WICHITA, Kan.—
A championship is the pinnacle. It’s the culmination of work, talent and the right mindset. A championship win means the best proved to be the best. Most people dream of a championship. Most people want to be the best at something. Bishop Carroll’s Hollyann Johansen can say that she is a champion. In 2011, she won the city league, regional and state championships; as a freshman.
She took her first steps at the bowling alley her grandparents owned, she rolled her first ball when she was 2 years old, she has grown up around the game and it shows on the lanes.
“My grandparents owned a bowling alley,” said Johansen. “So that was one of the first places I went after I was born.”
She competed against her family of bowlers for the majority of her life. Johansen’s uncle boasts six scores of 300.
“I have a lot of aunts and uncles that bowled in senior leagues and stuff,” said Johsansen. “They always tried to help me. Mainly, my mom helped me a lot growing up.”
The west-side wonder has dominated the city league circuit not only last season, but this season as well. Johansen has led the Lady Eagles to victory in three of the team’s four triangular tournaments.
In those three wins, she has bowled series totals of 568, 707 and 679.
“I don’t try to think of myself as the best,” said Johansen. “I just think of myself as part of the team. I like helping out the team and I like when they help me out, too.”
Carroll coach Jim Nance could not be happier with Johansen as a part of his team.
“Her perspective is that her score is just one of four,” said Nance. “It’s all about the team. The better she can make the other bowlers, the more success the team is going to have.”
As a sophomore, Johansen plays a bigger role on her team than just another score on the card.
“She’s a coach on the alley for us,” said Nance. “Her experience and her knowledge are invaluable to the other bowlers.”
The question of bowling at the collegiate level is still up in the air for Johansen. After all, she still has more than two years to think about that.
“I want to bowl collegiate, but if I go to a school that doesn’t have it, it won’t be that big of a deal,” she said. “I think schoolwork comes before athletics for me.”
Nance wouldn’t be surprised with Johansen taking her bowling career one step beyond collegiate bowling.
“Bowling doesn’t dominate her life,” said Nance. “If she keeps everything in perspective, I could see her bowling collegiately as well as professionally.”
