Battle Ground and Prairie high schools are each sending a bowler to the state tournament following districts at Hazel Dell Lanes on Friday, Jan. 27.
Battle Ground High School sophomore Emberly Stephenson advanced to the 4A state tournament after a solid performance in the 4A/3A district tournament, while Prairie High School will send Kasumi Crouse to the 3A state tournament.
Stephenson’s three game series of 133, 159, and a clutch third game of 191 was enough to advance her to the state tournament, which will be held in Tukwila the first weekend of February.
Battle Ground’s team total after the first round of individual scores and seven Baker Games fell short of reigning state champion Skyview in the 4A division. Prairie’s total landed them in fourth place in the 3A division.
“We have been improving greatly toward the end of this season heading into this district tournament,” said Battle Ground’s Head Coach Harold Lynse prior to the district tournament.
Only one full team and three bowlers who were not a part of the winning team for both 3A and 4A advanced to the state tournament.
The format of the Baker Games included all five starting bowlers for each team who acted as individual bowlers. Evergreen High School’s Athletic Director Christian Swain described the format as the most energetic and exciting in all of bowling. Swain has seen teams come back from 300-plus pins to win matches.
The energy at Hazel Dell Lanes was electric, as chants and a packed crowd cheered on the teams as they competed for the prized first place spot to advance to Tukwila.
Evergreen’s Kierra Wilcox had a tournament high of 269 in her first game, which included eight strikes in a row. Turkey hats were abundant in the crowd as many bowlers in the district tournament achieved three strikes in a row and even more on occasion.
Stephenson’s third individual game started with four strikes in a row propelling her first four frames to a score of 108 after she left one pin remaining in the fifth frame.