2024 BOYS BOWLING PREVIEW
 

 
CLASS 6A
 
2023 State champion: Washburn Rural
 
2023 State runner-up: Olathe Northwest
 
2023 Individual state champion: Thomas Mitchell, Olathe Northwest
 
2023 Review: For the second time in three seasons, Washburn Rural led the field after the American Tenpins portion of the 6A state tournament, holding a slim 11-pin advantage over Olathe Northwest. But unlike 2021 when the Junior Blues fell apart during the Baker format and not only couldn’t hold their lead but fell all the way to fourth, Rural found redemption in a big way. The Junior Blues narrowly missed a perfect game in the second Baker game and dropped the hammer with a 980 Baker series that’s believed to be the highest ever posted in state history. In winning its first-ever state championship, Rural turned its narrow margin into a 135-pin victory over Olathe Northwest as the Junior Blues finished with a 3,711 pin total – the most ever scored by a Class 6A team at the state tournament and second only to the 3,769 total posted by Kapaun Mt. Carmel in Class 5-1A in 2021. Northwest finished second with a 3,576 pin total and Garden City took third with a 3,507 total. Rural, which had four different bowlers roll 700 series during the season, was led by a fourth from Josh Hammons and also got a seventh from Logan Glinka and 11^th from Walker Thompson. While Northwest settled for a runner-up team finish, the Ravens did boast the individual state champion as Thomas Mitchell capped a hot finish to the season with his first state title. Rolling three of his five 700 series in his final three meets, Mitchell saved his best for last, putting together games of 246, 268 and 245 to finish with a season-high 759 series to beat Garden City’s KJ Burns by 23 pins. Burns finished as state runner-up for the second straight season, rolling a 736 series, edging Junction City’s Torrey Lindsay by four pins for the runner-up spot. Hammons was fourth with a 725, while Shawnee Mission East’s Christian Lahey (717) and Olathe North’s Paul Stigall (712) also topped 700, leading their teams to top-five state finishes with the North finishing fourth and East taking fifth.
 
2024 Contenders: After capturing its first state championship in record-setting fashion last year, Washburn Rural will have to reload in a big way in order to defend its state title. The Junior Blues graduated four seniors off last year’s six-man state contingent, including fourth-place finisher Josh Hammons as well as Geo Peoples and Walker Thompson, who each carried averages of 208 or better. Rural does have a solid duo to build around in returning juniors Logan Glinka, who placed seventh at state and ranked second on the team with a 216 average, and Tyler Faurot, who had a 198 average last year but posted a 726 series. Eight others return who got in at least 18 games either on varsity or JV last year. Graduation didn’t just hit Rural hard, however. Runner-up a year ago, Olathe Northwest also lost four seniors from its state team, including individual state champion Tommy Mitchell and top-10 finisher Dylan Deprima. Senior Mason Browning finished 14^th at state last year and carried a 200 average and tops the returning Ravens. Perhaps the favorite in Class 6A this year is Garden City, which last captured a state title in 2016. Junior KJ Burns has finished runner-up individually each of his first two seasons and seems poised to take the throne this year after leading the state with a 230 average last year. If he can accomplish that feat, he very well could lead the Buffaloes to a state title. He’s one of five returning starters from last year’s state team with Garrett Messenger the lone loss to graduation. Athen Villarreal finished 13^th and Kaden Stresser took 18^th at state last year, giving Garden City three returning state medalists – the most of any team in 6A. If Garden City isn’t the most experienced team returning in 6A, then Olathe North is. The Eagles return all six members of last year’s team that finished fourth at state last year. North peaked at state a year ago, placing the Stigall brothers in the top 10 with Paul finishing sixth and Carter taking 10^th. Paul had one of the top series in the state last year with a 765, ranking sixth, and finished the season with a team-best 201 average. Carter was one of three Eagles not far behind with a 196 average or better along with Vincent Valdez and Alex Spencer. After winning the 2022 state title, Shawnee Mission Eastslipped to a fifth-place finish last year. The Lancers had to replace the majority of their 2022 title team and once again has numerous holes to fill with five seniors gone off last year’s team. The lone returner, however, was East’s highest individual finisher at state last year as junior Christian Lahey took fifth last year as a sophomore. On the flip side, Mill Valley only lost one member of last year’s state team that finished sixth. Senior Brett Stockwell took 19^th individually while senior Ethan Diehl had the top average on the team last year at 201. Derby endured one of its toughest days of the season at state last year, finishing seventh after being a potential contender going in. The Panthers return four members of last year’s state team, including junior Evan Clark, whose 218 average ranked top 10 in the state last year. Juniors Tyler Huffman and Dawson Baumgartner and sophomore Cash Carns also had averages of 205 or better and sophomore Alex Hernandez carried a 200 average for the Panther JV last year, giving the Panthers enough firepower to be a serious challenger this season. 
 

 
CLASS 5A
 
2023 State champion: Kansas City Piper
 
2023 State runner-up: Wichita Trinity Academy
 
2023 Individual state champion: Colby Lovegren, De Soto
 
2023 Review: Coming off a sixth-place finish at the United Kansas Conference meet, Piper hardly looked like a favorite for the Class 5-1A state title, let alone simply a contender – that honor going to league rivals De Soto and Seaman, the latter the defending Class 5-1A state champion. Even after turning in a solid performance in winning their regional, the Pirates still were underdogs going into state with their regional score the lowest of the four regional champions. Piper played the role well and continued its late-season surge, peaking at the state meet. The Pirates posted a season-best 2,693 score during the American Tenpins portion of the state meet, going into the Baker format just seven pins down to Eisenhower. Piper came up with a huge 268 in the second Baker game and posted an 829 Baker series that was more than enough to not only take over Eisenhower, but hold off hard-charging league rivals Seaman and De Soto as well as Wichita Trinity Academy. Getting top-10 finishes from Darron Spak (third, 732) and Coltyn Bard (sixth, 698), Piper finished with a 3,522 pin total to beat runner-up Trinity Academy by 48 pins for the state title. Trinity Academy ended with a 3,474 total while Seaman roared back in Baker and edged De Soto by three pins for third at 3,397. Eisenhower slid from first to sixth in the Baker with Buhler moving up to fifth, just three pins behind De Soto for fourth and three ahead of Eisenhower. While De Soto fell short in the team race, the Wildcats did come away with the individual 5-1A state champion as Colby Lovegren overcame a 43-pin deficit going into the final game to edge Maize South’s Bailey Gassman for the title. Lovegren posted a season-best 279 in the final game to finish with a 743 total, edging Gassman by 7 pins and Spak by 11. Eisenhower’s Miles Blue (727) and Turner’s Rhett Ryman (715) also posted 700 series to round out the top five with Ryman just missing a perfect 300 game in his final game to get there, finishing with a 298.
 
2024 Contenders: The United Kansas Conference has flexed its muscle recently, sweeping the team and individual state titles last year with Piper claiming its first team championship and De Soto’s Colby Lovegren taking the individual power. That came on the heels of Seaman capturing the 2022 team championship. Seaman and De Soto finished 3-4 in the team standings last year and with Wichita Trinity Academy now competing in the newly formed 4-1A division, the top three returning 5A teams from last year hail from the UKC. Which has the staying power to remain on top this year? Well, Piper certainly returns enough from its title team to make a run at a second straight crown. The Pirates only graduated Brandon Dark and Landon Dissmeyer off last year’s state squad with Dissmeyer ranking third on the team in average last year. The top two are back after being top 10 state finishers last year. Senior Darron Spak finished third and had a team-best 205 average, one pin over junior teammate Coltyn Bard, who placed sixth at state. Junior Brody Merrick is the only other returner who carried an average better than 157 so Piper will need some big improvement from others to stay on top. De Soto graduated state champion Lovegren and three others off last year’s fourth-place team with senior Robert Ramsey and sophomore Luke Swanson the lone returners. Ramsey ranked fourth on the team with a 195 average and will take over as team leader this season. Seaman also has big holes to fill with the loss of three seniors who were key contributors on the 2022 title team, including Ethan Burns, who ranked among the state leaders in average and high series. Senior Riley Parkhurst and juniors Dominic Figueroa and Alex Prescott all carried averages of 191 or better, giving the Vikings a strong trio to build around and stay among the top contenders. Eisenhower was in position to capture the state title a year ago, taking the lead into the Baker format. But the Tigers stumbled there and slid from first to sixth. Losing only two members of last year’s state squad could make the Tigers the favorite this season, especially with the top-four averages returning this season. Senior Miles Blue was the top finisher at state last year, taking fourth while classmate Brett Blasi came in 13^th. Neither led the team in average a year ago – that distinction belonging to sophomore Jamie Duty and senior Zeke Schroeder, who had averages of 213 and 207, respectively. Andovertook seventh last year but lost four seniors off that squad. Senior Trevor Formy-Duval led the team with a 202 average last year and was a regional champion while junior Landon Light placed 20^th at the state meet. Salina South returns all but one member off last year’s state team that finished eighth. Senior Campbell Peterson carried a 213 average and classmate Will Krannawitter wasn’t far behind with a 204 average. That gives the Cougars a solid duo at the top of the lineup to help South move up the standings this season. Hutchinson, Emporia and Turner each return state medalists off teams that qualified for state last year with Turner’s Rhett Ryman taking fifth, Emporia’s Colton Swift placing 11^th and Hutchinson’s Brody Ummel taking 14^th. Emporia has the most back to go with its state medalist, returning five overall from its state team, including regional champion Nathan Green. Turner returns four overall and Hutchinson returns three from their state teams with Ummel also a regional champion.
 
 
CLASS 4-1A
 
2024 Contenders: After being a consistent contender in Class 5-1A, including a runner-up finish last year, Wichita Trinity Academy will undoubtedly welcome the split of that division to create a new 4-1A division. The Knights were only 48 pins away from getting a state title last season and put Brady Longenecker and Connor Jahn in the top 20 individually with Longenecker taking 10^th and Jahn finishing 18^th. Longenecker has graduated, but Jahn returns and is one of four returning members of last year’s runner-up team. Jahn carried a 212 average last year while teammate Croix Wright posted a 205 average. Seniors Drake Zogleman and Jackson Witt both had averages of 183 or better. The only other 4A or lower school to qualify as a team for last year’s state meet was Buhler, which wound up placing fifth. The Crusaders will have to reload this season after losing five seniors off last year’s state team including state medalists’ Trent Sheridan and Landon Kurtz. The lone returner is junior Malachi Willis, who held a 202 average that ranked fourth on the team a year ago. Cheney just missed out on qualifying as a team last year, taking fourth at the Buhler regional. The Cardinals return first-team All-Class 4-1A pick Cameron Eastman, who led the team with a 213 average last year as a sophomore. The Cardinals lost seven seniors overall off last year’s roster, four of whom were on the regional squad. Holcomb’s Brayden Bastin and El Dorado’s Jake Bowlin earned All-State honors last year with Bastin a first-team pick an Bowlin a second-teamer. Neither were state qualifiers a year ago, giving them some extra motivation coming into this season. McPherson only had an individual state qualifier a year ago in Logan Jackson, but returns all but one member of last year’s overall roster. Augusta returns its top-two averages from a year ago in juniors Austin Winter and Gavin Bohon. Andale returns state qualifier Connor Wilson, Ottawa returns state qualifier Shane Circle and Bishop Miege returns state qualifier Christopher Reno.