Knox County bowlers fare well at district tournament

As tournament plays advances, the road keeps getting tougher. Whether it be a team sport or an individual one, moving on to the next level is hard.

Several Knox County high school bowlers found that out Tuesday in the Division II District. But they also found out how good they were and how close they would be to moving on to state.

The Fredericktown girls’ bowling team finished fifth overall, and three other individuals finished in the top 15 during competition at HP Lanes in Columbus.

East Knox’s Madison Huffman had the best overall finish, placing seventh as an individual with a 490 series. The junior rolled games of 157-185-148 to finish just 23 points from advancing to the state competition. The top two teams and top two individuals advance.

“I think seventh in the district is freaking awesome,” said East Knox coach Chip Pozderac. “I’m feeling great. Then, they tell me it’s 23 pins and I’m like ‘ugh.’ She’s amazing. She was just amazing.”

Her East Knox classmate, Blake Calhoon, also just missed moving on. The junior shot games of 201-204-191 to finish 12th overall with a 596 series.

“I did pretty good. I just couldn’t really get a string of strikes going,” said Calhoon, who shot 556 in sectionals a week ago to get here. “I was practicing and had a game plan going into this one, unlike last week. I did improve, so I’m happy with that.”

Centerburg also had two individuals participate at district, with Michael Wallace finishing 14th overall. The senior shot 209-201-177 for a 587 series on the day.

“I’m not mad about it. It just got tough in the third game because there were less people shooting on the same lanes. I jumped, trying to change balls, thinking the lanes were going to transition faster than it was,” Wallace said. “Otherwise, I think I shot great. I was staying accurate and keeping up with the kids who I bowled with. I could have done better.”

Junior Luke Pack shot games of 133-128-150 for a 411 series and a 60th place showing.

The Fredericktown girls’ team used a solid day up and down the lineup to finish fifth overall at 2,769. Mechanicsburg (3,467) and Northmor (3,260) both advanced as teams to state.

Kota Curtis led the Freddies with a 436 series (166-111-159) to finish 21st as an individual. Pilar Payne was next with a 410 series (159-123-128), followed by Maddie Bartlett at 388 (111-148-129), Holly Hogle at 373 (107-119-147) and Raegan Blanchard at 359 (135-96-128).