighth in doubles with 1,384.
“I had a pretty good season overall with a lot of 200 games and some new high games for me,” Beard said. “I’m probably going to work on my footwork and slowing down my shots for next season.”
This was farewell for Meffert, who will be attending Walsh University in the fall, but is unsure if she will attempt to bowl in college.
“It really feels good,” Meffert said about recording her first 600 (626) which included shooting a singles-round high of 258. “I put in a lot of hard work in practice to get there.
“I think my coach (Jeff Mowls) definitely helped me to focus a lot more. I don’t get into my head as much.”
Meffert said Mowls helped when she had the front seven strikes during a singles game.
“He just pulled me aside and said listen,” Meffert said. “He’s had his share of 300 games, so he knows.”
Meffert and her partner, Lake teammate Kaylee Holler, finished fourth in doubles with 1,436. Meffert shot 571 during that round.
“I put a little more pressure on myself because I was there for another person,” Meffert said. “I wanted to win for myself and for her. In singles, I was not as worried.”
Norton’s Madison Knox topped the 15U singles division with 766, followed by Grafton’s Ariana Fedyszyn with 758 and Livengood with 745.
Harter and Ondreas Fedyszyn tied for the top spot in the 12U division with 745, followed by Mikayla Tucker with 735.
NOTEBOOK: Sunday’s trio event begins at 2 p.m., with scores from singles, doubles and trios counting toward all-events. … Gavin Ritter also turned in his first 700 with 725 in doubles to finish two pins behind Wensel, followed by Gillono for the lone 700 series of the day. Green’s Brooklyn Krager had the high girls series in doubles and overall with 670. … The high boys game in singles was by Lake’s Zac Abbott with 255, along with 238. There were only seven games of 230 or higher in singles; 27 in doubles. … There were 25 series of 600 or higher in doubles. … Handicaps were based on 2022-23 averages. … All results are unofficial pending verification of averages for handicaps. … The tourney was bowled on the house oil pattern. There was no reoiling between doubles and singles. … We would like to thank Sue Vukmanovich and Taylor Devaul for their assistance in putting together this report.
