By BILL SNIER
NORTH CANTON — There were four different storylines that developed during Tuesday’s annual Park Centre Holiday Tournament:
- Lane choice during the boys division finals was “everything” to Lake High School head coach Jeff Mowls.
- Perry girls junior varsity coach Sarah Ritchey had to guide the Panthers through match play after head coach Joe Altimore III was forced to leave due to illness.
- GlenOak’s boys and girls varsity, both admittedly going through difficult first halves of the season, showed signs of returning to their solid 2023-24 play by finishing second in their respective divisions.
Lake defended its boys title in the event by using Lane 18 of the title pair at Park Centre Lanes to its advantage in a 3-2 win during the best-of-five Baker System championship finals over GlenOak.
Perry, which finished second a year ago to Triway’s girls, came back from a 222-184 loss in Game 1 of the championship finals to win the next three games for a 3-1 win over GlenOak.
The tournament, which was bowled on the 2025 OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern, featured two regular games and six Baker games during qualifying before the respective divisions were cut to the top six for best-of-five match play. The top two seeds — Lake and GlenOak for the boys and Perry and GlenOak for the girls — earned first-round byes, with 13 boys teams (including a pair of Perry junior varsity squads) and 11 girls squads (including a Perry JV team) in the field.
STREAKS MAKE IT TWO IN A ROW
Lake shot 257 during its final qualifying Baker game to take the boys division No. 1 seed with 3,078, just nine pins ahead of GlenOak.
“Lane choice (with the higher seed) was everything for us. That’s what we were playing for,” said Mowls, who is in his first year as head coach after leading the girls team to its first state appearance a year ago.
The Blue Streaks also turned in the high Baker qualifying set of 1,203 as the only team to average 200.
After its first-round bye, Lake faced No. 4 seed Jackson in the semifinals, and swept past the Polar Bears 3-0 with no Baker game under 170.
“We had to battle the lanes all day. We really haven’t seed this condition, and they played a lot different than I thought they would,” Mowls said. “We had to make decisions on which balls to use, where to stand and adjust them. From there, they did the rest.”
In the title match, Lake was trailing until late in Game 1 against GlenOak. But the Eagles left a split in the 10th frame to give the Streaks an opening.
Lake then ran off five strikes in a row — the final three from anchor Zachary Abbott — to earn a 197-190 win on Lane 18.
Game 2 went to GlenOak, as the Eagles had three strikes in a row early for a 192-170 win as Lake struck just twice on Lane 17.
“I liked the way Lane 18 looked and I knew we were struggling on 17 and so were they,” Mowls said. “Lane 18 just looked better, but that’s why you play for that No. 1 seed … lane choice.”
Back on Lane 18 for Game 3, Lake earned a 204-189 win, before falling in Game 4 233-195 as the Golden Eagles ran off four strikes in a row and a double.
“I really thought the left lane was the better lane for us when we started,” GlenOak head coach Jossett Petrick said. “If we don’t have that unfortunate break in the 10th frame of Game 1, we were going at a 200 pace and win that.
“It creates momentum. The boys always do better when they energize themselves, stick together as a team and cheer each other on. It definitely helps.”
Game 5 saw GlenOak leave a pair of splits among their three open frames while Lake remained clean until leaving a split on the second ball in the 10th frame for a 225-170 win.
“It was different people at different times for us all day,” said Mowls, whose team was led in qualifying by Abbott’s 433 series and 390 from Brady Tompot and Benjamin Venus.
“They basically picked up their spares and made good shots. There were times that if we had better spare shooting we could have won and been done with a match. But we missed single-pin spares and that drives me nuts.”
After a disappointing first half, Petrick sees the light at the end of the tunnel for GlenOak.
“I really didn’t expect to get this far. It’s been a rough season and a bit disheartening. I saw this season playing out so much differently for them,” Petrick said. “After we lost our first four matches, I pulled the boys aside, trying to figure out what’s going on.
“Have we already checked out? Are we worried about what we’re doing next after graduation instead of being in the here and now? I was trying to motivate them and get their heads back in the game.”
Petrick expected GlenOak, with three seniors in there starting lineup, to “fall right back into place and start striking” to start the season.
“I guess it was my bad for thinking that,” added Petrick, whose team was led by senior Xzavier Gardener’s 451 and 403 from sophomore Braxton Burns. “But we’re getting there now. We also did well in our last tournament and the boys are really beginning to jell. I see the rest of the season going well.
“All day today we were very consistent. We really didn’t have any big games, but they stayed steady and that’s when we are at our best.”
Lake, with a pair of tournament wins, also looks for more in the second half. The Streaks reached match play in three events, but only completed the task in two.
“That third one still haunts me. We were the best team in the building, but we couldn’t throw Bakers together — and that’s not good,” Mowls said. “But we have built on that in practice, bowling Bakers and working on that. I have a set lineup, stuck to it and it’s working.”
BEING PERRY
The Panthers girls had a much easier road to the No. 1 seed, building a 246-pin lead after the two regular games and shooting a tourney-high 1,019 in Bakers to top the field by 331 pins.
But Altimore, following the completion of qualifying, left due to illness with Ritchey taking over the reins during match play.
“I have to admit I was a little bit stressed,” said Ritchey, who was busy with the Perry JV girls during qualifying and saw little of what the varsity was doing. “But I was pretty much OK. It’s not like the girls don’t know what they are doing. They are good at making their own moves.
“I was just there for extra mental support.”
Arielle Clapper led the Panthers in qualifying with 426, with Jenna Boyer adding 366, Alex Devore 351 and Avery Wilt 338. Senior Kiele Poling was out due to illness.
The Panthers struggled in their semifinal match against No. 4 seed Canton McKinley before winning Game 5 177-162 for a 3-2 win.
“In our first match, we had quite a few lower games (149, 163, 154), but I just reminded them that’s not us,” Ritchey said. “They agreed it’s not us. So they got a fire under their own butts and got it going.”
But it was the Golden Eagles who came out firing in Game 1 of the title match, winning 222-184.
“After that game, I just told them to get focused,” Ritchey said. “Again, that’s not us.”
The Panthers then went on to win three straight, including shooting 232 in Game 3 with strikes on six of their first seven shots.
“After that game, I looked at all of them and said there is no reason we can’t do this every game,” Ritchey said.
GlenOak coach Robert Hawkins knew there was an intimidation factor at work against Perry.
“It’s tough to bowl against them. They’re just a dynamo and used to being in that position,” said Hawkins,, whose team also fell to Perry in the 2023 Holiday tourney semifinals. “We gave it to them in Game 1, but they came back strong. That’s their maturity in tournaments and how many times they’ve been there. It showed. Congratulations to them.
“It’s David vs. Goliath when we face them, but we got a little blood this year.”
But like his wife’s boys team, Hawkins admitted it has been a disappointing start for the Golden Eagles girls.
“It’s been disappointing. After losing just one girl (to graduation), this is not what we expected,” Hawkins said. “But this is how we should be bowling, and I came into today with zero expectations.
“Second place after Games 1 and 2 and going into Bakers and pulling away from Green and knowing we didn’t have to bowl in the first round … this is awesome. The funny thing is, they knew exactly where they were and they never bowl well when they know where they’re at. That was our problem last year — bowling under pressure.”
GlenOak was led by Aurora Stergis with 385 and Kaidence Jackson with 312.
“Today, they held it together and bowled great. As they get older, their power and speed go up, but along with that comes timing issues that we’re trying to figure out,” Hawkins said. “We did that today.
“They are starting to learn the sport a little more. Today was fun and it was great to see them smile. It was the push we needed for the second half.”
Let the run to the postseason begin.
NOTEBOOK: Jackson’s Jackson Langton led the entire field with a 482 two-game series, including a tourney-high 268, finishing 31 pins ahead of Gardener. … Ten boys shot 400 or better during qualifying. … Lake led boys qualifying with 3,078. Jackson led after the two opening regular games, shooting a tourney-high 1,042 in Game 2. … Perry’s junior varsity No. 1 team finished ahead of the varsity in final qualifying by 37 pins. Both were eliminated in first-round matches. … Hoover earned the final qualifying spot by just 28 pins over Green, shooting 225 in its final Baker game to the Bulldogs’ 161. … Green’s Madison Perrine led the girls division with 452, the second-best score overall between both divisions. She also had the girls high game of 258. She finished 26 pins ahead of Clapper. Only three girls shot 400 or better. … Perry led qualifying with 2,785 and had the lone 900 team game in the division. … McKinley and Green tied for the No. 4 seed with 2,339, but the Bulldogs earned the lane-choice advantage by virtue of a higher Baker game during qualifying (185). … Perry also claimed the overall combined team qualifying total with 5,684. GlenOak was second with 5,523. … Norton was the lone non Stark County Conference team to participate. … Our thanks to tournament directors Charles Smith, Michael Emerick, Sue Vukmanovich and Nathan Sommers for their assistance with this report.
PARK CENTRE HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT
(Tuesday, at Park Centre Lanes, North Canton)
BOYS
Round of six
(Best-of-five Baker System match play)
No. 6 North Canton Hoover (172-185-160-194-203) d. Perry JV1 (211-165-179-179-178) 3-2
No. 4 Jackson (209-188-225-196-234) d. Perry (246-192-159-139-178) 3-2
Semifinals
No. 1 Lake (176-170-180) d. Jackson (163-134-159) 3-0
No. 2 GlenOak (182-196-213) d. North Canton Hoover 148-166-143 3-0
Championship
Lake (197-170-204-195-225) d. GlenOak (190-192-189-233-170) 3-2
All-tournament team: Jackson Langton (Jackson) 482; Xzavier Gardener (GlenOak) 451; Jason Bidinger (Green) 436; Zachary Abbott (Lake) 433; Haydan Lambes (Perry JV1) 428; Aiden Chetto (Hoover) 424
GIRLS
Round of six
(Best-of-five Baker System match play)
No. 3 Lake (121-159-149-180) d. No. 6 Canton Central Catholic (133-120-132-128) 3-1
No. 4 Canton McKinley (135-195-172-159) d. No. 5 Green (161-127-157-128) 3-1
Semifinals
No. 1 Perry (177-149-163-154-177) d. Canton McKinley (138-161-115-207-162) 3-2
No. 2 GlenOak (155-169-183) d. Lake 152-107-132
Championship
Perry (184-198-232-180) d. GlenOak (222-154-143-128) 3-1
All-tournament team: Madison Perrine (Green) 452; Arielle Clapper (Perry) 426; Maria Wise (Canton McKinley) 412; Aurora Stergis (GlenOak) 385; Jenna Boyer (Perry) 366; Rylee Dunn (Jackson) 365
Bill, Lake Boys beat Jackson in the semi finals at the Holiday tournament, not Hoover.
It has been fixed.