Another KHSAA State Championship will get underway Monday when the state bowling championship gets underway at Executive Strike & Spare in Louisville.
The boys’ team and singles competition are on Monday with the girls taking center stage on Tuesday.
Locally, 14 bowlers will make the trip to Louisville. Apollo’s lone representative is sophomore Tyler Head while Daviess County will send 13 bowlers to state as the Panthers have their boys and girls team competing.
“This is a first for us, having both boys and girls qualifying,” DC coach Byron Johnson said. “It will be up to us as coaches to make sure our kids stay focused.”
The Panthers have made it commonplace to compete at state as they’ve competed in the state tournament the last three seasons but for the Lady Panthers, Tuesday will be the first time they compete at that level.
“It will probably be more of a learning experience for them, but I think they will also do fine,” Johnson said. “I have two very good young coaches in Casey Carroll and her husband Jimmy. They are very good with keeping them focused.”
Johnson said it’s all about keeping them relaxed and not letting them overthink things.
“The experience of achieving a goal and what happens when a team works together for a common goal,” is what he wants his team to get out of the weekend. “A sense of pride in their team and themselves.”
The DC bowlers competing this weekend are Austin Cecil, Madison Curry, Braison Hayden, Daiden Hayden, Raelyn McQueen, Jasmine Parm, Seth Payne, Brooklyn Phelps, Emma Phelps, Madilyn Phelps, Blake Royal, Christopher Snyder, Logan Tincher and Sydney Wedding.
Madilyn Phelps and Snyder are competing in the singles division after each posted high finishers at last week’s regional tournament.
Apollo’s lone bowling will be making his first appearance at the state tournament Monday but it won’t be the first in the Head family to make the trip.
“His brothers, Austin and Lynn, and sister, Laura, have all competed in the Bowling State tournament previously in the team event,” Apollo coach Kerrie Gatton said.
Gatton said Head has been preparing all week.
“Tyler is still getting in practice this week with his teammates helping him out,” he said. “He had a new ball drilled up to hopefully give him something different he didn’t have in his arsenal. He has been working with it to get a good feel for how it transitions on the lane in the oil and of course working on spare shots. Tyler and Coach Brian McCormick have looked over the oil pattern for Monday’s event and feel good about how to attack it.”
Much like his DC counterparts, Gatton said Head needs to stay calm and stay confident.
“Tyler is just a sophomore and this trip to State is invaluable for his future with Apollo bowling,” she said. “We needed Tyler to step up and be a leader this year after losing the senior class we had last year and we needed him to be a better bowler. He has done both – he has really worked on his game (Tyler was our strike percentage leader this season) and his confidence and his great attitude and team spirit has been such a boost for our team this year. Our team is super proud of Tyler and this accomplishment and there is no doubt he will be back at state again with his work ethic.”
