Christman, Mercurio lead Plum bowling teams

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 15, 2018 | 1:45 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

Meghan Christman is the defending Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Bowling League girls singles champion.

With the talent featured throughout the WPIBL this season, the Plum senior said it will be a challenge to repeat.

But that doesn't mean she won't go all out in pursuit of another top finish.

“I've put in the work, but winning isn't something I expect out of myself,” Christman said. “I still surprise myself sometimes. I like to win and do the best that I can, but bowling for me has always been about relaxing and having fun.”

Christman leads the East section with a 205.5 scoring average through 18 games bowled, which is tied with Norwin's Rachel Lundy for the third in the WPIBL. She had a 629 series with a high game of 234 in section play last week.

Her season bests are a 671 series and a 266 game.

Only Thomas Jefferson's Elizabeth Brock (213) and Greensburg Salem's Mattie Mae White (209) have higher averages through six weeks.

Christman followed her 2017 WPIBL championship by making the semifinals of the Western Regional tournament and placing 17th at states.

She took 13th at the inaugural WPIBL singles tournament in 2016.

“You never know what can happen from one tournament to the next,” Christman said. “Bowling is such a mental sport. There are so many factors that go into competing other than just the physical aspects of the approach and how you release the ball.”

Christman began competitive bowling at age 12 in a junior league at Nesbit's in Plum.

“I quickly realized that I needed to step up my game to be able to be a competitive bowler,” she said.

Christman is hoping to continue her bowling pursuits in college and has looked at Duquesne. The Dukes' program is only a couple of years old but is doing well.

Sarah Kirkpatrick, a 2017 Plum graduate, bowls at Duquesne.

As much as Christman hopes to fare well in her individual bowling pursuits this winter, she also is excited to see how far the Mustangs can go.

Plum won the 2016 state championship. It finished as runner-up at last year's WPIBL tournament and was in the top four at regionals to qualify for states.

The Mustangs are 6-0 in league play and are hoping for a fifth consecutive undefeated regular season. The win over Propel was the their 50th section victory in a row.

Sophomore Shannon Small (192.67 average), junior Bria Pilyih (163.18) and senior Amber Raitano (133.38) came into the season with varsity experience.

“We do work our butts off for this, and it means a lot,” Christman said. “There have been girls the past couple of years that have never picked up a bowling ball before come to the team and work so hard to help us out and keep our undefeated streak going.”

On the boys side, Franklin Mercurio has seen it all in his four seasons, and he is hoping to cap his career with championship performances. He leads the East section with a 205.83 average, just one pin ahead of Franklin Regional senior Kyle Wilkinson (204.00) and four ahead of Panthers senior Cruz Fink (201.67).

Mercurio said he feels it will take more than what he has produced to stay at the top of the individual standings.

“So far, I don't think I have been bowling up to my true potential, but I feel I can go far this year. I just have to trust in my game,” said Mercurio, who hopes to rebound in the individual playoffs after a rough 2017 WPIBL singles tournament.

Mercurio owns season bests of a 289 game and a 745 series. Both came in a 7-0 victory over Franklin Regional in Week 5 that was closer than the final score indicated.

“It was a great feeling to get that win,” Mercurio said. “Everybody bowled well.”

The Plum boys are 6-0 in section play, a game ahead of Franklin Regional. The Panthers beat the Mustangs last year to halt their section winning streak at 31 matches.

Plum hasn't lost in section play since.

Franklin Regional also finished third at last year's WPIBL team championships, two places ahead of Plum.

“We have done well because we all get along and want to push each other to be our best,” Mercurio said.

Junior Matt Brown (191.12) and sophomores Ty Kirkpatrick (187.24), Owen Cirelli (184.53) and Vincent Cocca (171.87) have helped the Mustangs stay undefeated.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: Plum