SM South’s Haake takes third in Kansas 6A state bowling tournament

The day before making his first state tournament appearance, Shawnee Mission South bowler Henry Haake watched one of his fellow Raiders compete in the girls tournament.

Haake had come close to advancing out of regionals the past two seasons before finally breaking through this year. And as a spectator Friday, he turned to the wife of SM South coach Kent Thompson and told her he was feeling nervous for what would soon be his much-awaited moment.

“I got with him today before everything got started,” Thompson said. “… I said, ‘Don’t be (nervous) — this is icing on the cake.’ ”

Indeed, the ending Saturday proved sweet for Haake. He capped his junior season with a third-place finish at the Kansas 6A boys state tournament, bowling a personal-best 724 series at Olathe Lanes East.

No SM South bowler had ever recorded a 700 series in competition before Haake did it with games of 242, 235 and 247. No Raiders bowler had ever placed so high at the state meet. And no other Kansas City-area bowler fared better in 6A on Saturday.

“I didn’t think I was going to do that,” Haake said. “I’ve been nervous all week. I didn’t know what to expect.”

Goddard won the team championship with a 2,673 series. And Goddard senior Adrian Bohanan won the individual state title with an 803 series.

Olathe North’s Ryan Engle (693, sixth place), Olathe South’s Garrett Hayhow (688, seventh) and Lawrence’s Tanner Kilmer (683, eighth) also excelled individually with top-10 finishes.

The SM Northwest boys, meanwhile, finished as the top local team, taking fourth place with a 2,504 series. The Cougars finished only 12 pins back of runner-up Wichita Heights (2,516) and two behind third-place Maize (2,506).

Before the meet, SM Northwest junior Brett Dowell was asked to stand in front of the crowd to be recognized for an act of sportsmanship.

Last Saturday, the Cougars left their regional tournament with the first-place trophy. But the next day, Dowell noticed by looking at the scores in the newspaper that he was credited with 10 pins too many.

He reported the error to Cougars coach Britt Haney, and the team’s regional championship turned into a runner-up finish after the change was noted.

“I don’t know if I could have done well today if I didn’t do that,” Dowell said.

So he took a clear mind into the state tournament Saturday and led the Cougars with a 665 series to place 12th individually.

SM West’s Matt Beeghly (660, 13th) and Olathe Northwest’s Jesse Foulk (652, 16th) also medaled.

Sumner’s Smith bestSumner Academy couldn’t take home a team title Saturday, but the Sabres were far from disappointed.

Sumner finished third in the Kansas 5-1A state tournament at West Acres in Wichita, giving the Sabres their first trophy in state tournament play. And the Sabres’ Christian Smith placed first in the individual standings.

“This is just great overall,” Sumner coach Ed Gunter said. “Our seniors carried us today. This is a great accomplishment for this school and the bowling program.”

Smith bowled a 777 series, and his third game of 278 moved the Sabres up in the standings. It was also second-highest score of the tournament.

“Everything was going right today,” Smith said. “I usually leave those 7 pins, but they were just falling today.”

Nathan Kriss was second on the team with a 621, and Cedric Phillips rolled a 605.

Washington finished in seventh place, led by Jarvis Ford with a 627 series. Zach Winkler and Greg Fears joined Ford with a pair of 600 series. Gardner Edgerton’s Alex Thompson finished in seventh, bowling a 692.

Wichita Bishop Carroll won the team title with a 2,686 series, giving it a sweep of the boys and girls team titles. Topeka Seaman finished in second with 2,663, followed by Sumner with 2,598.

submitted by RYAN YOUNG - 2009-03-07 21:01:03

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