By Susan Jenior

Staff Writer

Al Petrosino, coach of the Kent Roosevelt varsity bowling team, was thrilled with his team’s efforts.

“What a great week the Rough Riders had” said Petrosino. “shooting over 2,400 both days against Stow and Copley. The boys had their highest Baker set shooting 635 against Copley.”

Kent bested Copley 2,445 to 1,683 at Riviera Lanes in Akron and only lost to Stow by 139 pins in a match that Kent scored 2,414 to Stow’s 2,553.

“The boys had their highest Baker set shooting 635 against Copley,” continued Petrosino. “The amazing part was we had the front seven strikes in game three of the Bakers.”

“I knew the boys had it in them and we were waiting for them to release their Baker power,” praised the coach. “The boys were all working together and pushing each other to do their best.”

“Cory Hartline, assistant coach, said ‘It’s about time.’ We both knew the guys had it in them.”

The Kent boys are putting in a ton of work for the season and they have a tough schedule in January with matches and tournaments but there is lots of excitement that comes with it, explained Petrosino.

“The Kent boys are 3-2 and the varsity girls are looking to pick up their first win this Wednesday,” concluded Petrosino.

Kent competes against North Royalton on Wednesday and Petrosino expects both teams to do well.

Kent boys varsity team includes Tayden Bailey, Colden Prater, Joey Impiccini, Eli Logsdon, Bernie Rosenberg and Braden Latacki.

GARFIELD BEATS SOUTHEAST IN MVAC SHOWDOWN

The Garfield Lady G-Men bested the Southeast Lady Pirates at Sky Lanes in an MVAC match-up between Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference teams.

Only 125 pins separated the two teams when the final pin had fallen in the match following two regular games and three Baker games.

Garfield’s Joy Justice tossed the high series of the match, a 363 with a 179 game and Alexandra Garlich bowled the high game of the match, a 198.

Southeast stayed close to the G-Men with Emily Morrison’s 325 high series including a 171 game and Emily Varga rolled the high game for the Pirates, a 186.

The two teams meet again on Jan. 26 at Spins Bowl, Kent.

ROVERS ON A ROLL

The Rootstown Rovers varsity bowling team picked up two wins this week beating both Canfield and Spins Bowl 2,291 to 1,794 and Kent Roosevelt at Kent Lanes in a tight match 2,207 to 2,189.

Best on the lanes included Bryce Harless rolling a 407 series with a 218 high game against Canfield and Isaac Simkanin rolling a 381 series with a 217 high game against Kent Roosevelt.

TOURNAMENTS AND MATCHES

As the holiday school vacation approaches, tournaments will dominate many schedules followed by league play taking over in January as bowling teams look forward to post-season and conference tournaments in February leading to the state tournaments in March.

Portage County has a rich history at the state tournaments as many schools including Garfield, Ravenna, Kent Roosevelt and Rootstown have all had success at the final event of the season.

It looks to be an exciting bowling season.

THE SPORT OF BOWLING

If you have not attended a bowling match as a spectator, you should make an effort to attend one of the contests for your school.

It is a very personal experience as spectators are just behind the lanes, close to the competition and able to watch every pin drop.

As the bowlers encourage each other with unique cheers during the Baker games and praise great scores no matter what team the bowler is on, the experience is usually a reminder of how sports should be.

Many of the high school bowlers know each other from competing in youth leagues at local lanes and will continue to cheer each other on and maybe compete with each other as they top out of high school bowling and join adult leagues after graduation.

Bowling is a lifelong sport and it is truly a great experience to watch the high school bowlers demonstrate and hone their talents that they may continue to use for years.