Story by
Heath paces central Ohio at OHSAA Division II state boys bowling
- Story by
- Heath paces central Ohio at OHSAA Division II state boys bowling
Central Ohio boys bowling teams came up short of reaching the championship round in the Division II state tournament Feb. 27 at HP Lanes, but one squad had to love its progress.
Heath tied Springfield Northwestern for ninth (3,555) in the qualifying round, one spot and 23 pins from advancing, after placing 14th in its last team appearance in 2023.
Advertisement
The team's top finisher, senior Payton Love, also made a leap. After finishing 79th in 2023 and 40th last year while competing as an individual, Love rolled games of 203, 205 and 245 to tie Coldwater sophomore Drew Schulze for ninth (653).
Heath senior Payton Love tied for ninth in the Division II state tournament Feb. 27 at HP Lanes.
Senior Oliver Walton was next for Heath, finishing 46th (542). Senior Keegan MacDonald and senior Kamdyn Smith tied for 63rd (512).
The Central District's other team qualifier, Marion Pleasant , finished 11th (3,536) behind junior Tucker Ludwig's eighth-place finish (655).
Advancing from the Southeast District and making its state debut, Westfall finished 13th (3,474). Senior Dalton Bush led the way (tied for 22nd, 590), followed by junior Nick Wisenbarger (29th, 579) and junior Trevor Drone (tied for 37th, 556).
Advertisement
Making their state debuts and competing as individuals, Mount Gilead sophomore Mason Hupfer was 31st (577) and Ready freshman Jace James was 58th (523).
St. Henry won the team title, defeating Coldwater 3-2 in the best-of-five final. Adam Cowper, a senior from Brooklyn in suburban Cleveland, rolled a 729 for the individual title.
Heath's Smith competes in Division II girls tournament
Heath sophomore Kiersten Smith, one of two girls to advance from the Central District tournament, finished 50th (476) at state Feb. 28 at HP Lanes. She closed with her best game, rolling a 181 after games of 138 and 157.
Advertisement
Smith was joined at state by Pleasant senior Breahna Howard, who finished 26th (529).
The Central District's two team qualifiers, Mechanicsburg and Galion Northmor, finished seventh (3,240) and ninth (3,202), respectively, in the qualifying round. Mechanicsburg advanced to the championship round, while Northmor fell one place and 21 pins short of advancing.
Mechanicsburg lost a quarterfinal to eventual champion Napoleon, which went on to sweep Coldwater 3-0 in the final.
Coldwater senior Brittany Burden rolled a 640 series for the individual state title.
(This story has been updated with new information.)
Advertisement
High school sports editor Andy Resnik can be reached at aresnik@dispatch.com and at @DispatchPreps on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Heath leads central Ohio teams at OHSAA boys bowling state tournament
