State champ Gahanna thrives in family setting
As it was earning a runner-up finish in the Kickoff Invitational on Nov. 20 at HP Lanes, the Gahanna girls bowling team had an unexpected fan in attendance.
It was Lilu Smith, a 2021 graduate who now bowls for Valparaiso.
Her appearance is an example of what the Lions have come to epitomize while becoming the state's premier program: a family atmosphere.
“She's been doing really well (at Valparaiso), and she came to our (tournament) and kind of surprised the girls,” said Todd Burns, who is in his fourth season coaching with the program, which is led by Yvonne Quiero. “None of us knew she was going to be there . ... One thing we've tried to promote is that we want the kids to come back.”
Smith became one of the Lions' top bowlers as a freshman in 2017-18 and helped them win their first Division I state title.
She was Gahanna's top competitor in 2019-20 and again last season, when the Lions captured back-to-back championships after falling short of making state in 2018-19.
In addition to its success at the state level, Gahanna entered the season having won six consecutive league championships and 74 consecutive COHSBC matches. It went 10-0 in the COHSBC-B Division last winter.
Smith was the only holdover from the 2017-18 team when the Lions beat Beavercreek 3-1 in the championship match last winter after entering bracket play as the No. 1 seed.
Four of the Lions have returned as they try to continue the recent success.
Being a state contender every year has been a challenge at times, according to senior Tori Richardson, who finished 21st (542) at state last season.
Smith was ninth (578) and Lindzi Oakman, who also is a senior, placed 10th (573) as the top 15 individuals earned all-state honors.
“Going from winning (state) and having the chance to win another one (last
season), I was nervous,” Richardson said. “We thought we were going to screw something up or I was going to screw something up for the team, so it was a lot of pressure on me and probably pressure on them, too.”
Oakman and senior Addison Watson were key contributors during each of the past two runs to state titles, and sophomore Casey Burns is another returnee.
“I'm really thankful I can be a part of a state championship team,” Oakman said. “We have a really great program and we've got a lot of good bowlers on this team . ... We're aiming for states
again. That would be our goal.”
The continued growth of senior Victoria Birtcher adds depth to a program that also has a new addition making an immediate impact in junior Delaney Rossette.
After averaging 172.3 in league matches and finishing 15th at the Division I district tournament as a freshman in 2020 for Worthington Kilbourne, Rossette did not compete last winter.
Rossette has known some of the players in Gahanna's program for several years, which has made it easy for her to fit in quickly, according to Richardson.
“At the end of the day, we've got a good, cohesive group over here and they know how to pick each other up,” Quiero said. “You can't come into this program and treat it as though it's just an extracurricular activity. We're a competitive program and we want to be competitive, so we put in a lot of work.
“The girls are getting along really, really well. Sometimes girls can be hard on one another, but this group of girls does what it takes to have a little fun while they're bowling, so that's important.”