BOWLING

The Huntington bowling teams were in action at the USBC Sectional Tournament in Stratford, NJ over the weekend. The USBC invites the top-ranked programs from around the country and breaks them down into four different sectional tournaments with the top four teams from each sectional moving on to the Intercollegiate Team Championships.

The sectional sites this season were held in Addison (Ill.), Smyrna (Tenn.), Dallas (Texas) and Stratford (N.J.). Each tournament featured a total of 64 baker games over two days.

“It’s the ultimate culmination of a long season, the shot is hard, the competition is tough and the emotions run high,” said Coach Shockey. “It’s pretty much the only tournament where you feel happy, sad, relieved, drained, and energized.”

The HU men finished the tourney 15th out of 21 schools with a total score of 11,509 pins. After posting a score of 5,890 for 9th in the standings on Saturday, Sunday was not so kind. They shot a 5,619 to fall six spots in the final standings.

“The men struggled with consistency all season and this tournament was not any different,” said Shockey. “We started the tournament in 2nd place after four games and just couldn’t maintain that level the rest of the weekend.

“The men’s team was led by our seniors Justin Coleman and David Miller. They have been four-year varsity players and provided us with tremendous leadership throughout their collegiate bowling careers. We’re going to miss them next season and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

The Huntington women were a different story. They finished 5th out of 14 schools by tallying a score of 11,742 – just 62 pins away from bowling for a national championship. The Foresters were consistent and strong all day Saturday to finish with a pin total of 5,884 for the third spot. While they remained consistent on Sunday to collected 5,858 points, they fell a heartbreaking two places to just miss extending their season to the USBC Team Championships.

“The first 16 games on Sunday were the difference,” noted Shockey. “We bowled well but couldn’t catch any breaks with carry or breaking down splits. The last 16 games of the tournament we knew what we had to do and put up the third highest set of any other school and made up almost all the pins we needed.

Of his seniors, Brianna Cearbaugh, Heidi Tucker and Abby Atkins, Shockey had this to say: “Their raw determination in the last couple games was one of the most impressive displays I’ve ever seen. We’re going to severely miss them next season, but I am confident whatever their future holds, they will be successful.”

With this tournament, the Foresters wrap up the season having enjoyed numerous accomplishments. On the women’s side, they claimed their first tournament championship, logged the highest sectional finish in school history, and saw several players earn All-Conference honors.

The men won the Buckeye Baker Classic back-to-back years and as a program, the Foresters had more players make All-Tournament teams than any other year.