Bowling

At the Lanes The Bowling Nation burst onto the FRA sports scene this year as 36 students participated this season. Overwhelmed by the response, Coach Joe Meko formed varsity and junior varsity boys and girls teams, a first for the school.

Varsity Girls

The varsity girls team finished the season with a record of 3-7 (3-5 district). Led by seniors Shalan “Shalanator” Trotz (team captain), Katie “Flash” Givens, and Hayley “Hayls” Heath, the girls saved their best for the district tournament. Against the second-seeded Hume-Fogg Blue Knights, the FRA girls bowled their best match of the season, finally breaking the 2000 pin barrier, yet they came up short by only 93 pins. Junior Savannah White led the team with a season-high 419 series and freshman Rachel DeMarco bowled the team’s high game with a 152. Many thanks to the rest of the girls team — sophomores Victoria Dodd, Julia Haffner, and Sarah Johnson — for a great and most importantly, fun season.

Varsity Boys

Likewise, the varsity boys compiled a record of 3-7 (3-5 district) during the regular season. Just like the girls, the boys saved their best for tournament time. The team pulled off the district upset of the season as they knocked off top-seeded Hillsboro in the second round of the district tournament. The boys won 18-9 (pinfall 2512-2457). Hillsboro established an early lead of 5-3 in points and 76 pins after the first game, but the fourth-seeded Panthers came back in the second game with their best overall single game team score of the season (911 pins for 6 bowlers, a 152 average for the entire team), cutting Hillsboro’s pinfall lead to 7. Building on their momentum and their 9-7 lead in points, the Panthers closed out the match by winning the third game by 62 pins and taking 4 of the final 6 individual head-to-head match ups.

The Panther freshmen led the scoring. Lee Armstrong rolled a 478 series with a 182 high game (both season highs) and Trey Williamson followed with a 462 series (season high) with a 176 high game. Trey was given the task of battling Hillsboro’s best bowler, a state individual tournament qualifier. Trey responded to the challenge by keeping up with him, losing his two head-to-head matches by only 23 pins each time. Senior Taylor “El Machine” Preston (team captain) followed with a 456 series and a 176 high game. Junior Rocky Cowan bowled a 392 series (season high) with a 144 high game. Junior Paul Wilkins (386 series, 144 high game) and senior Greg “Goose” Garland (338 series, 138 high game) rounded out the scoring for the Panthers.

Varsity District and Regional Tournaments

Although the varsity boys lost the district championship to David Lipscomb, they advanced to the first round of the regional tournament where they faced Goodpasture. Goodpasture won 17 1/2 to 9 1/2 with a pinfall of 3048 - 2808. FRA actually led by 25 pins after the first game, but Goodpasture came back to take the second game by 87 pins and the third by 178 pins. Yet even in defeat there was much to celebrate. The match pinfall of 2808 pins is the highest team total this year, an almost 300 pin improvement over the previous high of 2512 pins set during the victory over Hillsboro during the second round of the District 12 tournament. Three players bowled season personal best games and series during the match. Rocky Cowan rolled a 233 on his way to a 536 series; Taylor Preston had a 218 high game as part of his 545 series, and Greg Garland bowled a 197 in his 535 series. Greg also won all three of his individual head-to-head matches. Thanks also to the rest of the boys team — sophomores Cameron Premo and Matthew McFarland , and junior Scott Girton — for their contributions during the season.

Junior Varsity Boys

In junior varsity bowling action, the FRA boys team battled MBA’s bottom six varsity players and lost 25-2 (pinfall 2338-1986). Freshman Spencer Connell and sophomore Robby Moorby earned the Nation’s two points with personal best high games of 171 and 164 respectively. Against USN’s varsity team, the JV boys team lost a heartbreaker 14-13. Proving the bowling maxim that ”every pin counts,” the FRA boys led after the first game by 73 pins, fell behind by 29 pins after the second game, and won the third game but could not make up the pinfall difference. FRA lost by 19 pins (2029-2010). Freshmen Spencer Connell, Mitchell Connell, and Cameron Coats each won two games for the Panthers. Sophomore Hunter Schoettle dueled USN’s best bowler and split their two matches. Sophomores Robby Moorby and Biz Eatherly also notched single victories for FRA. Spencer and Hunter recorded the team’s high games with respective scores of 142 and 140. Other junior varsity boys bowlers included sophomores Grant Kehler and Tyson Trotz, and freshmen Nick Wiser, and Matthew Zielske.

Junior Varsity Girls

The junior varsity girls team unfortunately had no competition this season but enjoyed themselves anyway. Kudos to senior Lam Le, juniors Karla Ocampo, Mary McAllister, Lindsey Garland, and Rachel Fryer, and freshmen Lauren Pearce, Samantha Hill, Niki Heller, and Monica Dey for embodying the first rule of bowling: “Have Fun!”

Final Thoughts

This season has been one in which my expectations have been greatly exceeded, from the number of students participating on the teams to the varsity boys’ fun ride through the district and regional tournaments. Special thanks to Ken and Kim Premo for assisting with the bowling shirts and team hooded sweatshirts. I look forward to next year’s chapter in the Bowling Nation’s history!

The second annual FRA Bowling Summer Camp will be held the week of June 16-20, 2008, from 12:30 – 3:30 PM at Tusculum Lanes at 5315 Nolesville Road. Tusculum Lanes is the home for the FRA Bowling Nation. 2008 FRA Summer Camp brochure

Please contact me at mekoj@frapanthers.com or at 369-4561 if you have any questions. See you on the lanes!

Coach Joe Meko
Varsity Boys and Girls Bowling Teams

mekoj@franklinroadacademy.com