Free State freshman Michelle Scheiffer, left, applauds for a teammate with sophomore Christina Picicci, center, and coach Anita Carlson. Scheiffer bowled a 531 to lead the Firebirds to a victory at their home meet Thursday at Royal Crest Lanes.

Little did freshman Free State High bowler Michelle Scheiffer know, but she bowled a match-high 531 to lead the girls team to a home victory.

Scheiffer said she had no clue that she was in the running for the top score when it was announced over the speakers at Royal Crest Lanes on Thursday afternoon. But she kept her cool as she heard the news with family members who had come to watch her roll.

“I was excited,” Scheiffer said, adding that she didn’t expect to pull off the feat as a freshman. “(My family) was really surprised, too.”

Sophomore Gretel Briand wasn’t too far behind Scheiffer with a 522 over three games, and the FSHS girls won the five-team event with a score of 2,009, more than 200 ahead of runner-up Washburn Rural.

Coach Anita Carlson said Scheiffer’s performance wasn’t a shock, considering that the Firebirds seemingly have been led by a different bowler every time out.

“When everybody’s kind of in the pack – 130s, 140s, 150s, 160s – it just depends,” Carlson said. “They all work as a team. That’s what made them win today. They plugged through it.”

Carlson said she was impressed with the victory because the girls struggled with their form in the first couple of games.

“Sometimes we start to panic just a little bit when things aren’t happening and going the way we think they should be,” she said. “They did not give up, and that’s something you can’t do in bowling.”

The FSHS boys team finished third, behind winner Topeka Seaman and Washburn Rural. Senior Alex Hardman led the Firebirds with a score of 641 and said his familiarity with Royal Crest Lanes helped.

“Definitely an advantage – we bowl here every day,” he said. “We know what the lanes should do.”

Hardman said he didn’t notice the home crowd.

“It’s nice, but it really doesn’t make a big difference when you’re out there bowling. It’s just you and the pins,” he said. “I don’t really know what else is going on. I just focus on hitting my mark and hopefully getting a strike.”

Rob Wagner was second on the team with 606, and Evan Taylor bowled a 577. Carlson said the boys team had a “spotty” afternoon and couldn’t find consistency.

“They were on, they were off, they were on, they were off,” she said, noting that was a bit of an anomaly. “Usually when you get on, you pretty much stay on. It just seemed like there wasn’t any momentum.”

Hardman said that lack of consistency was discouraging to him and his teammates.

“We’re not real happy with our performance today. We could’ve done a lot better. We know we can bowl here, and we know we can do better than what we did today,” he said. “It’s disappointing. We want to win, but the real (test) is at state and regionals. As long as we can bowl good then, that’s the important part.”

The Firebirds will be at Royal Crest Lanes again at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when they play host to Olathe South, Oskaloosa and Topeka West.