By John Raffel
The St. Louis Sharks girls bowling team, led by Emily Thelen, has been enjoying plenty of success on the lanes this season.
Coach Brittney Mizer noted that her girls took second in their first two tournaments; the first one by only six pins to Alma. They then won their first nine league matches and won the conference title for the second time in the last three years at 9-1.
Thelen, Mizer said, “has came a long way this season, consistently carrying at least a 170 average at all times, and being a strong team leader. So far this season, every one of the girls has had a high game of at least 194, and five of them had shot above a 220. [Each] of the girls has shown a lot of improvement throughout the season, and all of them are very close to reaching the goals they set at the beginning of the season, if they haven’t already.
“We are all looking forward to the regional competition with high hopes of making it to states,” Mizer added. “While we would love to win regionals, there will be some tough teams, so the girls just need to go in and do their best and make sure they have fun doing it.”
Mizer pointed out that this is the first time Al Post has not coached bowling in many years.
“He has been very willing to help us out whenever needed with the guys and the girls, from understanding the team dynamics to adjusting the line-up during a match,” Mizer said. “Coaching the girls this season has been an amazing experience, and I have learned so much about each one of them. They are all very close and supportive of one another. I have never seen a bond like this among a high school sports team, and it is part of the reason they are doing so well this season. I look forward to what the last couple weeks will bring, and I have no doubt if the girls have fun and keep their spirits high they can accomplish anything.”
Boys coach Scott Mizer had been working with an inexperienced team.
“Only one bowler has three years of experience, the rest with two or less,” Mizer said. “We pushed hard to win some tough matches this season and ended up third in our conference. We had some really nice scores, including juniors Devon Humphrey with a 245, Dawson Milks with a 224, Ethan Pitcher with a 211 and our freshman, Grant Mills with a 211. This team has came a long way since the beginning of the season and are looking really promising going into the regional tournament next weekend and next season.
“I’m looking for Dawson to help his team stay calm and strong next week. If we bowl like the team we are, we can make top three in the regional match and advance into state,” said Scott. “I have really enjoyed coaching boys this year. I have a great bunch of kids and am looking forward to seeing all of them back next year except for our one senior.”