Kamiakin girls knocking down the pins, and competition, at 4A state bowling tournament
The Kamiakin girls bowling team and Richland junior Ali Lemieux had great opening days at the WIAA girls bowling state championships in Tukwila on Wednesday.
The Braves lead in the Class 4A team standings after the first day of competition, with 4,930 pins.
Sitting in second place is Emerald Ridge at 4,878; while Wenatchee is in third at 4,848.
Richland sits in sixth place out of the eight teams competing with 4,563 pins.
The 4A competition concludes at Bowlero on Thursday, when those eight teams involved roll 14 Baker Games.
Baker Games are when each of five teammates take turns in rolling a frame until all 10 frames of a game are completed.
The individual portion of the tournament was completed on Wednesday, and that’s where Richland’s Lemieux comes in. She placed second overall, rolling 1098 pins (182 average) over the six games.
Lemieux started out hot, rolling a 214 in her first game. She added a 222 in her third game.
Only Ada Querin of West Valley of Yakima was better, winning the state title with a total of 1,156 pins for an average of 192.
Three Kamiakin bowlers placed among the top 15 individuals. Liliana Martinez finished 10th at 1038; Quinn Shaner placed 14th at 1,016; and Alyssa Martinez was 15th at 1,005.
Other bowlers competing: 23, Clara Demarest, Kamiakin, 969 pins; 24, Malia Haynes, Richland, 964; 25, Analynn Larios, Chiawana, 961; 29, Ashlee Senda, Chiawana, 949; 32, Reese Dewey, Chiawana, 917; 34, Grace Hubbert, Kamiakin, 902; 42, Peyton Gonzalez, Richland, 854; 45, Sierra Ruelas, Richland, 824; 46, Miley Lakey, Richland, 823; 47, Zahara Acevedo, Pasco, 815.
3A bowling tournament
The Kennewick Lions have dominated on the lanes all season long, and they’ll get their chance to shine in the 3A state tournament (held at the same site in Tukwila) beginning Friday with individual play and finishing Saturday with Baker Games.
The Lions bring seven bowlers to the state tournament: Clida Bleichner-Ramos, Kourtnie Foss, Anna Hardin, Lexis McGarrity, Samantha McMaster, Melissa Mendoza Gutierrez, and Calista Tippett.
Also competing will be three individuals from the Mid-Columbia Conference: Southridge’s Sydney Golden, Walla Walla’s Amelia Hubbard, and Hermiston’s Emily Jemmett.
District and regular season
Kennewick rolled to a perfect 14-0 regular-season record.
But that’s not all. As a team, the Lions averaged 171 pins per game, per player during conference play.
That was tops in MCC action.
In addition, the Lions had the best MCC average in Baker Games, with a 167 average.
Senior Kourtnie Foss was the top bowler during the season with a 188 average.
MCC coaches named Foss the Bowler of the Year.
She was joined on the MCC first-team all-conference squad by teammates Lexis McGarrity and Samantha McMaster.
Kamiakin’s Clara Demarest and Richland’s Malia Haynes rounded out the MCC first team.
Kennewick’s coach Tom Richardson was named MCC Coach of the Year.
During the district tournament last week, two bowlers who didn’t make first-team All-MCC won individual titles.
In the 4A tournament, Richland’s Lemieux got hot at the right time and took the individual crown with a 205 average. She helped lead the Bombers to the team title.
Meanwhile, in 3A, Kennewick senior Calista Tippett averaged a 187 to lead the Lions to the team title.
Prep wrestling post-season
The road to the Tacoma Dome for state high school wrestlers consists of three tournaments, one each over the next three weekends.
This coming weekend is the conference — or sub-regional tournaments — and three of them are in the Tri-Cities.
The MCC girls tournament runs at Hanford High School on Friday afternoon into the evening, and the top five placers in each weight class will advance to the 4A-3A regional tournament Feb. 10 in Yakima.
This coming Saturday, the MCC’s 4A schools — Chiawana, Hanford, Kamiakin, Pasco and Richland — get together at Richland High School starting at 10 a.m. for the sub-regional tournament. The top three placers in each weight class will advance to the 4A regionals the following weekend.
The fourth-place finishers in each weight class will pigtail into regionals. That means, they’ll wrestle someone from another district for a chance to be placed into the regional tournament bracket.
Also on Saturday, the MCC’s four Class 3A schools — Hermiston, Kennewick, Southridge and Walla Walla — will converge at Southridge High School at 10 a.m. for sub-districts.
Top four placers will advance to 3A regionals.
Regional dates are all Feb. 10 at various sites.
Mat Classic XXXV will be held Feb. 16-17 in the Tacoma Dome.
Prep basketball
There are two boys basketball games to keep an eye on Friday.
One is the Richland at Kamiakin battle, which tips off at 7:30 p.m. The visiting Bombers are in first place in the Mid-Columbia Conference with a 13-0 record and three games remaining.
The host Braves are right behind Richland with a 12-1 conference mark.
And since both schools are Class 4A, the battle is not only for the overall MCC title, but the MCC 4A No. 1 seed into the district 8 tournament that goes with it.
The other game that catches my eye is Lake Roosevelt at Columbia-Burbank. It’s a 6 p.m. start and involves two of the best Class 2B boys teams in the state.
Lake Roosevelt is 21-0, while the host Coyotes are 18-0.
▪ The Associated Press state high school basketball polls for this week were released Wednesday afternoon.
Here are the No. 1 teams in each classification, as well as any local teams and their rankings:
4A boys: 1, Mount Si (18-2 record); 4, Richland (14-3); 5, Kamiakin (16-2).
4A girls: 1, Woodinville (19-2); 3, Kamiakin (17-1); 10, Chiawana (14-5).
3A boys: 1, Auburn (18-1).
3A girls: 1, Mead (18-1); Kennewick received votes.
2A boys: 1, North Kitsap (15-3); 3, Grandview (16-3); Prosser received votes.
2A girls: 1, Ellensburg (19-0); 5, Prosser (17-4).
1A boys: 1, Zillah (18-0); 6, Royal (16-5).
1A girls: 1, Nooksack Valley (13-1).
2B boys: 1, Colfax (20-0); 3, Columbia-Burbank (18-0); 5, Tri-Cities Prep (15-4).
2B girls: 1, Napavine (17-2); 4, Warden (11-3); Mabton received votes.
1B boys: 1, Lummi (16-1); 5, DeSales (15-4).
1B girls: 1, Neah Bay (12-2); 8, Sunnyside Christian (17-2).
Jeff Morrow is former sports editor for the Tri-City Herald.
