The 2021 bowling season was pretty much smooth sailing for Seaman's boys and girls teams leading into the Class 5-1A state tournament.
The Vikings boys won all but one meet. The Vikings girls were undefeated. Adversity was minimal.
But after both teams entered the Class 5-1A state meet at Wichita's North Rock Lanes fully expecting to only challenge for the Class 5-1A title at Wichita's Northrock Lanes, but win sweep the crowns, the end of the season was quite frankly a bummer.
Seaman's boys finished a distant third to a red-hot Kapaun Mt. Carmel team. The Vikings girls came home without a trophy.
"Obviously, they out-bowled us and it showed," Seaman's Makenzie Millard said after the meet, which saw the Viking girls finish more than 100 pins out of the top three. "We weren't on top of our game and that showed as well. But at the end of the day, we did the best we possibly could."
Needless to say, both Viking teams will return to state this year with some extra motivation. The Vikings once again will be on the short list of contenders after sweeping last week's regional meet at Emporia.
Seaman's boys posted a 3,610 pin total that was the second-highest regional total, trailing only the 3,733 from defending champion Kapaun at the Andover regional – one that featured three teams at 3,377 or better (Wichita Trinity 3,501, Bishop Carroll, 3,377). Seaman's girls, meanwhile, finished with a 3,141 that was the highest pin total of any regional winner, besting defending champion Bishop Carroll's 3,087.
Seaman's Ethan Burns is a two-time state placer
and holds the highest average in Class 5-1A this
season.
Seaman also swept the individual titles at the regional with senior Jack Easum rolling a 747 series to win the boys' title and junior Makenzie Millard posting a 709 to win the girls.
"We're very hungry," said Viking junior Ethan Burns, one of three returners from last year's boys' state team along with Easum and fellow junior Zander White. "We've got three new guys this season who haven't gone to state before. They have nothing to lose and they can go out and roll there best. There shouldn't be any pressure on them."
Nor should the pressure be on either Seaman team like it was a year ago. The 2022 regular season has seen more ups and downs for both teams unlike the nearly flawless run a year ago.
Not there have been many. Seaman's girls are undefeated save for a loss in the semifinals of the bracket format of the 20-team Free State Invitational. Seaman's boys have finished runner-up at four meets this season, including at the Centennial League meet to Washburn Rural.
Those brief bouts of adversity could pay big dividends this week at state.
"Some of the way we breezed through it the past couple years, it's hurt us in a way," Seaman coach Bob Benoit said. "They kind of expect to go out there and win and not understand that we have to go out and take it. We have to work hard each and every day to be better than we were last year, better than we were the previous day. We're kind of fighting some battles with that and I think we're coming around."
Both teams return multiple individual placers from last year's state meet. White finished eighth and Burns took 13
th for the Vikings boys, while Millard finished fourth, Kaitlyn Evans took ninth and Cheyenne Turkin placed 16
th for the girls. Evans is a three-time state placer, finishing eighth as a freshman in 2019 and 18th as a sophomore in 2020. Millard and Burns and are two-time state placers with Millard finishing fifth in 2020 and Burns taking 14th. Senior Katie Price also placed top 20 in 2020, finishing 11th.
Burns holds the second-best boys' average in the state this season with a 228 average, trailing only Derby's Jason Miller (234), who is in Class 6A. Easum and Alexander Prescott each have posted top-25 series in the state with 747s.
Millard carries the highest girls' average in the state with a 220, eight pins better than two-time and defending state champion Kaylee Back of Bishop Carroll. She also has the fifth-best series in the state with a season-high of 729. Teammate Katie Price has the 13
th-best season average with a 195 average.
"We want to go back this year and get it done," Millard said. "We've been working really hard on trying to get things together to make this season a great one. It definitely sucked last year for sure. We knew we had a chance and we just struggled a bit. We all felt like it was there and we have stuff to practice on and took it as we know what we need to do for this season."
Seaman's boys last won a state title in 2019 while the girls' last crown came in 2011. Seaman's boys also won state in 2017.
-- Brent Maycock
FINAL CHAPTER OF BISHOP CARROLL'S BACK STORY
State bowling week gets a little crazy for Bishop Carroll senior Kaylee Back. And the two-time Class 5-1A individual girls champion wouldn't have it any other way.
Back, who lives in Derby, drives her Honda around the southwest side of the Wichita metro to get to school. From there, it's a short drive down the street to West Acres Bowling Center for practice with the reigning 5-1A team champions Golden Eagles.
And in the early evenings this week, Back has headed across town to Northrock Lanes, site of the state tournament, for some additional work before heading back to Derby.
Bishop Carroll's Kaylee Back
"I'm putting about 60 or 70 miles on the vehicle a day," said Back, who will try to become the first three-time girls state champion Friday. "The week leading up to state, I put in a lot of extra time. I feel like I've put in more work than the past years just to stay sharp and not fall behind."
Back, whose 212 season average ranks second in the state this winter, claimed her first 5-1A title as a freshman with a 662 series. She finished fourth two years ago as Andover Central's Jadyn Barr took top honors. Back regained the title – and led Carroll to its fourth state team championship – with a 734 series last March.
Half of Carroll's title-winning squad returns to state this year after the Golden Eagles won last week's Andover regional with a 3,087 pinfall. Back, who rolled a 618 series, finished second individually to Andover Central's Paighton Crumley, who rolled a 641 prior to the four-game Baker format.
Junior Katie Limon, who finished third at the regional with a 605, is one of Carroll's state newcomers along with junior Claudia Gonzales and sophomore Emerson Daugherty. Senior Jewel Pham and junior Lacey Wise, like Back, will be looking to go back-to-back in the team race.
"I really do love being a leader of this team," said Back, who will bowl for Oklahoma Christian University in the fall. "I love being able to get them together for team dinners and going out for breakfast before morning tournaments. It's been fun going out and being able to bowl and just have fun with each other."
Back, who rolled a career-high 299 game as part of a 776 series in a Feb. 1 triangular against Wichita East and Wichita Southeast, doesn't hide any secrets about her state success. She'd just like to enjoy it one more time.
"I just go in and enjoy the atmosphere and let all the excitement and all the determination from the other bowler soak in," Back said. "It makes me even more determined. It's a day where I can just throw everything else behind me and enjoy the fun time with my team."
– Scott Paske
WASHINGTON COUNTY'S METZ EAGER FOR STATE SHOT
Cody Metz wasn't completely kicking himself when he rolled a 793 series during an early February meet in Junction City.
After all the series was his career-best at the high school level and at the time ranked him tied third on the boys' state honor roll. But at the same time, coming that close to his first 800 series was almost agonizing.
"I was close, just missed a spare or two," said Metz, a senior at Washington County. "I was pretty good the first two games and then left an open frame in that third game and I was like, 'Dang!' Then I struck it out to the 10th, so I was right there."
Metz finished with games of 278-265-250 at the meet, tying him with Kapaun's Cole Munley and Derby's Jason Miller for third on the honor roll. Given a second chance at hitting the prestigious 800 number on a return trip to Junction City less than two weeks later, Metz didn't let that opportunity pass him by.
Metz started the Feb. 14 meet with a 268 game, followed with a 287 game and then closed with a 266 to give him an 821 series that ranks as the second-best in the state this year behind Garden City's Kaden Whitehurst, who rolled an 837 series on Feb. 1.
As excited as Metz was about eclipsing the 800 mark, it was another number that really got him juiced.
"It felt great, especially because I beat my dad's best series," Metz said of his father, John, who is also Washington County's head coach and has a career-best of 801. "I've got a little bragging rights now."
In the two meets since his breakthrough series, Metz hasn't even been over 700. But he's stayed consistent and when he rolled a 679 at last week's Class 5-1A regional at Emporia's Flint Hills Lanes, Metz reached another goal, earning his first state-tournament berth. Metz was an individual state qualifier at the regional, placing seventh with a 679.
"I'm pretty excited about it," he said of Friday's Class 5-1A state meet at Wichita's Northrock Lanes. "I've bowled there before and it's a pretty good alley, carries really good. If I can hit my mark and the ball comes off my hand good, I think I should be able to shoot a decent series. ... If I can shoot a 740, 750 I'll be happy."
Metz, who owns the seventh-highest average in the state this year with a 222 average, will be representing one of the smallest schools at the state meet with Wichita Central Christian the only other Class 1A school with a qualifier. The Tiger program began three years ago when a survey at the school about potential sports to add revealed bowling as one of the most popular choices.
John Metz, who owns and runs the Washington Bowl, agreed to coach the team and the program took off from there. Despite being the only school in the Twin Valley League with a bowling program, Washington County had no trouble finding meets in Junction City, Manhattan, Emporia and Topeka to compete at. The interest in the program has only grown.
"It's been fantastic," John Metz said. "We had seven the first year, nine the next year and this year we started with 24. In the two months of the season we have, I've been really impressed with their ability to learn and want to learn and pick up things."
Having Metz -- who also doubled up and played basketball for the Tigers -- qualify for state only helps the enthusiasm for the program.
"I think it's been a real kick in the pants," John Metz said. "A lot of kids that thought about it this year but didn't go out have already contacted me and said they're interested for next year. I think it can only go up."
-- Brent Maycock
Aviana Ordonez, left, Nina Frees have combined for two of the state's top four series of the season on the girls' side.
ORDONEZ, FREES FORM STRONG DUO FOR SALINA SOUTH
Aviana Ordonez and Nina Frees were freshmen on the Salina South team that captured the Class 5-1A girls state championship two years ago.
Since then, Ordonez and Frees have established themselves as a strong 1-2 punch for the Cougars.
Ordonez has the top girls' series in the state with a 782, while Frees has the state's fourth best score with a 731. Ordonez and Frees both have 198 season averages, ranking in the top 10 in the state.
"It's pretty nice to step back and let them do their thing, and the rest falls in place," Salina South coach Seth White said. "It kind of just depends on who can navigate the pattern that day on who's (going to have the better series), but they're both going to put up pretty good scores no matter the situation."
Ordonez and Frees, both juniors, said they've been able to feed off each other throughout the season.
"If Nina's having a bad frame or I'm having a bad frame, we kind of pep talk each other," Ordonez said. "That's something we've always done since my freshman year. We just have to tell each other, 'We've got this, we've been here since freshman year, we know what we're doing.'"
"It's definitely nice to have that kind of relationship with Aviana," Frees said. "If she's sees me in my head, she's able to get me out, and not just me but the other girls too. It's really beneficial for all of us."
Ordonez notched her 782 series in a triangular on Feb. 8 at the The Alley in Salina. She had games of 245, 258 and 279.
"One of the key things that I've put in is motivation," Ordonez said. "You have to put in motivation. Even if you have a bad frame, you can recover from it. I also put attitude into it, because attitude is one of the biggest things in bowling. If you have a bad attitude, you're not going to be able to achieve anything with that."
Frees led the Cougars at the Buhler regional, placing fourth with a 570 series. The Cougars were the regional runner-up as a team behind Buhler.
"I think this year went a lot better than my freshman or sophomore year," Frees said. "I would say finally realizing that when you have fun with the sport it makes it a lot easier. I was able to set a new record and beat my record from last year."
The Cougars took sixth at the state tournament last year after entering as defending champs. White hopes his team's experience will play dividends this year. In addition to Frees and Ordonez, the Salina South girls team is comprised of Rylee Lambeth, Avery McComber, Ayella Ordonez and Callie Vargas.
"You can ask any coach out there, having somebody that's been in the state tournament before and being able to compete in it is going to help them out," White said. "I think the biggest things that helped them win their freshman year was they didn't have a whole lot to expect of, then last year they had a whole lot of expectations on them, so that hurt them some. And then this year, they're trying to fight back and get back what they lost they year.
"I tell them any day, anybody can win. The girls and guys both know that, we go into every meet thinking we can win."
-- Rick Peterson Jr.
CAMPUS GIRLS EMBRACE CHALLENGE OF CLASS 6A REIGN
Campus coach Kenny Fulkerson won't deny it. He was among those who wondered if his powerhouse girls program would have the goods to challenge for another Class 6A title this season.
The graduation departures of talents like Piper Reams, last year's 6A individual champion, and third-place finisher Dakota Lennen will do that.
"Coming into the start of the year, I thought if we could just have a .500 year, I'd be happy," Fulkerson said. "Four of these girls have not been on varsity as regulars until this year.
"They were JV girls, and at that level you can have fun and bowl so-so, and get away with it a little bit. At the varsity level, you've got to step it up a lot."
The Colts will return to Northrock Lanes on Thursday looking for the fifth consecutive 6A title and seventh in eight years after winning the Wichita Northwest regional by 168 pins over runner-up Garden City. Sophomore Savannah Hsu, a top-20 finisher at state last season, finished second individually with a 613 series to lead Campus.
Campus' Savannah Hsu
All six bowlers in the Colts' lineup finished in the top 20. Sophomore McKenzie Goupil, a part-time starter last season, finished eighth, junior Madison Walker was ninth, sophomore Allie Gentry was 12th, senior Bre Warren was 15th and senior Kenzie Kling, the other returning member of Campus' 2021 state title team, took 19th.
Fulkerson said his team struggled early, but came together after a fourth-place finish behind Garden City, Junction City and Salina South in the 31-team Great Plains Invitational at Northrock in late January.
"They came in after the Great Plains and said, 'We don't want to be the ones to lose this,'" Fulkerson said. "The message then was 'Let's just have fun.' And all of the sudden, our scores went up."
Fulkerson said Hsu, who is fourth among Kansas girls with a 204 scoring average, has emerged as a leader – "She's been there, done that," he said. And Kling's experience on last year's team, along with her time as a softball player, makes her "just phenomenal for our program."
Campus has had a legacy influence, as well. Lennen works at Seneca Bowl where the Colts practice, and often checks in with the current team.
"She's always telling them, 'You can do this. You can do that,'" Fulkerson said. "She lets them know it's not out of reach."
The Colts also qualified their boys team, finishing third at regionals. Senior V-Thoon Thanasouk, last year's 6A runner-up to Wichita Northwest's Brandon Bonta, is among the state's top bowlers again this season with a 300 game and 749 high series.
"He's just an athletic phenom," Fulkerson said. "Give him a task and he can handle it. He's a natural."
– Scott Paske
Garden City's Kaden Whitehurst has the top series of the season at 837.
GARDEN CITY AIMS HIGH IN 6A
It's hard for Kip Nichols to complain about what his Garden City bowlers have accomplished this season.
Garden City has dominated the Western Athletic Conference and have both WAC bowlers of the year in Kaden Whitehurst and Holly Bridges.
But Nichols still believes the Buffaloes can still reach another level in Thursday's Class 6A state tournament at Northrock Lanes in Wichita.
"We saw some quality bowling this year, but they're hungry," Nichols said. "It's been six years since our boys program has won a state championship and five years since the girls have. Every day they walk into our bowling centers and see those banners up there of what the teams accomplished before them. That's the drive for them to get over the hump on Thursday."
One of the season highlights was Whitehurst rolling the best series in the state with an 837 on Feb. 2. Whitehurst, an individual 6A state champ as a sophomore, had games of 278, 279 and 280 at Thunder Strikes Bowling Center in Sublette.
"Great little bowling center," Nichols said. "Still all natural wood lanes. No guardian overlay, no synthetic surface. Going back to the old school style of bowling. Kaden was raised in a bowling family. His dad and grandpa are both very familiar bowling on those kind of shots and kind of helped him know what to go in with.
"He got lined up early. He put a great shot down. It was one of that held all evening long. Strike after strike after strike. … When you see a kid put that kind of series together, it's magical to watch."
Like Whitehurst, Bridges is putting the finishing touches on a standout career for the Buffaloes. She owns the third best season average in the state at 208. She won last week's regional with a 630. Both Whitehurst and Bridges have signed to bowl at Ottawa University.
"Holly's grown so much as a player over her four years in high school," Nichols said. "A lot of that is because her family keeps pushing her to be involved and she loves to go out and bowl. Travels all over the United States. It's made her a very accomplished, very intelligent bowler."
The Buffaloes girls and boys took second as a team in the Wichita Northwest regional. The boys team is comprised of Whitehusrt, Ty Weilert, Kane Burns, Kaden Strasser, Garrett Messenger and Jayce Farr while the girls team is made up of Bridges, Kyleigh Whitehurst, Brooke Ptacek, Hope Resendiz, Lily Leeper and Harley Leeper.
The Garden City girls will look to bottle up the same energy that helped them take second place at state last year. They had four top-15 placers last year in Leeper (fourth), Bridges (sixth), Ptacek (8th) and Resendiz (12th).
"The girls are a year older now and we've got some young talent's that's come in," Nichols said. "Kaden's little sister, Kyleigh Whitehurst, is a freshman this year and has provided a nice little spark to add to what we're doing. I'm super excited because the girls are gamers. They get up for these things. It's like they bring a whole new level of intensity.
"I'm just excited to see what Thursday brings."
For 16 years, Nichols has promised his bowlers he will shave his head if they win a team state championship.
"They can have a pep assembly and I'll sit right in the middle of the gym of the floor and they can get it done," Nichols said. "I've wore a bald head twice and I can't wait for the third one. It's a small price to pay. Hair grows back, state championships are forever."
-- Rick Peterson Jr.
Olathe East girls bowling team posing with their regional team trophy.
OLATHE EAST TEAMS CARRY MOMEMTUM, TOP BOWLERS INTO STATE MEET
Olathe East will take a lot of momentum in the Class 6A state bowling tournament as the Hawks nearly swept its regional Feb. 22 at Olathe Lanes East Bowling Center.
Olathe East junior Kellie Kritzler took the regional crown on the girls side with a score of 670, putting a sizable gap between her and the two Olathe North seniors chasing her at the top of the leaderboard. Audrey Valdez took runner-up with 639 and Jordan Reynolds finished third with 620.
Olathe East bowling head coach Chuck Thibodeaux said that the talent runs in the family as Kritzler's older sister Katie already went through the Olathe East bowling program.
"I think it's a family thing," Thibodeaux said. "Kelly, she was pretty doggone good when she got here and she's continued to grow."
Kritzler led a Hawks group that also won the regional team title, scoring a 3,006 to pull away from runner-up Olathe North at 2,874. Olathe East trails only Campus and Garden City out of the Wichita Northwest regional for top team scores heading into state.
"The nice thing about this group of girls is basically five of my six varsity kids came out as a group their freshmen year," Thibodeaux said. "And they've all gotten better because they just enjoy bowling."
Kritzler's score puts her as the top individual bowler from across all the regionals. Valdez earned the second-best score, with third-best score coming Garden City senior Holly Bridges with 630.
Thibodeaux said he fully expects Kritzler, and the rest of the team, to step up when they face elite competition at the state meet.
Olathe East senior Matthew Eddy also won his individual regional title on the boys side with a score of 725, but his team settled for runner-up behind Shawnee Mission East after the Lancers had one of their best performances of the season.
"Matthew is an interesting one," Thibodeaux said. "He's actually one of the quieter ones, but he's been with us for three years and when he's on, he's on."
Thibodeaux said he's still waiting for his team to have one of those explosive performances that he saw from the Lancers, where everything clicks for each bowler up and down the roster.
"I hope they have that at state because if they do, we've got a chance to win," Thibodeaux said.
He said the team has three bowlers who have completed perfect games outside of high school competition. Eddy nearly pulled that off in a meet, settling for a 279 after missing one 4-pin.
Thibodeaux said the message for his team, both the boys and the girls, entering state remains the same from the beginning of the season.
"It just intensifies a little bit," Thibodeaux said. "The whole key to bowling as a team is to close frames. If you're not covering your spares, that's where we get into trouble."
BOYS TOP 25 HIGH SERIES
Kaden Whitehurst, Garden City ... 837
Cody Metz, Washington County ... 821
Alex Hedden, Derby ... 802
Tanner Becker, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 801
Jason Miller, Derby ... 798
Cole Munley, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 793
Maison Albarado, Lawrence ... 792
Parker Douglass, Eisenhower ... 772
Brendan Ebeling, Olathe South ... 771
Kaden Bennett, Mulvane ... 766
Brett Gamber, Olathe East ... 765
Trent Sheridan, Buhler ... 761
Cam Carlstedt, Olathe Northwest ... 761
Mike Anderson, Olathe West ... 761
Remy Fowler, Lawrence ... 759
Luke Belvin, Maize South ... 756
Brody Ummel, Hutchinson ... 753
Colby Lovegren, De Soto ... 750
V-Thoon Thanasouk, Campus ... 749
Davis Best, Blue Valley West ... 748
Patrick Bloomer, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 748
Josh King, Lawrence ... 748
PJ Dokolas, Olathe South ... 748
Jack Easum, Seaman ... 747
Alexander Prescott, Seaman ... 747
BOYS TOP 25 SEASON AVERAGES
Jason Miller, Derby ... 234
Ethan Burns, Seaman ... 228
V-Thoon Thanasouk, Campus ... 225
Wesley Cunningham, Wichita Central Christian ... 225
Colby Hedden, Derby .. 223
Brendan Ebeling, Olathe South ... 223
Cody Metz, Washington County ... 222
PJ Dokolas, Olathe South ... 221
Maison Albarado, Lawrence ... 220
Davis Best, Blue Valley West ... 219
Antonio Miranda, De Soto ... 219
Drew Merrell, Eisenhower ... 219
Tanner Becker, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 219
Brady Longenecker, Wichita Trinity Academy ... 219
Samuel Calderon, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 218
Trent Sheridan, Buhler ... 216
Patrick Bloomer, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 216
Benjamin Wemhoff, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 216
Josh King, Lawrence ... 216
Josh Hammons, Washburn Rural ... 216
Mike Anderson, Olathe West ... 216
Alex Hedden, Derby ... 215
Logan Lindsley, Junction City ... 215
Danny Le, Kapaun Mt. Carmel ... 214.
GIRLS TOP 25 HIGH SERIES
Aviana Ordonez, Salina South ... 782
Kaylee Back, Bishop Carroll ... 776
Jasmine Bridges, Manhattan ... 764
Nina Frees, Salina South ... 731
Makenzie Millard, Seaman ... 729
Myranda Rogers, Gardner-Edgerton ... 708
Alyssa Williams, SM North ... 686
Holly Bridges, Garden City ... 684
Kassidy Miller, Augusta ... 683
Adria Huiett, Buhler ... 680
CJ Reno, Bishop Miege ... 680
Savannah Hsu, Campus ... 678
Olyvia Choura, Eisnehower ... 677
Megan Wood, Topeka West ... 676
Cynthia Phillips, Lansing ... 675
Olivia Fonseca, Bishop Miege ... 674
Paige Schuler, Maize South ... 672
Kellie Kritzler, Olathe East ... 670
Kaitlyn Doyal, Washburn Rural ... 668
Kaylin Wahlmeier, Great Bend ... 666
Morgan Henning, Derby ... 664
Bre Warren, Campus ... 660
Cambria Anderson, Piper ... 657
Paighton Crumley, Andover Central ... 656
Jordan Reynolds, Olathe North ... 655
GIRLS TOP 25 SEASON AVERAGES
Makenzie Millard, Seaman ... 220
Kaylee Back, Bishop Carroll ... 212
Holly Bridges, Garden City ... 208
Savannah Hsu, Campus ... 204
Kaylin Wahlmeier, Great Bend ... 203
Jasmine Bridges, Manhattan ... 203
Megan Wood, Topeka West .. 203
Kassidy Miller, Augusta ... 201
Nina Frees, Salina South ... 198
Aviana Ordonez, Salina South ... 198
Kanzie Womack, Wichita Northwest ... 197
Jordan Reynolds, Olathe North ... 195
Katie Price, Seaman ... 195
Adria Huiett, Buhler ... 194
Paighton Crumley, Andover Central ... 193
Kaylee Laha, Goddard ... 192
Myranda Rogers, Gardner-Edgerton ... 191
Madison Walker, Campus ... 190
Alyssa Williams, SM North ... 190
Tegian Nielsen, Buhler ... 189
Kaitlyn Doyal, Washburn Rural ... 189
Kellie Kritzler, Olathe East ... 188
Dylan Holmes, Olathe Northwest ... 187
Mallory Cross, Buhler .. 186
Morgan Henning, Derby ... 186
NOTE: Statistics courtesy Kansas High School Bowling web page