RISING STAR
Teen bowling sensation Martin continues to make history, roll up accolades
After her freshman season at Stowmunroe Falls High School, Jillian Martin had a decision to make.
Martin had just claimed the state individual bowling title and led the Bulldogs to third place as a team at the 2019 Division I state tournament.
Having already reached the pinnacle of Ohio high school bowling, Martin knew she had to leave to focus on bigger ambitions.
“It was something that I had to think about,” Martin said.
How have things gone since leaving high school bowling behind? Let’s just say it appears Martin made the right decision.
First, Martin, 17, won 11 Junior Tournament Bowling Association championships. Then, on Aug. 10, she became the youngest woman to ever win a Professional Women’s Bowling Association event, claiming first place in the PWBA Bowltv Classic in Arlington, Texas.
All this before starting her senior year at Stow.
Given her current situation, Martin said she has bowled her last frame for the Bulldogs.
“With all the restrictions, I don’t think I’d be eligible for high school bowling anymore,” Martin said. “I wouldn’t have been able to bowl at those PWBA events in January if I had bowled in high school.”
Which is not to say she’s done with the high school experience.
After the summer competitions are complete, Martin will be back on the field playing trumpet with the Stow marching band.
Martin said she’s not having much problem balancing her burgeoning bowling career with being a high school senior.
“It’s a balance, for sure. There’s a lot of time management stuff, which I’m used to,” Martin said. “Just making sure that I get my homework done and take care of myself.”
Although the COVID-19 pandemic canceled many bowling events in 2020, Martin said the year turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“With everything that was going on, I was able to [attend] online school and spend more time going back and forth to Chicago [for coaching],” she said. “Obviously, it was a terrible time ... but my preparations and stuff really improved.”
Martin began 2021 nearly making history at the PWBA Kickoff Classic Series in Arlington, Texas. She finished as runner-up at the ITRC Classic Jan. 23, losing a tight final 244-238 to professional bowler Bryanna Cole. The then 16-year-old just missed becoming the youngest tournament champion in PWBA history.
Martin believes that experience helped her in the PWBA Bowltv Classic.
“It definitely helped just to know what it feels like to go up there and be in a championship match,” she said. “I’ve had other times with similar things, when you get up there to do it again, it’s a little bit easier.”
Martin embraces the adjustments required by the intricacies of bowling.
“I’ve always enjoyed learning, and my stronger subjects would be math and science, which I think are very beneficial to the game of bowling,” she said. “Based on what oil they put out there, it changes what angles we have to play to try to get the bowling ball to go through the pins the right way. I feel like I can see those angles pretty well, I know kind of what moves to make.
“There are endless amounts of learning opportunities in bowling and I think that’s what really made me fall in love with the sport.”
When she takes on the pros, Martin can be competing against bowlers 10 years oldermartin thinks some of them still look at her as a kid.
“I’m still an amateur, so there’s some of that as well,” she said. “But I think a lot of the better ones really respect my game and they know what I can do and they definitely think that I’m a very good bowler, especially with my age being considered. I think they’re starting to look at me more and more as kind of a threat out there.”
Due to PWBA rules regarding amateurs, Martin is allowed to cash only twice a year, unless she wins an event, which limits her to one. She will be able to bowl two PWBA events every year during college.
She believes her game and her ability to handle pressure have grown.
“I’m always looking for the next challenge,” Martin said. “I’ve really adapted to that well, especially bowling against the best ladies in the world..”
Asked how long she’d been dreaming of her first professional victory, Martin said, “Forever.”
“It’s been pretty awesome just to be able to wake up and say I’m a PWBA champion now,” she said. “It’s definitely been everything that I hoped for.”
“There are endless amounts of learning opportunities in bowling and I think that’s what really made me fall in love with the sport.”
Jillian Martin