After impressive postseason, Plum bowlers head to national championships

By: Michael Love
Saturday, March 30, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Plum was the only WPIBL program to have both its boys and girls bowling teams qualify for the Pennsylvania state championships.

The Mustangs’ representation at Leisure Lanes in Lancaster on March 16 was the destination of a journey that took the squads through the WPIBL and Western Regional tournaments.

But that wasn’t the end of the line for Plum this season. Both the boys and girls teams will be together June 8-10 and return to Lancaster for the U.S. High School Bowling Foundation’s national championships.

“We have one more step,” coach Daryl Pilyih said. “We’ve never been to nationals before, so I am not sure how many teams will be there or where they will be from. When we qualified for the state tournament, we automatically became eligible to go to nationals. The 12 girls and 12 boys teams that made states for Pennsylvania are invited. Whether they all go, I do not know that.

“I am sure we will see some of the top teams from states again at nationals. I guess we will see teams from West Virginia, Maryland, New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware and possibly teams from other areas of the country. The kids have really performed well with some strong individual efforts, and this is a nice way to finish the season and give the kids one more chance to be together.”

The Plum girls finished third at states behind champion Governor Mifflin and runner-up Shikellamy.

The Mustangs fell, 2-1, to Governor Mifflin in the semifinals.

Senior Mareana Pilyih led Plum in the team qualifying with a 680 series (218, 224, 238). Sophomore Addison Then (570) and freshman Callie Schimmer (566) also recorded top efforts, while sophomore Alexandra Fulmer and seniors Jordyn Osche and Rebecca Griffin posted game scores to help Plum in qualifying.

The Mustangs finished with 3,812 pins after the baker games and were one of four teams to qualify for the playoffs.

Pilyih and Then also bowled in the state singles tournament, with Pilyih finishing 10th with 1,150 pins for six games (191.7 average) and Then placing 20th (173.3 average).

While the Plum girls made the finals at states, the boys fell just short, taking sixth out of the 12 teams in the qualifying round.

Gateway, which made the final four, was the only WPIBL team to finish ahead of the Mustangs.

Junior Cade Schimmer (613 series, 235 high game) paced the Plum boys, while sophomores Grayson Koontz (556) and Grayson Byass Rascoe (554) also fared well in team qualifying.

All seven team members, including senior Zach Endler, sophomore Bryan Krall, senior Joshua Cooley and junior Vincent Rossetti, rolled games in team qualifying.

With the baker games, Plum finished with 3,897 pins, 65 away from a spot in the finals.

“Both teams had great seasons,” Coach Pilyih said. “We thought the girls team was going to be pretty strong, and they stood up to the challenge. The boys, we didn’t know. But they came out and bowled very well.

“It was a total team effort where we had six boys and six girls qualify for the WPIBL championships, and they all made it to regionals, too. They put in a lot of time and effort in practice to be ready for all of the matches and tournaments.”

Cade Schimmer was named Most Valuable Performer of the WPIBL boys East Section after finishing the regular season with a 218.10 average.

Mareana Pilyih was the MVP of both the WPIBL girls East Section and the entire WPIBL for a second time with her 213.57 regular-season average.

Coach Pilyih said it was a pretty emotional trip through the playoffs with the seniors, including his granddaughter Mareana, who will be departing the program.

“They’ve put in a lot of time and effort to get to where they’re at,” he said. “They’ve done so well for themselves and for the team.”

Pilyih is confident the teams will continue to shine.

“We should still be pretty competitive next year with both teams,” he said. “We have some strong bowlers coming back and some others coming up from the younger levels. They have all the basics, and we help them fine-tune their games. There is just so much positivity in the present and the future.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

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