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Central Ohio high school bowlers eye Division I state championships
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- Central Ohio high school bowlers eye Division I state championships
The high school bowling season ends this weekend with the Division I boys and girls state tournaments at HP Lanes .
Three central Ohio teams – Gahanna Lincoln, Hilliard Darby and Marysville – as well as Reynoldsburg senior Quinn Dean, Olentangy Berlin senior JD Gannard and Groveport senior Tidus Schieser will participate in the boys tournament March 6.
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The next day, Gahanna, Hilliard Bradley and Teays Valley will go for the girls team championship. Local individual bowlers are Berlin junior London Askins, Pickerington Central freshman Kelli Howiler and Marysville senior Delaney Sherwood .
Central Ohio has not had a state team champion since Gahanna's girls in 2021 , the Lions' third championship in four years. Westerville Central won the area's only boys title in 2017 .
Here are five storylines for central Ohio entering state:
The Hilliard Darby boys bowling team poses for a photo at district after advancing to state for the first time. Pictured, from left, are James Thomas, Andrew Stiffler, Naven Oster, Isaac Fellner, Tyler Robertson, Trevor Starnes, CJ Talicska and Ethan Clark.
Fellner leads Hilliard Darby boys to first state tournament
Senior Isaac Fellner's 215.6 average, sixth in the Central Ohio High School Bowling Conference, paced the Panthers to a 13-2 regular season and tie with Marysville for the COHSBC-B championship.
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But the lineup behind Fellner, who was 62nd at state as a sophomore, is what assistant coach Steve Vance said has made the Panthers even more "dangerous" in their first state appearance as a team.
"We've had multiple guys step up in big moments," Vance said. "A great example was [senior] Tyler Robertson shooting his series high of 691 at sectional. On any given day, someone different can post a strong game or series like that. …
"Isaac has put in a tremendous amount of work. He's committed himself to improving, especially with consistency and spare shooting, and it's shown all year."
Seniors Andrew Stiffler (193.2), Robertson (183.8) and Ethan Clark (166.5) have been the other top contributors on a roster that saw eight bowlers see considerable time.
Reynoldsburg senior Quinn Dean is preparing to bowl in his third consecutive Division I state tournament.
Reynoldsburg's Dean relishes third state appearance
Perhaps central Ohio's most consistent bowler by virtue of averaging at least 207 in each of his four seasons, Dean enters his third state tournament coming off his first district championship and a tie for fourth at state last year .
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A Marian signee, Dean had games of 225, 246 and 257 at district and bowled a 286 in the regular season. He is at state as an individual for the second time in three seasons.
"I've had such an amazing journey throughout high school … and I am really excited to throw my last shot at the state finals. That's what I have been hoping for all season," Dean said, adding he has emphasized patience this winter. "I think I've been consistent with myself over the last three years. That's been a big word.
"My sophomore year, I really relied on throwing it one certain way. Junior year, I started branching out with different strategies, and senior year I have finalized all of those strategies and incorporated them into my game."
Olentangy Berlin duo prepares for state debuts
A year after then-freshman Cayden Cherry became the Bears' first state qualifier, Askins is the girls team's first qualifier and Gannard is headed to state on the boys side.
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Askins averaged 181.4 in the regular season, seventh in the COHSBC, before finishing sixth at sectional (587) and winning the district championship (650).
"She had a good regular season, steady all season long, but it's been remarkable how she has blossomed or broke out in the [postseason]," girls coach Chris Pigott said. "Her style of bowling really meshes well with the kind of patterns and setup. These are more challenging patterns with the way you have to throw the ball. It just suits her game."
A left-hander, Gannard averaged 219.7 – 0.1 of a pin behind Cherry – and was third at district (688) with two games of 257.
"They were Batman and Robin all year," boys coach Lori Slade said. "[Gannard] worked at getting his balls lined up from high-flare to low-flare, so the conditions of the ball will best fit the pattern in front of him. He is definitely high-level [in terms of his bowling intelligence]."
Junior Peyton Hendricks is part of a balanced lineup for Teays Valley's girls team, which is in its first state tournament.
Balance pacing Teays Valley girls
A year after Kenna Barnes closed her high school career with a 17th-place finish at state, the Vikings used strong Baker games to earn a second-place finish at district and the program's first state berth as a team.
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Senior Emily Hill (180.2) and junior Paige McDorman (178.5) led a balanced lineup to a 12-0 regular season. Juniors Allyssa Langley (168.6) and Peyton Hendricks (165.2) are close behind.
McDorman, who was fourth at district (611), bowled a 267 game and 523 two-game series in early February.
"We have continued to progress," said assistant coach Tim Ooten, who primarily works with the girls team. "We will work on our spares; we will work on our [Baker] games. … Win, lose or draw, what these girls have done here is amazing. What they've done here has not been accomplished [in program history]. The most important thing is to leave no regrets. Don't wake up the next day saying you would have done this or that. Leave it out there. This is it. This is for everything."
Southwest Ohio teams lead statewide field
The top five qualifying team scores on the boys side come from the Southwest District, led by Beavercreek's 4,789. Beavercreek also leads the way on the girls side.
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The Beavers boys and girls were third and sixth, respectively, last year at state.
Dean's district score of 728 was sixth best among all state qualifiers, whether they advanced as individuals or with teams. Sixteen bowlers statewide had series of 700 or better in the district round.
Askins' 650 at district was fourth best among all state-qualifying girls individuals. The Gahanna girls' team score of 3,674 at district was fifth best statewide, while no central Ohio boys team ranks better than 13th.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA Division I state titles eyed by central Ohio High school bowlers
