Girls bowling: Avon Lake's Amber Warthman and Rayana Meyers ready to make more memories

Amber Warthman had been hearing how fun bowling was from her friend and classmate Rayana Meyers since she moved to Avon Lake from Wellington in the second grade. After the Shoregals made a surprising run to the Division I state tournament last season, Warthman knows just what her teammate is talking about. "It was a big shock, not that we didn't think we could get there, but I don't think anyone thought we could go as far as we did at all," Warthman said. "I learned that we could learn things very fast. Last year was my first year. I just adapted into the new sport very quickly." Avon Lake, which is in its fourth year as a program, is the first Division I girls team from Lorain County to make it to state. Though the Shoregals had never made it past sectionals before last year, they sneaked into the state tournament field by 18 pins, earning the sixth and final qualifying spot out of the Northeast district tournament at Roseland Lanes in Oakwood. Avon Lake rallied from a 31-pin deficit in the final two of six Baker games to pass Berea-Midpark. With Warthman and Meyers back for their senior seasons, expectations are high for a repeat performance. "I'm very excited for the new year," Warthman said. "I'm really excited for it. We have a lot of very good girls and some good new girls. They look like they have a lot of potential. I hope we can end up near the same place where we ended up last year, maybe even farther. We worked really well as a team last year. I think that's what helped us get as far as we did. If we do that we can try to do as well as we did last year." For Meyers, the Shoregals can have another big season if they stick together. "It's important that we stay in the mind-set of encouraging each other and picking each other up if we're having a bad day because everyone's had a bad day," Meyers said. Wartman was Avon Lake's No. 1 bowler at districts (498 series) and state (554), where she finished 22nd and the Shoregals took 14th. "Amber is solid," second-year Avon Lake coach Bill Gallagher said. "At the end of last year Amber started clicking. All of a sudden she started trending and growing her average. Her performances were unbelievable. She probably has one of the best finishes I've ever seen in a high school bowler. Her finish, her stance and her balance are second to none." But Meyers made her mark, too. She finished second at the North Ridgeville sectional with a 515 series at Brunswick Zone, and was 12th at the North Shore Bowling Conference Division I Tournament at Rebman Rec with a 436 to help the Shoregals finish third. Warthman and Meyers played volleyball together from grades 6-10 and Meyers encouraged Warthman to give bowling a shot. "Rayana always had told me that bowling was fun and a nice sport to do to get yourself involved," said Warthman, a Pittsburgh native. "I didn't make the high school (volleyball) team my sophomore year but I was still playing club. Since the club volleyball season was also in the winter I decided I would rather do a high school sport than a club sport so I switched over to bowling." Meyers was pretty much just a recreational bowler until she joined the high school team as a sophomore. "I've never been involved in a sport before like bowling," Meyers said. "It's not stressful. There's stressful times like at districts when we were trying to qualify for state and the pressure was on, but generally it's not that stressful." Meyers led Avon Lake last year with a 168 average, while Warthman was second with a 159, followed by junior Chloe Smith (152). "The dynamic is so relaxed and fun," said Meyers. "It's makes it a really fun sport for everyone." Gallagher is upbeat about his team's chances with five returning starters and Warthman and Meyers leading the way. "Rayana is understanding the game more than ever," Gallagher said. "She understands more of the logistics behind the game and the mathematics. ... This year it's really kind of clicking. I don't think you can teach that. It just kind of comes along with age. "Rayana knows now how to make those adjustments on her own, more so than she was doing last year. She's definitely more advanced. She's got a good balance, a good stance, a solid foundation, all the good characteristics almost of a collegiate bowler. She's striving to get to the next level. "They want what they left behind last year. Rayana wants it. You can tell Amber, Chloe, Grace (Gallagher) and Phoebe (Hood), all of those girls want it. They're working hard for it." Avon Lake has incorporated a strength training and conditioning program this year by T3 Performance trainers on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the high school. "That bar has been set," Bill Gallagher said. "The experiences have been lived. It leaves the rest of the student body hungry for it again. There's no bar higher than what we've already set for ourselves. We know it's a tall order, but we're certainly going to give it all we have. It all has to click. It all did. I'll never forget when it did click." Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.