While Lawrence High's Tyler Bailey, right, releases his shot, Shawnee Mission North's Jeremy Bell looks at his roll, and Bailey's teammate, Mark Mercer, reacts during a frame at the Sunflower League meet. The meet took place Saturday at Royal Crest Lanes.

Lawrence High junior Tiffany Demaline battled a cold, an injured back and rust from having practiced once in the last week to finish second during Saturday’s Sunflower League bowling meet at Royal Crest Lanes.

“It speaks volumes about her character,” LHS coach Greg Farley said. “She’s as tough a girl as there is in the state in terms of competitiveness.”

Demaline’s injury is unrelated to the back injury that plagued her last year. Instead, she sprained her back by repetitively coughing as a result of her chest cold. The junior, who took steady doses of ibuprofen and Ben-Gay on Saturday, consistently hit her mark on the floor, posting a 601 series that helped LHS finish third overall.

“I’m really proud of us all,” Demaline said.

The Free State boys also took pride in their performance. The Firebirds accomplished a goal by surpassing 2,400 pins with a score of 2,438. Kenny Altman (seventh place), Josh Herschell (10th) and Rob Wagner (12th) each surpassed 600 pins.

Showing his typical fluid motion, Altman rolled a 635, bouncing back after early-season struggles.

“It was nice to see him back where he needs to be,” Free State coach Anita Carlson said. “Kenny is a natural.”

The Firebirds finished fourth overall, missing out on third by six pins. Altman credited the home-field advantage of Royal Crest Lanes, where the team practices.

“It’s just the atmosphere,” Altman said. “We’re just more comfortable here. We’re all more relaxed.”

Although the environment – which featured added bleachers to accommodate the number of spectators – helped Free State’s boys, it hurt the LHS boys team.

“They tend to focus more on what’s behind them than what’s in front of them,” Farley said. “The crowd definitely affected the boys more than it should have today. And they need to be able to block that out.”

Tanner Kilmer led the LHS boys, placing 15th with a 603 score. But the entire team, a fledgling squad loaded with freshman, totaled 2,126 pins for a 10th-place tie in the 12-school meet.

“I expect more out of them,” Farley said. “We are disappointed. There’s really no other way to say it.”

The LHS and Free State boys – but not the girls – shared the same bench during the competition.

“There was some good camaraderie going on, even though they’re our rival,” Carlson said. “They support each other, and it’s nice to see.”

The Free State girls finished seventh with a 1,799 score. Melissa Burnside led the team with a 491 series for 13th place.

The event’s breakout performance came on the girls side, as Lawrence High’s Sam Hays raised eyebrows by posting a 524 for seventh place. The LHS senior never had bowled competitively before this season, but she accepts instruction well, possesses good hand-eye coordination and thrives during competition.

Saturday’s performance completed an impressive set of athletic accomplishments for Hays, who signed a letter of intent to play softball at Fort Scott Community College on Friday.

“I’m pretty satisfied,” Hays said. “Yeah, it’s been a good week.”

Hays, though, does wonder how good a bowler she would have become if she started the sport at a younger age.

“I could’ve been a junior Tiffany Demaline,” she said.