Finishing second in the state is nice.
For Warwick’s Taylor Miller and Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney, not so much.
They each were runners-up at the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships Friday at Leisure Lanes.
“I don’t want to say I’m mad, but I’m just frustrated because of how many times I’ve finished second,” said Miller, who has six runner-up finishes, including at the state tournament in 2022. “I have one win my whole career and that was districts last year.”
“It’s an experience and I’ll learn from it for next year,” said Courtney, who was hoping to add a third straight title this season after winning the District Three and Eastern Regional crowns.
Both bowlers are underclassmen, so they still have the chance at a state championship.
Miller, a junior, finished second in qualifying with a six-game total of 1,315 pins, trailing Chambersburg’s Malia Briggs by 24.
“She bowled as consistently good as she has over the last three years,” said Neil Vital, back as Warwick’s coach after sitting out much of the season as he recovered from stem cell surgery. “It’s incredible; her record is phenomenal.”
Second in qualifying earned her a bye into the semifinals, where she met No. 3 qualifier Amelia Droste of Hempfield (District Seven). Droste defeated defending champion Rayana Gonzalez of Central Dauphin East 225-189 in the quarterfinals.
But Droste opened in her first two frames and never got on track, with Miller winning easily, 232-161.
While Droste couldn’t maintain her momentum in the semifinals, the same happened to Miller in the final. She missed a single pin in the first frame, and a 2-10 split in the fifth took a lot of air out of her game. And Briggs left Miller no opening, closing with six straight strikes for a 247-193 win.
“I definitely came in feeling really confident,” said Miller, who was second in a tournament for the third time this season. “Leaving that split, I think, was just kind of a mood killer.”
“Six seconds out of 12?” said Vital. “I look at it as, find somebody in the state who, in the last three years has put together that resume.”
Courtney was the No. 1 qualifier for the boys with 1,405 pins, a 33-pin margin over the runner-up, and earned a bye into the final.
It was a spot the sophomore had in winning the District Three and Eastern Regional tournaments.
“I think this week, yes, because I was obviously nervous,” he said of the effect watching and waiting for the final had on him
So while he watched and warmed up, the other four qualifiers competed for the right to bowl him. It ended up being Joseph McNally of Archbishop Ryan, the No. 3 qualifier who Courtney defeated in the Eastern Regional, rolling a 300 to McNally’s 194.
In Friday’s final, there was little separating the two. McNally had leads of 67-58 after three frames and 127-117 after six.
Under the tournament format, Courtney started the match second but finished first. After rolling a strike in the ninth, he could assure himself at least a tie by striking out in the 10th.
The pivotal ball in the 10th left a stubborn 8-pin. Courtney’s spare and strike gave him a 226.
McNally, riding a string of three strikes heading into the 10th, needed one more to virtually assure him of the win. He got it, then finished out with an 8-count and a spare for a 235 and the title.
“Obviously the 10th frame, I needed to strike out, but I didn’t strike out,” said Courtney. “It is what it is.”
Courtney rolled the second-high game among the boys, with a pair of 278s in qualifying.
“I was hoping to sweep districts, regionals and states,” he said. “Incredible year, especially from last year when I didn’t make top 10 (at the state tournament).”
Two other Lancaster-Lebanon League bowlers were at states but didn’t qualify for the stepladder finals. Hempfield’s Priest McKenzie was 10th in the boys qualifying with 1,210 pins while Eastern Regional girls champion Eva Brubaker of Penn Manor was 11th with 1,136 pins.
Next up is today’s state team championships, beginning at 9 a.m. at Leisure. Conestoga Valley and Elizabethtown will be representing the L-L for the boys along with Penn Manor’s girls.
