WICHITA – The confidence that Wichita Central Christian’s Andrew Burchfiel brought to Bowlero Northrock for the Class 4-1A boys state bowling tournament got tested early Friday morning.
 
Burchfiel, the Andale regional champion, encountered a few moments of doubt while piecing together an opening-game 205 in the three-game tenpin series.
 
“At the start of the second game, my coach was just telling me stay with the shot,” Burchfiel said. “It’s going to start acting as it should, and it did. It started working.”
 
Shut out of last year’s state tournament after a disappointing regional performance, Burchfiel made up for lost time. He reeled off 18 consecutive strikes over the second and third games, thrilling spectators by taking a perfect game into the 10^th frame of the finale.
 

Burchfiel left the 8-pin on his second shot of the 10^th, settling for a 289. But his 773 series was good enough to win the 4-1A individual title by 25 pins over runner-up Jax Larkins, a Mulvane sophomore.
 
Burchfiel became Central Christian’s first boys bowling champion the same year the Lions qualified for state as a team for the first time.
 
“It was great having them all here because in years past it’s just been me or me and Carter (Martin) and Cason (Shideler). Overall, it was a much more fun experience.”
 
Redemption comes in different forms, and Burchfiel’s source was easy to pinpoint. After a solid junior regular season in which he posted a 205 average, Burchfiel stumbled with a 471 series in the regional at Wichita’s Bowlero Northridge. The finish cost him a return to the state tournament, where he finished 15^th as a sophomore.
 
“I got in my head and it didn’t go well at regionals,” said Burchfiel, who bookended that series with games of 123 and 137. “I feel like there’s always things that you can be working on. The spare game, you can always work on that. And two, my main focus was kind of timing and the way I released my ball.
 
“I just felt like there was something unpolished about both of them that I had to focus on. I was able to improve on those through practice and games, and it led to now.”
 

Indeed, Burchfiel returned to Northrock with positive vibes flowing. His 214 average landed him a spot on the state’s top 25 honor roll for all classes. Burchfiel’s regional atonement came at Northridge, where he rolled games of 244, 256 and 225 for a 725 series that won the individual title and led Central Christian to a second-place team finish.
 
“It was a redemption year for him for sure from Day 1,” Central Christian coach Mark Johansen said. “His practice the last two or three weeks has been incredible. He went to regionals and shot that 725, and he was as cool as a cucumber.”
 
Burchfiel carried that over to Friday’s tournament. He started his strike streak in the fifth frame of his second game, riding it to a 279 that vaulted him into second place, 32 pins behind 2024 state champion Shane Circle of Ottawa.
 
Then, with Hesston junior Tanner McAllister taking a perfect-game bid into the eighth frame at one end of Northrock, Burchfiel took things further at the other end. As Burchfiel continued to pile up strikes, the crowd swelled at Northrock’s south end to try to get a look.
 
“You kind of get into a mode or a state where you know what you have to do,” Burchfiel said. “It’s just the same thing over and over and over again.”
 
Burchfiel’s quest for a 300 ended on his second attempt of the 10^th frame. But by then, he had done enough work to pass Circle, who closed with a 220 and a 736 series to finish fourth, and the rest of the field.
 
“The first six strikes get me a little nervous, but I’ve done it before and I know I can do it,” Burchfiel said. “I’ve hit a 300 in practice, so I know I can string the last six that I need. I was able to get four more after that and that 11^th shot, I should have taken just a second to calm down a little bit.
 
“I was a little jittery and I should have taken a little time. But overall, I’m really happy with that game.”
 

Burchfiel was one of two Central Christian individual medalists along with Martin, who finished 16^th. The duo helped the Lions post a 3,160 pinfall in the three tenpin games and four Baker games as Central Christian finished sixth.

Burchfiel’s closest pursuer ended up being Larkins, who improved on his 29th-place finish last year as a freshman by rolling games of 224, 245 and 279. The latter vaulted him into second, four pins ahead of Ottawa's Kolten Powell, who shot a 744 series.

McAllister, who rolled two 300 games during the regular season, finished fifth with a 731. He shot 259 after stranding the 9-pin in the eighth frame of his final game to end his chances for a third 300 this season.

“I bowled with Andrew a couple times this year and beat him both times,” McAllister said. “He told me he was going to beat me today, and he went out and did it.”
 
In addition to coaching a state champion, an added reward for Johansen was watching Burchfiel’s growth during his time on the team.
 
“I get to work with them through middle school, which is like herding cats,” Johansen said. “And just his maturity level has gotten better every year and especially this year.
 
“Andrew’s work this year was different. It was really more down to business. He was a great leader for us, and I think he believed in himself all through this year.”
 
 
CLASS 4-1A BOYS INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS
 
1. Andrew Burchfiel, Wichita Central Christian, 773; 2. Avery Larkins, Mulvane, 748; 3. Kolten Powell, Ottawa, 744; 4. Shane Circle, Ottawa, 736; 5. Tanner McAllister, Hesston, 731; 6. Kelton Meier, Hayden, 717; 7. Keaton Bally, Circle, 700; 8. Reece Renyer, Hayden, 698; 9. Stryker Avery, Buhler, 691; 10. Wyatt Soper, Circle, 679; 11. Joshua Schoenhofer, Chanute, 676; 12. Gavin Helget, Ottawa, 672; 13. Timothy Ritchie, Wichita Collegiate, 658; 14. Logan Brown, Buhler, 656; 15. Nathan Page, Wichita Independent, 655; 16. Carter Martin, Wichita Central Christian, 650; 17. Brent Wooten, Ottawa, 648; 18. Brody Ingram, Cheney, 647; 19. Tucker Huband, Washington County, 647; 20. Parker Dryden, Ottawa, 635.