Home-field advantage, home-court advantage — it exists in bowling, too. Emporia High’s first taste of home-lane advantage came in handy for the Spartan boys on Friday, as the first home bowling tournament in EHS history also brought the Spartans’ first varsity team victory.
Led by Jonathan Roman’s tournament-high 268 game and 687 series, the Spartan boys rolled up 2,671 points in front of their family and friends at a jammed Flint Hills Lanes, crushing Hayden and Topeka High to win their home invitational. Emporia had the top three boys scores and four of the top five, with Jacob Loucks compiling a 675 series to finish second and Nick Hensley right behind him with a 664.
The benefits of bowling at your own venue go beyond just having the support of a home crowd, and EHS coach Rick Carl believed competing at Flint Hills for the first time gave the Spartans a substantial edge.
“You’re at home, you’ve been here, you practice here every day,” Carl said. “And we know if we just need to move a half a board over, or maybe up a half a foot, and we can make those adjustments. Whereas we’ve been at other places, and we just haven’t made those adjustments, or we haven’t been able to find that feel. So it was great.”
Roman, who didn’t start the year on varsity, registered the young EHS program’s new single-game record, breaking Hensley’s previous standard of 266.
“I haven’t been doing so well these last couple of meets, so I wanted to come out and actually impress our home crowd,” Roman said. “And first ball to the last, it was pretty good.”
Zach Young finished fifth with a 645 series. Justin Wilson rolled a 608 and Bradie Cline put up a 532.
The Spartan girls had a tougher home opener, finishing behind both Topeka High and Hayden with 1,908 points. Caitlin Martin led EHS, finishing fourth with a 527 series. Morgan Michels finished sixth with a 491 and Kristin Nomura rolled a 457 series to finish eighth. Just outside the top 10 were Whitney Brooks and Stephanie O’Dell, who rolled 433 and 425 series respectively. Ashley Frizell logged a 406 series.
“It’s really exciting to have our parents and relatives here to cheer us on and just to be there for us,” Brooks said.
Topeka High won the girls side with 2,030 points, and Hayden finished second with 1,966. Topeka High’s Kelsey Muther was Friday’s top girls bowler, rolling a 593 series. Hayden’s Emily Buhler, who finished second, had the day’s high game with a 222.
Emporia High Invite
Friday at Flint Hills Lanes
Boys
Team scores
Emporia 2,671, Hayden 2,504, Topeka High 2,277.
Emporia results
1. Roman 268-200-219 687; 2. Loucks 245-225-205 675; 3. Hensley 215-257-192 664; 5. Young 212-247-186 645; 8. Wilson 214-190-204 608; 15. Cline 160-171-201 532.
Girls
Team scores
Topeka High 2,030, Hayden 1,966, Emporia 1,908.
Emporia results
4. Martin 188-156-183 527; 6. Michels 173-180-138 491; 8. Nomura 164-139-154 457; 11. Brooks 147-134-152 433; 12. O’Dell 143-151-131 425; 15. Frizell 174-124-108 406.