Beach earns LCL Bowler of the Year honors; ready to lead team in tourney

Mount Vernon’s Griffin Beach was hoping a maturity and focus he developed in golf would help him in another sport – bowling.

So far, so good for the Yellow Jacket senior.

Beach was named Licking County League Bowler of the Year after leading the league with a 208 per game average. His play also helped the Jackets finish second overall as a team with a 14-3 record.

“I’m very proud of that (honor). I worked very hard this year, especially practicing more than I ever had before. I think that dedication really paid off,” Beach said.

“I guess the reason why I’ve been able to improve and get a lot better in bowling is just the focus I’ve taken from golf. It definitely translates.”

The senior was one of several Yellow Jackets honored by the LCL this season. Junior Cooper Ferguson and freshman Andrew Primm were both named honorable mention all-league.

On the girls’ side, junior Dani Bumpus earned second-team honors, while junior Haylie Watts was named to honorable mention. The girls’ team also finished second in the LCL with an 8-4 record.

After participating in the LCL end-of-the-season tournament on Sunday, Beach and the Jackets are ready for the sectional tournament. The boys will compete at HP Lanes in Columbus on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 11 a.m., while the girls will bowl on Saturday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m.

“The big key will be spare shooting,” Beach said. “That’s certainly what makes the difference between shooting 900 as a team on a difficult pattern like this compared to shooting 700-750 a game. That’s something as a team we’ve worked on. I know I’ve worked on it. That’s always the key, if you want to increase your score average.

“I’m excited. I have a good feeling about this year. We have a solid team that can definitely qualify for district.”

The boys just missed qualifying for district last year, finishing 21st as a team with the top 16 teams moving on. The girls were 22nd a year ago.

The boys will definitely have some experience as J’Haxom Byron, Cooper Ferguson, Bryce Hollenbeck and Jacob Primm each bowled in sectionals a year ago, along with Beach.

While a bit younger, most of the girls team also saw action in sectionals a year ago. Bumpus, Addyson Dusenberry, McKenna Miller and Haylie Watts were all on varsity.

One thing both teams can use for sectionals is the experience they gained in the LCL tournament this past weekend at Park Lanes. The alleys were set up with the identical oil pattern that will be used at HP this coming week.

“They put out the sectional oil pattern, which is more challenging than the typical house shot. I definitely learned, because on a house shot, there’s more oil towards the middle which gives more of a buffer so the ball will sit and hold. In the sectional pattern, it’s a lot flatter, which means the friction is spread evenly throughout the lane, so I have to be even more consistent, and more controlling the ball roll so that it doesn’t jump too much or hook too much on the back end,” Beach said.

“I guess that’s the nice thing about getting to practice at Park. HP Lanes has brand new lanes this year. That means the surface is not going to be worn out and not as much friction as they once had. It’s a completely new surface. The Brunswick lanes are slicker, usually. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays Wednesday.”

The Jackets wrapped up their season with a couple of matches with LCL foe Zanesville.

The boys escaped with a hard-fought, 2,122-2,101 victory over Zanesville on Feb. 4.

Griffin Beach led the Yellow Jackets with a 454 series (222-232). Chase Valentine shot 364 (196-168), followed by Jacob Primm (161-191) and Andrew Primm (190-150).

They followed that up with a 2,295-1,742 victory over the Blue Devils on Feb. 7 at Colonial Lanes.

Beach fired a 461 series (215-246) to lead the Jackets. Andrew Primm was close behind at 433 (220-213), while Cooper Ferguson shot 367 (169-198).

The Lady Jackets fell to the Blue Devils, 1,933-1,635.

Dani Bumpus led MV with games of 142-176. Haylie Watts shot 159-155, McKenna Miller 123-148 and Addyson Dusenberry 116-146.

MV bounced back to beat Zanesville on its home lanes, 1,672-1,579 on Feb. 7.

Bumpus led MV with a 347 series (166-181). Watts shot 168-112, followed closely behind by Miller (147-132) and Dusenberry (121-156).