Apopka, Oviedo take bowling
Apopka boys bowling won its fifth straight state title, and the Oviedo girls captured a repeat state championship, as area schools continued their dominance of the Florida High School Athletic Association bowling state championships at Orlando’s Boardwalk Bowl on Thursday.
The Blue Darters went undefeated through the boys double-elimination baker format bracket, defeating Mainland 222-186, 244-169, 187-192, 180-203, 215-213. Senior Gage Stelling threw two strikes and added nine pins, all in the 10th frame to win the fifth and crucial game by two pins.
“I knew I had to have the first strike going into the 10th frame,” said Stelling, who finished fourth in the individual bracket. “I got the first one, and after I got the second one, I knew all I needed was one good shot and we’d do what we came here for.”
This one might have meant a little more than the previous four because Apopka was able to do it without Pete Vergos, who won two individual titles and fueled the rise of Apopka’s bowling dynasty.
“We’ve been able to translate the skills to other kids,” senior Keith Horton said. “Even though he wasn’t here we still had the skill to win another one.”
Oviedo cruised through the winner’s bracket undefeated but lost in the first final against one-loss Coral Springs Charter 3-1. The Lions rebounded in the second championship match, winning 179-164, 203-189, 173-163. Oviedo was in some trouble early in the second game , but got rolling with strikes in the sixth, seventh, eight and ninth frame before Shauna Rodgers finished it off with a spare in the 10th frame.
“That was a major turning point because we were having some trouble for a while,” Rodgers said. “I can’t even explain the feel- ing. We had two seniors graduate and the freshmen came on, so this this feels completely different.”
Evans junior Patricia Rosales, who equaled the highest girls qualifying score with an 888 total for four games on Wednesday, advanced to the final four with a performance that included games of 257, 247, 233 and 227 in bracket play.
Ryan Bare of Circle Christian beat Lyman’s Christian McKenzie 209-189, 225-171 to get to the boys individual final four before losing to eventual champion Duke Crouch of Tampa Heat. Bare placed third and McKenzie tied for fifth.
Lake Mary shoots for its third consecutive girls golf state championship as the FHSAA Class 3A tournaments tee off today at Mission Inn in Lake County.
The Rams returned senior leaders Jenny Kim and Macy Somoskey but figure to face stiff competition from Niceville, which posted a 287 score to win the Region 1 tournament, and Viera, which shot 292 to take Region 6. Lake Mary totaled 303 in Region 2.
The boys field includes the two Region 2 qualifiers, Winter Park (291) and Port Orange Spruce Creek (294). Ocala Forest had the only lower region score with a 289.
Lake Minneola senior Jonathan Yaun had the best individual score in boys play last week, a 67, followed by Boone’s Nick Bessire (68) and Oviedo freshman Joshua Stewart (69).