It was a similar story for the Lansing bowling teams on Monday afternoon in their duals against Piper at Ranch West Bowl, as the girls’ varsity stayed undefeated while the boys’ varsity was highly competitive but lost a close one.
The Lion girls (now 7-0 this season) backed up their No. 8 state ranking in 5-1A by pounding the Pirates 2,042-1,338 after getting a 620 series from Courtney Barker for the highest series of any bowler at the event, male or female. Domanique Carey bowled at the varsity level for the first time this season for the Lansing boys (now 1-6) and stepped up to lead them with a 551 series, but Piper held them off and won 2,132-2,110.
“It was close,” Lansing head coach Aaron Wecas said of the boys’ match. “Twenty-two pins, that’s a strike or a spare here and there ... but Domanique coming out was a pleasant surprise. ... I was impressed with his technique and his style. He’s learning, and you just want to reward a kid for working hard and doing well in JV meets.”
Cary had the third-highest series of any boy at the even despite getting the call up to varsity for the first time, and he also had the highest individual game in the boys’ event with a 212. Barker stole the show, though, not only having the highest series of all bowlers on either the boys’ or girls’ side, but also having the highest individual game with a 218. She also rolled a 202 and a 200 to consistently roll 200+ in every game.
The rest of the Lansing girls’ varsity took care of business as well, as each of their six bowlers took the top six spots overall in the girls’ event. Lori Angello (483 series), Ally Eckert (474), and Lisa Angello (465) contributed to the team score, and Kristin Tavano (452) and Allison Dillon (440) also competed for the varsity.
“Overall, I thought the girls did OK,” Wecas said. “Courtney obviously did great. ... She was pretty confident about herself.”
Austin Taylor (539) and Jonathan Robbins (531) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the boys’ event. Nick Germonprez (489) also registered for the team score and placed ninth. AJ Brinkley (451) and Bryan Courtney (451) bowled as well in the varsity match and took 10th and 11th, respectively. Brinkley won the tiebreaker by virtue of a better score in his high game.
“(The) boys’ varsity didn’t do too terribly bad,” Wecas said. “They’ve had to overcome some difficulties as a team ... but we’re coming along. And we get to bowl again (Tuesday).”
