By RICHIE HALL
The Noblesville bowling team’s march to a state championship in 2020 began at the state finals of 2019.
Last year’s Noblesville team finished fourth in the state, but took away lessons from that day as it watched Ben Davis win the team title. Those lessons have been learned well, as Noblesville won the 2020 boys state championship, which took place Feb. 1 at Championship Lanes in Anderson.
“We watched Ben Davis take the championship that day and knew what we needed to improve on to become the 2020 State Champs,” said Millers coach Jamie Elliott.
Noblesville qualified first during the team portion of the state finals, scoring a 2306. That gave the team a bye into the stepladder championship match, where it beat Terre Haute South 394-359 to win the championship.
“We worked on spare conversions all season long,” said Elliott. “Much like a basketball team practices free throws I would expect. It paid off well.”
Noblesville began its run to state by winning the White River Valley I sectional, which took place Jan. 10 and 11, also at Championship Lanes. The Millers also finished first in the team portion to earn a bye into the stepladder final, where they beat Elwood 457-435.
Noblesville hosted the regional at Bowl 32 on Jan. 18, where it finished third in the qualifying portion. The Millers lost in the first stepladder match to South Ripley 382-311, but still advanced to the next level.
That next level was the Kokomo semi-state, which took place Jan. 25 at Heritage Lanes. Noblesville finished fourth in the team standings, one of six teams to qualify for state and also earning another spot in the stepladder round. The Millers beat Centerville 357-301 and Terre Haute South 356-354 to advance to the championship, where they narrowly fell to Richmond 363-356.
In addition to the team success, several Noblesville individuals had good seasons as well. Five Noblesville boys and two girls advanced to the individual regional: Nathan Smith (699) placed second in the boys, followed by James Sutton (651) in fourth and McKinley Brooks (651) in fifth. Cameron Kirby (567) was 11th and Noah Tannenbaum (559) was 14th.
Smith and Sutton advanced to the stepladder; Sutton beat Elwood’s Dalton Trueblood 278-166 in the first match, then had to face his teammate Smith in the second match. Smith won 230-222 to move to the championship, where he fell to Lapel’s Ryan Carpenter 257-225.
In the girls sectional, Taylor Smith placed third individually with a 599 and Lena Tarzwell was eighth with 514. Smith advanced to the stepladder, where she dropped a close 190-185 match to Alexandria’s Genna Martin.
Smith rebounded at the regional, where she won the individual girls championship. Taylor was first in the qualifying with a 661, earned a bye into the stepladder final, then beat Hamilton Heights’ Kylee Trexler 177-173 for the title.
Three Noblesville boys advanced to the semi-state individually: Nathan Smith was first (710), Sutton was 15th (559) and Tannenbaum was 17th (551). Smith also received a bye into the stepladder final, where he finished second to Lutheran’s Ryan Speer 234-214.
Tannenbaum placed fifth in the boys singles at the Kokomo semi-state with a 648, while Taylor Smith was seventh in the girls by scoring 557. Both qualified for state as a result. At the state meet, Tannenbaum finished fourth with a 645 to reach the stepladder round. He won his first match, beating Elwood’s Brayden Alfrey 221-196, then fell to eventual state champion, Clarksville’s Evan Davis, 202-192 in the second match. Taylor Smith placed 14th in the girls state with a 496.
Prior to the tournament, the Millers won the conference title, finishing with an 11-1 record in the league. Noblesville also won the 2020 Indiana Bakers Classic the week before the sectional.
“This is a tournament to prepare for the State Tournament,” said Elliott.
Noblesville’s team finished with a season team average of 998, by far the best in the state. The Millers also had the top team series with a 2242, and the third-best series with a 2196. Finally, Noblesville had three of the top six season-best games, totaling an 1131 (third), 1121 (fourth) and 111 (sixth).
Nathan Smith had the best season average among boys in the state with a 237, and was one of five boys to roll a 300 game during the season. Smith was named to the boys’ All-State Second Team. Elliott pointed out that Smith is “one of only a handful of boys to hold a State Team title and a State Individual Title,” as he won the individual championship in 2018.
Taylor Smith was named as Honorable Mention to the All State Girls Team and was also named to the State All-Academic Team. Smith and Tarzwell both started in the boys team’s final match, making it a co-ed team for the Millers.
“This is the first time a Co-Ed team has ever done that and we are only the second Co-Ed team to win the State Boys Title,” said Elliott.
Sutton had Noblesville’s individual high two-game series with a 503, and his 221 average put him in the top 15 in the state. Brook averaged 201 during conference play.
Andrew Elliott was the third-high average on the team in conference play with a 202, but had season-ending surgery prior to the start of the tournament.
“He helped lead the cheers and is already bowling again preparing for next seasons run for a repeat,” said Jamie Elliott.
OTHER SCHOOLS
Several other schools had successful bowling seasons as well. Hamilton Heights’ Kylee Trexler became the latest member of her family to win a championship, as she triumphed at the White River Valley I sectional.
Trexler qualified second in the singles with a 674, which placed her into the second stepladder match. She beat Genna Martin of Alexandria 223-196, then upset the top seed, Camryn Hickey of Lapel, 213-182 in the championship match.
Trexler placed fourth in the regional qualifying with a 578, then worked her way into the stepladder final. She beat Franklin Township’s Hunter Sullivan in a tiebreak, 183+40 to 183+36, then defeated Hickey 209-165 before falling to Taylor Smith 177-173 in the final.
Westfield’s boys finished third at the White River Valley I sectional to qualify for the regional. In the stepladder, Elwood beat the Shamrocks 374-279 to advance to the championship.
Meanwhile, Carmel and Hamilton Southeastern competed in the Indianapolis NorthWest sectional Jan. 11 at Western Bowl. In the boys team competition, Carmel qualified first with a 2120, followed by Southeastern with a 2039.
Brownsburg was third with a 2015; all three teams advanced to the regional. The Bulldogs advanced to the stepladder final over the Royals 396-288, but the Greyhounds won the sectional team championship over Brownsburg 364-324.
Carmel swept the individual sectional titles. Tyler Smith qualified third in the boys singles with a 595, then won three matches in the stepladder, beating Cardinal Ritter’s Ethyn Fleischmann 189-139, Ben Davis’ Sean White 209-174 and Ben Davis’ Kade Metz 215-164 in the final.
Smith advanced to the regional individually along with teammate Chris Mace, who placed eighth with a 523. Two Southeastern bowlers also reached the regional: Caleb Hamilton was fifth (547) and Tanner Schindler was seventh (529).
In the girls sectional, Carmel’s Casey Saas qualified first with a 537, which sent her into the stepladder final. Saas beat Brownsburg’s Allison Whitmire 199-154 for the championship.
The Carmel and HSE bowlers competed with the White River Valley I teams at the Noblesville regional. The Greyhounds qualified first in the team competition with a 2239, sending into the stepladder final where they beat Columbus North 396-351 for the regional trophy.
Meanwhile, the Royals’ Hamilton qualified fourth individually with a 635 to reach the stepladder round, where he fell to Metza 206-143 in the first match. Hamilton advanced to the semi-state along with Schindler, who qualified 10th (584). Carmel also had two individuals reach the semi-state: Smith placed seventh (618) and Mace was 16th (554).
At the semi-state, the Carmel team finished fifth to qualify for the state meet, scoring a 2115. The Greyhounds’ Smith qualified as an individual, placing seventh with a 623. HSE’s Hamilton finished 11th with a 603, also qualifying for state.
Carmel’s team finished fourth in the team portion of state with a 2174, sending it to the stepladder round, where the Greyhounds lost to Terre Haute South 335-300 in the first match. Meanwhile, Hamilton placed 10th individually for the Royals, scoring a 607. Carmel’s Smith was 19th with a 552.
The Noblesville bowling team won the boys state championship, which took place Feb. 1 at Championship Lanes in Anderson. Noblesville beat Terre Haute South 394-359 in the championship of the stepladder round.
Pictured – Standing: Coach Doug Smith, junior McKinley Brooks, senior James Sutton, coach Tom Tarzwell, junior Noah Tannebaum, coach Jamie Elliott. Sitting: Junior Nathan Smith, sophomore Lena Tarzwell, senior Taylor Smith, sophomore Andrew Elliott. (Photo provided)