Penn Hills girls bowlers off to fast start in quest for trip to state championships

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, January 17, 2019 | 8:00 PM

Last season, the Penn Hills girls bowling team finished fourth at the WPIBL championships and seventh at the Western Pennsylvania Regional Championships.

At the regional tournament, the girls just missed qualifying for the state championship when they tallied 3,107 pins, just behind Gateway’s 3,181.

The girls didn’t forget about how close they got to qualifying and utilized it as fuel as they prepared during the offseason.

The Indians have channeled that energy into taking care of business this season by winning their first six matches.

The girls team, who won their 100th section match under coach Nancy Lindsay and assistant coach Mark Diehm, have won matches against Plum, Gateway, Redeemer Lutheran, Woodland Hills and Valley twice.

“They missed the cuts for the state finals by less than 70 pins. That lit a fire under a few of them and they practiced and bowled all through the summer in a summer league. They kept the drive alive,” Lindsay said.

“Every game you see a little bit more. We aren’t seeing major strides, but we are becoming constantly better bowlers individually and as a team. I don’t necessarily have one hero. It seems like every match, one steps up.”

Junior Audrey Grainy leads the Indians with an average of 164.22 through six matches. Sophomore Tayler Parco is second on the team with a 161.88 average, while senior Makayla Delo is averaging 155.06 this season. Sophomore Ashley Hepler has an average of 144.93 this season.

The Indians have tried to replace the production lost by Christina Marra, who graduated.

Senior Autumn Blair, juniors Lucille Urbansky and Fiona McMillian-Van Hausen and sophomore Irlynn Richardson have made contributions.

“Once they got a couple early-season wins, they got that confidence and are very sure of themselves. They carry themselves a little more confident. There is a big confidence factor that comes from doing well last year and then continuing that next year,” Lindsay said.

The Penn Hills boys have won two of their first six matches, victories over Valley and Redeemer Lutheran.

Junior AJ Collins leads the boys team with a 178.22 average, while freshman Josh Garland is bowling an average of 164.92 in his first season. Diehm hopes to see Collins and Garland reach the WPIBL championships with a chance to advance to the state tournament.

Junior Ryland Amato is third on the team with a 147.47 average, while junior Noah Houghtelin is fourth with a 147.06 average.

“There has been more focus, their spare shooting has been improving and I think they have fun, they get along and they know when to be serious,” Diehm said.

“It’s not the end of the world if you throw a bad shot. They can leave frames behind them and move on, which is critical. You can’t let one frame tear them down and that happens to a lot of kids.”

Sophomore David Lubawski, senior Sebastian Bartholomew and junior John Reinke have been contributors on the boys team this year.

The Indians will prepare for the WPIBL team and singles championships in mid- to late-February with hopes of advancing to the regional championships in early March. The Indians hope to finish their season at the state championship in mid-March.

Andrew John is a freelance writer.

Tags: Penn Hills