Olathe East’s Michael Crow goes out with a medal in Kansas state bowling tournament

Olathe East senior Michael Crow knew there was only one way he was going to snag the first state medal of his career.

“If you want to do well out here at state, you’ve got to bowl a lot of strikes,” Crow said. “It’s always better when you don’t have to pick up a lot of spares.”

Crow didn’t leave himself much work to do on his second throw, as he finished with 24 strikes in his series to finish with a score of 733 on Friday afternoon at the Class 6A tournament in Wichita at Northrock Lanes.

Not only did Crow pick up his first medal, but he finished in fourth place overall, just four pins behind third.

“I kind of wish I would have got third, but I’m still pretty happy about fourth,” Crow said. “I’m happy with how I bowled today.”

Crow and teammate Jake Butler, who finished seventh with a 707 series, both opened up strong for Olathe East. Crow rolled a 243 and Butler followed with a 235.

That consistency never dropped for Crow, as he successfully navigated the changing lanes and carved out a groove in all three of his games. He rolled a 234 the second game and finished with a 256, as he was the only bowler to roll at least a 234 in all three of his games.

“When his feet are in a decent rhythm, then he can get in a groove like that,” East coach Chuck Thibodeau said. “He was just very, very steady today.”

On a day where East fell short of its goals as a team, finishing in seventh, Crow was able to leave Wichita with a performance he could feel good about as his finale.

“My ball had some really good action today, and I was hitting the pocket real good,” Crow said. “Even when I didn’t, I still was throwing it pretty solid. The pins were just falling for me today. It was a good day.”

Other area medalists include Free State’s Alex Jimenez (fifth, 722) and Matthew Eagle (eighth, 705), and Olathe North’s Tristan Musick (10th, 700) and Jack Gerhold (16th, 661).　

Saulnier wraps up career

Olathe Northwest senior Mackenzie Saulnier, the 2013 individual champion, wrapped up four straight years as a state medalist with her third-place finish on Friday. Saulnier was consistent, never dipping below 218 or over 224, in rolling a 665 series.

The Lawrence girls finished third as a team, with Isabelle Schmidtberger leading the way with a 620 series for an eighth-place finish.

Other area medalists included Olathe East’s Allie Brachtenbach (10th, 613), Olathe South’s Morgan Sheehan (12th, 606) and Gabrielle Russell (19th, 576), SM North’s Nicole Edwards (16th, 588), and Olathe North’s Kristina Robinson (20th, 573).

Winners

Junction City rolled its season-high score of 2,833 to win the boys team title by 23 pins over defending champions Wichita Northwest. Northwest had the individual champion, however, as senior Cody Hubbard rolled strikes on 23 of his final 24 throws, including a perfect game 300 in his final game, to win with a series of 796.

Campus won the girls team title with a score of 2,484 pins, nearly 200 more than second place, while Washburn Rural junior Whitney Prockish rolled the fourth-highest series in state tournament history at 748 to win individual honors.

This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Olathe East’s Michael Crow goes out with a medal in Kansas state bowling tournament."