Westside bowling teams head to state after winning District titles

The Westside girls and boys bowling teams are headed to the State Championships. The Warriors won the A-2 District titles on Monday, Jan. 30 at Maplewood Lanes. Westside also had two District champions this year, with junior Reed Elias and senior Leia Osmera. The success started for the Warriors in the Baker round, where they were all playing as a team together.

“Bakers were electric,” Elias said. “The team was doing really well, we were all playing as a team.”

Elias bowled a 571 series to finish in first place. The junior started off slow, but he finished with a 243 in the final round.

“I started off pretty slow.” Elias said. “I got a 140, then I got a 182, and a 243. So, I ended up with a 571 series. It was enough to win, but I didn’t even realize I had won until my name was called.”

Elias led the boys to the team title with a score of 3401. It means a lot for Elias, who spent countless hours on the lanes and it all paid off.

“It means a lot to even compete for Westside,” Elias said. “But it validates all the hard work and countless hours that I had put in.”

Westside had three girls finish in the top four places at District. Sophomores Abigail Rosloniec and Jordyn Shields helped the Warriors end up with a score of 2956 to edge Omaha Marian. 

“It shows countless hours and practices really paid off,” Osmera said. “It sounds really good to win Districts, but I don’t think I could do it without the help of my team. They supported me through everything. Even if I did badly and they still support me, I think that’s really important.”

The Westside girls team finished the regular season with a 12-8 record. The Warriors are seeded No .8 entering the State Championships. The bowlers are focused on playing as a team, and helping each other to keep the energy up.

“I see a lot of teams fall and they get really in their head about stuff,” Osmera said , ”Then it kinda just crumbles from there. I feel like what team does we keep the energy up, which is really good for morality, so we just really support each other.”

The Westside boys team enters the State Championships with an 8-11 record. The Warriors are seeded No. 8 and have a tough challenge ahead in Lincoln. The bowlers have stated their goals are to come out of the state championship with a win, but to do that, they need to keep up the hard work in practice.

“Physically, we’re working on our spare game,” Elias said, “making sure we’re closing frames. Mentally, just trying not to get too nervous and staying calm.”

The Warriors will bowl at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 6 at Sun Valley Lanes in Lincoln. The boys will face the No.1 seed Grand Island, who has a record of 20-4. The girls will take on the No.1 seed Fremont, who is undefeated with a 25-0 record.