First Posted: 1/22/2015
League action for the WOHSBC was per the norm with the young men and women from Wapakoneta remaining undefeated in conference action.
What also remained normal is that there are anywhere from three to five schools in hot pursuit in each division of the conference.
On the girls side of things the Redskins of Wapak are grateful that they do not have to roll against the Cavaliers anymore this season. The two squads met in week two with Wapak victorious by 53 pins. What made the score even more interesting was that it was Coldwater that was seen as the team to be reloading this season. The Cavaliers have not lost since.
Versailles is theoretically one game back as well and will have a chance to battle Wapak later this season so anything can happen. The Tigers were handled pretty easily by Coldwater earlier this season.
Coldwater and Wapak each tallied big wins this past Saturday at Astro Lanes while Versailles and New Bremen rescheduled their match for later in the week.
LCC bowled a bowler down and it cost the Thunderbirds against Ansonia while the Temple Christian girls, who had been bowling well, dropped their match to Mississianawa Valley.
The trip to Wapak provided the opportunity to spend a moment or two speaking with one of the background people who makes things possible for the youth to compete. In this particular case it was Sarah Heistand, one of the bus drivers from Mississinawa Valley. Those who could have put anymore miles on a bus are the drivers from Ottawa-Glandorf.
So what is it like driving bus for student athletes on a Saturday afternoon?
“The kids have really been great! They usually just put their headphones on and listen to music, some of them even take naps. I really have enjoyed driving them on the trips.”
“We did have to get up early for the Ottawa trip!’ she said smiling, “but it was a great day!”
“It does take some getting use to for most drivers. When we drive our routes for the school the drives are shorter with a lot of stops. The trips are quite a bit different, and I am grateful that the coaches usually sit up front and keep me company.”
Thank you Sarah and to all the drivers who really get things done for the kids of the conference.
Scores for the girls were not near as high as anticipated in Wapak. Britni Hosterman of Wapak was the only one to top 200 with a 204 while Paige Hartings of Coldwater rolled the top two game set with games of 191 and 190.
It was mentioned earlier how the Wapak boys maintained their perfect record climbing to 10-0 this past weekend with wins over Mississinawa Valley and Ansonia. Three teams, St Henry, Ottawa Glandorf and Coldwater each have only two losses and have a shot at the top but they are going to need a lot of help to catch the defending state champions.
Lima Central Catholic had an outside shot of catching Wapak but had a tough loss, 2,025-2,007 to St Marys on the home lanes of the Roughriders.
The scoring was more dynamic in St Marys with three bowlers topping the 250 mark for the young men. Trey Buehler of St Henry led the way with a 275 game with Tyler Wenning of Coldwater scoring a 258 and Blake Knueve rolling a 253 for Wapak. Could it be that he is ready to be one of the next big guns in Wapak as they begin their bid to return to the state title.
The Wapak boys and the Coldwater girls were crowned champions of the Temple Christian Pioneer Classic but if possible two other schools may have made a huge mark at the Classic as well.
Coach Mike Warren of Mississinawa Valley, the tournament runner-up was ecstatic that with the performance of his team — not only for the second place finish but also for the victory that they had over Wapak.
“We definitely went further than we thought that we could — the win over Wapak was big for us. I am very proud of the girls.”
Wapak which struggled earlier in the qualifying round ultimately demonstrated that its was the better team taking down rival Coldwater in the finals 3-0.
The Cavaliers were coached by alumni Toby James on Monday afternoon. The University of Northwestern Ohio senior saw it as an opportunity to pay back his school for what they have done for him.
Carli Hosterman of Wapak was the game and series medalist for the ladies in the tournament. Tret Buehler of St. Henry had the top series of the event with a 617 and William Kleffner of Shawnee had the top game a 245.
Shawnee was clearly the other school that had a big and perhaps important day. The girls and boys of Shawnee are really beginning to develop as a team. The next step is to assure that they will be able to develop the team into the framework of a program.
They demonstrated in this tournament that they are ready for the WOHSBC.
Each of the two teams made it into the round of eight. They each were matched in that round against teams that were state contenders the last two years and may make a return trip this season or next.
The Shawnee girls fell to Versailles but they grew as a team and will only get better.
The Shawnee boys took down Napoleon 3-0 in the best of five battle. They would go on to lose to Coldwater but the Coldwater fans would tell you that Shawnee has grown since the evening that they battled at Pla-Mor Lanes.
The tournament itself was phenomenal. There had to be 600 people there at the peak of the day as parents and classmates filled the house to cheer on the teams.
It was a brilliant day for Shawnee and the WOHSBC, maybe next year we will not have to use that qualifier.
