By BILL SNIER
DOVER — It has been five years since Claymont High School’s boys bowling team made the third of its three straight state appearance.
They are one step closer to returning.
The reigning Inter-Valley League champion Mustangs finished with 3,952 total pinfall to top a 16-team field during Wednesday’s East District Division II boys sectional at Boulevard Lanes.
Joining the Mustangs in the six-team district will be Indian Valley (3,920), Maysville (3,909), Barnesville (3,893), Minerva (3,830) and Monroe Central (3,517), which reached the next round by just 27 pins over Philo (3,490) after shooting just 113 during its final Baker System game.
The sectional was bowled in two shifts, with teams in closest proximity to the tournament site bowling early (12 teams), with the remaining teams (13) bowling in the afternoon shift. The top six teams overall along with the top six individuals who are not members of advancing teams moved on to district play.
The Division II East District is set for 10 a.m. Feb. 20 at Legacy Lanes and Lounge in Coshocton. The girls and boys will be bowling at the same time in that event, with six teams in each field. Two teams and two individuals in each division will advance to state from that district.
The format was three regular games and six Baker System games, with two teams bowling on each pair of lanes. The teams bowled all three regular games on the same pair before moving pairs to bowl all six Baker games, three on each lane of a pair. Lanes were re-oiled between shifts.
Three teams advanced out of each shift, with Maysville leading the afternoon session.
Individuals advancing include Philo sophomore Charles Himes, Tuscarawas Central Catholic senior Nick Willams, Harrison Central senior Kobie Tennis, Conotton Valley freshman Michael Lorello, Garaway senior Blaine Lintern and Buckeye Local freshman Michael Kovalski.
REACHING GOAL
Claymont, which trailed Indian Valley all morning, shot 160-179 during their final two Baker games to make up a 55-pin deficit on the Braves and claim the sectional title. The Mustangs finished with 1,072 for the Baker block (178.6 average), tying Minerva.
“We just covered our spares today, which was huge. But they also covered some splits,” Claymont coach Bill Young said. “They didn’t think; they just bowled. I don’t know if that makes any sense or not.
“This was our goal when these boys were freshmen. We kept telling them they’re going to get better. They worked hard outside the season to get to this point.”
Senior right-hander Brok Maurer led the Mustangs with a 685 series, fourth overall. Senio Riley Milburn added 621 and junior Nate Downing shot 582.
“Broc surprised me today. He was really going after that 700 series, but just came up short,” Young said. “Our guys kind of liked the low side better, but we kind of struggled early on the high side. By the time we got to the third Baker on each side, we were good.”
Reaching district was Indian Valley coach Brice Miller’s expectation entering the event. His team’s performance in Bakers was not.
“We kind of had a glitch in the second game when one our boys who got upset and we had to pull him,” Miller said after bowling the morning shift. “But our backups came through pretty well for us.
“We just fell short in Bakers and we had a couple of bad games. But this is about what I expected.”
Senior two-handed righty Colton Long led the Braves — and the tournament — with a 746 series, including a tourney-high 279 in Game 2.
“He had a big day. He’s just a good bowler, steady and he figures things out,” Miller said of Long. “He is just a solid, solid bowler.”
Also for the Braves, senior Brent Irwin added 663 and junior Dinger Cale shot 611.
The Braves will be seeking just their second state appearance, the last coming in 2020.
“The shot down at this end (low end) was running a little harder, particularly the last game when we had four splits,” Miller said, after the Braves shot just 140 in the final Baker game. They finished with 1,022 for the block (170.3 average).
Minerva, which held on to third place throughout the morning session, was fifth overall, led by senior Xander Mueller’s 663. Also for Lions, junior Owen Frazier had 554, senior Landon Jones 547 and junior Kendrick Keister 639.
“The boys did a great job yesterday. We went in with the mindset that we needed to average about a 185 to secure a spot at districts. For the day, they ended up averaging about 182,” Minerva coach Nick Embrogno said.
“We knew we had to perform well being paired with a strong team like Indian Valley. I think that helped motivate them, after they saw them shoot 1,044, they came back and shot a 997.”
Barnesville, which turned in the high Baker block of the day with 1,192 (198.6 average) in the afternoon, was led by junior Keegan Martin’s 620 series and 562 from junior Colton Hall.
Maysville, which also shot 1,180 during Bakers and led throughout the afternoon shift, was led by junior Conner Theisen’s 667 series.
Senior Owen Weckbacher led Monroe Central with 618.
The Lions also are looking toward sending the boys team to state for the first time while the girls have made multiple trips..
“Minerva has never had a full boys team attend state, so it would be an amazing accomplishment,” Embrogno said. “We are looking to improve our bakers and stop missing easy spares that cost us.”
INDIVIDUAL QUALIFIERS
Himes led individual qualifiers with a 742 series, one of two 700s shot on the day. It also was the first 700 for the sophomore, who opened with the afternoon session’s high game of 277 in Game 1.
Williams (687), Hennis (668), Lorello (634) and LIntern (592) came out of the morning shift, with the final qualifier Kovalski (588) bowling in the afternoon. He earned the final spot by 14 pins.
NOTEBOOK: With 25 teams overall, 13 bowled during the afternoon shift. … Indian Valley recorded the high regular game with 1,044, with Claymont shooting 1,031. Those were the only 1,000 games. … Tuscarawas Central Catholic turned in the high Baker game of 265 in Game 3 of the morning session. Barnesville was the lone team to shoot at least three 200 games, with only nine being shot overall in Bakers. … Conotton Valley finished 10th (3,341) as a team and Sandy Valley (3,211) was 12th. Cardinals coach Marc Fitzgerald will be resigning his position due to an employment change which entails moving to Cambridge.. … Along with the two 700 series, there were 11 total 600 series. … We would like to thank Steph Staggers for her assistance in compiling this report.