It has been a season of resurgence for the Portage County bowling programs in the Metro Athletic Conference. The Ravenna Ravens boys’ bowling team earned second place in the MAC postseason tournament by knocking down 3774 pins and the Streetsboro Rockets girls’ bowling team finished in third place with a score of 2900 last Saturday at the Spins Bowling Alley in Akron.
“We knew it was going to be really close,” said Ravenna Coach Kelly Champ. “We had a lot of seniors through the whole conference that graduated last year but luckily we didn’t graduate any. It really kind of leveled the playing field out a lot so we were really able to take advantage of that. We had been on a hot streak this week and had bowled really well in the matches prior and felt really good going into Saturday.”
Junior Jeriah Miller paced the Ravens by knocking down 632 pins, followed by senior Carson Schueller who bowled a 578, senior Jake Stefanscic scored a 549, junior Peter Jennings bowled a 371 across two games, junior Matt Fuller knocked down 370 pins in two games, and senior Mark Jones scored a 150 in the first game.
After the first three games, Ravenna was ahead of Field by 14 pins heading into the six Baker game series. Ravenna’s lead quickly evaporated after the first two Baker games as the Falcons trimmed the 14-pin deficit to tie the score and then assumed first place after outscoring the Ravens 175-155 in the third Baker game.
After the final three Baker games, Field won the tournament by 97 pins.
“We did not bowl as well in the Bakers like we thought we would as we could have,” acknowledged the fifth-year coach. “We were not able to carry as well as we wanted to. We were still in the pocket but just could not get it done. We missed costly spares, and it just happens that way on some days.”
Despite falling short of the MAC postseason tournament championship, it still marked a nice resurgence for a Ravens’ squad that had a lot to prove this season.
The Ravens ultimately finished in third overall in the conference but had two bowlers in Miller and Schueller finish in the top 10.
Miller got off to a challenging start by bowling a 130 in his first game, but he rebounded by knocking down 223 pins in the second and 279 pins in the third game to finish in fourth place.
“I was so proud of him,” she said. “He battled all-day long and I was really proud of him. There was no other way. He was really proud of himself and for him to keep his head and constantly keep thinking about making adjustments and to make them was just great.”
On the girls’ side, Streetsboro delivered an exclamation point in its first year of having a girls’ team compete in the MAC by taking third place, which ultimately aided them in finishing in third place overall in the conference.
“We finished third in the preseason tournament as well,” said Rockets’ Coach Matt Stump. “After not having a team for a decade or however long it has been, they surprised me and then we had a nice conference season and then bowled well in the postseason tournament. It was relatively close to second place, so I was super proud of the girls.”
Junior Kendall Clark led Streetsboro by bowling a 554, followed by freshman Natalie Southerland who knocked down 438 pins, sophomore Amy Rein scored a 417, sophomore Alivia Comley knocked down 252 pins in two games, freshman Gianna Wiley bowled a 233 in two games and freshman Lindsay Gallavan scored a 202 in two games.
After the first three games, the Rockets sat in third place with 2096 pins but were still within reach of overtaking Akron Springfield for second place. Streetsboro struggled in the first Baker game by only knocking down 91 pins, and that doomed their comeback attempts.
“You just never know what you are going to get with Bakers if the bowlers we rely on happen to struggle, then you are set up for a tough game,” noted Streetsboro’s first-year coach.
Clark helped Streetsboro get off to a fast start by knocking down 236 pins in the first game and ultimately finished in third place in the tournament.
“I love it,” said Stump. “She is just a phenomenal teammate. She is always positive whenever she struggles. She works hard, she comes from a bowling family, and she has a couple of younger sisters that bowl that we will welcome to the program over the next few years.”
Both teams will return to action when they compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division I sectional tournament at Holiday Lanes in Struthers on Feb. 15.
