State Bowling Finals

**cougarpride08** · 03-23-2012, 09:09 AM

Congrats to Scott Co boys and Pleasure Ridge Park girls for winning the first ever state tournament.

**cougarpride08** · 03-23-2012, 11:27 AM

Congrats to Joe Bryant from Lee Co on finishing 5th in the state. Semifinals still going on.

**cougarpride08** · 03-23-2012, 12:25 PM

Brad Hatton from Scott Co claims the first state individual championship for the boys.

**cougarpride08** · 03-23-2012, 12:38 PM

Does anyone know who will be adding teams for next years bowling?

**Stardust** · 03-23-2012, 12:58 PM

Both teams lived up to their No. 1 seeds and captured the first KHSAA-sanctioned state high school bowling tournament titles Thursday at Executive Strike and Spare.

The Scott County boys took home the trophy and the Pleasure Ridge Park girls tallied a third straight championship. After 10 years as a club sport, bowling was officially sanctioned by the KHSAA last year.

Scott County defeated No. 7-seed Fern Creek 3 games to 1 in a hard-fought battle. The Cardinals overcame some adversity in the semifinal against No. 4 seed DuPont Manual.

The Crimsons appeared on their way to the title match after building a 2-0 lead, winning each game by one pin. Scott County regrouped to battle back.

“I’ve been dreaming about this since I started bowling,” Scott County’s Brandon Hatton said. “I’ve always wanted this. When it came down to me, I brought it. ...

“I knew I had four guys right behind me ready to go and we did our job, especially when we came back from 2-0.”

The Cardinals moved to the other side of the venue for the final, and that resulted in a new approach.

“Once we got past the Manual match, I was looking for just a little bit of a letdown there, and we didn’t bowl great that first game,” Scott County coach Tom Doyle said. “I told our guys, we haven’t been on this side of the house all day, and we went through a lot during the Manual match, so I told them let’s turn it around.”

Scott County and Fern Creek were tied 1-1 when the Cardinals took control.

“We were up 2-1 and I knew they didn’t have much confidence left,” Cardinal bowler Jonathan Taylor said. “I knew then we had a good chance of winning.”

Taylor said the long day is a test of endurance. The boys’ teams began practicing as early as 7:40 a.m.

Fern Creek’s upset streak began with a victory over No. 2 Campbell County in the quarterfinals. The Tigers fell behind No. 3 Pleasure Ridge Park two games, but rallied to win three straight.

“Today the lane just got a little bit ahead of us,” Fern Creek coach Randy Cook said. “The guys just didn’t transition quick enough. ... We have a young team coming back, so we’ll be ready for next year.”

No. 5 Trinity toppled No. 12 Henry Clay before falling to Manual in the quarterfinals.

The PRP girls, who dominated their side of the bracket, topped No. 6 Bryan Station for the title. The teams battled to a tie in the first game, and the Panthers took the momentum after that, winning the next three.

Mariah Haysley said she started sluggish, but picked up her game along with her teammates. “We got together and we realized we needed to come together as a team, because that’s when we do our best.”

Allie Henon recorded the final spare that sealed the win for the Panthers. “I was really nervous, but when I got that last ball, I was excited,” Henon said.

Bryan Station toppled No. 15 Male in the quarterfinals. The Bulldogs powered past No. 2 Scott County in the first round and No. 10 North Bullitt in the second round.

The tournament concludes today beginning at 8 a.m. with singles competition.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...t|Sports|s