CROSSING PATHS TO DES MOINES

RED OAK – The boys bowling team raised the first Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) state qualifer bowling banner in school history as they became one of the first ten teams, statewide, to compete at the state tournament as a sanctioned team.

For the Red Oak girls, their regional tournament win punched their ticket for the eighth consecutive state tournament.

There was little doubt for either team as they each started their first games with sizable leads. The girls were led by Kelsey Myers who had a season-high 252 game, which was complimented by Brianna Nowles’ 202-pin game to get the Tigers on their way.

From there the girls would never look back, leading by at least 300 pins throughout the regional tournament over Lewis Central, St. Albert (Council Bluffs), Nodaway Valley, Lenox, and Tri-Center (Neola).

Nowels led the Tiger girls in the second individual game, scoring 185.

In the first three Baker round games, the Tigers kept their pace up, scoring 172, 185, and 177 as a team. As they entered the fifth and final Baker round, they knew Nodaway Valley had no chance of catching them as they led by 300-plus pins.

The girls finished scoring 2,495, followed by Nodaway Valley (2,239), Lewis Central (2,021), Lenox (1,952), Tri-Center (1,846) and St. Albert (1,681).

Myers outscored all girls in her individual series, scoring 395, only 12 pins ahead of Nowels’ 387, earning both Tiger bowlers a spot in the individual state competition.

The girls will meet North Scott, Cedar Rapids-Xavier, Oelwein, Keokuk, Tripoli, Newton, Creston, Denison-Schleswig, and Waverly-Shell Rock in the team tournament.

Myers and Nowels complete a field of 16 individual qualifiers at the state meet.

The boys bowled their second highest score of the season (3,006), which was only 21 pins behind their season high of 3,027.

The Tigers had five bowlers roll a 200-plus game in their first, led by Brian Wade (244) and John Mertz (234).

Mertz and Mellot were the only Red Oak bowlers to score 200-plus in both individual games as they scored 201 and 219 respecively in the second game.

Mellot’s individual score of 443 punched his ticket into the individual state competition.

Throughout the match the Tiger boys had to fight off Lewis Central and St. Albert who kept within striking distance until the final Baker round.

The Tigers scored 200-plus games in the third (202) and fifth (217) Baker rounds, flirting with 200 in their first (182) and second (195) games, kept their pace up throughout the tournament.

Lewis Central finished second scoring 2,795, followed by St. Albert (2,764), Nodaway Valley (2,373), Tri-Center (2,021), and Lenox (1,826).

Although the boys have competed at the state tournament in previous years, this is the first year that boys’ bowling has been sanctioned by IHSAA.

Mertz will be competing in his third state tournament, as he only missed his freshman year which he helped Red Oak qualify as a sub.

Nowels, on the girls side, will be competing in her fourth state tournament.

The boys will be facing West Delaware, Davenport North, Dubuque Wahlert, Western Dubuque, Mount Pleasant, Norwalk, Sergeant Blufff-Luton, Waverly-Shell Rock, and Creston.

The state tournament will be held Thursday, 1 p.m., at the Plaza Lanes (2701 Douglas Avenue), in Des Moines. Doors open to spectators at noon.