Gateway bowlers compete at high school nationals after strong season

By: Michael Love
Saturday, June 14, 2025 | 11:47 PM

In 2024, the Gateway boys bowling team finished fourth overall at the state championships.

At the time, the players and coaches didn’t know there was a national championship tournament or that they had qualified for it based on making the state tournament.

This year, however, the Gators were keenly aware of the opportunity to travel to Fort Wayne, Ind., June 7-9 to compete with the nation’s best.

States wasn’t going to be the senior-laden Gateway team’s final event of the season, and coach Joe Bowman said there was no doubt they would be a part of the fun to kick off this summer.

“When we made the cut at regionals and we knew we were going to states, the parents made their reservations to go to nationals,” Bowman said.

“It was already a done deal. The day before, when (junior) Chase (Michaels) qualified for state singles, he was ready to go to nationals, too. It was on our radar from the beginning of the year. We knew where it was, and we knew what we wanted to do to get there.

“For the seniors, they talked about nationals being their last ride and how they wanted to enjoy one final opportunity to compete and be together. You could tell from their vibe that they didn’t want it to end at states. They wanted it to end at nationals.”

Michaels and seniors Allon Wallace Jr., Josh Zlokas, Landon Lohr, Joey Jurcak and Chris Roseberry finished 32nd in a talented field of 55 boys teams.

The team rolled 921 and 978 in the two traditional games, and had a high games of 227 and 214 among the five Baker games.

Gateway was one of seven teams from Pennsylvania and four from the WPIBL — Plum, Armstrong and Greensburg Salem were the others — to compete in the team tournament at nationals.

Donegal High School from Lancaster County led the Pennsylvania contingent in 10th.

Plum fronted the WPIBL quartet in 22nd. Greensburg Salem was 44th, and Armstrong finished 51st.

There also were several individual WPIBL bowlers on the boys and girls sides who competed in the national singles tournament.

“A lot of (the Gateway players) bowl junior leagues, so they were staying fresh with their games,” Bowman said of the team’s readiness for nationals.

“And about six weeks before nationals, we started to have weekly practices. There was a published oil pattern for the national championships, and we attempted to replicate that the best we could. From what the kids said, we did a pretty good job doing that.”

Close to 400 took to the lanes for the singles tournament, and Wallace Jr. had a strong tournament for the Gators in placing 40th overall.

He started with an 839 series in qualifying with a 268 high game and made the cut to the first survivor round.

From there, he made the move up the ladder. He rolled 212, 219, and 234 in the first survivor round to bring his total to 1,504 and 48th place.

He capped his run in the second survivor round with games of 214 and 180 for a pin total of 1,898 and 40th place.

“Allon had a great tournament,” Bowman said.

“He left everything he had on the lanes. It’s awesome to know that he finished 40th out of everyone in the nation.”

Zlokas followed Wallace Jr. in the singles qualifying and placed 127th with a four-game series of 798 which featured high games of 225 and 224.

Lohr took 166th as he started out with games of 212 and 224 en route to a 776 series.

Greensburg Salem’s Dylan Megliorino led all WPIBL bowlers in the singles tournament with a 23rd place with a 1,975 total, just 12 pins away from making it to the third survivor round.

This was the ninth national postseason tournament. In addition to the Pennsylvania teams in action, there were teams representing Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Louisiana, Indiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, New York, Maryland, Oregon and Missouri.

“It was cool to see bowlers and teams remember us from last year and know that we made that much of an impact,” Bowman said.

“There are some teams that are there every year and are consistently strong.

“A pretty cool experience is when you are competing really hard against bowlers and teams you don’t know, and you feel that good will and respect. We congratulated each other for making a good shot. There’s one thing in common, and that’s bowling. We all get along.”

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.

Tags: Gateway