Mechanicsburg’s Christopher Ritchie saved the best for last, rolling a 764 to take top honors at the OHSAA State Bowling Finals at HP Lanes in Columbus, Ohio. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Jarrod Ulrey)
Coldwater leads area teams with third-place finish
Columbus, OH – During his freshman season in 2022, Christopher Ritchie soaked in the experience of playing with an all-senior lineup as the Mechanicsburg boys bowling team captured its second consecutive Division II state championship and third overall.
Ritchie, who was sixth in 2023 and eighth last winter while competing at state as an individual, saved his best performance for his final prep event.
With a three-game series of 764 that helped the Indians reach the championship round, Ritchie left with the state individual medalist honor Saturday at HP Lanes.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Jarrod Ulrey writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros
“You (accept) what you have to work with and just be consistent,” Ritchie said. “Every lane can play differently based on the way you’re throwing it. I tried to tell them today’s another day to practice and just have fun.”
That relaxed approach almost helped Ritchie reach the state record book.
He began his second game with 11 consecutive strikes before throwing a 6 on his final ball to finish with a 296. Ritchie said he has rolled three previous 300 games, but none were sanctioned.
“He’s very cerebral, very calm, keeps his emotions in check, and does a great job in setting the precedent for the rest of the team, too,” coach Jason Tom said. “He helps with the balance in the ship. It’s good to have a leader like that.”
Coldwater was the No. 1 seed after rolling a 4,456 during the qualifying round and opened the championship bracket by beating eighth-seeded Washington Court House 3-0.
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Then in a semifinal against fourth-seeded and defending state champion Marion Pleasant, the Cavaliers were up 2-1 but lost the fourth game 246-208 and the fifth 253-203 to settle for third overall.
Bellefontaine Benjamin Logan beat Pleasant 3-2 in the championship match.
“(Pleasant is) good, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” coach Rick Hartings said. “We had one open frame and they just jumped all over us (in the fifth game). We graduated six seniors last year and had four freshmen and a sophomore, and they’re all very good. We’re that young, but we lose three good seniors. We’ll be back.”
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During the qualifying round, senior Brady Mathewson led the way with a 701 to tie for eighth.
“Practicing last night really helped out,” Mathewson said. “The whole team shot really, really well, and the lanes turned out to be really playable. I played j.v. all of last year and on varsity one or two times, so this is my most time on varsity and it’s been great. We have three seniors, and only two of them were on varsity last year.”
Coldwater’s Clay Shulze prepares his approach during warmups before the Bakers. Schultz placed 10th in the state with a 697 series.
Sophomore Clay Schulze fired a 697 to tie for 10th and also make second-team all-state while senior Caleb Wendel was 13th (684) to earn honorable mention honors.
“Everybody did well today,” Schulze said. “We’re young with four freshmen, so there’s a lot to come. The seniors were great.”
Ritchie’s performance helped the Indians roll a 4,295 and receive the No. 2 seed for the championship round behind Coldwater (4,456) as the top eight advanced.
Mechanicsburg couldn’t keep the momentum of a strong morning going as it lost to seventh-seeded Benjamin Logan 3-0 in the first round.
Also for Mechanicsburg during the qualifying round, senior Jacob Brumfield finished 23rd (651), senior Wyatt Cordell was 25th (646) and sophomore Matthew Dean tied for 33rd (619).
“The kids were loose and have been having a good time,” Tom said. “We were making spares and everybody was keeping their energy up. We bowled really well (during the qualifying round), the best we’ve bowled all year. It’s been fun.”
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St. Henry wound up the No. 5 seed for the championship round but matched up with defending champion Pleasant and lost 3-0 to finish sixth overall.
“In the bakers we were up and down and had a little trouble playing the lane conditions, but we stayed solid,” St. Henry coach Travis Schlater said.
Pictured are St. Henry’s Ben Wendel (7th Overall) Coldwater’s Brady Mathewson (T-8th) Clinton-Massie’s Mason Keck (T-8th) and Coldwater’s Clay Shulze (10th)
During the qualifying round, the Redskins totaled 4,041 as sophomore Ben Wendel was seventh (702) to earn second-team all-state honors, sophomore Jack Siefring was 14th (677) to make honorable mention all-state, and sophomore Nick Lefeld was 31st (621) to lead the way.
“It went well,” Wendel said. “(My qualifying round) was probably my best (of the season). Yesterday we came here and got a practice round in, and that gave me a good head start for today. My teammates gave me a lot of energy to get me through my shots.”
Fort Recovery, which was competing at state for the first time, was 11th through the first three games and wound up in the same spot, finishing with a 3,842.
Junior Gabe Acheson tied for 18th (661) to miss the final honorable mention all-state spot by 13 pins. Junior Reece LeFevre shot 645 to place 26th.
“I thought they did great,” coach Corey Gerlach said. “They seemed loose. They came out pretty strong and were steady all day long. It’s the first time for both our boys and girls (which competed Friday) to qualify. We were real consistent all day long. They didn’t set the world on fire, but they didn’t do anything poorly either.”