Olathe ? The Lawrence High boys bowling team did not leave any doubt about whether it was worthy of repeating as Sunflower League champion Friday at Mission Bowl N’ Olathe.

The Lions placed three bowlers in the top 10 to win the league title by 154 pins over runner-up Olathe Northwest. William Bewick placed second overall with a 711 series, and Tristan Decker and Montez Sanchez finished in fifth and sixth places, respectively, with scores of 674 and 661.

Friday was the first time that Bewick bowled a 700 series. Bewick opened the second game with eight consecutive strikes and rolled a 279.

“I was kind of just clearing my mind after every throw and trying not to think about it or over-process it too much,” Bewick said.

The LHS boys and coach Paula Bastemeyer arrived just 20 minutes prior to the start of the competition after accidentally leaving Lawrence without bringing the league championship trophy.

“I actually left the trophy in my classroom, where it has been since we won it last year,” Bastemeyer said. “We got just to the edge of Lawrence and then went back and got it.”

While the LHS boys repeated as league champions, Free State also had a similar result to last year’s competition, which is not what coach Burton Gepford had in mind.

“We kicked off with a really poor performance. We shot way below our average, but the guys did come back up in game two,” Gepford said. “They shot in the 800s and averaged 215 as a team. If they can do that consistently, they’ll be ready for regionals.”

The Firebirds placed ninth out of 12 teams. FSHS’ No. 1 bowler was Matthew Eagle, who bowled a 608 series. Eagle believes the Firebirds can rebound for regionals Friday at West Ridge Lanes in Topeka.

“We know we can do it,” Eagle said. “We’ve scored the scores to get us there. We just need to get our mental game in.”

The Lions’ girls squad came close to making it a sweep of the league titles for Lawrence as they placed second behind champion Olathe North. Miranda Krom placed fourth overall with a 608 series.

“I felt pretty good,” Krom said. “I didn’t feel good about my second game, but I think my first and last game were pretty good.”

Krom was joined in the top 10 by Kierstan Warren and Izzy Schmidtberger, who finished in sixth and ninth place, respectively, with scores of 603 and 596.

The Firebirds did not have any bowlers medal, but Gepford saw some positive things to take away from the league championships.

“Overall, they had some really high games,” Gepford said. “It is just a matter of getting three of them instead of just one.”

Results

Friday at Mission Bowl N’ Olathe

Boys team scores: Lawrence High 2673, Olathe Northwest 2519, Olathe East 2475, Olathe North 2472, Olathe South 2465, Shawnee Mission North 2422, Leavenworth 2367, Shawnee Mission South 2276, Lawrence Free State 2265, Shawnee Mission East 2180, Shawnee Mission West 2143, Shawnee Mission Northwest 2068.

LHS results: 2. William Bewick 215-279-225–719. 5. Tristan Decker 248-213-213–674. 6. Montez Sanchez 236-204-221–661. Tre Sexton 167-226-190–583. Ivan Davidson 168-192-168–528. Carter Gehrke 203-121-177–501.

Free State results: Matthew Eagle 160-257-191–608. Eric Glogau 170-172-208–550. Nick Crawford 148-203-198v549. Tyrease Richards 103-231-177–511. Briggs Fish 150-171-159–480. Avery Allen 145-158-175–478.

Girls team scores: Olathe North 2395, Lawrence High 2346, Shawnee Mission North 2234, Olathe South 2078, Olathe Northwest 2075, Shawnee Mission Northwest 2042, Olathe East 1977, Lawrence Free State 1971, Leavenworth 1883, Shawnee Mission West 1863, Shawnee Mission South 1574, Shawnee Mission East 1521.

LHS results: 4. Miranda Krom 235-178-195–608. 6. Kierstan Warren 177-197-229–603. 9. Izzy Schmidtberger 153-180-204–596. Allie Crockett 167-211-139–517. Mary Wroten 142-169-161–472. Abby Schmidtberger 128-167-144–455.

Free State results: Gentry Jordan 220-149-112–481. Bri Martin 145-172-156–473. Maddy Dethloff 154-150-130–434. Jamie Souders 114-174-188–476. Chaise Hegrenes 177-157-473–139. Bret Watson 132-159-130–421.