ABERDEEN — The entire Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team, along with two individual members, qualified for the state championship tournament.
Competing in the Sandhills Athletic Conference team and individual championships Wednesday, the Lady Raiders finished third overall.
The top-three spot secured Richmond’s chance to bowl in the team state championship meet later this month.
Also qualifying for the individual state championship tournament were senior Katie Way and junior Ava Thompson. Both earning All-SAC honors, Way placed fifth overall and Thompson was 10th.
Way earned her way into the state title match in her first season bowling, while Thompson returns for the third straight year with the team. It’s also her second consecutive appearance in the individual bracket.
“Any time we can get the whole team, along with a couple of the girls, qualified for the state tournament, that’s a big achievement,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “I’m so proud of each girl’s effort and they showed up when it mattered most.
“Ava has been with the team for three seasons and this is her second time qualifying for states in the individual tournament. That is quite an accomplishment. And I’m so happy for Katie to see her dedication pay off since she was new to the sport this year.”
Pinecrest High School took first in the team title match, defeating conference runner-up Hoke County High School.
Lady Raiders finish 3rd in final standings
Beginning with the team championship, the No. 2 Lady Raiders earned a first-round bye along with No. 1 Pinecrest.
In the semifinal round, the Lady Raiders ran into a tough No. 3 Hoke County team, which they finished 1-2 against during the regular season.
Bowling three games with the winner determined by most games won, the Lady Raiders lost 2-1. Game scores were 116-168, 139-97 and 130-130.
Richmond held a lead heading into the final two frames of the third game before Hoke County tied it in the final frame.
The tiebreaker of the third game had Richmond and Hoke County reroll the ninth and 10th frames. Larsen went with senior Neely Turner and Thompson, but the two were outdone by a few pins.
As a team, the Lady Raiders closed 14-of-31 frames (45.2%) with seven strikes and seven spares. Turner led the team with two strikes and three spares with an .830 closing percentage.
Junior Hanna Smith bowled 50% with three strikes, while Way and sophomore Jentry Denson were both 2-for-5 with two strikes and two spares, respectively. Thompson had two spares in her seven anchor frames.
That sent the Lady Raiders to the third-place match against No. 5 Union Pines High School, a team they’d defeated two out of three tries during the regular season.
They continued that trend to clinch third place with a 2-1 victory, locking up their spot in the state championship. Richmond won by scores of 125-116 and 155-130 in the second and third games.
Closing 14-of-33 frames (42.4%), the Lady Raiders used a 4-for-6 performance from Way (67%) who had a strike and three spares. Thompson added three strikes and a spare in her nine frames and Smith rolled a strike and two helpers.
A strike and a spare from Turner and another spare from Denson helped the team complete the comeback win.
Thompson, Way qualify for individual state championship
The individual SAC championship tournament saw bowlers roll three complete games. Their total pin count was used to determine the top 10 bowlers who advanced to the state tournament.
Way’s fifth-place performance ended in game scores of 150, 161 and 143 for a pin total of 454. She just missed the roll-off to contend for an individual championship.
“It means a lot to qualify for states because it displays how hard we have all worked all season,” Way explained. “As a team, we had a lot of close games that could have gone either way, but our determination and competitiveness helped us come in third today.
“Individually, consistency was key. I knew I had to continue closing out frames and stay focused if I wanted to place.”
Thompson took 10th with a pin total of 420. She bowled games of 117, 177 and 126 to return to her second straight individual state tournament.
Other scores for Richmond were Denson (397), Smith (392) and Turner (366).
“Making it to states is a big accomplishment since the team has so many new people who haven’t experienced this event before,” Thompson said. “We worked hard and practiced all season, so we are glad to see that it paid off.
“As a team, we closed many frames and were able to come in third,” she continued. “Our positivity and support for each other played a big role in our success. During singles, staying consistent helped me a lot as well as making sure I took my time while I bowled, helping to make the most of every frame.”
The state championship meet will be held at the Sandhills Bowling Center next Friday at 10 a.m.
