A couple pins here, a couple pins there.
Or a mark at the right time.
That can be the difference, and it certainly was for several Lancaster-Lancaster League bowlers this season.
That was not more apparent than for Elizabethtown, which captured the Pennsylvania State High School Bowling Championships boys title March 16 at Leisure Lanes. The Bears outlasted Middletown in three games after losing the first, winning the third game 198-193 — one of those few pins-key mark situations.
The E-town bowlers were on a roller coaster of emotions in the deciding game. They were looking to get a clinching strike from No. 4 bowler Evan Kimble, only to see a gut-wrenching 4-6 split.
Kimble and his teammates agonized — until Middletown’s cleanup bowler had an even more excruciating 4-6-7-10 split.
E-town’s Mason Moore then came through with a nervy 9-spare and 8-count for the victory.
“When our fourth bowler split in the ninth, I thought for sure, we’re in trouble,” said Moore after the match. “Luckily, the anchor bowler for Middletown — great bowler — got a little slow ... and left the big four. As soon as that happened, I knew there was a chance; I just needed to stay clean.”
The state title capped the season for L-L bowlers, one that included two second-place state finishes, three Eastern Regional titles and a District Three crown.
Elizabethtown has been strong for years, but hadn’t experienced much postseason success.
“For regionals, we broke the curse, after finishing seventh (in qualifying; top six advance) the last two years,” said Moore, just a sophomore. “And now we took it all the way, state champions; it means a ton.”
The Bears posted the best regular-season record at 79-12 and a league-best 1,067 pins-per-game average, but this year’s postseason didn’t start the best, with a loss in the league semifinals.
They had a solid, if unspectacular, showing at the Eastern Regionals, qualifying fifth for the stepladder bracket finals, then dropping their first match.
But they were still going to states, where they posted the top score in qualifying and watched the other threes teams battle for the right to meet them in the final.
“It was 10 years ago, 2014, when we won the girls state title, when we qualified in first place,” said Elizabethtown coach Frank Telenko. “And I could just see all the things that started to happen that were similar and I was like, it’s gotta be our day.”
The two state runner-up finishes went to Garden Spot sophomore Gavin Courtney and Warwick junior Taylor Miller.
Courtney, who had an outstanding postseason with District Three and Eastern Regional titles, looked poised to make it three crowns after easily qualifying first at states, giving him a bye into the final. The other five qualifiers whittled it to Archbishop Ryan’s Joe McNally.
In the final, it was one of those cases of a key mark, when Courtney’s opening ball in the 10th frame surprisingly left a 9-pin, opening the door for McNally, who then secured the 235-226 win.
Miller continued a string of runner-up finishes, including three this season. At states, she qualified second, giving her a bye into the semifinals, where she won by 72 pins. But in the final, Chambersburg’s Malia Briggs turned the tables with a 247-193 victory.
Penn Manor’s girls gave the L-L a fourth placewinner at states by coming in fourth.
In addition to Courtney’s title at the Eastern Regionals, Penn Manor’s Eva Brubaker captured the girls title and Conestoga Valley won the boys team crown.
Courtney dominated in qualifying, beating out McNally by 79 pins and then needed a couple of those key pins to win 225-223 in the semifinals. He then made sure he won the final, rolling a 300 to beat McNally.
Brubaker gave Miller another second-place finish by beating her 220-196 in the final. Miller had outgunned top qualifier and 2023 state champion Rayana Gonzalez of Central Dauphin East 245-240 in the semifinals.
Conestoga Valley added its second title of the postseason, along with the L-L team crown, qualifying first by 60 pins. That gave the Buckskins a bye into the semifinals, where they won two fairly close games (214-200 and 210-200). They won the final 2-0, escaping with a 192-191 win in the second game. It was clinched by senior Ryan Muckle with a 9-count on his first ball and a 10-pin pickup, on which he turned and led a loud celebration, with the ball only halfway down the alley.
Like E-town’s boys, Penn Manor’s girls advanced to the bracket finals at regionals before losing their first match.
Courtney was also the No. 1 qualifier at the District Three Championships, which is only for singles. He routed his semifinal opponent by 119 pins, then again needed those key pins, surviving a late five-strike barrage by his opponent to win 238-235.
E-town’s Kimble placed sixth.
For the girls, Brubaker and Elco’s Morgan Kline, who was the No. 1 qualifier, both lost to Gonzalez, who totaled nine strikes in the last four frames of the two matches.
The L-L boys title went to CV’s Josiah Casler, who beat teammate Muckle 247-206 in the final. Kline repeated as girls champ, defeating Miller 212-199 for the title.
CV’s team title had some drama. After a 955-900 first-game victory, the Buckskins needed more key pins to earn their first title, winning the second game 934-928 over Penn Manor.
CV (68-23) reached the tournament after finishing second to E-town in Section Two, while averaging 1,039 pins. Those two had the only game averages over 1,000.
In addition to E-town, section winners were Manheim Township (60-31) in Section One, with Penn Manor (52-39) second; and Northern Lebanon (54-23) in Section Two, with Columbia (48-29) second.
Muckle finished with the high average (231), Hempfield’s Derick Keller and Casler each rolled 300s and Courtney rolled the high series (802).
