Lawrence High bowling team leaders include, from left, junior Isabelle Schmidtberger, junior Morgan Sisson, senior Ivan Davidson and junior Miranda Krom.

Among the leaders on Free State High's bowling team are, from left, senior Sarah Pesce, junior Matthew Eagle, senior Eric Glogau and junior Gentry Jordan.

Lawrence High’s bowling teams had plenty of highlights last season. The boys won their second straight Sunflower League title, and the girls qualified their entire squad for state after taking third place at regionals.

Yet, the Lions are confident they will be even better this year.

“They have come in with quite a work ethic,” fifth-year coach Paula Bastemeyer said. “We’ve had nothing but positive practices. They come in, they do the best that they can, ask the right questions, make adjustments as needed. So I’m very excited about it, probably the most excited I’ve been.”

The boys’ team features three bowlers from last year’s varsity squad — Ivan Davidson, Triston Decker and Montez Sanchez. There are also plenty of talented newcomers, but the biggest thing the Lions hope to improve is the mental part of their game. Though they won league last year, they only sent one bowler to state after struggling at regionals.

“I’m really excited. I think our team, this year especially, is going to do extremely well,” Davidson said. “I think everyone on here is really skilled, and everyone is bringing up (each other’s game), and we’ll do better than we have before.”

Lawrence’s girls team returns junior Miranda Krom, a two-time state qualifier, and junior Isabelle Schmidtberger, who finished ninth at league last year. The Lions will also get a boost from senior Ashlee Erickson, a move-in transfer from Alaska.

“I think, as an individual, I feel pretty confident,” said Krom, who finished 39th at state last year. “As a team, I’m really excited for the season. I’m just ready to go to regionals, kick butt and hopefully go to state again this year.”

Free State

Free State High’s boys and girls bowling teams opened practice Monday, and the Firebirds are ready to get back into rhythm after tryouts concluded in the first week of December.

“I’m really stoked,” FSHS coach Burton Gepford said. “We have a lot of varsity players returning, and we also have a couple new bowlers joining the team who look pretty good, so we’re pretty excited about bringing them to the varsity level. Plus we have a lot of (junior varsity) bowlers who have picked up their game.”

The girls return four of last year’s six varsity bowlers: Gentry Jordan, Maddy Dethloff, Jamie Souders and Chaise Hegrenes. The Firebirds hope to get a lift from senior Sarah Pesce.

“I think we’re going to be a lot better this year,” said Jordan, who noted she has improved her average score by 20 pins to the 170s after using a new ball. “A lot of people that were on varsity last year have gotten a lot better.”

The boys have their top two bowlers back from last season: junior Matthew Eagle and senior Eric Glogau. Both were state qualifiers two years ago.

Both schools will open the season at the Free State Invitational this weekend. The boys will compete on Friday in the 16-team tournament at Royal Crest Lanes, beginning at 8:30 a.m., while the girls will wait until Saturday. The Invitational, which has Baker-formatted match play, has increased by four teams from last year’s event.