ROCKINGHAM — William White, a junior bowler, has been named the Official Richmond County Male Athlete of the Week presented by HWY 55.
The Raiders are in the hunt for a Sandhills Athletic Conference championship this season, and continued play with two big wins over Scotland and Southern Lee high schools in last week’s meet.
One of several Raiders to regularly contribute to the team’s success, White had his best individual outing of the season, helping the three-year bowler earn his first career recognition.
Athletic Profile
Age: 16
Birthday: May 3, 2005
Year: Junior
Winter Sport: Bowling
Years on Varsity: 3 years
Experience: 5 years
CLOSING FRAMES WITH WILLIAM WHITE
The Raiders faced Scotland for the first time this season in Thursday’s meet and defeated the Fighting Scots 4-1. In the second match, Richmond also defeated the Cavaliers 4-1, completing the season sweep of Southern Lee.
White was red hot from start to finish in both matches, tallying a team-high 9 strikes and also a team-high 6 spares. Most impressive, however, was White’s closing percentage, which finished at 88.2 percent (15-of-17 frames).
Serving as the second bowler in the Raiders’ five-man lineup, White opened with a pair of spares against the Scots. Then he closed the match with six straight strikes, clearing the alley in both of his frames in each of the final three games.
White was a perfect 8-for-8 (100 percent) in his frames against the Scots, helping the Raiders win by scores of 160-157, 206-143 and 158-144. Richmond took the match by a final pin count of 705-628, and White’s six strikes were part of a 16-strike performance by the team.
Head coach Ralph Butler moved White around in the lineup against the Cavaliers, which resulted in a final pin count win of 626-524. White closed 78 percent of his frames (7-of-9), adding three more strikes and four spares.
White began the first game in the No. 2 spot, bowling a strike and a spare. He was moved to No. 3 in the second game and followed with another strike and spare combination.
White was the anchor in the third game and closed one of his three frames with a spare. Back in the No. 2 hole in the final game, White rolled his final strike and spare combo of the afternoon.
Richmond (7-3) will return to action on Thursday at Laurinburg Lanes to face Lee County and Union Pines, starting at 4 p.m.
William White bowls a frame during the Raiders’ match against Scotland High School last Thursday in Aberdeen. (Kyle Pillar/The Richmond Observer)
RAPID RESPONSES WITH WILLIAM WHITE
ROSports: You had your best individual outing of the season against Scotland and Southern Lee. What was working for you and how were you able to dial in and lead the team in strikes?
White: “Our team knew a lot of the Scotland bowlers, and it was a really competitive match. Our mindset of wanting to beat Scotland helped us. We wanted to win to look good as a team, but we need to work on closing our spares a little bit more.
“I wasn’t trying to think about (my success) too much. I didn’t want to throw my game off by doing that, so my concentration was on my mark and I just bowled really well.”
ROSports: Describe your bowling style and the technique you use. What do you think about when you approach each frame?
White: “I’m aggressive and like to have fun at the same time. I don’t like a lot of tension and I really enjoy and love the sport of bowling. When I get up there, I try to let everything go and focus on hitting my mark and knocking down as many pins as possible.
“I’m a two-hand bowler, and I think two-handers have a little more control. I use my left hand to navigate my mark and my right gives me my power and a lot of revs on the ball so it breaks harder into the pocket. I use two or three fingers depending on the ball, and using three fingers gives me better control.”
ROSports: The Raiders are trying to win a conference title this year. What’s it going to take to make that happen and what are some of your and the team’s postseason hopes?
White: “To make it happen we will need to continue to have really good teamwork and practice like we want to play in matches.
“For the team, I want us to go as far as we can go. There are a lot of great bowlers on the team for boys and girls. Personally, I want to place in the top 10 or try to win first place.”
The Richmond Observer will publish two more Official Athletes of the Week next week.
