Johnson County bowling teams roll at state

Shawnee Mission West didn’t quite get the team finishes it was hoping for at the 6A state tournament, but the Vikings showed all season they were among the best bowling teams in the area.

SM West placed fourth in the 6A girls state tournament in Wichita last weekend, while the Vikings boys took eighth.

“You always want to win, but we came, we competed and they did the best they could,” SM West coach Renee Stevens said. “We had a great season.”

Vikings senior Samantha Favrow capped an impressive final season with a fourth-place individual finish and 643 series.

“It’s been a lot more than what I expected,” Favrow said of her senior season.

SM West senior Kevin Ingham was 18th in the boys tournament with a 652 series. He was one of only three Sunflower League boys to medal.

SM South sophomore Katie Constant medaled in 18th-place in the girls tournament with a 551 series.

In the 5A-1A state tournament in Topeka, the St. Thomas Aquinas boys placed ninth.

Winning traditionOlathe Northwest has had varsity bowling for only four years, but that was enough time for Ravens coach Charlie Pope to leave something of a legacy.

Pope is retiring, and in his final season the Ravens had the 6A boys individual state champion — senior Matt Washford — and a third-place finish in the girls competition by junior Jennifer Wood.

In those four seasons, the Olathe Northwest boys qualified for the state tournament every year, while the girls advanced three out of four years — a real feat considering the depth of competition for those limited state spots.

“I had intended to retire last year, but I was bringing so many seniors back on my bowling team that I decided to do one more,” Pope said. “It was a good last year.”

Indeed, it was. Washford capped a stellar senior season with his best-ever series — a 752 — to win his first state title last Saturday at Thunderbird Bowl in Wichita.

The Ravens boys placed sixth. Senior Mitch Gaylord was 15th with a 683 series.

Wood bowled a 647 in taking third in the girls competition.

Olathe South senior Shannon Morgan was seventh with a 606.

And Olathe North’s Emilee Dodson medaled with a 16th-place finish (563). Olathe South placed eighth as a team in the girls tournament, while Olathe North was ninth in both the boys and girls tournaments.

submitted by RYAN YOUNG - 2008-03-06 18:29:02

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