The Hillsboro High School bowling program attended the yearly kickoff tournament held at the Columbus Bowling Palace on Dec. 3.
This once-a-year invitational event is reserved for the best of the best out of Division 1 and Division 2 schools across the state.
Sixty-two school teams were in attendance for this year’s event, including many of the state finalists for both divisions.
The Hillsboro Varsity boys team came to play though the qualifying round, scoring 3060 across 17 qualifying games. That put them in 10th spot out of 32 boys teams, moving the Indians to bracket play and sending 16 teams home, including two teams that took the Indians out of the state tournament last season — Shawnee-Lima and Triway. But the Indians were not done yet. Hillsboro took out seven-seeded Butler High School team in four baker games, moving the Indians to the eighth round.
Hillsboro’s next challenger was Coldwater High School, which finished last year at number two in the state. Hillsboro took them in four games and moved to semi-finals. The Indians bowled well, but got edged out by home team Westerville Central in four baker games.
The Indians were led by Senior Tyler King, who shot a 656, putting him at third in the boys division and third all-tournament team.
“Tyler was the third overall out of 160 boys,” said Hillsboro boys coach Shane Ison. “If you know Tyler, he deserves the recognition that he earned. This kid is every coach’s dream with work ethics like no other. Congratulations Tyler. It was also great to see some of our underclassmen step up. Hayden Miller, Andrew Louderback and Chase Cummings all came up huge in their roles today. Last, but definitely not least, were our other two seniors, Sajoun Jones and Hunter Lowe.”
For the girls division, The Lady Indians missed the cut, scoring 2536, only 39 pins from the top 16 and the cut for the championship rounds.
The Lady Indians were led buy junior Madalyn Miller and Aleigha Tarbutton, who both shot 468.
The girls had the fourth-highest baker set in the girls division, but early nerves seemed to be a factor.
On Monday, Dec. 5, the Hillsboro High School bowling program hosted Lynchburg-Clay High School in an out-of-conference match at Highland Lanes.
The Lady Indians stole the show that night, shooting 2298 to the visiting Mustangs’ 1610. The Hillsboro ladies were lead by junior Madalyn Miller with a 455 series including a 266 game, followed by Mary Herman with a 418.
The varsity boys earned a win as well, shooting a 2497 and defeating Lynchburg’s 2212. The boys were led by sophomore Brenden Ormes, who shot a 441, followed by senior Tyler King with a 437.
On Thursday, Dec. 8, Hillsboro High School hosted a quad match with McClain High School, Lynchburg-Clay and Unioto. The Lady Indians met more success with 2246 points, led by Miller, who shot 430, and senior Alexis Bailey, who shot a 404.
The boys team had a rough showing, but edged out the win with a 2457. The tribe was led by Senior Sajoun Jones, who shot a 437, followed by senior Tyler King, who shot 435. Lynchburg scored 2443, led by senior Noah Fenner, who shot a 411 series.
“The girls team is still clearing their throat,” said Hillsboro girls coach Jeff Miller. “We haven’t shot to our potential at this point early in the season. We are improving every week and we have a lot of schedule in front of us. The kickoff tournament, I think, was an eye-opener to our girls, letting them know they have work still to do. Yes, it was a sport oil pattern that day, and yes, we didn’t shoot well, but we still almost made the cut. I know several teams that were very happy to see we didn’t make it. But that’s fuel for our girls to get better. Their performance this week is a sign that we have a great shot at getting where we want to be by the end of the season.”
The Hillsboro boys and girls teams both have an 8-0 record this season.
