High school bowlers roll into the season on a high note

Bellefontaine junior Gracie Hood, who rolled her first career 300 game this summer, is gearing up for the high school bowling season - CONTRIBUTED

Bellefontaine junior Gracie Hood, who rolled her first career 300 game this summer, is gearing up for the high school bowling season - CONTRIBUTED
Sports
By Debbie Juniewicz – Contributing Writer
Nov 22, 2024
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Offseason, what’s that?

Ball after ball, frame after frame and game after game, high school bowlers have been putting in the work. Competitive high school bowlers rarely take a break from the sport, and several of them have been rewarded with perfection.

“I bowl all year round,” Bellefontaine junior Gracie Hood said. “There is no offseason.”

Hood is one of several local youth bowlers who have rolled a 300 game since last season wrapped up in March. She posted her first perfect game in the Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League at Southwest Lanes in late August.

“I was never really too nervous, it was more of an adrenaline rush,” Hood said. “A couple of weeks prior, I felt like I was in a bit of a slump, so I was more shocked than anything.”

The Bellefontaine bowler is not unfamiliar with big scores as the 16-year-old also recently broke the house youth record for girls or boys at TP Lanes, in Bellefontaine, with a 774 series. The previous record had stood for more than two decades.

With the Chieftains bowling season getting underway Wednesday, Hood’s focus is now on making a third trip to the state tournament with her team.

Hood is one of several local high school bowlers who were “perfect” in recent months. Some, like Beavercreek sophomore Isaiah Durflinger, tallied multiple perfect games (four) between April and July. Andrew Parker, Miamisburg, Brenden Staton, Fairmont, and Jacob Terpenning, Beavercreek, each posted a pair of perfect games since the end of the 2023-24 season.

Area high school bowlers with offseason 300 games

* Logan Duncan, Kenton Ridge, sr. —Bowl 10 - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (April 7)

* Isaiah Durflinger, Beavercreek, so. — Sterling Lanes - Junior Gold Survivor Tournament (July 20); Eastern Lanes - Friday Night Sweeper (June 14); Thunderbowl Lanes - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (May 5); Wayne Webb’s Columbus Bowl - JTBA Columbus Youth Open (April 28)

* Cooper Gerlach, Troy, jr. — Thunderbowl Lanes - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (Aug. 25)

* Connor Hicks, Dayton Christian, so. — Poelking Lanes South - Wednesday Night Youth Trio League (Sept. 25)

* Gracie Hood, Bellefontaine, jr. — Southwest Lanes - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (Aug. 25)

* Casey Lippincott, Centerville, sr. — RollHouse Dayton - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (Sept. 29)

* Camden Lively, Hillsboro, jr. — Highland Lanes - Saturday Morning Youth League (Aug. 17)

* Andrew Parker, Miamisburg, so. — Ken-Bowl Lanes - Louisville Metro Youth City Tournament (Oct. 5); Bowl Expo – Bowl Indy Youth Tournament (Sept. 8)

* Brenden Staton, Fairmont, sr. — RollHouse Fairfield - Scholarship Series Singles Tournament (June 22); Columbus Palace - JTBA Welcome Back Open (March 10)

* Jacob Terpenning, Beavercreek, sr. — Bowl 10 - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (April 21); Bowl 10 - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (April 7)

* Nick Walker, Washington Courthouse, sr. — La Ella Lanes - Saturday Morning League (Oct. 19)

* Kebeck Wells, Kenton Ridge, jr. — RollHouse Dayton - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (April 14)

* Kyle Wickman, Troy, jr. — Bowl 10 - Sunday Night Youth Scholarship Travel League (April 21)

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About the Author

Debbie Juniewicz