Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
The boys and the girls Marbury High School bowling teams have qualified for regionals with the girls being ranked sixth in the state and the boys are currently ranked 15th. The regional playoffs will start Jan.18-19, and if the teams qualify they will head to the state championships the following Thursday.
“We’ve been very blessed, the bowling team is new, less than five years old. Last year they made it to state as well! We’re going to hopefully repeat,” head bowling coach Brett Johnson said.
The 2024 AHSAA, Alabama High School Athletic Association, State Bowling tournament will take place Jan 25-26 at Bowlero Mobile, a 42- lane bowling facility in West Mobile.
“If we make the state tournament, which I’m feeling pretty confident about, I don’t want to jinx it… but if we make it to the state tournament, we’ll have traditional matches. The scores from the traditional matches will determine the individual state champions, “Johnson said.
In order to make the state championships as a team, teams have to finish within the top four of regionals to make it to the championship tournament. As of right now, Johnson stated that both the boys and the girl’s teams average scores “have a really good shot of making it to the next round.”
“Ever since I joined freshman year, everyone in it has been nothing but fun and caring. This program has changed me and the way I think about life. I’m proud to be a part of this family,” 11th grade boys anchor Hayden Oliver said.
Within the state of Alabama, bowling teams will compete from the 1A to the 5A level. There’s eight regions in which bowling is categorized. Johnson stated that there’s about eight teams per region as well, and that regions one through four are in the north and regions five through eight are the southern portion of the state.
“There’s probably about 60-70 teams all together. We finished top two in our area, which qualified us for the playoffs. The first round is the north region, and if we win the first round in this region then we make it to the state championship playoffs, and that’s the goal!” Johnson said.
With a season from the beginning of October to the end of January, most of the students on the team also participate outside of the athletic association, and even compete and travel year-round to bowling tournaments throughout the state. Some of the members will also compete in individual tournaments at regionals and go on to bowl in the state championships, Johnson stated.
“Bowling has just been a great experience for me. It has taught me to live in the moment and enjoy them because you won’t get them back. This season our team has gotten to grow really close together, and we just do our best every roll we get. I’m excited and I know the team is excited for the post season and we’re all grateful to get to have this experience” 12th grade girls anchor Ava Rhodes said.
