On January 10, the Rams’ Varsity Bowling team played at Janus School. The Rams came into this match looking for their first win of the season, and they got it.

Looking back at the match, head coach Joel Logan said, “We had three starters sidelined for this event, but the team stepped up. We won all three games and some players had personal best performances. My team played great!”

The three starters that did not participate in the event were: senior Takoda Stike with an injured arm, senior Owen Griffith, and junior Jordyn Bruening with an injured knee.

The lineup for the first game was: freshman Cerenitie “CeCe” Decker, senior Karen Burns, senior Michael Zabkowski, senior Tyler Wiland, and senior Jeffrey Fisher.

Zabkowski led the team in terms of scoring in the first game with a 202, and Burns bowled for a score of 195, as well. Fisher accounted for a 177, Tyler Wiland bowled a 135, and Decker added a score of 120 to help the Rams win the first game 829-472.

“Seeing [Zabkowski] post a 202 and [Burns] pull off a 195 was exciting. Both players have only bowled in competition for one full year, so seeing their accomplishments occur in such a short span of time is incredible and humbling as a coach,” Logan said about his reaction to the first game.

Burns also said that she felt that the first game was the best out of all three.

Before the second game began, Logan substituted junior Colt Merrifield in for Tyler Wiland.

Also in the second game, Zabkowski bowled for a score of 164, Merrifield accounted for 159, Burns added a score of 152, Fisher scored a 145, and Decker bowled for a score of 125. Taking the second game and clinching the match win, the Rams won 586-508 in that second game.

Logan said, “[Merrifield] earned his spot back on Varsity and had consistent scores. I saw his fire and confidence, which was cool.”

While Tyler Wiland came out after the first game, he came back in for the third game for Fisher. Junior Abby Wiland started the third game in Decker’s spot, but Decker wound up coming back in to finish in Abby Wiland’s spot.

Logan commented on how hard it was to chose who was substituted in for the second game and who was out due to the hard work that the players put in.

In the third game, Burns led the way with a score of 187, Tyler Wiland accounted for 172, Merrifield bowled a 155, Decker finished with a score of 142, and Zabkowski added 132. Sweeping the match, the Rams won the third game by a score of 788-541.

“We made most of our spares, which helped us win the match since that is what makes or breaks games,” Burns said about what was the biggest factor in winning the match.

Furthermore, Burns had a series score of 534, the best series score the Rams had that night. The Rams’ first win of the season improved their record to 1-2.

“I learned that my team will respond to competitive pressure without crumbling. They learned that their sports are earned and that made them work harder. We can build off of that foundation.

“We had the desire to grow and learn, and we now have the desire to win,” Logan said about how the team can build off of the first win of the season.

Prior to the match at Janus School, the Rams achieved some substantial accomplishments. In a scholarship tournament that began over holiday break, the participating bowlers made it to match-play. Griffith also posted a score of 207 in the last game the Rams played, against Hempfield.

Logan said, “All of my players have learned how to bowl in one or two years. We come out to win, we are a competitive team. I’m now teaching my players how to win, and they are rising to the challenge. Diamonds are made from pressure, but too much pressure will give you coal dust. My players were diamonds, [especially in the Janus School match].”