It was a busy weekend for the local schools competing at the 1st Region tournament, with the Apollo boys’ team finishing runner-up and advancing to the state tournament. Seeded fourth, the Eagles beat Owensboro Catholic, Greenwood, and number one seed Graves County before falling to McCracken County in the finals. Senior Landon Thompson and eighth grader Bradley Fulkerson bowled high games of 253 and 199.
“Our boys did not take the easy road to get back to the State Tournament,” Apollo coach Kerrie Franklin said. “After knocking out Catholic, our Greenwood match was exhausting – going win, loss, tie, loss, and then the two comeback wins to close it out. We were worried they wouldn’t have much left for first seed Graves County, but we got the first win, and they fought through the loss and came back eager to get back to the State Championships.”
Seeded fourth, the girls’ team overcame a slow start to beat Henderson County before falling to top seed Graves County in the semis. Graves County went on to win the girls’ bracket. Sophie O’Bryan was the team’s anchor in the baker matches and freshman Kay McDaniel rolled a 165.
While the girls’ season has come to an end, the boys will be competing in the state tournament starting Monday, Feb. 10.
“Easy way or hard way, undefeated season or not the best season, getting to the state tournament was the goal, and our Eagles determination accomplished that,” Franklin said “We are proud of how they handled the challenge. Now it’s back to work – we have some unfinished business to take care of and the goal now is to win state.”
Seeded, third, Owensboro’s boys’ team lost to McCracken County in the semi-finals. For the boys’ in the singles, Tristan Miller (7th), Christian Miller (9th), Chuck Canady (12th), and Xavier Coomes (15th) all competed.
For the Lady Devils, they are a young team, and this was the first time they were competing at regionals. They were seeded tenth and lost to Warren East in the first round. Emily Cooper, Zoey Douglas, Elizabeth Marshall, and Summer Sutherlin all finished 31st, 35th, 42nd, and 52nd.
“Although we fell short of our goal of returning to state, we could not be prouder of this team and their performances this year,” Owensboro coach Regina Christensen said. “It will be difficult to say goodbye to our seniors, but we are excited for the future of our team. To our seniors Andrew, Tristan, Christian, and Chuck, it has truly been a pleasure watching you grow into the amazing bowlers you are.”
For Daviess County, eighth grader Lucas Tincher (21st, 545), freshmen Kason Smith (28th, 521) and Brandon Hall (70th, 317), and sophomore Evan Onstott (55th, 429) all competed in the individuals. On the girls’ side, senior Taylor Curry finished ninth bowling a 508 and just missed out on the top eight by three pins.
The Panthers were seeded tenth and lost to Warren East in a series that went the entire five games and came down to the 10th frame.
“Although we lost today, coaches Jimmy Carroll, Cathy Carroll, and me are proud of the hard-fought effort of our nine-man team,” Daviess County coach Casey Caroll said. “We are sad to have not advanced this year, but know DC will be back next year with a strong young team ready to hit the lanes.”
For Owensboro Catholic, the boys’ team lost to Apollo in their first match.
“We’d like to congratulate Luke Quinn on his performance this weekend and on making the All-Region team,” Owensboro Catholic coach Eddie Miller said. “Of course it wasn’t the outcome that we hoped for, but our kids fought hard and had a really good season. We’d also like to congratulate Apollo on making it to state.
