Sequim bowlers ready for league meet

In the last bowling match of the season, friendly rivals P.A. and Sequim went head-to-head last Thursday at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles — where both host their home games — with the Roughriders edging Sequim’s Wolves by just five pins: 1595-1590.

In a high-scoring affair that saw both teams break the 700-pin mark, Sequim won the first game with 712 pins and P.A. took the second with 714. In the Baker-format games, the teams split again, with the Riders winning 144-126 and Sequim taking the second 172-102, with PA winning the total pin tiebreaker.

P.A. and Sequim are “pretty well matched,” said Sequim coach Randy Perry, noting that the teams get along well outside of the competition.

From here, the six varsity teams in the Olympic League go to Silverdale on Jan. 24 to compete for two of three berths at the district tournament; Klahowya is a shoo-in for first place, Perry noted.

League to District

Sequim finished the regular season at 4-10. Perry said this isn’t great, but doesn’t affect their chances at the league tournament, after all, the Wolves won the tournament last year with the same record.

Perry said that one of the things he always tells his team is, “It’s not what you’ve done, but what you’re going to do.”

The first berth to districts goes to the team with the top score of the season, but after that it depends entirely on how well teams play at the tournament.

The top six bowlers from the teams that haven’t automatically qualified, are chosen by their pin count to compete individually at districts.

For Sequim, Kimberley Heintz, Cooper Hiatt, Keira Morey, Victoria Nava, Joanna Morales and Skylar Krzyworz, all seniors, are its tournament team and alternate.

Perry said Krzyworz, “a good kid,” is the anchor — the fifth bowler in the line-up.

“They know what to expect” at the tournament, he said, as five of them went last year.

Season

With practice starting in mid-November, Perry said “the season goes by really, really fast.”

“It feels like we just got started,” he said.

Generally, there are two matches and one practice a week. However, more practices are challenging for the Wolves with no bowling alleys located in Sequim. Some of the bowlers practice more on their own, Perry said.

Each match entails five junior varsity and five varsity bowlers competing, with the three other bowlers practicing during game time. Perry said that the lineup of JV and varsity bowlers is somewhat fluid.

Perry said the goal in games is to have more than 600 pins knocked down collectively by a team of five girls, an average of 125 for each bowler (there is no bowling for boys at Sequim or P.A. high schools), while aiming to break 650-700.

All current varsity bowlers and one JV bowler are seniors, so next year there will be plenty of room for new bowlers.

Perry said that about 75% of students on his teams never really had much instruction before joining, but he has seen many students learn quickly. He observed that athletes that invest in their own ball have a marked improvement in their games.

“Scores come up when the ball is drilled for individual fingers,” he said.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen
Kimberly Heintz bowls for the Wolves last Thursday at Laurel Lanes.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen Kimberly Heintz bowls for the Wolves last Thursday at Laurel Lanes.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Sequim’s Cooper Hiatt bowls for the varsity team at Laurel Lanes last Thursday.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Sequim’s Cooper Hiatt bowls for the varsity team at Laurel Lanes last Thursday.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Kiera Morey bowls for the Wolves’ last regular game on Thursday at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Kiera Morey bowls for the Wolves’ last regular game on Thursday at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Skylar Krzyworz is the Wolves’ anchor.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Skylar Krzyworz is the Wolves’ anchor.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen
Sequim’s bowling team clusters around coach Randy Perry after their last regular game of the season. They head to the league tournament on Friday.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen Sequim’s bowling team clusters around coach Randy Perry after their last regular game of the season. They head to the league tournament on Friday.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Kimberly Heintz bowls for the Wolves during their last regular game on Thursday at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles.

Sequim Gazette photo by Emily Matthiessen/ Kimberly Heintz bowls for the Wolves during their last regular game on Thursday at Laurel Lanes in Port Angeles.