Wooster girls bowling team makes history

For the Wooster girls bowling team, it was time to make school history, as this year's team became the first in school history to advance to the state tournament, which took place March 7 at H.P. Lanes in Columbus.

It was the culmination of a monster run that saw the Generals rack up a second-place finish at sectionals with a team score of 3,391 to advance to districts. Then at Rebman Lanes, Wooster finished fourth with a team score of 3,484 to punch the program’s first-ever state ticket as a team, finishing 16th in Division I with a team score of 3,005.

“I am beyond proud,” Generals coach Tracie Leiendecker said. “This is a dream come true. This has been the most accomplished team in my coaching career.”

Leading the way were seniors Ainsley Shetler and Morgan Covey, who were dialed in and focused. Shetler fired a 474 and Covey a 465 to lead the way through sectionals, and then at districts, Shetler was sizzling as she fired a 509 and Covey chipped in a 385. At state Shetler wrapped up her high school career with a 462, as both seniors were superb down the stretch.

“We will miss our seniors,” Leiendecker said. “They were the mentors of the team.”

They weren’t the only stars for Wooster, as their mentorship paid dividends, with juniors Cadence Anna and Mackenzie Jentes both played big roles. Anna fired a 443, and Jentes rolled a 314. At districts it was Jentes who fired a team-best 543, and Anna added a 474. At sectionals Anna fired a team-best 557, and Jentes finished with a 442.

Reaching the biggest stage any Generals girls bowling team has ever been on was a mountain peak Leiendecker saw coming years ago, back when these girls were younger and just entering high school.

“The moment these girls walked through the doors for the first time, they were different; they wanted to be there,” Leiendecker said. “Once their freshman season was over, they continued in the offseason to practice and become better. They have very supportive parents. They made sure they had everything they needed to succeed.”

So what’s next for a team that is returning a bevy of talent despite losing two talented seniors?

“This has been a process," Leiendecker said. "Most of them were freshmen when we missed advancing to districts by 11 pins. They came back the following year and missed by four pins.

“This season we accomplished taking the team to districts and qualifying for state as a team. Now that we have been, we know what to expect, and they will work hard in the offseason to come back stronger.”