ABERDEEN — As the reigning state runner-up, the Richmond Senior High School girls’ bowling team will get another shot at title town this season.
The Lady Raiders capped their regular season Wednesday at the Sandhills Athletic Conference championship meet, bringing home one conference crown while also qualifying for the state championship meet.
Competing at the Sandhills Bowling Center, the Lady Raiders finished just shy of retaining their title as regular-season champions and finished second overall.
In addition to punching their ticket as a team, the Lady Raiders also had two individual state championship qualifiers — senior Ava Thompson and freshman Sydney Barnes.
“This was a great way for our team to end the regular season, even though we were really close to winning the team championship outright,” head coach Ashleigh Larsen said. “I am so proud of all the girls and the effort they put in to get the team back to the state championship meet.
“We have some unfinished business to take care of after finishing as the state runner-up last year,” she continued. “I’m happy for Ava and Sydney for both qualifying in the individual tournament. They both have a strong chance to make a run at the state title.”
Lady Raiders place second to Hoke County
Because they finished the regular season atop the SAC standings, the Lady Raiders received the No. 1 seed in the tournament and a first-round bye.
That set Richmond up with No. 4 Pinecrest High School in the semifinal round. Playing a best-of-three games match, the Lady Raiders easily advanced to the championship round with a 2-0 victory.
Richmond defeated the Lady Patriots with game scores of 125-116 and 118-94.
Freshman Kaylon Wynn was the only member of the team to close both of her frames in the first game, rolling two spares. Thompson had a strike and junior Skyler Collins rolled a spare.
The second game saw Wynn, senior Hanna Smith and junior Jentry Denson each bowl a spare. Thompson was 3-for-3 in the anchor spot with two helpers and a strike.
Against No. 2 Hoke County, Richmond couldn’t retain the top spot. The Lady Raiders lost the championship match 2-0 behind scores of 128-150 and 151-165.
Smith and Collins both closed 75% of her respective frames (3-for-4), while Denson, Wynn and Thompson all closed half of their frames (50%).
Thompson wins singles championship, Barnes qualifies for states
In the individual tournament, the top-10 bowlers qualified for the state championship meet. Each bowler completed three games and used the combined score to determine the final standings.
Thompson ended with a final pin count of 514 with game scores of 169, 179 and 166. Barnes impressed with a final score of 439 with individual scores of 161, 135 and 143. Thompson was second overall and Barnes was seventh-best.
As one of the top-four finishers in the individual tournament, Thompson went to a bowl-off to determine the individual conference champion. Bowlers rolled one game in single-elimination format.
In her first match against a Pinecrest bowler, Thompson won 166-143. She had five strikes, including a turkey in the 10th frame, to go along with four spares.
Advancing to face No. 1 Hailey Capel of Hoke County, Thompson upset the top-seeded bowler in 163-156 fashion. She used three strikes and four spares to seal the deal.
"It feels good to win the conference championship," Thompson said. "It's a great way to end my senior season, espcially with all the practice that has been put in over the years.
"For me, the key to winning singles was consistency," she added. "I took my times with every roll and focused on where I wanted the ball to be, which was a big help."
Richmond’s other individual scores were Wynn (418), Collins (389), Denson (385) and Smith (367).
The Lady Raiders will try and earn that elusive state championship banner Friday at the Sandhills Bowling Center. Joining the Raider bowling team, the Lady Raiders will start competition at 9 a.m.
