While Coldwater fell just short of their goal of a state title, two Cavaliers earned top spots overall, with Brittany Burden leading all scorers with a 640 series, while teammate Rachel Moeller rolled a 621 to finish second during regulation. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
The Cavaliers left with the state runner-up team trophy as Brittany Burden earned medalist honors and teammate Rachel Moeller finished second individually.
Columbus, OH – No program in Ohio has as storied of a tradition at the state girls bowling tournament as Coldwater, and it added to that legacy Saturday at HP Lanes.
The Cavaliers left with not only their fourth Division II runner-up team finish, but for the second time in program history, they wound up with the top two finishers individually as senior Brittany Burden earned medalist honors with a 640 series and junior Rachel Moeller rolled a 621 to finish second.
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The only other time that happened for Coldwater was in 2013 when Erika Hartings and Kelsey Koesters took the top two spots.
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“Getting the individual champion and the runner-up in the same year, that’s crazy,” said coach Rick Hartings, who is Erika Hartings’ father. “Brittany Burden is our only senior, and she played well. She’s had a great senior year and was here a month ago for a tournament, so she likes this center. She sometimes gets a little mad, and that kind of gets in her head a little bit, but we try to keep her focused. Rachel’s been bowling real well at the end of the season and had a really good practice this week working with a new ball. It was still a great day.”
Burden bowled games of 198, 229 and 213 to win the title while Moeller recorded scores of 180, 239 and 202 during regulation.
Coldwater’s Brittany Burden focuses on the task at hand in the state final battle against Napoleon.
“This is my first time being (at state), and to do it with the team I have, it feels amazing,” Burden said. “I was just throwing the ball really well and getting great support from teammates, fans, and coaches. I knew I had a shot at it, and I wanted to do.”
“I was very happy, and I’m just shocked I got (second),” Moeller said. “I was really trying hard. I just found my line and kept swinging my arm loose, and everything was flowing well. We’re all having so much fun, and we’re all enjoying each other. This year I really stepped up and have done really well.”
Coldwater was the No. 1 seed for the championship round after rolling a 3,612 during regulation. After beating eighth-seeded Warsaw River View 3-1 and fourth-seeded Versailles 3-2, the Cavaliers lost by scores of 192-132, 192-165, and 189-144 to second-seeded Napoleon in the title match.
While Coldwater has been state champion five times and runner-up three times, the Wildcats won their first title after previously being runner-up three times—including in 2015 when they lost to the Cavaliers for the title.
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Versailles finished fourth, Fort Recovery was fifth, and Mechanicsburg placed seventh.
Also for Coldwater, freshman Cami Saunders placed 37th (490) during regulation while juniors Alexis Coats and Kelsey Seitz, and freshmen Brooklyn Coats and Josie Welling were key contributors.
They would not be denied. The Napoleon Girls team took the state title after a decisive 3-0 win over perineal powerhouse Coldwater.
“(Napoleon is) a well-respected team,” Hartings said. “They’ve had three runner-up finishes, and they came out to bowl. It’s been five years since we won the title, and since then our numbers were a little lower. Last year we only had five girls. It’s always better to have eight than five. Early on in the season, I’m not sure if this would have been on our map to get here. We were clicking at the right time for sure.”
Versailles struggled with a 748 in its opening game at state and was 11th after three games but rolled a 925 during the baker games to earn the fourth seed for the championship round.
After edging Fort Recovery 3-2 in their first championship round match, the Tigers won the first game 154-137 and the second 179-168 over Coldwater before losing the final three games.
Versailles coaches get vocal as their Tigers go up 2-0 against Coldwater in the D2 quarterfinals at HP Lanes in Columbus, Ohio.
“We battled all day,” coach Tyler Phlipot said. “We started in 10th after the first game and then were 11th, but then we jumped up to ninth, and then after the bakers we were in fourth. Fort Recovery is a good team and that went to five, so we battled there. Coldwater’s a good team, and it was the team that picked the most spares up. Unfortunately we were on the short end of the stick on that, but when you’ve got six sophomores, one junior, and a freshman on the team, it means a lot to do what we did today. I’m very proud of them.”
Sophomore Alayna Bartram battled illness all week and rolled just a 143 in the first game of regulation but bounced back with games of 199 and 210 for a 552 final score that placed her 18th overall—just three spots from making honorable mention all-state.
Sophomore Lydia Ward finished 36th (490), sophomore Brooke Keiser was 49th (477), sophomore Madelyn Farver placed 58th (464), and sophomore Brooklyn Livingston also was among the contributors for Versailles.
Bartram, Farver, and Keiser all contributed a year ago when the Tigers placed ninth.
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“It was a good day,” Phlipot said. “That was good for (Bartram) because she was sick all week. She didn’t go to school all week and we didn’t even know if she was going to bowl. She didn’t come for the practice round. She came last night with her parents and she bowls three games and 10 baker games, so kudos to her for battling it out and then finishing 18th in the state.
Fort Recovery’s Lilah Thein celebrates a strike during a quaterfinal battle against Versailles.
“This was our fourth year in a row at state, so it’s been a pretty good run, and this was our highest finish in quite a few years. Last year we missed the cut (to make the championship round) by 20 pins, so this was awesome.”
Fort Recovery bowled a 3,286 to earn the fifth seed for the championship round before losing to Versailles 3-2. The Indians, who were 12th a season ago, won the fourth game 165-141 but lost the fifth 210-140.
“Either team could have won that,” coach Doug Stone said. “It was one of those things where they just threw better balls toward the end. We just need to build on the basics and fundamentals and if we build those for next year, we’ll be back.”
Sophomore Lilah Thien bowled games of 205, 188, and 183 for a 576 score that placed her 13th overall to earn honorable mention all-state honors. Junior Deanna Brown was 22nd (538), sophomore Claire Gaerke placed 55th (466), and sophomores Jadyn Wyerick and Malia Grisez also were key contributors for the Indians.
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“We mesh really well together and can talk to each other,” Thien said. “We’re really close. We made the cut (into the championship round) this year, which we haven’t done in the past, so that was nice.
Versailles freshman Madelyn Farver warms up prior to the opening matches of the OHSAA D2 Finals at HP Lanes in Columbus, Ohio.
“I’m really happy (with my individual performance). Coming from just a little town, it’s really something definitely honorable and something I’m definitely proud of.”
Mechanicsburg was in ninth place heading into the baker games but moved up to the seventh seed. The Indians then took Napoleon to the brink in their first match of the championship round, losing 202-163 in the fifth game for a 3-2 loss.
“We just missed it by a couple spares,” coach David Bush said. “I’m very happy with the way they competed. We had a bad third game (in regulation), which kind of put us on the bubble. They came back and fought hard on the bakers to lift us up.”
Junior McKenzi Picklesimer placed 25th (530) to lead Mechanicsburg, with junior Haley Alty finishing 42nd (481) and seniors Ashton Waller and Briana Popovich and sophomore Kenzie Karg also being key contributors.
“It was a great season,” Bush said. “We went undefeated during the season, won the sectionals and district, and won the conference. I only lose two seniors, so I’ve got five coming back.”
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