Evan Kimble experienced a sharp contrast of emotions, in a matter of minutes.
The Elizabethtown senior bowler went from the anticipation of clinching a victory, to the agony of potential defeat after rolling a split, to the thrill of victory.
He and his teammates and fans celebrated winning the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships boys title as the Bears edged Middletown in three games Saturday at Leisure Lanes in Mountville.
“I thought it was over,” Kimble said of the split. “But at the end of the day, it works out.”
Also advancing to the stepladder bracket finals were the Penn Manor girls, who finished fourth.
The Bears took advantage of their chance at a state title by dominating in qualifying. They were first with 4,200 pins, a 77-pin advantage over the team they defeated for the title. Four teams advanced.
While they waited, Middletown took on Neshaminy, which won the quarterfinal match. The Blue Raiders, who reached the state tourney by getting to the Eastern Regional semifinals (E-town finished behind them, losing in the quarterfinals), won 2-1 despite getting routed 237-163 in the first game.
“I would not have wanted to bowl whoever was in fourth place, because once you get on that roll, it’s tough to stop,” Elizabethtown coach Frank Telenko said.
In the final, it was Middletown winning the first game, 204-190, securing the win by closing with four strikes. That include three by cleanup bowler Landon Freeman.
But the Bears came back with a 195-170 win in the second game, setting up the intense deciding game between two schools located about 15 minutes from each other.
It was tight the whole way, with Elizabethtown leading 67-59 after three frames and Middletown up 127-126 after six. The Bears then got strikes from Ella Eberle and Declan Lentz, bringing up Kimble in the ninth with a chance to take control. But, after Middletown rolled first and got a strike, his ball left the 4-6 split.
“I thought it was a pretty good shot. It just jumped on me,” said Kimble, who was obviously distraught after the frame. “That’s bowling.”
“I said, this would be big, if he could put this one away, I think it would have sealed the match,” Telenko said. “I still knew we weren’t shut out at that point unless their kid got the first strike.”
While things looked bleak, he was right.
And when Freeman, who finished fourth in this year’s District Three championships, rolled a disheartening 4-6-7-10 split, the distraught was transferred from Kimble to Freeman — and evoked a gasp from the crowd.
That brought up Bears cleanup Mason Moore, who still had some work to do. His 9-spare meant all he needed was four pins on his last ball for the win. He picked up eight for the 198-193 final.
“My heart was beating; I was really nervous,” said Moore, who was a state all-star after tying for high series in the three standard games of qualifying with a 639. “I’m known for missing that spare a lot. And I made it. Then I just needed to keep the ball on the lane and it was history after that. We’re state champs, baby, that’s all I’ve got to say.”
It’s the second straight year for a Lancaster-Lebanon League boys team to win the title, with Manheim Township winning last year.
For the girls, Penn Manor was the third seed and got fourth-seeded Governor Mifflin in the quarterfinal. After getting routed 199-135 in the first game, the Comets rallied for an easy 204-161 win in the second. They started the third with three strikes, but a pair of opens along the way led to a 194-182 loss to the Mustangs, who went on to win the title.
“I’m proud of the girls,” said Penn Manor’s Eva Brubaker, who was an all-star after rolling a 636 series in qualifying. “To be honest, I didn’t think we were going to make it (to the finals). ... It was nice to at least get fourth.”
Saturday’s action was the last of the senior’s career, which included the Eastern Regional title two weeks ago. “It’s going to be sad to leave it; I’m leaving the nest,” Brubaker said.
“We had a remarkable comeback, one of the top two comebacks ever in my 20 years,” said Penn Manor coach Chris Vital of his team’s strong finish in qualifying. “I’m really pleased with the way the season went. These girls have a lot of heart.”
Conestoga Valley, which won the L-L and Eastern Regional boys team titles, didn’t qualify for the finals, finishing eighth with 3,832 pins.
