The 2023 bowling season is in full swing, and the Owensboro Times reached out to the local coaches to get their thoughts on the season. Here’s what the local coaches had to say:
What are your expectations/goals for this year?
Apollo Head Coach Kerrie Franklin: This our 11th season for the boys program and 9th for the girls team. We have only had one losing season – the girls 1st year – in the previous 18 seasons and I expect another successful year. On the girls side, we are coming off a Region Runner Up title and trip to state to finish the season where we placed in the top 4. Losing senior Rikki Overall will hurt, but I expect our younger bowlers will step up to the challenge of filling her shoes. On the boys side, we lost two seniors, Jack Whitesell and Tyler Head, who had both been with our program for many years and were among our top bowlers the last few years. Our three seniors this year – Charlie Roberts, Connor Nantz and Chase Jones – are already off to a great start though and picking up the slack. Our goals for this season are for both teams to continue to have a winning season, place in the top 2 at Region and return to the State Tournament.
Daviess County Head Coaches Jimmy and Casey Carroll: This season I would like there to be good teamwork, great sportsmanship, and for them to improve their games individually and as a team. I also want them to excel off the lanes in their academic studies.
Owensboro Head Coach Regina Christensen: Our goal is to make it to the finals at Regionals and go to State.
Owensboro Catholic Head Coach Edward Miller: Our goal for this year is to focus and to improve for regionals in January.
What will be the biggest challenges on the schedule?
AHS: The Owensboro boys’ team is looking very solid this season and have already given our boys their only loss so far. In tournament play we will be looking out for the always tough PRP and Trinity. Our Eagles finished 2nd at the Graves County Early Season Tournament November 4th and 3rd at the Christian County/Hopkinsville Invitational. And we took a co-ed team to compete in the boy’s division of the J-Town Black Friday Tournament in Louisville this Friday and came home with a 2nd place trophy again and a new Apollo record high baker game. Our 5-man team of Madison Emmick, Sophie O’Bryan, Chase Jones, Connor Nantz and Charlie Roberts shot a 290 – a spare in the first frame and then all strikes to finish it out!
Our E-gals should do well against most Region 1 teams but we do still have the back to back State Champions in our Region, Graves County. They are still solid and should be favorites to have a chance to win our Region and State again and the PRP gals are always tough competition. Our girls finished 1st at the Christian County/Hopkinsville Invitational Nov. 18th.
DCHS: The biggest challenges we face related to our schedule are the tournaments. Not only do they allow our players to compete against teams that are not in our region, it allows the athletes to experience other bowling alleys and lane conditions.
OHS: Apollo, McCracken Co., & Graves Co. will be our toughest competition.
OCHS: Did not provide response.
Who are your top returning athletes and why?
AHS: Senior Charlie Roberts is coming off a great junior season and has moved into the leader/anchor position for us. I expect a great season for him and our other seniors, Connor Nantz and Chase Jones. Junior Landon Thompson has started the season strong as well and sophomore Kaden Brown is making an impact shooting 35+ pins over last year’s average with seeing much more playing time.
Junior Madison Emmick and freshman Sophie O’Bryan are our girls top bowlers so far this season. Sophie really came on late last season and at state and worked hard on her game over the summer and it is paying off. Madison continues to be one of our top bowlers and has already broken her own high game record with a 265 game this season. Freshman Gracie Brown and juniors Cassidy Joines and Elizabeth Layson are also steady in our lineup.
DCHS: Madilyn Phelps – senior – She is a top returning athlete because she has dedicated the last 5 years to the team and improving her game. She has previously had a top 3 finish at regionals and a top 10 finish at states. Ocean Barnett – senior – He is a top returning athlete because he has stepped up to become the leader of the team on and off the lanes.
OHS: Christian Miller, Tristan Miller, Xavier Coomes, and Andrew Christensen are my returning players who have been on the team the longest and I expect them to help lead the team this season. These 4 have been with the team since their 7th grade year and they know what it will take to get us to where we need to be at regionals.
OCHS: Our top returning bowler is senior Meredith Fischer, Meredith serves as our team captain and has been on the team for the last 4 years.
Who do you expect/need to step up and why?
AHS: Our #6 and 7 bowlers really need to step up this season to give us a chance to make it through Region. They all saw limited playing time last season, but are steady in the lineups now at matches and tournaments. Colby Reed, Brycen Chenault and Addison Wells could all have breakout seasons this year and could make some noise to get into the starting lineups as the season progresses. All 3 have around 25+ pin improvement on their last year averages right now.
DCHS: We expect the returning bowlers to step up and be good role models for the new teammates. We lean heavily on our seniors to create a good team environment because we have gained several young players and wish to continue to grow the program.
OHS: I have 2 seniors & 4 juniors that I expect to step up and lead the team.
OCHS: For us to be competitive, we’re going to need some of our seniors who’ve decided to bowl this year to step up and to do the work needed to be successful.
What areas are you hoping to improve on this year and why?
AHS: Pushing to improve on our spare game and endurance in baker tournaments. Region 1 is packed with some really good bowling on the boys side and there are a number of teams that could come out of it and compete well at state. Hopefully our three senior boys can lead the way, and with the improvement we already see in the underclassmen we can make it to the State Tournament with the boys team this season. But they have got to make those spares & work together down the stretch in the tournaments.
Spare shooting and depth in the lineup are what we must work on with the girls team. We are still looking to see who else is going to step up this season and drive us back to state. Going last year our girls know what it takes and what to expect – they just need to execute.
DCHS: We are hoping to continue to improve on team morale, self confidence on the lanes, and their overall scores. We hope to achieve these goals throughout the season’s matches and tournaments. If we can continue to improve in these areas, we believe it will allow us to continue to grow our team’s program.
OHS: The last couple years our performance as regionals have been a struggle, but this season we have the team that could lead us to the finals.
OCHS: One of the biggest issues that we’ve experienced is retention of younger bowlers.
