ABERDEEN — Despite classes being cancelled due to regional flooding and high winds, the Richmond Senior High School bowling program surged on at the state championship on Friday.
Initially, only senior Hailey Miller was supposed to compete in the girls’ singles competition. But upon arrival, head coach Ralph Butler learned that the Raiders had qualified for the team tournament at the Sandhills Bowling Center.
Luckily, Butler noted, a couple of phone calls led to all but one of the boys showing up to compete. Junior Mitchell Massey, one of the team’s anchors, was away at Beta Convention in Greensboro.
The late start didn’t impact the Raiders, as they bowled their way to a fifth-place finish in the state championship, the best mark of Richmond’s boys or girls since the program started three years ago.
Representing the Raiders were juniors Joseph Grant and Hunter Hancock, sophomores Cody Eason and Cameron Way and freshman William White. Together, using the Baker format, they bowled a final pin total of 667 pins.
The Raiders were consistent throughout the day, bowling games of 156, 136 and 189, before finishing strong with a final game of 186.
“There was some miscommunication between the bowling alleys,” Butler explained of the late notification for the boys’ team. “The only absence was Mitchell, and I hate it for him because he was a big part of our season. He’s a great bowler and deserved to be there.
“As for the guys who were able to make it, I couldn’t be more proud of them,” he added. “They ended up placing fifth and one pin off from competing in the roll off for the state champs. They all bowled great though”
Richmond was just 12 pins short of Hoke County High School, which finished fourth overall. Two other Sandhills Athletic Conference teams, Lumberton and Jack Britt high schools, took second and third, respectively.
Winning the 2019-2020 bowling state championship was Gray’s Creek High School, which finished with a pin total of 749 pins, getting the No. 1 seed in the roll off. Gray’s Creek defeated No. 4 Hoke County (163-156) in the semis, before earning the title with a 171-147 win over Jack Britt.
That team is coached by Kris Williams, who has Richmond County ties. His brother, Greg Williams, is a teacher at Richmond and an assistant head football coach for the Raiders.
The hot hands for the Raiders were Way and White, who both closed out six of their eight frames (75 percent). Grant also contributed by going 8-for-11, finishing with a closing percentage of 73 percent.
Miller, who picked up the sport just this season, bowled near her season averages during the singles tournament. At the time of publication, the official singles standings haven’t been released, per Butler.
In her state competition, Miller bowled three games by herself, finishing with a pin total of 388 pins. Her three games consisted of scores of 120, 131 and 137.
“I know Hailey was a little disappointed with her performance, but I feel like once the final results come in, she’ll be in the top half,” Butler said. “That’s very impressive for someone who just picked up the sport this year.
“She threw some really good balls today, but just couldn’t catch a break,” he added. “A lot of great throws from her resulted in splits making it hard to close out frames. She’s a joy to coach, I know she’ll do great things. She puts forth her best effort at whatever she does.”
Butler closed by saying the Richmond program will only lose one bowler next year in senior Luke Preslar. He said he’s “excited to see what (the teams) can do.”
ROSports will publish a full season recap next week.
