PEPSI MISSOURI STATE HIGH SCHOOL CHAMPIONSHIPS
05/23/2009--The Northmen from Oak Park High School in Kansas City are the first ever High School Team Bowling Champions in Missouri. They defeated the Hawks from Hazelwood Central High School in Hazelwood 225-159 in a single baker-style match for the championship, and $4,000 in scholarship funding.
Sixteen of the top high school bowling teams competed for over $10,000.00 in scholarships on Saturday, May 23rd at Community Lanes in Moberly, Mo. The tournament included qualifying, baker match play, and a step-ladder baker finals, and lasted close to nine hours.
The sixteen co-ed teams qualified for an invitation to the Missouri BPA High School State Championship by participating in an organized club bowling program in their area or by winning an area qualifying round. The tournament was sponsored by Pepsi Cola and the Missouri Bowling Proprietors’ Association.
The Northmen qualified in 7th place after three regular team games, with individual and team bonus pins added. They were nearly 300 pins behind the leading Hawks from Hazelwood Central, the only team to better the 3,000 mark. During the Barnhart Baker Match-Play, they were particularly strong, and with scores of 880 and 945 in the final two sets of the day, they moved themselves into second place, awaiting the single game stepladder finals.
In the first game of the single-game baker stepladder finals, hometown favorites Moberly Spartans defeated the Francis Howell North Knights, 196-186, bowling a clean game in the effort. Imagine the level of enthusiasm at any high school sporting event, and then imagine that sound inside a bowling center. There was no doubt how excited the hometown crowd was when they had that victory, and then just as disappointed in the next game when the Spartans would fall to the third place qualifiers, the Hazelwood West Wildcats. Both teams were matched evenly early on, and tied to the pin in the 8th frame, both on open frames. Both teams put up clutch strikes in the 9th, and Hazelwood's anchor was able to post the first strike in the 10th for a double. The Spartan anchorman made what looked to be a good shot, but the ball ran high, leaving the big four. The match ended 188-166, but was much closer than it looked.
The Wildcats then found themselves facing the Northmen in the semi-finals. They stayed clean with no doubles through the first six frames, but were never in the match, as the Northmen started strong with the first three strikes, and then a double again in the 6th and 7th frames. Remember, these are baker games, where individuals work together on a single team game, throwing only two frames every game. That makes the 228-167 victory even more impressive, as 220+ games were hard to come by in competition.
Waiting in the wings for the Northmen were the Hazelwood Central Hawks, who led qualifying, and had a 200+ margin on the field at the end of the baker match play. Hazelwood had the chance to warm up while the other matches were held, but seemed to be cold to start in the finale, leaving opens in the first two frames. The Northmen would also have an open in the second, and with both teams posting spares in the third, the match was within 13 pins. Starting in the 4th, the Northmen never looked back, stringing five consecutive strikes to the 8th, and staying clean. The Hawks had another open in the 5th, and were never in the game after that. The final score: 225-159.
As stated earlier, the Northmen will split $4,000 in scholarship funds between the bowlers in this tournament, and those funds will be deposited into SMART under the account 11313. The Hawks will split $2,400; the Wildcats $1,600; the Spartans $1,200; and finally, the Knights receive $800.
This is the first time ever for a High School Championship Tournament in Missouri. With the overwhelming interest this year, plans are underway to make this an annual event and increase the number of teams invited next year.
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