Hamilton Heights senior Keagan Trexler was named Indiana High School Bowling’s girls Bowler of the Year for the 2018-19 season.
Trexler was awarded the honor after scoring the most points in the organization’s All-State calculations for this year. Trexler finished as runner-up in the IHSB state tournament this season after winning the state championship last year as a junior. Keagan followed in the footsteps of her sister Aubree Trexler, who won Bowler of the Year in 2012.
Carmel sophomore Casey Saas was named as Honorable Mention to the IHSB girls All-State team. Meanwhile, Trexler and Noblesville junior Taylor Smith were both named to the IHSB All-Region Central (Noblesville) team.
It’s been an eventful year for Trexler. In addition to her high school bowling success, she bowled a 300 game on Nov. 18, matching the achievement of her father Jimmy Trexler.
STATE TOURNAMENT RECAP
The IHSB’s state tournament series began on Jan. 11-12. Heights, Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern competed in the White River Valley I sectional, which took place at Championship Lanes in Anderson.
Trexler placed third in the individual qualifying with a 597, followed by Smith with a 544. Trexler advanced to the stepladder round, where she bowled off against the fourth qualifier, Rylee Franklin of Madison-Grant. Franklin won 169-162.
Noblesville’s boys team placed second as a team with 2300, and had three bowlers advance to the regional individually: Nathan Smith advanced to the stepladder round after qualifying second in the singles with a 706, then Andrew Elliott placed ninth with a 586, and James Sutton was 10th with a 586. Noblesville lost to Alexandria in the team stepladder 404-373.
Heights’ Alex Snay finished 11th with a 585 to advance. In the singles stepladder, Smith beat Elwood’s Brayden Alfrey 258-212 to reach the championship round, where he lost to Lapel’s Jaxon Fetty 257-239.
Meanwhile, teams from Carmel and Hamilton Southeastern competed in the Indianapolis Northwest Sectional at Woodland Bowl. Carmel’s boys placed second with 2108 and Southeastern was third with 2105, both moving on to the regional. In the team stepladder, Southeastern beat Carmel 381-350 to reach the championship. HSE lost to Ben Davis 411-334 in the final.
Carmel’s Steven Dawson was the top qualifier with a 647, advancing to the singles stepladder. HSE’s Myles Moser and Tanner Schindler were fifth (575) and sixth (570) respectively, followed by Carmel’s Nathan Ashley in seventh (558) and Dalton Grubbs in eighth (547). Dawson received a bye into the championship match of the stepladder, but lost to Ben Davis’ Kade Metzka 229-184.
Meanwhile, Saas qualified second in the girls singles with a 523. She lost to Ben Davis’ Marlee White in the stepladder, 204-193.
REGIONAL ROUND
Qualifiers from the White River Valley I and Indianapolis Northwest sectionals advanced to the Noblesville regional, which took place at Bowl 32 on Jan. 19. Due to the weather, there were no stepladder rounds.
In the boys event, Noblesville finished third as a team with a 2288, advancing to the regional. In the individual standings, Noblesville’s Nathan Smith placed 10th (590) and teammate James Sutton was 11th (588), while Hamilton Southeastern’s Tanner Schindler took 13th (581).
As for the girls: Smith won the regional championship with a score of 631, with Trexler placing second by bowling 619. Saas took sixth with a score of 540.
The regional qualifiers advanced to the Richmond semi-state, which took place Jan. 26 at Richmond 40 Bowl. The Noblesville boys team finished second in the team standings with a 2337, thus qualifying for state. In the stepladder, Noblesville lost to eventual champion Wapahani 404-385.
Meanwhile, Sutton finished fourth in the singles with a 622, qualifying not only for state individually but also for the stepladder. Sutton lost to Metzka 205-160.
In the girls, Saas and Trexler both qualified for state and the stepladder; Saas placed first with a 614 and Trexler was third with a 579. Trexler then beat Southport’s Madison Woodmansee 215-131 to advance to the semi-final, where she lost to Franklin Central’s Chelsey Jines 192-175. Jines then beat Saas 170-150 for the semi-state title.
The state meet took place Feb. 2 at Championship Lanes in Anderson. Noblesville’s boys team qualified third with a 2236 and advanced to the stepladder, where it fell in the first round to Homestead 360-340. Sutton finished 13th individually by bowling 571.
In the girls competition, Trexler was the top individual qualifier with a score of 609, advancing directly to the championship match. Trexler fell to Southport’s Melissa Bushong in that match, 211-163. Saas placed 16th with a 462.
Hamilton Heights senior Keagan Trexler (above) was named Bowler of the Year by Indiana High School Bowling after her performance throughout this season. Trexler also rolled a perfect 300 game last fall, matching the achievement of her father. Both are pictured below with their rings. (Photos provided)
