By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Consistency and covering spares.
Those have been the keys to Wadsworth High School’s boys bowling team during their early-season run.
And when it comes to the defending Division I state champion Boardman girls, you could add adaptability to those other two aspects.
The Grizzlies and Spartans walked away with titles in their respective divisions Saturday during the 11th annual Muskingum Invitational high school bowling tournament at AMF Hall of Fame Lanes.
The Grizzlies, the No. 2 seed during the eight-team match-play round, claimed the title for the second straight year after winning from the No. 7 seed a year ago. They also have now gone back-to-back this season after claiming the Ravenna Raven Invitational last weekend at Spins Bowl-Kent.
“Consistency and covering spares was the key. The only time that we really got into any trouble is when we missed spares,” said Wadsworth coach George Steele after the Grizzlies swept past No. 8 seed Boardman 2-0 in the best-of-three Baker System championship finals.
“When we missed spares, we would go back into fundamentals and they would take care of business. It was just start to finish taking care of what we needed to take care of.”
The Spartans had just two regular-season matches and one tournament appearance coming into the event. They were the No. 1 seed at the Ohio State Division I Kickoff Invitational in Columbus before falling in the semifinals to Perry.
Saturday, after bowling on the low side of the center during qualifying, the girls match play was moved to the high side where the boys had bowled qualifying due to the center’s need for open lanes.
“I was most impressed with how we adapted moving to this side of the house,” Boardman coach Justine Cullen said after the top-seeded Spartans defeated No. 2 seed Fairport Harbor Harding 2-1 in the title match. “As you know, it’s tough to follow the boys. They kind of burned us out and we just couldn’t keep anything on the right side.
“In that situation, spares are big because, with strikes, you are going to get a couple of lucky ones.”
The event drew 24 boys and 23 girls teams to a packed center, with the 2025 OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern being used.
WADSWORTH’S RUN
The Grizzlies never dropped below second in the boys standings all day, trailing Perry before shooting 945 during the third regular game to take the lead before giving it back to Perry following the Baker portion.
The format was three regular games followed by three Baker System games.
“We’ve been able to establish our coaching staff. Adding Chris (Steele) has helped tremendously. He’s a younger guy and a Division I state champion so he relates to the younger guys and they can speak that language. It helps,” George Steele said.
“I put the fundamentals in the platform and it just works. Our whole group is underclassmen so we will be together for the next three years. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
The Grizzlies topped No. 7 seed Medina 2-1 in their opening match, winning Game 3 204-136. They then swept by No. 6 seed Jackson 2-0 to set up the battle with Boardman.
The Spartans, the No. 8 seed, struggled in the qualifying Bakers with 155 and 129 out of the gate, But they shot 219 the final game to earn the final match-play berth by just 16 pins over Twinsburg.
“We seem to like coming out of the eight hole … that’s where we won it from a couple of years ago,” Boardman coach John Lucansky said. “We stumbled through it all day. We kind of threw some bad Baker games at the end of qualifying and still got in.
“I don’t know … we just seem to come together when we get to this point. We just didn’t give up. We weren’t sure if we made the cut or not, but once we found out, everyone kind of picked it back up.”
Boardman opened by sweeping past No. 1 seed Perry, shooting 202 and 225. The Spartans also swept by No. 4 seed Lake to reach the finals.
After the Grizzlies took Game 1 of the title match 165-148, Game 2 was a battle into the 10th frame. Wadsworth ran off strikes in six of the first seven frames while Boardman had four in a row at one point.
It came down to the 10th frame, and the final ball. Wadsworth anchor Hayden Eagon-Mohlmaster needed nine or better to secure the win. He got nine for a 222-221 win and the title.
“He comes up big a lot for us. He really didn’t know what he needed … he thought he needed to strike,” Steele said. “After he left the pin, I pointed at him and that’s when the cheering started.”
Eagon-Mohlmaster led the Grizzlies during qualifying, finishing second individually with a 667 series. Cayden Sponsor added 620 and Nate Weyand had 593.
For Boardman, Chase Realty was high with 595 and Austin Rule added 558.
“I think we lost some energy in the championship match, which I don’t understand,” Lucansky said. “We did the same thing in Columbus (during a tournament) when we got there. Everyone got a little tighter. By this time, we should just go there and just grip it and rip it so to speak.
“But it’s going to be a good year for us I think.”
Steele has set the Grizzlies’ prime objective: win the Suburban League title.
“We’ve never done that … it seems like we’ve always had a hiccup somewhere along the way,” Steele said. “Our first step was against Twinsburg last week after finishing second to them at the preseason tournament and we beat them. We re-established ourselves there. After that, it’s sectional and districts and see where we go from there.”
BOARDMAN EARNS TITLE
Fairport also was looking for its second straight title after topping the Ravens Invitational field last week. Instead, the Skippers had their second straight runner-up finish in this event at AMF Hall of Fame after losing to Green a year ago.
It has been a rough week for the Skippers with heavy snows keeping schools closed until Friday.
“We had no practice all week due to the snow,” Fairport coach Jerry Rich said. “This was kind of a shake-off-the-rust day. It could have been better for sure, but you could see the lack of practice. But we’ll take second. Boardman is good.”
The Spartans earned the No. 1 seed with 3,257 total pinfall, finishing 290 pins ahead of the Skippers.
After losing their first game of Match 1 to East Canton 173-159, the Spartans shot 190 and 210 to advance with a 2-1 win. They also had to go three games to top Wadsworth 2-1, winning Game 3 149-115.
The title match also came down to Game 3, as the Spartans won the opener 149-143 and dropped Game 2 187-185 as Jillian Justinger struck out in the 10th to seal the win for the Skippers.
But the Spartans, after a split in the first frame, stayed clean the rest of the way for a 195-153 win as the Skippers had three splits and two other open frames.
“We really haven’t had a lot of opportunities early. Our December and January are packed,” Cullen said. “Marissa (Funk) and Kate (Greenaway) in particular have found another gear and I couldn’t be prouder.
“I’ve also got a couple of girls starting to come into their own. Emily Leonard was incredible today at leadoff. She had some highs and lows, but she brought it home for us. Jasmine Cortes also really stepped up in big ways with big frames, especially in Bakers, so it’s nice.”
Greenaway led the Spartans during qualifying, finishing as individual runner-up with 629, while Funk was third overall with 611. Leonard also addd 509.
Two-hander Mackenzie Pilny led the Skippers with 581 and Justinger added 555.
There was a delay in Game 3 due to a lane breakdown for the Skippers. In fact, the Spartans had completed the game while Boardman was just entering the sixth frame. This came after the Skippers had to wait while Boardman and Wadsworth completed a three-game semifinal that also was delayed due to a lane breakdown, leading to a lane move.
“It didn’t hurt us … it just made it obvious what we needed to do,” said Rich after his team threw two strikes after the title-match delay, but then suffered two open frames. “But coming over to the boys side was big. The lanes started hooking more and we don’t do that often. It was a good learning experience.
“Continuing to get better is all we want to do.”
Cullen said the Spartans are “getting a rhythm going.”
“We had a match Friday, this today and a match Monday so we’re going to get busy in a hurry,” Cullen said. “I’m just really proud of these girls.”
NOTEBOOK: In the boys division, Perry posted two of the three 1,000 games during qualifying en route to the No. 1 seed with 3,512, 16 pins ahead of Wadsworth. The Panthers shot 289 in their second Baker game for a 646 series during that portion — high of the day. …. Champion’s Mario Humenik topped the individuals with 668. Other members of the all-tourney team were Eagon-Mohlmaster, Fairport’s Eddie Krofcheck (663), Perry’s Dylon Parsons (659) and Massillon’s Nico Fromholtz (659). There were 14 600 series by the boys. … Kent Roosevelt’s Brayden Darkow had the high game with 276 in Game 2. … In the girls division, Boardman had the high Baker series of 608 en route to leading qualifying. …. East Canton earned the final match-play spot with 2,525 despite shooting just 121 in Game 3 of Bakers. It finished nine pins ahead of Austintown Fitch, which shot just 117 the final game. … Minerva’s Bailey Wood thrilled the crowd by running off the first 10 strikes in Game 3 before leaving a 10-pin en route to a tourney-high 289 and a 630 high girls series. Others on the all tourney team included Greenaway, Funk, Pilny and East Canton’s Logan McDonald (570). … Muskingum will hold its second tournament Dec. 14 at Legacy Lanes and Lounge in Coshocton.
