SOUTHERN PINES — The postseason will continue for the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team.
Competing in the conference championship tournament as the top-seeded team Tuesday, the Lady Raiders finished as the conference runner-up and qualified for the team state championship.
Adding to the celebration, Richmond also had four bowlers qualify for the individual state championship tournament – senior Jentry Denson, junior Jorja Moore and sophomores Sydney Barnes and Kaylon Wynn.
Richmond bowled two team matches, starting with a 2-0 win over No. 4 West Johnston High School. In a close championship match, the Lady Raiders lost 2-0 to No. 2 Pinecrest High School.
“I’m so proud of the girls and how they bowled today,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “Being the top-seeded team means you have a target on your back and even though we bowled really well, we just couldn’t catch a break in the championship match.
“It was like Pinecrest couldn’t miss a pin, and sometimes that’s the way it goes. But our girls showed a lot of skill today and did really well under pressure. It’s always a goal to qualify for the state championship, and I know everyone is happy to be going back this year.”
Lady Raiders finish as conference runner-up
In their match against West Johnston, the Lady Raiders cruised to a shutout win thanks to scores of 128-107 and 147-112. As a team, they closed out a season-high 57.1% of their frames, going 12-for-21 with three strikes and nine spares.
Denson, who was perfect in both team matches, closed all four of her frames against West Johnston. She had one strike and three spares and helped the team complete a comeback win in the first game.
Moore was also effective, going 3-for-4 across the two games (75%) with a strike and two spares. Senior Skyler Collins and freshman Ava Parks each rolled two frames and finished at 50% with a strike and a spare, respectively.
From the anchor spot, Wynn had a .400 closing percentage with two spares in five frames. Closing one of her four frames was Barnes with a helper.
Rolling similar numbers against Pinecrest, Richmond had three strikes and seven spares in their two games. The Lady Patriots won the conference title behind scores of 177-140 and 141-109.
Again Denson was dialed in, going 4-for-4, this time with four spares. Collins and Parks had a strike and a spare, respectively, to close out half of their frames.
Wynn knocked down a strike and a spare in her five total frames (40%), while Barnes and Moore went 1-for-4 each with a strike and a spare.
Despite the loss, Richmond posted its best combined closing percentage of the season. The team was 22-for-42 on the day, finishing at 52.4%.
Four Lady Raiders qualify for individual state championship
In the individual conference championship tournament, every bowler from each team rolled three games. Using the sum of all three games, the top 10 scorers qualified for the state title meet.
Moore finished 10th overall with 391 pins behind game scores of 162, 125 and 104. Wynn was just ahead of her in ninth place, bowling a final tally of 397 pins (122, 112, 163).
Barnes finished two spots ahead of Wynn in seventh place. She rolled game scores of 147, 147 and 114 to total 408 pins. Denson’s electric day on the lanes concluded with a team-best sixth-place finish. Her final pin count was 410 pins thanks to game scores of 138, 133 and 139.
Other contenders for the Lady Raiders were Parks (370), Collins (342) and sophomore Mackenzie Quick (324).
“This is the highest number of bowlers we’ve ever had to qualify for the individual state championship and that’s a testament to their hard work,” Larsen shared. “All four of the girls were locked in when it mattered and were able to put up some pretty impressive numbers.
“We’ve got just a couple days to get ready for the state championship meet, so we’re just going to keep working and see what we can accomplish.”
The Lady Raiders will bowl in the state championship team and individual tournaments Thursday at the Sandhills Bowling Center. Matches will begin at 10 a.m.
