5 storylines entering girls bowling postseason in Central Ohio
More than in any other sport, high school bowlers find themselves champing at the bit to start the postseason.
Because of facility scheduling, some central Ohio teams finish their regular seasons two weeks or more before sectional tournaments begin.
That wait comes to an end this week for Division II teams and next week for Division I, leading up to state tournaments in early March at Wayne Webb's Columbus Bowl.
Here are five storylines to watch entering the postseason:
1. Head South to see two unbeaten seasons
Two girls teams boast perfect records — Westerville South (17-0) and Columbus South (14-0).
Westerville South seniors Addison Poulsen (182.3 pins per game) and Alexzandria Stewart (181.9) lead a lineup that remained intact from a year ago. Classmate Jessica Applegate (167.0), junior Hadasah Mensah (149.4) and sophomore Julia Thomas (148.3) provide further depth.
Senior Cedena Perez-corby (175.1), who bowled last year on a torn meniscus, paced Columbus South to its first perfect season on the heels of its first winning campaign (16-1) a year ago. Five teammates average above 144.3, including sophomore Sarah Cordes (155.2) and senior Trinity Roth (150.4).
2. Davidson’s boys are perfect
Two boys teams ran the table in the regular season. While Whitehall-yearling went 13-0 for the second consecutive
year, Davidson's 14-0 record continues a big turnaround for the program.
Davidson went 2-11 five years ago, followed by records of 3-9, 3-9, 7-5 and 8-3. Davidson is thriving with one bowler averaging above 200, junior Caelan Guthrie (205.3), followed by a tight pack of junior Nicholas Bremer (198.5), freshman Aiden Lieb (196.9) and juniors James Pettis (184.0) and Derek Wellman (183.6).
3. Pickerington programs thrive
Seeking its second consecutive trip to the Division I state tournament, Pickerington
Central's girls team (14-1 overall, 12-0 COHSBC-A, 4-1 Occ-buckeye) boasts the second-best team average in the COHSBC (795.7) behind Gahanna (831.8). Sophomore Emma Pugh (184.0) and seniors Dayna Howiler (166.9) and Kylie Finan (161.4) lead the way.
With a 990.3 average, Central's boys (12-3, 9-3, 5-0) led the COHSBC regardless of division by 32.4 pins. Junior Myles Etherington (213.5) and senior Nick Mcguire (208.4) rank fourth and 10th in the conference in average.
North senior Jacob Neubauer is tied for first in average (219.1) with Briggs' Peyton
Brobst. The Panthers went 12-1 overall and shared the COHSBC-A title with Teays Valley (11-1).
4. Small-school Columbus bowler holding his own
Perhaps only in an individualized sport such as bowling will schools of such disparate size as Pickerington North (enrollment of 1,274) and Patriot Prep (81) be mentioned in the same sentence. But Patriot Prep sophomore Isaiah Jones has worked his way into central Ohio's top tier of bowlers, averaging 211.5 in the regular season to rank sixth in the COHSBC.
Jones bowled both his high game (259) and two-game series (469) of the season Feb. 3.
5. How many from central Ohio will end up at state?
Here's how teams and individuals advance through the postseason. All sectional and district competition will be at HP Lanes.
From the Division II sectionals, starting with the girls Friday and concluding Saturday with boys, 12 teams and the top 12 individuals not on qualifying teams advance to district Feb. 21. From there, two teams and the top two individuals not on those teams head to state March 3 (girls) and 4 (boys).
In Division I, the top 16 boys and girls teams and top 16 individuals not on those teams advance from sectional to district. With 57 boys and 55 girls teams, sectionals now span four days instead of two. Girls are Feb. 22 and 23 with boys the next two days.
District is Feb. 28, with the top four teams and top four individuals not on those teams heading to state March 10 (girls) and 11 (boys).