High school bowling: Keystone girls and Brookside boys headed back to district; Firelands boys advance for first time since 2009

MEDINA — Spare time. Keystone made the most of it Sunday at the Division II sectional bowling tournament at AMF Medina Lanes, ensuring it'll have less of it in the near future. Because the Wildcats picked up their spares Sunday, they get to keep on practicing and playing after qualifying to the district tournament for the third straight year. "We did a good job picking up spares," Jessica Gerhardinger said. "Nobody really got down on themselves. Spares were the difference today versus how we bowled last Sunday at conference. We just stayed focused. We kept pushing. Things went well for me. I did a good job hitting the same mark." The Wildcats finished second with a 3,379 score. Triway won with 3,601 and Coventry had 3,157 to grab the third and final district berth. Brookside was fourth, 232 pins short of qualifying, while Wellington was a pin back of the Cardinals. In the boys tournament, Brookside finished second and Firelands third to make it to districts. It's Brookside's second straight trip and Firelands' first since 2009. Gerhardinger, McKayla Ortiz and Erin Yates led Keystone, turning in the fourth, ninth and 11th high series. Gerhardinger rolled a 542 (164-203-175), Ortiz had 511 (195-182-134) despite a broken callus on her right thumb, and Yates rolled 506 (165-166-175). Triway freshman Emma Yoder had the day's top series with a 633 on games of 222, 211 and 200. The Wildcats were second after the three regular games with 2,378 as they, Triway (2,608) and Coventry (2,240) broke away from the pack. Brookside was fourth (2,118) after the three regular games. Keystone then turned in the tournament's No. 1 Baker score for the day (1,003), topping Triway (993) and Firelands (954). A week ago, Keystone fell behind early at the North Shore Bowling Conference Tournament and never caught up, finishing second to Wellington, 122 pins behind. "It's an awesome feeling since most of us are seniors," Ortiz said of making it to district. "We definitely pulled it together in Baker. We all kind of had one bad game to ourselves, but we reflected on what our mistakes were and ultimately came together and did our best." On the boys side, seniors Steven Biltz, Mason Besserer and Adam Smail led Brookside with a 3,587 score. Triway repeated as district champs with 3,755 and Firelands (3,480) held off Clearview (3,414) for the final qualifying spot. Biltz had the ninth-highest series with a 548 (165-211-172), while Besserer had the 10th with a 535 (175-181-179) and Smail the 13th with a 519 (152-170-197). "Today feels special. It's great," said Biltz, who was also a district qualifier as an individual in 2018. "We definitely have been looking forward to this all season. We planned on making it. Honestly, I've got high hopes for districts. I think everyone else does, too. We're feeling very good about this tournament coming up. Today we didn't shoot as well as could have, but we definitely brought it back in Bakers." Brookside rolled a 1,053 Baker, the best overall round, topping Triway (1,033) and Firelands (1,018). "The lane conditions were a lot different than what we were practicing on," Biltz said. "The front of it (the three regular games) the lanes were a lot more oily. The drop-off in the shot was a lot more subtle. Between the three games and the first three Bakers it was night and day. It honestly seemed like our lanes were oiled twice. The Baker was a drier shot, which is something we're more used to. We were able to adjust to it better and keep it consistent." Connor Cordy led Firelands, bowling the third-best series with a 574 on games of 201, 174 and 199. He was 159 pins over his average. "This is one of the best performances we've had in awhile," Cordy said. "A lot of things happened this year, but somehow we managed to pull through it and we're still pulling through it. Russell (Cole) never touched a ball before this year and he really stepped up. He was a big key." Alex Kyer rolled a 496 (168-129-199), Mike Smith had a 474 (169-148-157), Thomas Ulrich a 467 (162-156-149) and Cole, a freshman, had a 451 (177-116-158). The area also did well with individual qualifiers. Black River senior Lillie Wacker had a 574 (207-164-203), Clearview senior Gabrielle Suprun a 528 (152-171-205) and Wellington freshman Whitney Kirschner a 524 (213-145-166) to grab the three district qualifying berths. "We came up here yesterday and practiced and I practiced last week on it with the same sport shot so it wasn't difficult," said Wacker, who will make her fourth trip to districts. "I did what I needed to do. I really didn't feel a whole lot of pressure. I just knew I needed to come in, have fun, focus on myself, my own game and not get frustrated about anything. I just had to keep my ball on the outside (of the lane) and not pull it." It's the third trip to districts in four years for Suprun, who advanced to districts two years ago with teammate Kelsey Dominguez and in 2018 as a team member. "It was a slow start but by the end I got better," Suprun said of her opening 152. "I wish I could have done better the first game. It was very nerve-racking. I would have liked to have bowled in the 190s again. I'm happy how I bounced back. I'm happy with the 205." Kirschner gives the Wellington girls a district qualifier for the third straight year after Eva Hartwig (2020) and Nicole Sparks (2019). "The keys were staying focused, really take my time and not get frustrated," Kirschner said. "It was very important not to let the previous ball get to you if it was a bad shot. It's definitely more of a challenge with the synthetic lanes because the pins don't fall as easily, so you have to hit the pocket right on." Clearview senior Jalen Webster had a 575 (176-215-184) and Keystone junior Cameron Heston a 571 (194-177-200) to finish second and third among individual qualifiers behind Lutheran West sophomore Josh Maslanich, who had a 620 (239-191-190). Webster was happy to be moving on but bummed his teammates barely missed qualifying for the third time in four years. "It feels good to qualify for districts, but it's sad I couldn't bring us along," Webster said. "It's mixed feelings." Contact Paul Heyse at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Boys Top three teams advance to Lorain district, Feb. 19 1. Triway, 3,755; 2. Brookside, 3,587; 3. Firelands, 3,480; 4. Clearview, 3,414 (66 pins from qualifying); 5. Lutheran West, 3,259; 6. Keystone, 3,222; 7. St. Vincent-St. Mary, 3,135; 8. Open Door, 3,015; 9. Elyria Catholic, 2,948; 10. Wellington, 2,859; 11. Fairview, 2,099 Individual district qualifiers (top 3) 1. Josh Maslanich (Lutheran West), 620; 2. Jalen Webster (Clearview), 575; 3. Cameron Heston (Keystone), 571 High series (top 3 plus top local) 1. Maslanich, 620; 2. Webster, 575; 3. Connor Cordy (Firelands), 574. Other top local bowlers: 4. Heston, 571; 9. Steven Biltz (Brookside), 548; 10. Mason Besserer (Brookside), 535; 11. Drew Staller (Clearview), 523; 12. Brandon Rutkowski (Wellington), 521; 13. Adam Smail (Brookside), 519; 14. Jose Howard (Open Door), 518; 15. Nathan Moore (Black River), 504; 16. Landon Davison (Wellington), 498; 17. Alex Kyer (Firelands), 496; 18. Josh Bodner (Keystone), 495; 19. Brayden Nieding (Elyria Catholic), 483; 20. Josiah Moon (Clearview), 479; 22. Donovan Thatch (Brookside), 477; 23. Mike Smith (Firelands), 474; 24. Drew Johnson (Open Door), 472; 26. Thomas Ulrich (Firelands), 467; 28. Michael Bilczo (Brookside), 455; 29. Russell Cole (Firelands), 451; 30. Aleksander Boardwine (Open Door), 446 High game (top 3 plus top local) 1. Maslanich 239; 2. Brandon Rich (Triway), 224; 3. Webster, 215. Other top local bowlers: Biltz, 211; Howard, 202; Cordy, 201; Heston, 200; Nieding, 200; Kyer, 199; Smail, 197; Rutkowski, 193; Staller, 192; Thatch, 186; Davison, 184; Anthony Rodriguez (Clearview), 183; Besserer, 181; Bodner, 179; Bilczo, 177; Cole, 177; Moore, 174; Gabriel Nagrant (Elyria Catholic), 174; Johnson, 172; Smith, 169 Girls Top 3 teams advance to Lorain District, Feb. 20 1. Triway 3,601; 2. Keystone 3,379; 3. Coventry 3,157; 4. Brookside 2,925 (232 pins from qualifying); 5. Wellington 2,924; 6. Black River 2,972; 7. Firelands 2,789; 8. Open Door 2,766; 9. Clearview 2,765; 10. St. Vincent-St. Mary 2,543 Individual district qualifiers (top 3) 1. Lillie Wacker (Black River), 574; 2. Gabrielle Suprun (Clearview), 528; 3. Whitney Kirschner (Wellington), 524 High series (top 3 plus TOP local) 1. Emma Yoder (Triway), 633; 2. Wacker, 574; 3. Addyson Meshew (Triway), 549; 4. Jessica Gerhardinger (Keystone), 542; 5. Suprun, 528; 6. Kirschner, 524; 8. Julianna Frazier (Brookside), 512; 9. McKayla Ortiz (Keystone), 511; 11. Erin Yates (Keystone), 506; 12. Allison Skalba (Open Door), 500; 15. Amanda Mycek (Black River), 478; 17. Saige Green (Brookside), 470; 18. Mandy DeWitt (Firelands), 455; 21. Abbie Michalak (Wellington), 437; 23. Irene Norton-Miller (Keystone), 433; 24. Gabriela Salkowitz (Clearview), 421; 25. Nicole Sparks (Wellington), 420; 26. Alyssa Badillo (Open Door), 417; 27. Payton Clapp (Brookside), 413; 29. Morgan DiCesare (Firelands), 401 High game (top 3 plus top local) 1. Yoder, 222; 2. Kirschner, 213; 3. Yoder, 211. Other top local bowlers: Wacker, 207; Suprun, 205; Gerhardinger, 203; Frazier, 197; Ortiz, 195; Mycek, 190; Green, 187; Yates, 175; DeWitt, 175; Abigail Davis (Brookside), 163; Michalak, 160; Norton-Miller, 160; Salkowitz, 159; Badillo, 158; DiCesare, 158; Sparks, 158; Brooklyn Brundage (Firelands), 155; Emmie Robertson (Elyria Catholic), 152; Grace Basham (Black River), 151; Clapp, 149