Bowling teams will be in action today in the Region 1 Tournament with hopes of advancing to next month’s state competition.
Apollo, Daviess County, Owensboro and Owensboro Catholic all travel to McCracken County for the start of the Region 1 Tournament held at Cardinal Lanes in Paducah.
Singles competition, which begins at 3 p.m. today, is played as regular games, with the top four boys and top four girls advancing to state. Team play starts at 9 a.m. Saturday with boys, unified (co-ed) and girls, which should begin around 2 p.m.
In team action, eight athletes bowl a full game each. The low score is dropped and the pins are totaled to determine seeding for single-elimination bracket play. The top two boys and girls teams advance to state, held Feb. 7-8 in Louisville.
Other teams competing in the Region 1 Tournament are Warren East, Graves County, Greenwood, South Warren, Henderson County, Warren Central, McCracken County, Barren County and Ohio County.
APOLLO
Expectations are high for Apollo following a successful 2018-19 campaign. The girls’ team posted a spotless 10-0 record, while the boys’ rolled to an 11-1 mark. The girls’ team finished fourth at state last season but lost their top bowler, while the boys had to replace four outgoing seniors.
Emma Workman and Molly Statts stepped up for the girls’ team, while freshman Nick Garmon and 8th-grader Tyler Head routinely made their way into the boys’ lineup.
Head coach Kerri Gatton said the losses created a big challenge, but they still set their sights high.
“Our goal of returning to state and national competitions hasn’t changed, and we really want the chance to compete in those tournaments after strong showings last year,” she said. “The girls’ and boys’ teams have had great success this season against Region 1 competition and hopefully will bring their best game this weekend.”
DAVIESS COUNTY
Head coach Byron Johnson said they boys have a really strong, veteran team. They return bowlers from last year’s team that finished in third place at state. Johnson said Briar Harper is the team leader, and seniors Colton Keelin and Dakota Baird are also strong.
He said underclassmen Chase Cecil, CJ Snyder, Jon Royal, Braison Hayden and Daiden Hayden are all capable of striking in a match.
“These boys have bowled together since the beginning of high school bowling,” Johnson said. “We participate in tournaments through the season to prepare them for regionals and state, and they are very dedicated in getting better as bowlers. We constantly compete with teams across the state in Louisville, Lexington, Paducah and Bowling Green. We’ve had a very good season and I believe they are ready to address the next challenge at regionals.”
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC
Owensboro Catholic head coach Ginny Coomes said several boys returned this year to provide a solid team that has a chance to make a deep run in the tournament.
“I think we have a great chance of advancing some in the regional tournament if we all are on that day,” Coomes said.
Catholic mostly played teams in town this season with a few wins and losses, and they were led by four-year veteran Chance Jones.
“He is a junior and is a strong competitor and great leader,” Coomes said. “He has spent a lot of time this year helping the others to improve. I look forward to seeing Chance bowl individually on Friday and see where bowling will take him in the future.”
OWENSBORO
This season was less about winning and more about developing an inexperienced team for Owensboro according to head coach Shannon Mitchell.
“This year was a building year for us,” Mitchell said. “We have seven boys and six girls. Several of our kids had never picked up a bowling ball before. This year we weren’t focused on wins and losses — just about teaching them the sport.”
Lucas Blanford led the boys with a high score of 220 for the season, followed by David Christensen with a 215. Cece Urbina led the girls with a high score of 167 followed by Lillian Cook with a 164.
Mitchell said the goal for regionals is for all of her bowlers to do their best and enjoy the memories they are creating.
