On Friday, the Pennsylvania Eastern Regional Bowling Championships took place as athletes from across our half of the Commonwealth descended upon Lancaster County. Along with the Western Regional, the two events serve as qualifiers for the PIAA State Championship. However, only twelve boys and twelve girls from each zone make it to States, making the Regional tournaments extremely difficult in terms of competition and pressure.
The set-up for the competition was intense, with a qualifying round that allowed each bowler to complete five games. The twelve bowlers with the top total scores at the end of qualifying would advance to a ladder where a series of head-to-head matchups took place.
On the Girls’ side, 112 bowlers reported to Clearview Lanes. Out of the field, there were three individuals representing LebCo schools. The local contingent was led by ELCO’s Morgan Kline, the two-time Lancaster Lebanon League Champion. She finished the day in 16th place, just nineteen pins behind the 12th place finisher. Northern Lebanon’s Paxton Horner finished 77th overall, but it was an impressive 205 in her first game, which only saw 74 of the 560 games with higher scores. Alexa Lopez, Lebanon’s first female Regional qualifier in nineteen years, finished 102nd.
For the Boys’ tournament at Leisure Lanes, there were a total of 143 competitors. There were three LebCo athletes who took part. It was again an ELCO bowler who led the way for our local bowlers, as Hunter Heinsey rolled a 279 high game to finish 13th overall. Heinsey’s total of 1097 pins made for a tremendous day, but despite this, he finished five pins away from advancing. Cedar Crest’s Toby Zombro finished 50th overall after notching a high game of 255. Northern Lebanon’s Charlie Albright overcame early struggles on his way to finish 121st.
Both events were won by athletes from the Lancaster Lebanon League, a testament to their skill and dedication. Penn Manor’s Eva Brubaker, who finished 3rd through qualifying with a 1097, emerged as the champion, taking home the top prize by winning her head-to-head matchups. Garden Spot’s Gavin Courtney, with a remarkable score of 1239, secured the top seed into the ladder and defended the pole position for the championship win.
While there will not be any county representation at the Pennsylvania State Championships in two weeks, it was a great season for our LebCo Bowlers. We wish all of our athletes the best of luck in the future.
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Girls
16th Morgan Kline (ELCO) – 178 / 235 / 203 / 187 / 194 = 997
77th Paxton Horner (Northern Lebanon) – 205 / 159 / 127 / 173 / 140 = 804
102nd Alexa Lopez (Lebanon) – 142 / 155 / 145 / 148 / 126 = 716
Boys
13th Hunter Heinsey (ELCO) – 180 / 210 / 235 / 279 / 193 = 1097
50th Toby Zombro (Cedar Crest) – 255 / 170 / 194 / 207/ 187 = 1013
121st Charlie Albright (Northern Lebanon) – 152 / 132 / 191 / 212 / 189 = 876
Point of Interest
For those that do not follow bowling, it is important to know that oil patterns on the lanes change the conditions and difficulty for the athletes. These oil patterns are communicated ahead of time. Below are the oil patterns for the Eastern PA Regional Championships.
