By Ray Sarvis
FPS Correspondent
It’s good to be a queen.
And that’s exactly what the Carrollton girls’ bowling team is full of, as the Lady Warriors were crowned champions at the Dover Invitational bowling tournament on Feb. 1.
In a field of five teams where all bowlers rolled three-game series, the Lady Warriors dominated, defeating runner-up Canton Central Catholic by 285 pins, 2,387-2,102. Dover finished third with a score of 2,098.
And in a team full of queens, Kaylee Russell reigned as the queen bee, finishing first by a margin of 92 pins. There’s just something about big moments and Russell, the defending Division II state individual champion. She rolled games of 198, 275, and 196 for a 669 series.
Meanwhile, Hailee Ulman shook off a slow start, rolling a 133 in the first game before bouncing back with scores of 194 and 223 for a 550 series, which earned her fourth place individually.
Winning an invitational title is impressive, but if you think the Lady Warriors stopped there, you’d be mistaken. Carrollton also squeezed in three dual matches during their busy week.
First up was Dover for a nonconference match at home, and the Lady Warriors had little trouble with the Crimson Tornadoes, defeating them 2,146-1,824.
Russell and Ulman led the way again as Russell (177-214) posted a 391 series, while Ulman (192-182) recorded a 374 series. For good measure, Ivy Slutz (188-162) rolled a 350 for Carrollton.
Heading into the Baker format games, the Lady Warriors held a commanding 231-pin lead, making the Bakers a formality. Still, Carrollton took two of the three games, combining for scores of 169, 118, and 187.
The following day, Carrollton hosted Alliance in an Eastern Buckeye Conference matchup at Atwood Lanes. There was no drama in this contest, aside from guessing how many pins the Lady Warriors would win by, as they rolled over the Aviators by nearly 1,000 pins, 2,309-1,335.
Ulman (213-245) had a standout series, recording a 458, while Russell added games of 215 and 188 for a 403 series. This gave the Lady Warriors a massive 707-pin cushion heading into the Baker games.
Carrollton stayed hot, rolling Baker game scores of 181, 199, and 171, which dwarfed the Aviators’ games of 93, 94, and 97.
With one last match on the week’s schedule, Carrollton traveled to Salem’s Hunt Club Lanes on Jan. 29 to face the Quakers, where the Lady Warriors rolled to a 1,853-1,365 victory.
Russell (154-205) posted the high game and series with a 359, while Ulman followed with scores of 153 and 179 for a 332 series. Slutz also surpassed the 300 mark, recording a 324 series that featured a 193 game.
With a 362-pin advantage heading into the Baker format games, Carrollton rolled scores of 138 and 170 to extend their lead further.
With the clean sweep, the Lady Warriors improved their overall record to 12-3, including 5-2 in the Stark County High School Bowling Conference’s American Division and 4-2 in the EBC.
