By BILL SNIER
OAKWOOD — After a record-setting day among Division II boys teams Friday, what could the Division I boys do for an encore?
How about another 300 game — the third of the weekend — and seven 4,000 team series, with the cut to earn an individual qualifying spot being 687 or higher and six 700 series.
Boardman came storming back during its final two Baker System games to capture the title during Sunday’s OHSAA Division I Northeast District boys tournament at Roseland Lanes.
The Spartans, who shot 258 and 236 during that final run, finished with 4,580 with a 1,354 Baker round (225.6) average — including a 176 in Game 4.
“After we dumped that 176, we felt at least we qualified. We knew where we stood,” said Boardman coach John Lukansky, whose team will be making its third state appearance in four seasons.
“The last two games, they did what they do and made good shots. It was a good day.”
Cleveland St. Ignatius, which had from Game 2 of the regular games until those final two Bakers, was second with 4,548, followed by North Ridgeville (4,266), Ravenna (4,212) and Cuyahoga Falls (4,090), which clinched the final spot by just nine pins over Lake (4,081).
The top five teams and top five individuals not on participating teams earned state berths during the tourney, which included three regular team games and six Baker games.
Parma Padua Franciscan freshman Zachary Mayne led the tournament and individual qualifiers with a 716 series, followed by Perry junior right-hander Eli Nave (713), who was runner-up after opening the tourney with the third 300 of the weekend; Jackson senior Alex Lovas (703); Stow-Munroe Falls sophomore Trent Tucholski (699); and Avon sophomore Bennett Ernst (687).
The OHSAA Division I Boys State Championships are set for March 8 at HP Lanes in Columbus.
HOLDING ON
After the first two Baker games, Cuyahoga Falls was sitting fourth and had a 99-pin lead on Lake. Then the Black Tigers shot 170 and 135 to reduce their lead to just 28 heading into the final two Bakers.
“That’s a good question,” Cuyahoga Falls coach Dan Stucyznski responded when asked what happened those two games. “We missed a couple of spares and then we got in our heads. But we able to lose it and bring it back in games five in six.
“We only had one open that final Baker game … and we knew what Lake was doing.”
The Black Tigers shot 207 and 201 those final two Bakers while Lake had 225 and 202 to hold on to the spot.
“Spares shooting was a problem. We had a couple of tough shots on first balls and I think it got to us and we missed the spares,” said Stucyznski, whose team will be making its third state trip and first since 2017. “We knew it was coming, and we worked on it, but it still got us.
“But, hey, we still made it. We’ll work on spares and Bakers every day until then.”
Sophomore Jonathan Rasch led the Black Tgers with a 654 series, followed by seniors Adam Walters (628) and Robert Rompf (611). Junior Justin Wagner, who qualified for state a year ago as an individual, had 526.
Lake coach Jeff Mowls was not watching what Cuyahoga Falls was doing its last two games.
“I bowl the pins and let them fall where they may,” Mowls said. “We just weren’t high enough.
“Lanes 49 and 50 just tore us up. The shot just wasn’t playable at all. You could find those nine pins anywhere, probably in the last game when we missed 7- and 10-pin spares. We still shot 200, but … “
Lake struggled with a 907 in Game 3 after shooting 1,011 in Game 2.
RACE FOR FIRST
St. Ignatius had three regular games of 1,100 or higher, with a tourney-high 1,132 in Game 2 when not one Wildcat shot under 200.
“We knew we had a big lead going into Bakers (108 pins) and we wanted to get everyone in to bowl. We still had the lead after four,” St. Ignatius coach Jim Viets said. “We came out the last two games and they bowled them and we didn’t.”
The Wildcats were in a similar position a year ago in the district shooting 300 in Game 5 and then just 143 in Game 6 to finish second to New Philadelphia by 33 pins when the Quakers shot 258 their final Baker game.
“As long as you make the top five, that’s all that counts. It’s the first time in school history that we have made it back-to-back,” Viets said. “Some of the other coaches watching remarked that we were just so consistent.
“Same style, same balls and they just fed off each other all day. But the breaks just kill you. We had a good rhythm going after three games, have about a 30-minute break and come out and shoot 190. Last year, we had just 158 so it was better, but we had to get it going again.”
Sophomore Teague Green led the Wildcats with a 702 series, followed by junior Mason Melgaard (694), senior Grady Wilson (691) and senior Tyler Liebert (621), Sophomore Cooper Wilson had 468 in just two games.
Boardman shot 1,109 to lead after Game 1, but was chasing Ignatius the rest of the day until the final two games.
“We had a great year, finishing first or second in every tournament we bowled. We wanted to win this for the kids, but it’s a fine line how hard you push,” Lucansky said. “Going into Bakers, we told them we’re where we want to be, but not ultimately where we wanted to be.
“I think that was enough to give them a little motivation.”
Sophomore Ben Hildebrand led the Spartans with 713, tying Nave for runner-up honors but losing on a high-game tiebreaker (300-263). Senior Don Bagdassarian added 685 and juniors Jessy McCutcheon and Chase Realty added 632 and 628, respectively for the Spartans, who failed to reach match play during the 2024 state championships.
“We have to get back to working on spares. We missed some that we shouldn’t have,” Lucansky said. “We just have to stick to basics and work on the things that work for us.”
MOVING UP AND ON
Ravenna, which returned to Division I this season after making its lone state appearance in 2023 as a Division II team, was ninth after Game 1 and eighth after Game 2 before shooting 1,119 in Game 3 to jump into the top five. The Ravens then shot 1,169 in Bakers (194.8 average) to hold their spot.
“This is just a team’s team. The have all worked together and picked each other up. This is just the way they’ve been the last month or so,” Ravenna coach Kelly Champ said. “The seniors have really stepped up. They are just a team.”
Knowing her team was moving up a division, Champ was not confident of another state run.
“We had a rough January with 10 matches in 16 school days and we finished third in a tough conference (Metro Athletic),” Champ said. “If you would have asked me at the beginning of the season if this was possible, I would have said no.
“But they just persevered, worked, put the time in and here we are. We kept the practices kind of light and not so grinding. They just kind of coach each other and kind of make me irrelevant sometimes.”
Seniors Jacob Stefansic and Carson Schueller each shot 672 to lead the Ravens and senior Mark Jones added 606.
North Ridgeville, which will be making its fourth state appearance and first since 2015, was led by senior Joshua Reffert’s 704 series, followed by senior Dominic Sprungl with 621 and junior Jakob Holland with 592.
INDIVIDUAL RUNS
Four of the five state individual qualifiers were individual district qualifiers, with Tucholski being the only advancer off a non-qualifying team.
Nave excited the crowd with 300 out of the gate — the first of his bowling career. Two 300s were shot during the Division II boys district on Friday.
“Actually, the pressure was worse my last game,” said Nave, who finished with just 176 on Lanes 29-30 after sitting at 537 after two and will be making his first state appearance. “Lane 30 just didn’t hook at all, and I was shooting over the spot where I shoot at my 7-pins.
“But the other lanes were about the same as I practiced on at (AMF) Hall of Fame so I knew where I was going overall.”
Lovas almost duplicated Nave’s effort, leaving only a 1-2-4-10 washout in Game 1 — which he converted for 274.
“Really, the only problems for me were spares. I only had two opens all day,” Lovas said. “My first pair was great, but the second pair, the right lane was hooking way less. But the third game I was watching the Wadsworth kid’s ball take off, so I went back to where I was in Game 1.
“I just have to focus on my mental game … not think about anything else except what I’m doing and throwing. This is just great.”
Mayne, in his first varsity season, shot 277 in Game 2 and was at 523 after two games before being derailed by a 193 in Game 3.
Ernst earned the final individual spot by nine pins over Lake senior Brady Tompot.
But coaches emphasized spares will be key at the next level.
If anyone knows that it is Viets, whose team missed the cut to match play at state a year ago by just one pin after shooting 163 during its final Baker game.
“We had a gutter on a five-count first ball. Every pin counts, and that’s what I tell them,” Viets said. “It’s all about spares.”
NOTEBOOK: Attendance Sunday was at 550 fans after the first two days of the Division II district drew a combined 700. … There were five 1,100 games and 14 1,000 games overall, with Olmsted Falls (4,012) and Amherst Steele (4,001) failing to advance. … Wadsworth, which topped, the Stark sectional finished ninth (3,992, 98 pins out, and GlenOak (3,935) was 10th. … Boardman had the two top Baker games of 258 and 257. … The Division I girls close out district weekend at 10 a.m. Monday at Roseland Lanes with 19 teams and 19 individuals again competing for five state berths.