The W.F. West Bearcat bowling team dominated in the final six-team Baker games to come back and be crowned the Tower Classic Tournament champions at Tower Lanes in Tacoma Saturday.
The Bearcats were up against 13 of the top teams in the state across all classifications, including last year's 4A state champion, Skyview and 3A state champion, Spanaway Lake.
"Our coaching staff was very proud of our team's performance this weekend," coach Don Bunker said. "Spanaway Lake and Skyview have everyone returning from their state title teams from last season and they both expect to repeat this season. This was a really big step for our team as we head towards our goal of winning back our 2A state title this season."
The first part of the tournament format consisted of three team games in which total pins were accumulated. In game one the Bearcats went up against Skyview. The two teams went back and forth in the first game with Skyview winning the game 918 total pins to W.F. West’s 882 total pins.
"It was a hot start for both teams,” Bunker said. “Piper (Chalmers) and their anchor Addy Case battled in that first game head-to-head."
Chalmers shot a 255 and Case rolled a 257.
In game two the Bearcats were again led by Chalmers 191 game. As a team the Cats knocked down 857 pins to Graham-Kapowsin's 809. Sophomore Savanna Hoyt-Siler shot a 179 and senior Savannah Hawkins rolled a 178. Graham-Kapowsin's Kaitlyn Richards led the game with a 237.
In game three the Bearcats went up against 3A powerhouse Spanaway Lake. The Bearcats stayed consistent and shot 834 to Spanaway Lake's 793.
"Game three was a tough shot for both teams," Bunker said. "Our depth and consistency were what kept us in the hunt after the first three games."
The Bearcats were led by the clutch bowling of Tyran Ozretich's 200 game and Clara Bunker's 189.
"Piper and their anchor (Tamia Yeager) struggled a bit in game three,” Bunker said. “But our team always manages to pick each other up if someone is down. We have been able to do this all season and it was a true team effort.”
After the team games the top three teams were all within 30 pins of each other. Skyview was in first with 2597 total pins, the Bearcats were in second place with 2573 pins and Spanaway Lake was in third with 2567 total pins.
"We knew we had a great shot of winning the tournament going into the first four Baker games,” Bunker said. “Our team has really worked a lot on this part of our game and we have a very complimentary line-up to win in this format.”
In the first four Baker games the Bearcats averaged 190 as a team and took the lead going into the final two games. The Bearcats went against the second-seeded team Spanaway Lake and defeated them 207-160 and 170-159. The Bearcats were the only team in the tournament to shoot over 200 in the Baker games and they accomplished that feat three times.
The final standings resulted in the Bearcats scoring 3708 total pins to take their second Tower Classic championship. Spanaway Lake finished second with 3589 total pins and Skyview finished third with 3561 total pins.
