The girls bowling team delivered a high energy and emotional performance at districts with multiple medalist, a state individual qualifier, and a wildcard to state, coach Keith Schneider said.
The team set the tone early, “leading in total pin-fall after each of the first two games,” Schneider said, showing strong execution and consistency right out of the gate.
A tight final qualifying game shifted the seeding but still left the team in a strong position heading into bracket play.
In the third game against Papio south, the girls bowled well but Papio south “just edged to gain the 1 seed for brackets,” Schneider said , while his team secured the #2 seed overall.
Qualifying also determined individual state sports, and several bowlers produced standout performances while others finished just a few away from medals.
Schnedier highlighted Manuela Kate’s series of 214,182 and 203, saying she earned “2nd place individually and punching her ticket to state,” while noting that multiple teammates Sarah Rosloniec, Malia Kate, Kalista Rich and Erin Fast were all just outside the metal cutoff but remained highly competitive with everyone else.
That depth carried into baker bracket play, where the team advanced to the final with a strong semifinal win.
After defeating Millard West 3-1, Schneider said the final came down to pressure shots, with “each of us taking 2 games forcing a decisive 5th game.”
The championship match was decided in the final frame with the anchor needing strikes to secure the title.
“Manuela was anchoring the team and she needed the first two strikes to pull out the win,” Schneider said. “She got the first one, but the second one didn’t fall our way and we lost 3-2.”
Even with the narrow finals loss, the overall performance from the season kept the team’s postseason run alive.
“Everyone really bowled well throughout the day, and we could not be more proud of their performance,” Schneider said, adding that the team earned the wildcard spot and will enter state as the #5 seed and face the #4 seed Norfolk on Wednesday afternoon.
