March 28, 2024

Newton boy bowlers win, girls second at Knoxville

On Saturday morning, the Newton girls bowling team experienced something it hadn’t had to experience in years — a loss in the regular season.

The Cardinal girls took second place to host Knoxville, but the boys earned some revenge on their behalf with a 10-poin victory over the Panthers in a six-team field at Fairlane Bowl in Knoxville.

Leading the way for the Newton boys in the first round games was sophomore Payton Cox with a 389 (182 first game, 207 second). Behind him were fellow sophomore Alex Bare with a 345 (168, 177), freshman Jake Karlzen with a 323 (166, 157), junior Ryan Bowen with a 321 (186, 135) and freshman Bryan McMahon with a 320 (163, 157). Senior Dylan Van Sickle contributed a non-scoring total of 313 (167, 146).

The Cards then did some damage in in the Baker games, rolling 183, 203, 220, 159 and 142. to pull away for the victory. Newton ended up with a two-round total of 2,610, which edged out Knoxville’s 2,600 for first-place finish.

“The boys had a tremendous day,” Newton coach Seth Banwell said. “They bowled very consistent during their individual games and pulled ahead of the competition during the Baker games with a few games over 200. This team works very well together and gets the job done.”

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, things weren’t as close on the girls’ side. Knoxville took the meet with a total of 2,325, while Newton took second at 2,197.

Freshman Madison Humphrey once again led the Cards with a first-round total of 338 (170, 168). Behind her was senior Bethannie Hughes with a 333 (177, 156), junior Bailee Stier with a 284 (142, 142), sophomore Erica Bailey with a 280 (146, 134) and sophomore Courtney Tabor with a 273 (122, 151). Junior Melanie Stice contributed a non-scoring round of 253 (139, 114).

In the Baker games, the Cardinals rolled games of 117, 133, 135, 136 and 168 for a total of 689.

“This was a heart-breaking second-place finish. The girls have been undefeated for such a long time,” Banwell said. “Bowling is a very mental game. When you make a few poor shots, it’s easy to get discouraged and bowl worse. I have full confidence the team will bounce back after this loss to Knoxville and get back to normal scores.”