Great Bend's Mark Lang bowls Tuesday at the Walnut Bowl. The Panther junior took a perfect game into the 10th frame before finishing with a 289 game. (Mike Courson) |
Tuesday was Valentine’s Day and Great Bend’s Mark Lang had a date with perfection. The junior nearly pulled off a perfect game, hitting 10 strikes in a row before leaving the 10 pin and finishing with a 289 in game one against Hutchinson and Liberal at the Walnut Bowl.
“I was just trying not to mess up and trying not to be nervous, but I did,” Lang said. “It’s not that big of a thing. I had 10 strikes in a row. The big thing is I wanted to come out for the last home games and do well, and I think that really helped us out.”
The Panther boys went on to beat Liberal 2,419-2,118. Hutchinson finished with 2,048 pins. The Great Bend girls also won, beating Hutchinson 2,114-1,995. Liberal knocked down 1,891 pins.
The Panther boys swept Liberal in Baker’s competition, winning game one 187-168, taking game two 248-148, and sweeping with a 227-145 in game three. The Great Bend girls dropped the first game 130-11, but rebounded to win the final two games 160-121 and 180-136.
Great Bend boys 2,419, Liberal 2,118, Hutchinson 2,048
After Lang’s big first game, he faced the big letdown in game two with just 93 pins midway through game two. He converted his last five strikes of the game for a 183, then used a 188 in game three for a 660 series.
Junior Dakota Conaway finished with a 661 series of the day for the high-series. He hit seven strikes in the first eight frames of game one to finish with a 223, then used nine strikes, including six in-a-row in game two for a 256. Eric Ruiz finished with a 561 series, tied for fourth best on the day, and Daniel Herrman rounded out varsity scoring with a 498. Jeff Meitler and Kolt Ramey finished at 496 and 480 pins, respectively.
Liberal senior Adrian Amado finished his day with a 204 for a 561 series to lead the Redskins. Sophomore Jeff Minor also finished strong, rolling a 220 in game three for a 551 series. Tyler Killingsworth had a 512 series, and Hunter Rinehart was the final varsity scorer with 494 pins. Lucas Poulton also bowled, finishing with a 481 series, and Garrett Poulton knocked down 432 pins.
Hutchinson senior Cooper Kaufmann had seven strikes through nine frames of game three, but a split in the 10th frame cost him pins as he finished with a 254. His series of 613 was third-best on the day.
“That’s great for him,” Hutchinson coach Leann Gleason said. “He has notoriously not bowled well here and he bowled well today. He’s such a great kid and you always like to see a great kid bowl well.”
Terrell Kane was next for the Salthawks with 469 pins. Nick Barringer finished with a 442 series, and Zack Proffitt added 427 pins to the total. Simon Hiebert and Jon Hornbaker also bowled, finishing at 414 and 400 pins, respectively.
Great Bend girls 2,114, Hutchinson 1,995, Liberal 1,891
Hutchinson junior Shelby Harms had the high-series at 548, but the Lady Panthers pulled out another home win with four bowlers over the 500-mark. Senior Jacy Quade started the day with a 200, leading Great Bend with a 546 series. Sophomore Miranda Hejny finished with a 204 game and a 535 series. Maddie Roach knocked down 507 pins, and Kelli Kirmer just surpassed 500 with a 501. Addie Soukup finished with a 468, and Erin Bowers rolled a 408.
Harms also had the high-game for the girls, getting strikes in six of the final seven frames of game two to finish with a 254. Despite the win, Harms was disappointed she fell short of her 205 game average.
“She’s not happy with it and good for her,” said Gleason. “A lot of people would be happy but she’s not. She’s that much of a competitor.”
Senior Roberta Brown rolled a 521 for the Salthawks, and Savannah Murray knocked down 474 pins. Paige Metheny rounded out varsity scoring with a 442 series. Kasey Jones and Sahira Rojo kept it close at 326 and 323 pins, respectively.
Katie Jennings was one of two Lady Redskins to break the 500-mark. The sophomore used a 198 in game one en route to a 537 series. Junior Kimberly Vanley rolled a 191 in game one and finished with a 528 series. Christie Proctor finished with a 447 series, and Kristina Tinsley got in on the scoring with 378 pins. Freshman Stephanie Bennett was the fifth Liberal bowler, finishing with a 278 series.
The regular season winds down last this week and next with regionals taking place on Feb. 25.
“In basketball, they always talks about slumps,” Gleason said. “Maybe we had a little bit of a slump today and then we’re going to go on strong in the post-season. We had some girls bowl really well today. We almost hit 2,000 without Shelby bowling well.”
