By BILL SNIER
PARMA HEIGHTS — National Tenpin Coaches Association women’s college bowling player of the year. Three-year Team USA member. Youngest woman ever to win the USBC Queens tournament.
And that’s just the start of the accomplishments over the past year for 2022 Stow-Munroe Falls High School graduate Jillian Martin, who is competing this week during the PWBA Summer Series — Cleveland at Yorktown Lanes.
“For me, it was definitely a little weird at points. It was kind of hard to manage and be in that position and where I was,” said Martin, who will be entering her senior year at the University of Nebraska.
“If anything for me, it was like I kind of hit that peak … I’ve done what I wanted to do and you have to reset goals. I had to go back and say to myself, ‘Why am I bowling, why do I want to do this and what is my purpose?’
The 20-year-old right-hander did exactly that it was about just “having fun out on the lanes and having fun competing.”
“If I didn’t do that,” said Martin, who also owns two PWBA titles, including one she won at age 17 (also a record), “I would be more mad if I had fun and didn’t win.”
The Cornhuskers reached the final four during the NCAA Women’s Championships this season, but fell short of their title goal. Youngstown State, from Martin’s home state, captured the title.
“We bowled well, but just couldn’t seem to get over the hump when we wanted to,” said Martin, who averaged 216.15 for Nebraska with three top-five and seven top-10 individual finishes in 51 games.
“But we gained some valuable national championship experience and we have two strong freshmen coming in next year. We wanted more, but we’re happy with it. It was a great group of amazing young women and really inspiring.”
Individually, coming off her history-making USBC Queens win at age 19 to go along with Team USA duties and college, how have things changed over the past 12 months?
“I think, if anything, its really been normal still. The only thing is, I have more confidence in my bowling abilities for sure,” Martin said. “I’ve been going to college, being a normal kid, and just go out there and be the best bowler I can be but also help my team as well.
“I think that has not only helped me progress as a bowler, but as a person too. I just felt more well-rounded.”
School is no walk in the park.
Martin, a three-time member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship team for academics at Nebraska, is majoring in biological sciences. She is looking toward a pre-phjysician assistant path, but also examining forensic biology. There will be additional schooling involved, with lots of hands-on patient care hours needed.
“I really don’t know how I do it some days. For the most part, it’s just sort of time managing, figuring out when I can focus on and what I need to focus on,” Martin said. “At least with the bowling side, collegiate and Team USA to an extent overlap. So putting the work in on the lanes is going to help both.
“But it’s hard with class schedules and classes. I just try to fit in everything into my day that I can. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to give myself a little more time … just to decompress and relax. You realize how important that is just for your physical, mental and emotion health.”
After leading for one game during Wednesday’s morning shift, Martin finished the shift in fourth place, just 11 pins out of the lead, despite shooting 193 and 180 her last two games.
“I struggled those last two games with transitions and ball changes. Overall, we had a good game plan, so we’ll go into the second block with an open mind,” Martin said. “I got a little lost there, but it’s all good. I didn’t bowl terrible.”
But through two games on the second qualifying shift, Martin has jumped into the lead by just four pins.
She said winning a PWBA title in her home state would be “awesome.”
“It has to be about today and the support of everyone here. It’s a bowling alley I’ve known since I was really young,” Martin said. “A lot of people have made it out … people who helped me become who I am and that live around here.
“Having them standing behind me and seeing what I do … I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
With school nearing an end and another goal in mind, will bowling still be a part of it?
“We’ll just have to see,” Matin said. “The plan is to compete next summer as much as I can. Then, we’ll see how things are going and what I can and can’t do.”
A philosophy she maintains, both on and off the lanes.
“All I can ask for is just do what I can do,” Martin added, “and have fun.”