Ally Eckert and Lori Angello each medaled at the 5-1A girls’ state bowling tournament on Friday afternoon, helping the Lansing girls’ bowling team to a sixth-place finish.
The Lions’ top four female bowlers totaled 2,141 pins in their three games at Northrock Lanes to beat their season average and finish just 13 pins behind fifth-place Newton, 22 pins behind fourth-place Topeka West, and 52 pins behind third-place Buhler. Shawnee Heights dethroned Bishop Carroll as the defending champions and also took the individual title with a 715 series from Jessica Thompson.
“Shawnee Heights had a lot of good bowlers...” Lansing head coach Aaron Wecas said. “But this is our second year of existence, and we went from sending one girl to state to sending the whole team to state, and we came pretty darn close (to being at the top).”
The Lansing boys’ lone representative at state was Austin Taylor, who placed 22nd out of 72 competitors and came up just two places short of a medal on Thursday at Northrock Lanes. Eckert and Angello did come home with hardware, though, finishing 16th and 18th, respectively.
Eckert, who qualified for state last year but didn’t medal, stepped up and delivered a 578 series with a consistent performance on Friday. She fired scores of 212, 166, and 200, and although Wecas said Eckert was disappointed that the team didn’t place higher, it was made a little better by the fact that she won an individual medal.
“There’s 72 girls there that were bowling, and to get two of them 16th and 18th is pretty satisfying,” Wecas said.
Angello, a senior, also stepped up to new heights on Friday. Her 567 series was 31 pins higher than her previous best, and her scores improved gradually throughout the day at 146, 194, and 227. Her last game was also her high single game of the year.
“You could just see her confidence grow as the day went on,” Wecas said. “During that last game she shot 227, she had a string of about four of five strikes in a row.
“She was mad,” Wecas added with a laugh. “She said, ‘I finally figured it out and it’s my last game.’ And I said, ‘At least you figured it out.’”
Courtney Barker and Lori Angello also registered for the team score, and Kristin Tavano and Katie Metcalf bowled for the Lions as well. Their scores were unavailable at press time.
Taylor, another senior, also bowled his best when it mattered most. His 636 series was his best of the year and put him just six pins away from medaling. He rolled a 187 and 204 in his first and third games, respectively, but it was his 245 in the second game that also established a season high for him.
