The defending 2023 State Champion WFW Girl’s bowling team came into the District Tournament at Longview’s Triangle Lanes as underdogs.
Even though they’ve only lost two league matches in the last five years and they recently won their fifth-straight Evergreen Conference Championship, teams from the southern part of the district have been posting better scores all season.
W.F. West coach Donnie Bunker’s team stormed through District from the very start, however, posting a 968 (team average of 193.6) to give the Bearcats a 132-pin lead over R.A. Long and the rest of the field.
The great start was fueled by Brea Tracy’s 241 and Savanna Hoyt-Siler’s 235 in the first of three regular games. Hoyt-Siler also shot a 210 and Tracy had a 201. Emma Hamilton overcame a bit of a slow start with a 209 in the third game. Lexi DeLisle had a great day shooting a 180 and 185 in the regular games.
In the afternoon, the tournament switched to the treacherous seven-game Baker format, and the Bearcats came out on fire again. They averaged 191 over the first three games while building an insurmountable lead.
At this point, the girls were starting to wear down a bit, but the rest of the roster stepped up big.
Jaina Johnson, Aly Weins, and Codi Bieker stepped in and played well to help seal the deal, something Bunker said they’ve done all season long.
As the winners, W.F. West was one of three teams to earn state bids. The Bearcats will head to Bowlero in Tukwila on Wednesday and Thursday along with R.A. Long and Fort Vancouver.
Rochester finished 11th and Centralia came in at 13th.
Hoyt-Siler won the individual title with a 606, while Tracy finished second with a 576 series. Centralia’s Bailee Spriggs qualified for State by finishing fourth with a score of 560.
W.F. West will practice at Fairway Lanes Monday and Tuesday before heading to Tukwila for a practice session at Bowlero on Wednesday morning. State will begin with seven regular games before 14 Baker games on Wednesday.
Assistant coach Rich Bunked commended Jeff and Juli Walker of Fairway Lanes, as well as Justin Marks and Chris Conradi of Mean Gene’s Pro Shops at Fairway and Olympia Lanes, saying that without their support, another trip to State would not be possible.
