News

Regional bowling action took place this past week, and with the fields set for the 6A and 5-1A state championships at North Rock Lanes in Wichita March 5-6, six teams from the city of Topeka qualified in full, as did a handful of city bowlers whose teams didn’t qualify.

In class 6A, the Washburn Rural girls won their regional and qualified all six of their bowlers for state. Rural’s team score of 3,311 easily outpaced Manhattan and Junction City for the title. Mikki Fender’s score of 699 was the top individual score of the day. She was joined by Hannah Casto (655, third) and Kaitlyn Doyal (638, fourth) in the top five individually for the Lady Blues. Janae Peoples also came in with a top-ten finish, finishing eighth.

Washburn Rural’s Chase Clausing won the boys individual regional championship with a 719 series. He’ll be joined in the 6A state tourney by Topeka High’s Alec Granger, who bowled a 646 and finished seventh overall.

In a 5-1A regional at Emporia, three city teams swept the team berths in girls bowling, with Seaman, Shawnee Heights and Topeka West going 1-2-3. Makenzie Millard’s 743 series was the best individual score and led the Lady Vikes to the team regional title. Kaitlyn Evan and Brooklyn McCracken were second and third for Seaman, with Valery Palmer sixth, Kaley Belletto ninth, and Katy Price 17th. Brylee Prockish led Heights with her fourth-place finish. Megan Stretton (eighth) and Karli Gilliland (tenth) also rolled strong for the Lady T-Birds. West’s top finisher was Jessica Sandgren, who placed 12th.

Shawnee Heights edged Seaman in a tiebreaker for the boys regional crown. Bryce Cook was second overall for the T-Birds, with Shane May fifth and Alec Elskamp eighth. Seaman was led by Ethan Burns’ third-place finish and also had Zander White (seventh) and DJ Birkenbaugh (ninth) in the top ten. Topeka West’s Preston Millard edged Cook by one pin with a 738 series, which included a 300 game in his third game, to win the individual crown and qualify for state alongside Charger teammate Zach Phillips, who also bowled a 300 game and placed sixth. Hayden’s Aaron Thomas’s 12th-place finish earned him a state berth as well.