The Noblesville bowling team defended its state championship this past weekend.
The Millers traveled to Pro Bowl West in Fort Wayne, where they finished first in the team portion of the meet. That sent Noblesville into the stepladder round, and it easily defeated Eastside 367-299 in order to win its second straight state title.
Noblesville’s team consisted of seniors Nathan Smith, Noah Tannenbaum and McKinley Brooks, juniors Lena Tarzwell, Zach Wilson and Andrew Elliott and sophomore Cayden Russell. This made the Millers the first coed team to repeat as state champions.
The Noblesville team was coached by Tom Tarzwell, Doug Smith and Jamie Elliott. Reserve players were Cameron Kirby, Cullen Irvin, Jacob Brown, Jimmy Krach, Grant Irvin and Zach Davis.
The Millers finished their season 8-0 during a COVID-interrupted conference season. But they were still able to post the third-highest team average in Indiana with a 1,008. Noblesville had three of the top 11 high series during the season, including the fourth-highest at 2188, and the third-highest game score at 1128.
Noblesville’s tournament march began Feb. 19 and 20 at the White River Valley I sectional, which took place at Championship Lanes in Anderson. The Millers won the sectional title, qualifying first out of three teams, then beating Anderson in the stepladder championship 430-402.
Noblesville’s qualifying score was 2550, which was achieved after 12 Baker games. In the stepladder, teams play two games against each other, with the combined score determining the winner.
In addition, six Noblesville individuals finished among the top 11 in the singles competition and qualified for the regional. Smith was third (721), Russell fourth (697), Brown sixth (629), Wilson seventh (628), Tannenbaum eighth (619) and Irvin (11th) 595. Individuals bowl a three-game series to determine their score.
Russell and Smith both went on to the individual stepladder, but Elwood’s Brayden Alfrey beat Smith in the first match 245-225. Russell edged out Alfrey in the semi-final match by one pin, 245-244, but fell to Daleville’s Hunter Thompson in the championship 267-226.
The Noblesville team advanced to the New Castle regional, which took place March 13 at Rose City Bowl. The Millers placed third in the team portion to qualify for semi-state, but lost to Connersville 328-281 in the first stepladder match.
Russell and Smith qualified third and fourth respectively in the singles portion, advancing to semi-state. Russell scored a 618 and Smith bowled a 601. As a result, the two had to compete against each other in the first stepladder match, with Smith winning 259-207. Smith then went on to beat Thompson 223-181 in the semi-finals and defeated Connersville’s Wesley Boyd 223-168 for the individual regional championship.
Noblesville played the semi-state on March 20, returning to Anderson’s Championship Lanes. The Millers were first in the team portion with a score of 2295, earning them a bye into the stepladder championship where they defeated Evansville Central 338-314.
Smith also qualified first in the singles competition with a score of 688, but was edged out by Indianapolis Lutheran’s Ryan Speer in the stepladder final 247-243. Still, Smith was one of 12 individuals who qualified for state.
At the state meet, Noblesville finished first in the team portion, edging out Eastside 2305-2300. But it would be a different story in the stepladder, as the Millers won the first game by 40 pins (192-152) and took the second game just as easily (175-147) to repeat as state champion.
Smith, meanwhile, finished fourth individually. He rolled a 635 in the singles qualifier, but again fell to Speer in the first stepladder match 258-223.
OTHER TEAMS
Carmel’s boys team also qualified for the state meet. The Greyhounds got their start at the Indianapolis West sectional, which took place at Woodland Bowl in Indianapolis.
Carmel finished second to Brownsburg at the sectional 363-336, but both teams advanced to the regional. Meanwhile, Carmel had three individuals move on as well. Tyler Smith qualified first with a 565, Dalton Grubbs was fourth with 555 and Nolan Thorpe placed seventh with a 513.
In the stepladder, Smith received a bye into the championship, where he won a close game with Avon’s Ryan Gorman, 183-182, to claim the sectional title. Gorman had beaten Grubbs 225-197 in the first stepladder match.
In the girls competition, Carmel’s Casey Saas led the way in the singles qualifying, scoring a 558 to place first and advance to the regional. In the stepladder, Saas fell to Brownsburg’s Meagan Kennedy 191-183.
The Carmel bowlers advanced to the Kokomo regional at Heritage Lanes on March 13. The Carmel team qualified first with a Baker score of 2070 to earn a spot at the Anderson semi-state, but were beaten by Western in the stepladder championship 348-327.
Saas qualified third in the girls singles, rolling a 563 to earn a place at semi-state. She also advanced to the stepladder round, where she fell to Franklin Township’s Hunter Sullivan 236-160.
At the semi-state, the Carmel boys team placed fourth by scoring 2131, earning a spot in the state finals. The Greyhounds team then defeated Western 397-347 in the first stepladder match. In the semi-finals, Evansville Central beat Carmel 440-350. Meanwhile, Saas finished sixth in the girls singles with a score of 570 and earned a spot at state.
The Carmel boys placed ninth at the state meet, rolling a Baker score of 2031. In the girls singles, Saas finished 10th with a score of 531.
Hamilton Heights’ Kylee Trexler finished fifth in the girls singles at the White River Valley I sectional with a score of 558, qualifying for the regional. At New Castle, Trexler was the top qualifier with a score of 547, but fell to Alexandria’s Shayla Gwynn in the stepladder final 171-144.
Westfield’s Sydney Black placed seventh in the girls singles at the White River Valley I sectional, rolling a 527 and earning a place at the regional.