photo by: Chance Parker

Lawrence High's Maison Albarado fist bumps his teammates during the matchup against Free State Thursday afternoon at Royal Crest Lanes on Feb. 18, 2021.

For the first time in the history of Lawrence High’s bowling programs, both the girls and boys teams will be going to the state tournament this year, and the Lions think they have the chance to notch another first as well — a state crown.

The Class 6A state tournament, scheduled for Friday at Northrock Lanes in Wichita, will also feature the Free State boys team and one female Free State bowler who qualified as an individual. Competition for the girls division will begin at 8:20 a.m., and boys will start at 1:25 p.m.

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It was only two meets into the season that Lawrence’s boys team realized it had a legitimate shot at winning the first state title in program history.

During a triangular with Ottawa and Olathe West on Jan. 21, the LHS boys won with a season-high score of 2,674. And in one game, Lawrence posted a 990 as a team — an average mark of 248 per bowler.

After that meet, head coach Gary Graves called the varsity boys squad into a special meeting and laid out his expectations for the rest of the season:

“He told us that we have a good chance to win state this year,” junior Carson Toews said. “It is the first time in my high school career that we’ve actually had a chance like this.”

And the Lions intend to make the most of it. Lawrence’s boys come into the state tournament with plenty of momentum on their side. Of the eight teams that qualified for state, the Lions posted the highest total score at regionals last week.

“It wasn’t really that it meant a lot to win regionals,” senior Wheeler Battaglia-Davis said. “It was that we are going to win regionals and then we are going to go to state. What really meant a lot was finding out that we actually scored the highest in the state at regionals.”

What makes the Lions so dangerous? Balance.

Anyone on the team is capable of posting big numbers on any given day. In the triangular on Jan. 21, for instance, Lawrence swept the top five spots on the leaderboard. Sophomore Remy Fowler finished in first place, followed by junior Sebastian Daniel, sophomore Maison Albarado, junior Josh King and Battaglia-Davis. Each of them posted a series score of 619 or better.

“Our team is pretty good this year,” Toews said. “If our best person starts to not do very well, our last person will step up to do well. Everybody just fills in for each other, and it works out.”

Daniel leads the team with an average game score of 204 this year. There are other players with game averages of 200 or better: Albarado (202), Fowler (201) and King (200). Toews has the highest series score of the season with a mark of 718.

Battaglia-Davis, who has the highest game score of the season with a mark of 279, is the senior leader on the team. He’s also been a key part of the team’s success in the Baker format games, which could be pivotal at the state meet.

“I think if we bowl our normal series and we do well in Baker, I think we should have a really good chance (at a state title),” Battaglia-Davis said.

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Joining the LHS boys on the drive to Wichita will be Lawrence’s girls squad, which earned a state berth with a runner-up finish at regionals last week. It’s been more than four years since the girls team last made it to state.

“We are all just happy and really excited about it,” senior Bean Foster said. “I don’t know if we really care that much about what we get.”

Foster and her teammates have been trying to compete with that free mindset all season. They know they’re fortunate to be competing in the first place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and so they’re focusing more on having fun than on their scores.

“I know this year I’ve taken more of a positive approach to it,” Foster said. “I think that’s really helped and done a lot more than I thought it could.”

Junior Karla Tyler agreed.

“I think a lot of people are doing better than we did last year,” Tyler said. “Especially since a lot of people left, and I think a lot of people have stepped up.”

photo by: Chance Parker

Lawrence High’s Karla Tyler bowls launches the ball during a dual against Lawrence High Thursday afternoon at Royal Crest Lanes on Feb. 18, 2021.

Tyler paces the Lions this season with a game average of 166 and a high series score of 549. Foster has posted a game average of 159 and a high mark of 195. Georgia Blackwood has a game average of 153, and sophomore Alivia Johnson is posting a game average of 146. Senior Macala Sisson is also in the mix, producing a game average of 143.

“We are all about the same level, so we are pretty much competing against each other almost,” Foster said. “It is just a friendly competition.”

• • •

Free State’s boys bowling squad is heading to state for the third straight year — a feat that some on the team once thought they might not be able to achieve.

Junior AJ Baker competed on both of the previous state squads, and he said he wasn’t sure at first that the streak would continue another year.

“Freshman year, the seniors at the time were not optimistic about us getting to state as a team,” Baker said. “This year, I was skeptical. But we did it, so now I’m very excited to see what we can do as a team at state.”

The Firebirds attribute their success to their strong performance at regionals. They finished as runners-up in the same meet that Lawrence High competed in, in large part because of the squad’s younger players. Sophomore CJ Rickert led the way with a series score of 656, and freshman Koda Gosser posted a 650. Juniors Baker, Jacob Goos, Michael Tennyson III and Warren Williams were also major contributors.

“We picked it up a lot at regionals,” Williams said. “We did really well.”

photo by: Chance Parker

Free State’s Warren Williams bowls the ball down the lane during a dual against Lawrence High Thursday afternoon at Royal Crest Lanes on Feb. 18, 2021.

Williams has led the team with a game average of 210 this year, and he’s consistently posted series scores of 600 or better. He credited his growth as a bowler to the amount of practice he has put into the sport.

Baker hopes to place in the top 25 and earn a medal at state. He is posting a game average of 191 this season with a high game of 246.

While the Free State girls team didn’t qualify for state, junior Ashley Edwinson will be competing for the second year in a row. She qualified for state as an individual after taking sixth at regionals.

Edwinson remembers being nervous for state last season, but hopes her experience will lead to more success this time around. She’s hitting her stride lately and has posted a game average of 144 this season. Her high game is a 200, and her best series score is a 515.

“I’m hoping to do pretty good,” Edwinson said. “(I want to score) higher than a 550. Probably like a 600, because most of the girls that bowl are really good. That’s what I’m aiming for.”