By BILL SNIER
OAKWOOD — Separated by just one pin heading into the final two Baker System games, Perry and defending state champion Boardman were in a battle for the district title.
Then the Panthers turned on the afterburners during the final two Baker games to leave no doubt.
Finishing with Baker games of 247 and 232, Perry rolled to the district title Monday during the OHSAA Division I Northeast District girls tournament at Roseland Lanes.
“I don’t even know how to put words to it,” said Perry coach Joe Altimore III, who will lead the Panthers to their ninth straight state tournament trip and 13th overall.
“We felt comfortable with what we worked on all year long to be prepared for these patterns and they were never phased by it.”
Perry finished with 4,080 total pinfall, including a high Baker block of 1,211 (201.83 average) to finish 127 pins ahead of second-place Boardman (3,953). Also earning state berths are Rocky River Magnificat (3,678), Green (3,606) and Wadsworth (3,576), which finished 54 pins ahead of 2023 state champion Nordonia (3,522) to earn the final spot.
Nineteen girls teams and 19 individuals competed, with the format being three regular games and six Baker games. The top five teams and top five individuals not on advancing teams will head to Columbus.
Highland sophomore Gracie Dunne was the top individual qualifier with a 620 series. She is joined by Norton senior Madalyn Mullett, Eastlake North freshman Hailey Sauric, Akron Hoban sophomore Toni Caputo and Walsh Jesuit senior Gabrielle Price.
The OHSAA Division I State Girls Championships are set for March 8 at HP Lanes.
TWO BATTLE FOR FIRST
After Magnificat took the lead after Game 1 with 935, Boardman moved to the front with 1,036 in Game 2. Perry took the lead in Game 3 with a 970 and held it the rest of the way.
“What I’ve been preaching all year long and we talked about it again today was you can only do something about the shot you’re about to make,” Altimore said. “You can’t do anything about the one you made a frame ago or the ones you haven’t thrown.
“You have to stay in the moment and make the best shots you can make. And they did that all day long. That was fun.”
Senior Kiele Poling led the Panthers with a 643 series, good for fourth overall. Juniors Alex DeVore and Arielle Clapper had 568 and senior Jenna Boyer added 556 for Perry.
Coming off a 157 in Game 4 of Bakers, the Panthers went big in those final two games to close it out.
“I knew we had an opportunity to do it. The right lane we came off of on the other pair was wishy on us,” Altimore said. “When we made a move right, it would jump and split, and when we moved back, it wouldn’t get there and wash out.
“I was hoping the last pair would be better. Then, all of a sudden, we have a five-bagger. It was crazy. When they let go of the ball, I knew it was a strike the second it left their hands. You just don’t know that sometimes. It was fun.”
The last time the Panthers were in district play at Roseland in 2022, they had to scrap just to get to state over the final four Baker games.
“Some of the teams were in that block with the bad pair down at that (high) end, and we were fortunate not to be there,” Altimore said. “We were unfortunate to be on the wrong side during sectionals, but we took advantage of being in the good block this time.”
With individual champion Kaitlyn Greenaway leading the way along with all-tournament team member Marissa Funk, the Spartans were able to stay in striking distance of Perry, before cutting the lead going into those final two Baker games.
“Survive and advance … that’s what it was all about,” said Boardman coach Justine Cullen, who had to cross that “bad pair” of Lanes 29 and 30. “That pair was tough … it was just playing so much tighter than every other pair. It was hard to get any movement on it.
“I think I’m most proud honestly of shooting 907 on that pair. That was impressive.”
Greenaway, a senior right-hander, came out of the gate with 258 and 245 before hitting that pair in Game 3. She finished with 185 for a tourney-high 688 series.
“It was a rough pair. I was throwing it in the same spot as the other two pairs, but I definitely needed to move a little right,” Greenaway said. “But I couldn’t get the ball to come back up to the pocket for me. Eventually, I got it.
“But the first two games, I felt very in the zone.”
Funk finished sixth overall with a 613 series, shooting 226 her final game. Senior Gabby Vennetti also had 570 for the Spartans.
“I wasn’t aware of it,” Cullen said about the one-pin deficit after the fourth Baker game, “and I’m actually glad I wasn’t.
“We’ve ben preaching all year long we have to stick to our game and not look too far in the distance. It’s all about the frame in front of them, the ball in front and sticking to who we are. Good things will follow.”
BATTLING TO STAY IN
Green bowled in the same block with Boardman and experienced similar problems with the one pair of lanes.
“We had a few people warn us about it, but it still hit us pretty good,” Green coach Alex Sbowberger said.
Green actually dropped to sixth after Game 2 by shooting just 722 on Lanes 29 and 30 before rebounding with 968 in Game 3 to move up to fourth — where it remained for most of the tourney.
“We put our bad shots behind us quicker and were able to recover a lot quicker than we have in the past,” said Snowberger, whose team will be making its fourth state trip in a row and eighth overall. “Spare shooting was up today and team morale was up because we realized how hard the shot was going be.”
Senior Madison Perrine shot the high tourney game of 279 in Game 3, leaving only a 9-pin spare en route to a district runner-up 661 series. Junior Brooklyn Krager added 566 and senior Alyssa Gehring had 500.
“In Game 3, Maddy made a big jump to the right and the rest of the team followed and that set us up for Bakers,” Snowberger said. “We were making spares. The last game, we had a bunch of 9-counts and we made them all.”
Green has made the cut the last four seasons at state. But the Bulldogs have suffered first-round losses in each opening match.
“We have to keep working on those Baker games and spare shooting,” Snowberger said. “But I feel like we’re getting somewhere with these girls in getting that into their heads.”
BIG SEASON CONTINUES
Wadsworth upset Nordonia during the Suburban League season en route to claiming the league title. The Grizzlies again ended the Knights’ two-year state run in district play.
“I don’t think we could have written a better story,” Wadsworth coach Heidi Steele said. “I have no words for this.”
The Grizzlies were just 93 pins ahead of Nordonia heading to the final two Bakers before shooting 159 and 166 to secure their second state berth as a varsity team.
“Minus the first game, we couldn’t have asked for any more more from these girls,” Steele said. “They really stepped up together.
“When it came to Bakers, we started off strong, but we had a little bit of a delay (lane breakdown) and that kind of slowed us down a little. But we did what we had to do.”
Sophomore Aubrey Masuda led the Grizzlies en route to an all-tournament team berth with 609. Sophomore Cassidy Myers added 537 and señor Cecelia Craig had 528.
The Grizzlies shot just 714 in Game 1 and were far out of the cut, but recovered with 909 and 916 the next two games to move up to fifth.
“The first two frames (of Game 1) we were striking and I thought this is going to be a good day,” Steele said. “Then, we left a split, and another split, and another split. I think at first we were relaxed, but when we left the splits, they got nervous and tense and started overthinking everything.
“We just had to get them to calm down and move on.”
Magnificat, which will be making its first state appearance, led after Game 1 and never fell below third the rest of the day.
Senior Dot Sayles led Magnificat with a 659 series to finish third individually, and sophomore Elanor Zbiegien added 607.
DUNNE LEADS INDIVIDUALS
Dunne, a two-handed righty, was able to cross with Magnificat, which also featured three two-handers in their lineup. She is bowling as an individual after being part of the boys team during the regular season.
“It did help. I could see how the other two-handers were playing the lanes,” said Dunne, who will be making her second straight individual state appearance. “Overall, I was happy with the way I bowled, but I still have to work on my spares.
“I was able to play straighter here than in other places.”
Mullet came in at 590 while North’s Sauric shot 583. The other qualifiers — Caputo and Price — had 578 and 577, respectively. Price finished six pins ahead of Wooster’s Mackenzie Jentes for the final spot.
Columbus awaits.
“I’m so excited,” said Greenaway, the defending Division I state individual champion. “We’ve made four trips now, and I hope we can make this a two-peat.”
“It’s one frame at a time, one moment at a time,” Cullen said, “and do the best that we can.”
NOTEBOOK: All eight members of the all-tournament team shot 607 or better on the OHSAA sectional-district oil pattern. … Boardman had the lone 1,000 team game, while Perry was the lone team to shoot three 900 or better games. … There were eight 200 Baker games, with Perry turning in the top two. … The girls drew a crowd of around 350 for the Mobday event, … Perry’s total pinfall would have placed them fourth overall in the boys Division I district Sunday.