BOWLING: Capable keglers

Boulder City teams finish first season with Coach Ball

Boulder City High School senior Therese Jovanov prepares to throw a strike for the varsity bowling team in league competition at the Boulder Bowl. Jovanov was team captain and led Boulder City with a 144 average. Boulder City High School senior Jeremy Stern picks up a split in a recent match at Boulder Bowl. He had the high average for the season with a 185 average. Jim Konst/Special to VIEW Advertisement

New Eagles bowling head coach Rodney Ball, who is also the new automotive teacher at Boulder City High School, is proud of what his keglers accomplished in the 2006-2007 season.

The boys team finished in third place in the NIAA Class 4A Sunrise Division and qualified for the 2007 Bowling Championships, and the girls team ended in fifth place, just missing the cutoff for the playoffs.

Both teams have been giving the much larger Southern Class 4A high schools a run for their money all season, and achieved most of their goals for 2006-2007.

A combination of hard work and off-season practice and bowling tournaments really made a difference for the Eagles teams this year, and gave the Boulder City keglers the confidence to bowl at their best every week.

"The boys season was more than I expected," Ball said. "They almost pulled it off, and went farther than last year. Three of our top bowlers are graduating this year, but if we continue to work hard in the off-season, we should improve some more each year."

The Eagles boys bowling team finished the season with 28,325 team points, and lost to Green Valley on Jan. 29 at The Orleans in the first round of the Bowling Championships 2378-2223. Jeremy Stern had the highest scores for Boulder City with a 627, Ryan Clark was second with 545, David Brown third with 540 and Sean Thompson fourth with 511.

Bowling's popularity has increased in the southern part of the state. There are now 31 teams competing in the Southern Region of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA). There aren't any high school bowling teams from Northern Nevada, so the winner of the Southern Nevada Regional Bowling Playoffs, Clark High School, became the 2006-2007 state champion.

The top bowlers for the varsity bowling Eagles this season were: seniors Ryan Clark, Jeremy Stern, Jesse Colyar, David Brown; and sophomore Sean Thompson.

"Our best bowler this season was Jeremy Stern, the anchor and team captain," Ball added. "In every game, each of our varsity bowlers carried their own weight. They did everything they could all year, and at the playoffs, it came down to the last ball that was thrown. If the boys could have just gotten past Green Valley, I think they could have gone all the way."

The other members of the 2006-2007 Eagles boys bowling team were: seniors Evan Blair, Ryan Draney, Justin Landerman and Travis Wallgren; and juniors Branden Faircloth, Tyler Halfpenny and Taylor Hentsch.

Stern led the Eagle bowlers all season, and finished with the highest average of 185. Brown had the second highest average with 173, Clark 166, Thompson 162, Colyar 151, Landerman 142, Garner 138 and Wallgren 130.

The Boulder City High School bowling teams have to compete in the Class 4A Division because there aren't enough Class 3A teams. They are like the Eagles tennis and swimming teams in that they have to bowl against the much larger schools from Henderson and Las Vegas.

Boulder City is part of the Sunrise Class 4A Northeast Division, and they have matches against Eldorado, Rancho, Desert Pines, Las Vegas, Canyon Springs, Chaparral and Valley.

"The girls team had another strong season," Ball said, "and finished just short of the playoffs in fifth place. The girls didn't have the strength of the boys team, and no one got hot to save the season at the end. We had a couple of solid bowlers, but couldn't surround them with enough high averages."

"Therese Jovanov, our captain, was our leader on the girls team again this year," Ball said, "and the rest of the girls improved throughout the season. Rochelle Hathaway was our team motivator, and would inspire the girls to bowl their best every week. Each of our girls had their strengths, and we'll see what next year brings. We lose two of our top bowlers to graduation this year, and we'll have to see who fills their shoes. If we can improve over the summer, we should be just as capable in 2007-2008."

Seniors Jovanov, Hathaway, Caitlyn Ward and sophomore Jeni Rodman were the top bowlers for the 2006-2007 Lady Eagles varsity bowling team. Junior Alohalani Craig and freshman Dannielle Thompson battled it out throughout most of the season for the fifth varsity position.

The other members of the 2006-2007 Lady Eagles bowling team were: senior Desiree Townsend; sophomores Endea Dawson and Tisha Richner and freshmen Sandra Harper, Katherine Kirk, Jennifer Shivers and Tyler Zeeman.

Jovanov finished the season with the highest bowling average for the girls team with a 144. Hathaway was second with a 124, Shivers 116 and Richner 109.

"We're gonna try something different to try and improve our scores and teamwork during the bowling off-season this year," Ball added. "We're going to start a bowling club at the high school, try and get as many students interested as possible, and hopefully work through that to promote and improve our team."

If anyone would like to join the BCHS bowling club, or would like additional information, contact coach Ball at 799-8200, or check the high school web site.

"My first year of coaching bowling at Boulder City was fun," Ball added. "We exceeded my expectations, it was a learning curve, and I'm looking forward to next year."