By BILL SNIER
CANTON — Joe Altimore III went through a sleepless Saturday night thinking about where his team would be bowling Sunday during the OHSAA Division I Stark girls sectional tournament.
It came down to which side of Eastbury Bowling Center his Perry High School girls would be on for the event.
“I was worried about being on this (the high side, lanes 25-36). In two years, only one team has (advanced to district) off of this side,” Altimore said. “I walk in and, OK, you worry about which teams you are paired with and you’re looking on racks to see what they’re throwing.
“I thought we should be OK.”
The Panthers, who have made eight straight state appearances, took their first step toward a ninth by capturing the 14-team sectional with 3,779 total pinfall, including a tourney-high 1,172 during the six-game Baker System block (195.3 average).
Joining the Federal League champion Panthers will be Green (3,776), which has made the cut to the top eight at state the past four years; Suburban League champion Wadsworth (3,452); and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary (3,339), which will be making its first state team appearance after edging Wooster by four pins for the final spot.
“This side played significantly tighter, which I’m good with. If we would have been on the other side, it would have been a little more open,” Altimore said. “I’m excited. I didn’t sleep worrying about about being over here.”
For the second straight year, Wooster will send three individuals to district, including sophomores Cadence Anna and Mackenzie Jentes, who both will be making their second straight district appearances, and sophomore Aubrey Knopp along with Canton McKinley senior Kalin Ladely.
The format was three regular games and six Baker games, with the top four teams and four individuals not on advancing teams earning district spots on the OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern.
The Northeast District girls tourney is at 10 a.m. Feb. 24 at Roseland Lanes in Oakwood.
BATTLE FOR FIRST
Perry didn’t take the lead until after the first two Baker games when the Panthers shot 233 and 226.
“We moved to Lanes 25 and 26 where we just figured it out at the end of one game (Game 3, when the Panthers shot 935) and went right back on top of it literally,” Altimore said. “We had nothing for the first five frames and then we make big moves and bang, bang, bang, we have a pair of five baggers. So let’s go.”
That big surge were the only 200s of the Baker round for the Panthers, who won by just three pins despite shooting 178 and 177 their last two Bakers compared to Green’s 210 and 180.
Junior Arielle Clapper led the Panthers with a runner-up 617 series, with senior Kiele Poling adding 530 and senior Jenna Boyer at 522. Senior Avery Wilt also had 493 despite tearing her thumb and having to sit out most of the Baker round.
“Kiele could have been about 50 pins higher,, but had at least four nine counts,” Altimore said. “Avery was a little right and a little left, but she was just getting dialed in when her thumb tore open. It was hurting her, but not to the point where she couldn’t do it. After the two Baker games we decided to sit her out the rest of the way to let it heal.”
Altimore felt the tighter conditions played into his team’s games.
“We’re better when they’re tighter because we have good rotation and roll and we can stay there longer,” Altimore said. “If they start to open up and really hook, other teams can throw it harder and I really only have a couple of girls who can really bring the heat.”
Green remained on top during the opening three-game set with 2,673, finishing 66 pins ahead of Perry. But after opening the Baker round with a 201, the Bulldogs shot 183 in Game 2 and just 132 in Game 3.
“We started kind of slowly (843 in Game 1), but toward the end we were able to put it together,” Green coach Alex Snowberger said. “We were making spares most of the day, so it was a good day. Most of the girls were able to keep the ball around the pocket.”
Senior Madison Perrine led the Bulldogs and the tournament with a 638 series and junior Brooklyn Krager added 585, to finish third overall. Senior Alyssa Gehring contributed 511 and junior Miah Adkins had 485.
“We had two of our girls start right on the gutter today. We’re still trying to get them to feel comfortable moving right and right,” Snowberger said. “But our starting pair (Lanes 19-20) was weird. We shot 843 there and then we hit in Bakers and it seemed to get tighter for some reason so we had to move farther right.
“When we bowled the Eastbury tournament here, Brooklyn was playing 15 (board) and today she was around four or five, but she had the pocket under control. Maddie can play a bit left of anyone in the house and she is going to dominate.”
Was it disappointing to come up short of a win?
“The girls wanted to win it and the parents wanted us to win it,” Snowberger said. “But that 132 in Bakers just killed us.”
The Bulldogs girls will join their boys team, which qualified Saturday, at districts.
THE LAST TWO SPOTS
Wadsworth never dropped below the fourth spot the whole day, moving up to third in Game 3 of the regular games. The Grizzlies had a 113-pin gap back to fourth place.
“It was exciting for a while. But for us, our spare shooting for some reason was a problem,” Wadsworth coach Heidi Steele said. “We were struggling with it all day. It was the same in the Bakers and the three games.
“I didn’t see a ton of difference in the pattern from what we’ve seen before. I think mentally, they thought it was different, but it really wasn’t.”
Sophomores Cassidy Myers and Aubrey Masada led the Grizzlies with 523 and 519 series, respectively.
Wadsworth’s hold on the No. 3 position had dropped to 20 pins after the opening three games.
“I had two people keeping an eye out, but I finally told the girls to just go play our game, and we did,” Steele said. “I’ve always said our girls bowl best having fun and keeping their emotions out of everything. We just have to enjoy the moment we’re in at that time.”
For the Irish, this marks their first district team appearance in the program’s 20-plus seasons, the last 15 under coach Edward Swejk. Senior Emma Ariyajasingam was the first girls individual to reach district a year ago in Division II.
“We’ve had a couple of boys advance to state, but I’m just glad to make it as a team finally,” Swejk said. “We missed a lot of spares, but our two top girls threw a lot of strikes in the ninth and 10th frames of Bakers to bail us out for a couple of 150s. If we don’t do that, we don’t make it.”
The big surge came in Game 3 of Bakers when St.V-St. M shot a 233 Baker game — with an open in the first frame after shooting 137 and 149 their first two games.
“We had a three- and five-bagger with that open in the first,” Swejk said. “We had one good Baker that really brought everything back after we lost 60 pins in that first Baker game. I told them that if we averaged 160s in Bakers we could make it, and they did that (963 for 160.5 average).
Ariyajasingam led the Irish with a 572 series and Mia Schmoekel added 500 along with senior Regan Zdanowiz with 474. It was Ariyajasingam and Zdanowicz who did the late striking work during the Bakers to carry the team to the qualifying spot.
FALLING SHORT
For the second year in a row, Wooster will send three girls to district as individuals. The Generals missed the cut to district by 11 pins last season and just four this time.
Wooster had to absorb a 105 substitute score in Game 2 which proved to be the difference.
“They tried, but they just could make it. It always comes down to one game doesn’t it?” Wooster coach Tracie Leiendecker said. “The good thing for us is we are all sophomores with one junior and no graduating seniors, It is what it is.
“We weren’t 100 percent on our spares. To express how important that is is impossible. It’s always going to come down to that … always. They’re going to remember the last miss in the 10th frame of the last game. I know what is at the next level, and we’re not ready for that.
“We’re young and we’ll continue to grow. My goal was to average 150 as a team and we averaged 158.8, so I couldn’t ask for any more from the girls.”
Anna (519) was the top individual qualifier, finishing tied for eighth overall. Jentes had 497 and Knopp, making her first district appearance, had 482, taking the final spot by eight pins over her teammate, junior Ainsley Shetler (474).
McKinley sends an individual to district for the second straight season, with Ladely shooting 493 for the spot.
The work continues this week.
“Bakers are won or lost in districts and at state on spare shooting, so we need to make spares,” Snowberger said. “She have to keep the girls invested the whole time.”
NOTEBOOK: Green turned in the high team game of 968 in Game 3, with only two 900 games being shot. … With St.V-St.M shooting the high Baker of 233, there were only six total 20s shot during Bakers — two each by Perry and Green. … There were two 600 series and nine 500 series shot individually. … Ariyajasingam had the high individual game of 238 in Game 3, followed by Clapper (225), Perrine (224) and Krager (223). …All district tournament tickets can be purchased online only. There will be no cash accepted at the door. … Our thanks to Ray Stalnaker and the Eastbury staff for their assistance.