KR girls still amazed over state title: ‘Just felt like pure magic’
SPRINGFIELD — A week after hoisting the Division II girls bowling state championship trophy, Kenton Ridge seniors Emilie Antinori and Jordyn Arnold are still smiling.
That’s what happens when your goal becomes reality.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting it and it kind of felt a bit surreal, like it was just a dream,” Arnold said.
The Cougars beat Mechanicsburg 3-0 in the D-II state final match March 2 at H.P. Lanes in Columbus to win the school’s first girls bowling state championship.
“It was absolutely incredible,” Antinori said. “It had to be one of my favorite moments in bowling
and especially sharing that experience with my dad (assistant coach Rick Antinori), it was awesome.”
In the three-game qualifying round, the Cougars knocked down 3,279 pins, earning the No. 2 seed in the eight-team bracket round. Napoleon was the topseeded team with 3,284 pins. Kenton Ridge sophomore Addi Hibbs rolled a 571, tying for 10th place overall, while Antinori notched a 569 to place 12th.
“I believed we could make the top eight and after that it’s about who’s hot at the right time and who’s making key spares,” Duncan said. “We struggled the first couple matches and were facing elimination. Next thing you know the girls turned it around.”
In the state quarterfinal match, the Cougars beat Carrollton 169156
in the first Baker game but dropped the second and third games. They fought back to avoid elimination, winning the fourth and fifth games by a total of 27 pins.
In the state semifinals, Kenton Ridge beat St. Mary’s Memorial in another five-game match, winning the deciding game 157-115.
“Even when we lost, none of them got down,” Duncan said. “They’d get upset at themselves for a frame, but they would get right back at it and get back to work and pick each other up when they would get down.”
The Cougars moved on to face state powerhouse — and neighboring district — Mechanicsburg in the state championship match. They swept the Indians in three
straight games to bring home the title.
“I would’ve never dreamed we would’ve beaten them three straight,” Duncan said. “They’re a tough competitive team and have been for years. The girls stayed positive through the whole thing and I think that’s a lot of what allowed them to compete. If they threw a bad ball, the rest of the team was there for them so they didn’t get down. In the long run, those are the things that help.”
The key, Antinori said, was making key spares in big moments. Antinori will bowl for Merrimack College, a Division I school in North Andover, Mass., next season.
“The team really stepped up,” Antinori said. “I kind of had a rough day, but thankfully my team bowled incredibly like they always do. This time there was almost magic in a sort of way.”
The victory was also the school’s first state championship in any girls team sport — something they were surprised to hear.
“It felt magical to me in a way, it just felt like pure magic,” Arnold said. “It was like a kid walking into Disney for the first time.”
With seven of their nine varsity bowlers expected to return, the Cougars will soon begin working to defend their title next season. The program will graduate two seniors in Antinori and Arnold.
The celebration, however, will continue for the next few weeks with several different events in the works, Duncan said.
“You feel like you always have a chance, but when it becomes reality, all you can think is ‘We did this’,” he said.