Boys bowlers earn first team championship in program history

For the first time in program history, Avon’s boys bowling team recently walked away from a team tournament with a first-place trophy.

Competing in the Bruin Classic Tournament at Yorktown Lanes, the Eagles defeated three teams in a two-out-of-three Baker format to top a field of 18 teams.

“Proud doesn’t being to cover it,” said coach Robin McQuaid. “It was a total team effort, and everyone contributed. The desire to win grew with each round, and they never backed down.”

The tournament began with each team rolling three individual games. The schools with the top eight scores then moved on to the Baker matches. With a team total of 3,587, the Eagles were seeded third behind Amherst (3,870) and Berea-Midpark (3,690).

Cole Corpus topped Avon at 279-243-172 (694), to earn first team tournament honors with the fourth-highest individual total. Grady Stipe was named to the second team with the ninth-best series of 204-224-235 (663). Also competing for the Eagles were Bennett Ernst at 205-216-215 (636) and Nathen Stewart at 188-178-190 (556). Cameron Ocepek added scores of 169 and 170, and Nick Sanchez rounded things out at 164.

In the Baker matches, Avon swept No. 6 New Philadelphia in the quarterfinals, 214-204 and 194-168. In the semifinals, the Eagles faced No. 7 Lake Catholic, which upset No. 2 Berea-Midpark in the quarterfinals. Avon rolled past the Cougars by scores of 208-154 and 203-184, setting up a championship match with host Padua, which upset Amherst in the other semifinal.

After needing three games to take down the top seeds, it appears No. 5 Padua didn’t have much left in the tank for the finals, as Avon won easily by scores of 210-169 and 217-179 to take the championship trophy.

The Eagles will be competing again on Wednesday when they take on Clearview at Nautical Lanes on senior night.