Neshoba bowling team wins state
The Neshoba Central girls bowling team has repeated as the Class 2A state champions for the fifth year in a row, and for the sixth time in the past seven years.
The Neshoba Central boys bowling team was the state runner-up in its bracket.
The Mississippi High School Activities Association state bowling tournaments were held last week at Fannin Lanes in Brandon.
Bowling has three classifications with boys and girls divisions: Class I for 1A-2A-3A schools; Class II for 4A-5A schools and Class III for 6A schools.
The top five bowlers in each bracket were named all-state.
Each bracket tournament started with eight teams entered. The teams would bowl three sets. The top two teams would move to the Baker Series. The team that wins that is crowned state champions.
In the Girls Class II bracket, the Neshoba Central girls finished first with 2,415 pins while Long Beach finished second with 2,138 pins. From there, Neshoba Central went on to win the Baker Series 3-0.
Allie Williams led the way with 555 pins while Ashton Luke came in second with 553 and Sarah Lewis came in third with 538. These were the top bowlers in the bracket, which earned them all-state honors.
Emely Randolph, Jaiden Sawyers and Kathryn Dreifuss also bowled in the tournament, alternating throughout the match.
Other teams in the Girls Class II bracket and their team scores: Lafayette 1,986, Vancleave 1,976, Cleveland 1,939, Richland 1,732, Corinth 1,718 and North Pike 1,713.
“This was a big accomplishment for our girls team,” Coach Joey Blount said. “I told them if they all bowled their averages, we would be one of the top two teams. We had a good day.”
The Neshoba Central boys finished as the runner-up in Class II boys with 2,631 pins. Lafayette finished with first 2,686 pins and went on to win the Baker Series, 3-0.
Devin McCoy led the Rockets with 555 pins, followed by Chris Chamberlin 546, Landon Coward 528, Craig Taylor 518 and Jacob Richards 486.
“This was a total team effort,” Blount said. “We did not have anyone make all-state and still we placed second overall.”
The East Union boys (2,878 pins, 3-0 Baker Series) won the Class I boys title while the Kossuth girls (2,440 pins, 2-1 Baker Series) won the Class I girls.
The Hancock boys (2,996 pins, 2-1 Baker Series) won the Class III boys title while the Hancock girls (2,589 pins, 3-0 Baker Series) won the Class III girls title.