Coldwater’s Carter Bertke plants and delivers during the qualifying round of the DII State Bowling Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
After placing first in the qualifying round with a 331 pin margin, it appeared Coldwater was well on its way to yet another state bowling title. But it would be Marion Pleasant who would seize the day, beating Akron Coventry 3-0 to claim the crown.
By Jarrod Ulrey
COLUMBUS – With four championships and three runner-up finishes during the first 17 years the OHSAA administered the state boys bowling tournament, Coldwater has more experience dealing with the pressure of being a title contender than perhaps any program in Ohio. 
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The Cavaliers lost only one tournament all season and found themselves in the favorites role Friday during the Division II state tournament at HP Lanes when the unpredictability of the championship round that sometimes ensues took hold.
After bowling 3,893 during the qualifying round to earn the No. 1 seed, Coldwater wound up losing 3-2 to eighth-seeded Liberty Center in its opening match of the championship round. “They went down fighting,” coach Rick Hartings said. “We keep telling the guys that it’s not automatic. We just didn’t finish it off.”‘
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Against Liberty Center, Coldwater won the second game 267-202 and the fourth game 278-179 but lost the final 194-151. Marion Pleasant beat Akron Coventry 3-0 in the championship match.
Versailles Blake Henry sends one toward the pins during the OHSAA DII State Bowling Championship. Henry threw a 149-237-246 good for 12th place overall.
“In our gut, we had a little bit of a bad feeling because (Liberty Center is) in our district and they’re a very good team,” Hartings said. “We have a good group of guys and felt like we kind of changed our lineup in the second game to put us in position to win. “We only lost one (tournament) and won all the other tournaments. We had six seniors and they all worked hard. Every time we put in a substitution, they seemed to rise up.”
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The biggest highlights for the Cavaliers came during the qualifying round when junior Caleb Wendel rolled a 702 to finish runner-up and senior Kayden Giere shot 679 to place sixth and earn second-team all-state honors. Hanoverton United’s Ethan Hively rolled a 726 to win the title. Wendel bowled games of 262, 192 and 248.
“When I started here in the morning, my ball was really driving through the pocket and I was really hitting all my shots,” Wendel said. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot. Going from averaging 195 last season to averaging 225 this season, I definitely improved a lot.”
Giere bowled games of 221, 243 and 215.
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Also for the Cavaliers, senior Drew Eyink tied for 23rd (607) and seniors Carter Bertke, Garrett Bruns and Nick Wehrman and junior Austin Burden competed in the qualifying round as well. “The best thing about us was probably us being a team and being such a close group,” Giere said. “This team was really special.”
Minster’s Xavier KItzmiller approaches the line during the OHSAA DII State Bowling Championships in Columbus.
Mechanicsburg junior Chris Ritchie finished eighth (661) to make second-team all-state while senior teammate Aaron Adams was 75th (508). Ritchie opened with a 206, followed with a 266 and then finished with a 189. “They were definitely some great moments,” said Ritchie, who tied for sixth a year ago and was making his third state appearance. “I threw the ball well but kind of carried a few. But it’s all good. I wish we could have gotten the whole team here, but it was a good run.”